Imaginary Lover cover?

[kristin]

I just heard this for the first time today after downloading it from kazaa......I am on a binge....lol.....anyway, does anyone know whos original song this is?? I really like Stevie's version of it. It almost sounds a little bit like Heart.....

Kristin

[paleshadow]

Imaginary Lover is by Atlanta Rhythm Section... The original, and the version that says "Stevie Nicks". That version is just the original sped up so it sounds like Stevie. For the most part it is convincing, but after you listen to it a few times you can start to tell it's not her.

[kristin]

No WAY!! That is so funny....too bad, cause I really liked the song.....why do people do things like that?? I think it's funny that al you have to do is speed up a song and it sounds like Stevie.....lol.

Kristin

[chiliD]

The story is:

A late night DJ at some midwest radio station, working alone, put on the new ARS album, then went to the bathroom...the turntable was at the wrong speed, he didn't notice...when he came back, he heard the blunder. To cover his butt with his bosses & with listeners, he back announced it as the "new Fleetwood Mac single". Which of course was BS.

The hoax died out fairly soon after, but with the invention of mp3s & Napster, a sped up version of "Imaginary Lover" was being shared around...mistakenly or intentionally miscredited as being "Stevie Nicks"...of course, unless you knew the story about the hoax back in the late '70's you would be misled.

The funny thing is, not JUST "Imaginary Lover" sounds like Stevie when sped up...just about EVERY ARS tune does. For optimal "Stevieness", play the album at about 40-41 RPM (for a "younger" Stevie), 38-39 RPM (for an "older" Stevie)

[kristin]

haha....thanks for the story and the tip!

Kristin

[Jessica Leigh]

i read a rolling stone article from the 70s when that happened where they talked to stevie about it... she said she ran out and bought the 45 and did it herself and was amazed and thought it was really cool... if i remember correctly cameron crowe wrote that little article...

[kristin]

Now that I go back and really listen to it, it only really sounds like Stevie for the first two lines of the song.....and then you can hear the vocal sounding more like someone else's voice. How funny.

Kristin

[Sleeping Angel]

I'm so amazed to learn this! I didn't think the song was all that great so I don't listen to it that often, but as soon as I read this post I listened to it and no, it isn't Stevie...but it sure sounds LIKE her! I also thought Lindsey was singing harmonies and the "Satisfaction guaranteed!" was him and since there is a strong guitar presence, I just assumed....Gosh, I feel dumb!

[joe]

Originally posted by Jessica Leigh
i read a rolling stone article from the 70s when that happened where they talked to stevie about it... she said she ran out and bought the 45 and did it herself and was amazed and thought it was really cool... if i remember correctly cameron crowe wrote that little article...

Wow...that's an interesting tidbit to know...

Not to toot my own horn but i knew this version was NOT Stevie...I think the vocalist's singing style sounds a tad like Stevie when sped up a bit. I just didn't think it was her when i downloaded it although i kept the file just in case i found out it was in fact Stevie singing. At one point, I thought maybe it was recorded in the late '70's (obviously after 1978 since that's when the original song was written and recorded by Atlanta Rhythm Section) but at the same time wondered who she would have recorded it with being so involved with FM at that time period. It also sounded exactly like the Atlantic Rhythm Section's version.

I recently reorganized my files where i deleted multiple copies etc...I came across this one and listened to it again after not hearing it for a while and i totally didn't think it was Stevie so i deleted it.

It all makes sense now!!!

[ERigby818]

I suspected it wasn't her :D Thanks for confirming.
-Sonia

[txgolddust]

Haha! I just got fooled on this one and found the truth here. Makes me feel a bit better that there wasn't this Stevie song floating out there I didn't know about. Would be a great cover for her voice :D

[Drummergrl]

This cracks me up. I really liked ARS back in the day. It was a long time ago when I heard about this. I had this old record player, and played it on the higher speed, and sure enough, it did sound a lot like Stevie. That it's catching on here now, so many years later, blows me away. I figured it was ancient history, lol. But then again... would Stevie be singing a song about this subject matter? It really did kinda freak me out back then though.

[Angel69]

Never thought it sounded like Stevie.