Stevie's Klonopin era wasn't great. There were a lot of bad judgments. Unfortunately that's the era when I first started being aware of pop music, so my first impressions weren't great. Since I discovered the back catalog though I've been a fan.

I've always been biased toward Stevie and it took longer to warm to Christine. But I loved her on the last tour and realized how vital she is. Many of her songs charted very well for FM. I may not be crazy about all of her material but many others seem to like it and it's hard for me to believe she could write a truly bad song. I respect her a great deal. She plays beautiful keyboard and her smoother voice is a good counter balance to Stevie's tone.

As performers and artists, I think they all have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. But they balance each other and when together it's an interesting dynamic.

I used the wrong words. Its more of a journal entry than a song. While I appreciate her openness in the song....its more of a journal entry than a song. Its just impossible to sing those lines. Doing the best that I can is the perfect rehab song from Stevie. Its subtle and has a great chorus. Welcome to the room Sara is clever writing but does not transform into a song or anything that can be sung except the short chorus LOL I do believe with some time and maybe some help there could have been a better way to transform the lyrics into a better song.
Its not home
And its not Tara
Do I know you
Have I've been here before
This is a dream, right?

Of course it was a problem Frontine

Hard to put those lines into a workable song IMHO.
However, according to Mick's first book this was NOT Stevie's pick for Tango. She turned over What has rock n roll ever done for you but for some reason the Mac passed on the song. Too bad because I bet Lindsey could have tweeked that into perfection if he wanted. Plus Tango could have used another rocking song.
In any event, I am actually glad the song surfaced. But musically the song is horrible. When I first heard it , I was shocked that Lindsey was involved with such a crappy song musically. Then I heard the demo and its almost the same. My hunch is that Stevie's songs were last for Tango since she was on tour and in rehab. Not much time was spent on them and it shows.

I've been listening to SYW a lot recently, and I actually really LOVE Silver Girl. It has a few clunky lyrics, but the music is gorgeous and the chorus is pretty great. I also love WISYA, just because it's so revealing of where Stevie was at that moment in time.

Welcome to the room... Sara, on the other hand... Sigh. If only she'd swapped that for Joan of Arc!

I also really really really despise the SYW version of Smile At You. I can't get away with it at all. I've tried. Numerous times.

The Second Time or When I See You Again

Likewise. I like pretty much all of Fleetwood Mac's work, but there's always going to be songs that we like more or less than others.


Oh gosh, yes, that one.

Yes, WTRS is a clunky mix of the lyrics with that music. Lost potential.

Lindsey frankly didn't have much to work with from her on that album. 'What has R&R' is awful. Musically of course he could have worked on it but lyrically it really says nothing, tells no story, and is boring and repetitive. If she's not gonna beef up the lyrics it's still gonna be lacking. You know, the whole polishing a turd thing.

The band didn't seem particularly sympathetic to the whole rehab thing and had taken this stance about "we're recording and you need to be here and you're late" and all that. So, unlike for instance during SYW where she had the clout to insist on a month off [after she stopped her tour with Sheryl and before she went into the studio with FM] to crank out 4 new songs that were up to the right standard to bring the band, she had no such clout during that rehab period and just gave them what she had.

I'm sort of mystified about why Stevie didn't reach back to some of the material not used for Rock A Little. Perhaps she was saving it for future solo efforts, perhaps she distanced herself from it because the songs reminded her of drugs and partying, or perhaps she just wanted to offer something brand new.

Stevie was so different post-rehab, it's hard to even speculate on what was going through her mind. WTTRS is, for me, the first indication that Stevie Nicks did not come out of rehab as the same person who went in. Nearly every song on The Other Side of the Mirror reflects the same muddled mind that wrote WTTRS. The fact that Timespace relied on other writers for the two new singles really demonstrates her lack of confidence.

It's really quite remarkable that she did eventually emerge from that Klonopin haze. How disappointing would the past two decades have been for her fans otherwise? Street Angel could have been the end of it all.

Her 3 songs on Tango are simple and rushed and I am sure its because she was there a total of 3 weeks during the year or so they took to record it. But Seven Wonders was written by someone else so really she contributed 2 songs. I agree with your curiousity why RAL demos were not used like Running through the Garden, etc.
But if you breakdown Stevie's Tango songs musically...Seven Wonders, Welcome to the room Sara, and When I see you again.......they are very simple and basic. Nothing fancy and no risks. Its a shame because Running through the Garden or Mirror Mirror could have really added depth to Tango in the Night. I love the youtube video from backstage RAL tour where Stevie is asked if she is contributing to the new Mac record. She says she sent them a nice acoustic song which was When I see you again. I picture a Fed Ex package being delivered to Lindsey LMAO :eek: Here, I am busy on tour making millions....see what you can do with this LOL
One of the reasons Tango is my least favorite Mac album is the musical weakness of Stevie songs and it also sounds like a Lindsey solo album.
I actually really like What has rock n roll ever done for you. But the song has an arrogance streak IMHO and that is why Lindsey may have not wanted to use it. The song is clever is asking a question but then Stevie goes "French champagne " Its a fun song but sometimes it does sound like she is rubbing the fame and wealth of a rock star in your face (even though that may not be her intent).

Honestly I'm a fan of WTTRS and Paper Doll (also WISYA, contrary to many people I love the "whatsamattah baby"s), but to each their own.

I love the demo for Goodbye Baby (The Tower from 1976) a lot more than the version on Say You Will. The off-beat metronome thing ruins it for me.

I don't really like Everybody Finds Out, its not specific things, just the song in general.

Just like with Rock a Little, Tango in the Night was a wasted opportunity on Stevie's part. At the time she didn't really have a choice to be there/not to be there, and the band should have understood to some extent. However, during this time I think Stevie was extremely insecure and susceptible to other people's opinions (i.e. why RAL turned out too commercial) and, coupled with the introduction of Klonopin, probably was a nightmare to deal with musically. I do think Joan of Arc could have been the saving grace for Tango, imho.

What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done For You? I think would have been slightly distasteful considering she had just come out of rehab... Other than that it could have been a big hit.

I support this.

I do too, the production couldn't of been better on that track

I am too. I really, really like it.
Welcome To The Room Sara is real, gritty, earthy and powerful. I often turn the volume up to 11. So much emotion in the song. I think Lindsey probably did more work on it that people might think. WTTRS and then into Isn't It Midnight...wow, bang bang.

Tom says in his bio that he would say to her why are you being influenced by all these twits who are focused on getting you hit singles??? He said he was very direct and "probably an asshole" and she would get majorly mad when he would call her a "pop star" (and he didn't mean it as a compliment). He told her she needed to be reminded of "what she's capable of" and not making "synthesizer rock". I think this period of time you talk about it the time period he refers to.

When I See You Again

...urgh!

Anything from Stevie on Tango in The Night.

Welcome to the Room Sara and Sisters of the Moon for me. No other songs I can think of. :shrug:

Silver Girl
Second Time

She was always accused of saving her best work for solo. That is nonsense and I beg to differ. She has so many bad solo songs. Sometimes It's a Bitch comes to mind. Among many others in her collection. It's bound to happen. She has the most prolific solo career out of the 3 writers.

I think her stuff with FM is solid.

I don't mind WTTRS or WISYA. Of course, Lindsey and Christine's backing vocals smooth things out a bit. When Lindsey takes the lead on WISYA, it really moves me. And I'm the farthest thing from a Shipper you can be. I don't think they've really connected musically since Tusk. But WISYA, has really emotional lyrics. I think of Stevie saying goodbye to everyone and they both move on farther with their lives. And of course, he moves on to get married and have children and she eventually gets clean and maintains her ever fading star status. But their story is inspiring and it's a good story.

I feel that would've been a good closer instead of You and I Part II.


To me, the best part is when Stevie's vocals end and Lindsey's come in, and he changes it from "When I See You Again" to "If I See You Again". It's truly devastating. Also maybe it was foreshadowing to him leaving the band? :shrug:

The change of lyrics at the end and ESPECIALLY Lindsey coming in to sing? Makes that song very worthwhile to me.

"How do you like my slow song with Lindsey singing at the end? That's one of my favorite things. I made him sing with me. I said, 'Lindsey, you're gonna sing on all my songs whether you like it or not - you have to sing this with me.' So we went out and sang 'If I see you again, will it be over...' We sang it in unison, then I snuck in and took my voice off. Otherwise, I'd have never gotten him to do it. See, Lindsey's pretty shy and he's singing differently there than he is on anything else on the record. He wouldn't think to do that, to sing on my song at the end. He would think to sing with me, but he wouldn't want to end it. But that's what I wanted, to leave people feeling they are really talking about each other."

It really is a wonderful FM moment.

When I See You Again

Honorable Mentions: Welcome to the Room...Sara; The Second Time; Everybody Finds Out; Silver Girl