Hold Me

[BLY]

Hold Me just came on my iPod rotation and I had to stop and just take in the moment. I remember when I first heard the song when I was in college. It was such a great first single as a follow up after The Tusk album. I did wish at the time there was a little more of a Stevie presence in the song. I still to this day wonder if she is even in the chorus mix?. Is she?

[aleuzzi]

Hold Me just came on my iPod rotation and I had to stop and just take in the moment. I remember when I first heard the song when I was in college. It was such a great first single as a follow up after The Tusk album. I did wish at the time there was a little more of a Stevie presence in the song. I still to this day wonder if she is even in the chorus mix?. Is she?

I don't think she's on it. I can hear several layers of Lindsey and Christine on the chorus (in addition to their duetting on the verses) but if Stevie sang on it, she has been mixed down.

[PenguinHead]

Hold Me just came on my iPod rotation and I had to stop and just take in the moment. I remember when I first heard the song when I was in college. It was such a great first single as a follow up after The Tusk album. I did wish at the time there was a little more of a Stevie presence in the song. I still to this day wonder if she is even in the chorus mix?. Is she?

When it was performed on the Mirage tour, Stevie sang the choruses.

[SisterNightroad]

Stevie is credited for being on the song baking vocals:

Credits:
Lindsey Buckingham – twelve-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead (in unison with C. McVie) and backing vocals
Christine McVie – piano, Yamaha CP30 electric piano, lead (in unison with Buckingham) and backing vocals
Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
John McVie – bass guitar
Mick Fleetwood – drums, tambourine, congas, whip

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_Me_(Fleetwood_Mac_song)

[sanders8323]

Stevie is credited for being on the song baking vocals:

Credits:
Lindsey Buckingham – twelve-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead (in unison with C. McVie) and backing vocals
Christine McVie – piano, Yamaha CP30 electric piano, lead (in unison with Buckingham) and backing vocals
Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
John McVie – bass guitar
Mick Fleetwood – drums, tambourine, congas, whip

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_Me_(Fleetwood_Mac_song)

Excuse me...Whip?! Where in the song do we hear a whip?

[SisterNightroad]

Excuse me...Whip?! Where in the song do we hear a whip?
In music the "whip" is a tipe of clapper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapper_%28musical_instrument%29#Whip.2FSlapstick

[michelej1]

In music the "whip" is a tipe of clapper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapper_%28musical_instrument%29#Whip.2FSlapstick

Ha, not that FM couldn't use the crack of a leather whip in some of their songs. If the sound of broken glass worked, I think the snap of a whip would not be amiss.

Michele

[SisterNightroad]

I have thought precisely the same thing!

[elle]

Ha, not that FM couldn't use the crack of a leather whip in some of their songs. If the sound of broken glass worked, I think the snap of a whip would not be amiss.

Michele

some people hear whip in LB's Sleeping Around the Corner.

[Macfan4life]

She may have been given back up vocal credits but its either just a gesture for credits or they turned her vocal track way down :eek:

[SisterNightroad]

She may have been given back up vocal credits but its either just a gesture for credits or they turned her vocal track way down :eek:
I think she's just buried in the mix.

[brad975]

I don't think Stevie's in the mix at all. She wasn't around much for the Mirage sessions. I believe she's only present on 4 songs on the album (her 3 plus Love In Store).

[BLY]

I don't think Stevie's in the mix at all. She wasn't around much for the Mirage sessions. I believe she's only present on 4 songs on the album (her 3 plus Love In Store).




I think you are probably correct. I thought maybe she did some voice on Wish You Were Here , Empire States and Eyes of the World but again like Hold Me (if she is on it) her vocals are not very prominent.

[SteveMacD]

Nope. Also, nope on TAM, OMH, Everywhere, etc.

[SisterNightroad]

Why would they credit her if she wasn't on the song?

[Macfan4life]

Why would they credit her if she wasn't on the song?
It would demonstrate more of a group effort since she does not play an instrument. Otherwise it looks like she showed up to sing 3 songs and have no other input.

I love Stevie's voice especially when she sings back up with Lindsey (Love in Store). But sometimes Chris and Lindsey's voice is perfect together and Stevie would almost ruin that harmony.....Think About Me, Hold Me, Don't Stop, etc.

My belief is that she was in the studio and got credit but I don't think she sang on Hold Me. Even in the video, she is the singer with no singing parts. Maybe she started the painting in the studio and finished it during the video (ok that was a joke people). ;)

[SisterNightroad]

I think eventually this is a question for Richard Dashut...

[MikeVielhaber]

My belief is that she was in the studio and got credit but I don't think she sang on Hold Me. Even in the video, she is the singer with no singing parts. Maybe she started the painting in the studio and finished it during the video (ok that was a joke people). ;)

She also appears in the "Big Love" video, but does not sing on the recording.

[sanders8323]

I'm pretty sure I can hear Stevie on Think About Me. It's a song that just begs for her harmony.

[Wdm6789]

My favorite Fleetwood Mac song. It's a forgotten gem. It doesn't get enough love from the band, despite being one of their highest charting songs back in the day. I would have loved for this to be on their set list for this tour to bring it back to life. I'm not sure how true those leaks were we got back before the tour started but if they really did rehearse this song, I would love to hear how they did it.

[MikeVielhaber]

My favorite Fleetwood Mac song. It's a forgotten gem. It doesn't get enough love from the band, despite being one of their highest charting songs back in the day. I would have loved for this to be on their set list for this tour to bring it back to life. I'm not sure how true those leaks were we got back before the tour started but if they really did rehearse this song, I would love to hear how they did it.

Well it sounds like there will probably be at least one more tour. Hopefully they can break out that song then and not just drop current songs for new ones and leave it at that.

[soul_drifter333]

There's probably a better chance that you will be struck by lightning while picking up your winning lottery ticket. :laugh:

Well it sounds like there will probably be at least one more tour. Hopefully they can break out that song then and not just drop current songs for new ones and leave it at that.

[sanders8323]

My favorite Fleetwood Mac song. It's a forgotten gem. It doesn't get enough love from the band, despite being one of their highest charting songs back in the day. I would have loved for this to be on their set list for this tour to bring it back to life. I'm not sure how true those leaks were we got back before the tour started but if they really did rehearse this song, I would love to hear how they did it.

It was their most successful song at pop radio if I'm not mistaken, which I could be. I remember reading that somewhere. It's also my favorite Fleetwood Mac song. To me, this song best showcases how genius of a producer Buckingham is. It's a song that thrives on the production value.

[PenguinHead]

Why would they credit her if she wasn't on the song?

Isn't it standard to only credit the songwriters and producers? If there is a contribution from a guest musician or singer, they are credited for legal reasons.

But otherwise, under the collaborative umbrella of Fleetwood Mac, there is no need to state which members sing on each other's songs. The loyalties primarily go the the writers.

Hold Me was one of their big chart hits - a signature Mirage song. And their cool video was very popular at a time when MTV was in its early stage of cultural prominence. The song is featured on all their best of/greatest hits compilations. But it was only performed on their Mirage tour. Given the ensuing changes in the band, I can see how the song fell off their radar. This current tour was the perfect opportunity to revive the song. I wonder if they even discussed the possibility. They played it so safe with the set list, but Hold Me is in their safe zone; it is one of their well known songs. I recently heard it while shopping at my grocery store.

[Wdm6789]

There has to be a video of a live performance of Hold me somewhere. Either from the HBO video from 1982 that's all over YouTube or a video of their set from the 1982 US Festival. Other bands entire sets from that show are on YouTube.

[UndoingTheLaces]

The thing I love about Hold Me is that the album track is a testament to 80's music done right. It's got that perfect blend of harmony, melody and quirkiness that made a lot of 80's music so wonderful, with that timeless quality that Fleetwood Mac's music often has. But if you listen to any of the live recordings from when they did it live, it has a distinctive 70's sound. Without all layers and layers of studio trickery that Lindsey has always been so fond of, the stripped down version is denim shorts, feathered hair and halter tops all the way. And I love that live they didn't try to replicate the sound from the album because that could have just been a mess. Live it's actually a lot like the demo, which also has that great 70's feel. I always thought the demo of Hold Me sounds like it could have been on Tusk, except it was a little too happy. LOL.

[PenguinHead]

The thing I love about Hold Me is that the album track is a testament to 80's music done right. It's got that perfect blend of harmony, melody and quirkiness that made a lot of 80's music so wonderful, with that timeless quality that Fleetwood Mac's music often has. But if you listen to any of the live recordings from when they did it live, it has a distinctive 70's sound. Without all layers and layers of studio trickery that Lindsey has always been so fond of, the stripped down version is denim shorts, feathered hair and halter tops all the way. And I love that live they didn't try to replicate the sound from the album because that could have just been a mess. Live it's actually a lot like the demo, which also has that great 70's feel. I always thought the demo of Hold Me sounds like it could have been on Tusk, except it was a little too happy. LOL.

Everything you said is spot on!

I recall my anticipation when I was going to see them for the first time, on the Mirage tour. Having collected numerous live cassette bootlegs, I had great interest in how their studio creations were recreated on stage. So I was particularly interested how they were going to approach Hold Me, since there was no way they could replicate the polish of the record. (With all the support players they tour with now, they could get close.)

I was thrilled with how they translated it with a bit more aggression. Without the polish, it had more of a gritty character, sort of like a Tusk song (as you referenced). The "hold meeees" became "hold me yeah!"

Fleetwood Mac is a studio band as much as they are a live performance band.
The added patches, musicians and singers add more power, nuance and solidity to their performances, allowing the songs to sound more like the records. But I still appreciate the earlier, more simple pre-tech days when it was just the five of them.