Did SYW Have To Grow On You???
 

Lately I've been listening to SYW a lot and I love it. I was thinking, when I first heard it I don't think I loved it immediately. It sure ain't Rumours, and since at the time that's what I was used to I think it took me back a little. I promise I'm a much more cultured FM fan now.

Anyways...what were your first impressions of the album. What do you like now that you didn't like then and vice versa?

I've really taken a liking to Destiny Rules lately...which I definitely didn't like the first time I heard it.

I think it's better than "Mirage" but that's the only FM (Rumours-era lineup) album I'd place it over. It was a little disappointing and mainly way too long. There were quite a few really great tracks but they really killed it with several tracks of filler, when they could have easily trimmed it down and made it a very solid, consistent, and easy listen.

I fell in love with it by the 2nd or 3rd listen and have loved it ever since.

some of it certainly did grow on me. I love Thrown Down now, it's one of my favorites, but at first I really didn't care much for it. I still haven't listened as much to this album as I have to most others. But that does not mean per se I don't like it, I just have less time to listen to music.

Yes, honestly, it did have to grow on me.
 

The very first time I listened to "Say You Will" (the album) I was disappointed. I missed Christine, and the sequencing left me thinking "what is wrong with Stevie?" Her very first debut was on the third song, and it was slow and depressing. I thought, "WHAT HAPPENED between Trouble In Shangri-La and this album." And honestly, it was because of a fan on this board suggesting a way to re-sequence it that I finally "got it" and fell in love with it. The first 10 songs on the album seemed like a strong (actually a bit overwhelming) effort from Lindsey, and the Stevie part just lacked. I couldn't figure out how this could be a Fleetwood Mac album at all.

I eventually learned that there actually was a bit of bitter fighting about the sequencing between Stevie and Lindsey-- I think Mick alluded to it on the documentary. I have to say, I can understand that. The new sequencing (I believe it was Chili that suggested it) totally changed my perception of the album. Isn't that weird that something like sequencing could actually affect my attitude to the album? Well, it did.

NOW I can listen to the album as it is. But I have to say I am grateful to have gotten through that initial block I had towards it. And hearing the few songs that we got to hear LIVE really REALLY enhanced my appreciation for it. I am really okay that Christine isn't on it now. But in the beginning, I have to honestly say I missed her.

My 2 cents.

SYW didn't have to grow on me, i fell in love from the first time i listened to it. although i still think there are a few weak points there, overall this is by far the best package of songs from both lindsey and stevie in many many years.
other than a couple of times in which i played the bonus cd's of rumours and tusk, SYW was all the fm/sn i've been listening to this last year. only a few weeks ago i finally put it in my cd's cabinet, after it was always right next to the player, waiting to be used. a SYW minidisc copy is a permanent resident in my bag too.

In the beginning I had my favorites right away...RTTG, Thrown Down, BTLH and WTWCT....but after owning the album over a year, I have really gotten to the point where I enjoy the album a lot. With the exception of Time and BTM, it doesn't rank over any of the other Mac albums in my opinion however. I think it really was too long of an album. I would rather have had 12 songs and the rest used on a possible future project. I can't say I would have minded if the album looked like this:

1. WTWCT
2. Thrown Down
3. Illume
4. Come
5. Say You Will
6. Peacekeeper
7. Say Goodbye
8. Destiny Rules
9. Steal Your Heart Away
10. Everybody Finds Out
11. Murrow
12. Goodbye Baby

Definitely grew on me, but first someone downloaded it for me...I barely listened to it, and put it away for a long time. Then saw FM first time around in Oakland. Then listened to it again, and it hardly took any time once i really listened to it for it to grow on me. Except i didn't like the song Say You Will for a long time, and just recently started to like it OK. Loved thrown down and Miranda and Come right away.
Amber

I loved it right away. Thrown Down was my favorite and it still is. I liked all the songs but some have grown on me and I love them more now like Red Rover and Illume.

I didn't like it that much at first, save for a handful of songs. The lacking of the traditional 3-part harmony threw me off. Also, some of the songs seemed to echo previous efforts. I continued listening to it. I like it a lot more now. Seeing them in concert definitely helped. The new songs seemed to fit well in the set list.

This is my favorite album, I think. Running through the Garden alone is worth the ten bucks it costs. That song is so rocking and just plain cool! :blob2:

I didn't like the album the first time I listened to it. I loved SYW (the song) though because it was so catchy and fun! It took me a few days and then I was hooked!

The funny thing now is that songs I used to love (Goodbye Babu) I don't listen to and songs I used to hate (Red Rover) I now love! RTTG still is my favorite though.

there's hope for you, Christopher.....next thing we know you'll be buying Lindsey cds and going to see him when he tours:) I'm just joking, but I think it's great you're opening yourself up to more FM music than just Stevie's. :nod:

I loved it immediately. I was prepared for Christine's absence, and as I've never been a huge fan of hers anyway (I like a lot of her songs, but I'm not a fan the way I am of Lindsey and Stevie), I didn't miss her on this album. Everyone seems to complain that it's too long and they don't like the running order, but neither of those things ever crossed my mind, to be honest. "Tusk" has 20 songs, and "The Dance" has 17, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone say those albums are too long. :shrug:

I didn't read any of the leaked track info or demos before the cd was released on April 15th so it was nice having an element of surprise and not knowing what many of the songs were before I listened.

I liked it from the beginning and it definitely grew on me the more I listened to it. I didn't miss Christine as much as I thought I would.

The songs I liked at the beginning are still pretty much what I like now. Silver Girl is the only song I didn't like at the beginning and still don't like. Illume grew on me as I listened to the cd a few times.

I barely ever listen to the cd, I have been drowning in live bootlegs for months, but I'm that way about most of the catalogue with the exception of Tusk.

I wish they had the guts to release SYW like the Outkast cd with 1 cd from Stevie and 1 from Lindsey. I think overall the songs sounded like a disjointed project, it doesn't have any overall feeling the way any of the previous cds did, and in places it's very disjointed and sounds like 2 cds that were meshed together. I tried to listen to the running order that Tango mentioned but I didn't like the 1 Lindsey, 1 Stevie, 1 Lindsey, 1 Stevie sound either.

One day I think I'll burn a seperate Lindsey and seperate Stevie cd and add a few GOS tracks and Stevie demos or TISL tracks. I have a feeling I'll like it more and perhaps listen to it more often.

[QUOTE=Cour]
I wish they had the guts to release SYW like the Outkast cd with 1 cd from Stevie and 1 from Lindsey. QUOTE]

That is a pretty cool idea for a double album. But then I think whoever your favorite band member was you would only listen to that cd and wouldn't give the other disc the time of day. :laugh:

Thanks, I'm trying to be more open-minded! I just get really Stevie-obsessed sometimes.

It was actually this album that got me hooked on Fleetwood Mac, I loved it then and still do. In fact it was the performance of Peacekeeper on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno that was constantly played on a pay tv channel in Australia that got me hooked. Once I figured out who was performing I got the album immediately. I've actually come to appreciate it a lot more now understanding more of the story behind the band and how lucky we are to have them still recording a top notch album.

Tynan

I don't know what a lot of you guys have against Silver Girl either, :shrug: I personally don't think there are any filler tracks on the album.

Tynan

To me it has been in a reversed way. "The other way round" as some say. I really really liked it at first listen but now, comparing it to some other very underrated older Fleetwood Mac albums (Mystery To Me, Bare Trees, Then Play On) and other very good works from the Rumours lineup (Fleetwood Mac, Tusk and even Mirage), it just pales. Of course there are great songs in it ("Red Rover", "Say Goodbye", "Steal Your Heart Away", "Thrown Down", "Goodbye Baby", "Running Through The Garden", "Destiny Rules") but... I don't really know why I don't like it now as much as I did when I first bought it. :sorry:


Song of the moment - The Ledge

Unfortunately, it's not one of my favorite Fleetwood albums. I don't listen to it much -- parts of it hurt my ears -- but I like Steal Your Heart Away & Silver Girl quite a bit.

While it didnt take long...
 

to grow on me, I havent played it much as of late...

I liked it right away! :)

Pip

Now a lot of people were caught by The Dance. But I think you're the only one who stated to have gotten a fan of the band through SYW! Anyone else?

Say You Will
 

I would say it has grown on me over time.

When I first heard it I thought it was too long and I still do. Not by much but by about 3 or 4 songs.

I think they should have cut it down a bit or done what Lindsey wanted and made a double album with 2 CD's each of about 50 - 60 minutes.

Maybe my attention span is not that good but I find it hard to listen to right through.

Gail

I loved it immediately. Some of Lindsey's best work and some of Stevie's best vocals.

Thrown Down is still wretched and Bleed To Love Her still has way too much noodling for my taste, though. The rest is superb.

Loved it!
 

'Twas love at first sight for me.
Still, my appreciation of the album improved by leaps and bounds, once I worked out (taking a few suggestions from chiliD's own re-sequencing) a new track-listing.

I think as it is, the album is a bit "top-heavy," and I really believe that's the cause for a lot of the disappointment some fans and critics had with the album. It needed to be balanced and better paced, IMO, so that by the time you get to track #18, you're not exhausted or burned out.

Hey, what does the restructured track list look like???

I think I missed that!

I have two, in fact. The first is how I listen to it on CD, the second is how I listen to it on my mp3 player, since there isn't a time-limit and I'm able to add "Not Make Believe" and "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" to the running order.

Version 1:

1. What's The World Coming To
2. Say You Will
3. Bleed To Love Her
4. Thrown Down
5. Peacekeeper
6. Smile At You
7. Murrow Turning Over In His Grave
8. Illume
9. Say Goodbye
10. Running Through The Garden
11. Miranda
12. Everybody Finds Out
13. Steal Your Heart Away
14. Silver Girl
15. Come
16. Destiny Rules
17. Red Rover
18. Goodbye Baby

Version 2:

1. What's The World Coming To
2. Say You Will
3. Bleed To Love Her
4. Not Make Believe
5. Peacekeeper
6. Smile At You
7. Murrow Turning Over In His Grave
8. Illume
9. Say Goodbye
10. Running Through The Garden
11. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
12. Everybody Finds Out
13. Steal Your Heart Away
14. Silver Girl
15. Come
16. Thrown Down
17. Miranda
18. Destiny Rules
19. Red Rover
20. Goodbye Baby

A few Stevie songs had to grow on me (especially the ones on the second half).

Album length is an issue with me as well. 76 mins is a lot of music to digest and I probably would have cut at least 4 tracks

My biggest problem is how this CD was marketed. Peacekeeper and Say You Will are bit too "safe" in my opinion and I think it would have done them better to have tracks like Illume, Come and Smile At You (maybe Thrown Down) as singles with videos.

That said I still enjoy this album and I think it has some of Lindsey's best material.

It would have been nice to have a real video.

Yes, it did have to grow on me. At first listen, I liked about half the songs. After a few more listens, I really liked most of them. (Still don't like Illume or EFO....Yes, I know.) I took some listens but I am particularly fond of Lindsey's work. This is definitely some of his best material.

SYW did have to grow on me. My initial favorite was Peacekeeper. I just LOVED Stevie's "love is a sweeet surprise" and those Aw Aw Aw Aw Aw Aw sounds (how do you put those into words??) :) Another initial favorite was Goodbye Baby, and now I never listen to that one. Now I think SYW has some great stuff on it, but it's an appreciation that took some time to develop.

I agree, though I think that Thrown Down would have made a fabulous single, or even Running Through the Garden. SYW and Peacekeeper are both great songs, but the melodies are bit too sugary sweet.

However, I loved the album from the first time I heard it and my fondness has only grown exponentially with each subsequent listen. I couldn't have imagined a better album coming from them. And as for length, it's just more Mac to love!

Speaking about restructured setlists I had to do one when I transfered this album to cassette since I only had a cassette walkman (you know ;)). I took out four of the songs on the album and changed the running order since I've always thought the running order is one of my biggest complaints on Say You Will. So it looked like this:

Side A
Bleed To Love Her
Thrown Down
Peacekeeper
What's The World Coming To
Smile At You
Red Rover
Running Through The Garden

Side B
Destiny Rules
Miranda
Say You Will
Steal Your Heart Away
Everybody Finds Out
Goodbye Baby
Say Goodbye

To me it works better... :)


Song of the moment - Man Of The World

ok, let me get this straight...you DON'T LIKE Thrown Down, but you like Silver Girl and Illume? And dare i say it, Everybody Finds Out? And Say You Will?
I'm just trying to get a handle on your process, I don't think i've heard anyone else call Thrown Down "wretched" and in fact it was one of my first favorites. Silver Girl is a bit wretched for me...The whole thing is just very mysterious... :)
Amber

Me too, I totally agree, precisely. I thought Peacekeeper was a weak, middle of the road, safe single, therefore too boring to really "sell" the album (although I like the song, don't get me wrong)
Amber

I'm notorious for my hate of Thrown Down, Amber. :laugh:

I don't like the music very much and I detest her voice on it. It really gets under my skin, for some reason. I think the overall effect and feel of the song is too pedestrian for such a song. It's too slow.

I used to hate Silver Girl and while it doesn't have the best lyrics, it has a better effect than TD. Illume is antoehr one that grew on me like a fungus.

That is so weird to me!! But you like Bette Midler, right? I can't believe you like Silver Girl better. That song makes me want to smack someone (stevie) around! And not in the fun way :D . But, everyone is different, and that's ok.
Tell me, do you like Running Through the Garden? I didn't like it as much until I noticed the kickin base line and the orchestral violins, or whatever. Also it has a good tempo for me...It took me a minute to realize how good it was, though. There've been many stevie songs where i was repulsed initially by the cheesiness and self absorbed, laughable, lyrics...only to be completely enraptured by them when i got used to them. And I do love her best, despite a bold dash for the finish line by Lindsey during my two front row seat concert experiences... :xoxo: anywhoo, moochas smooches!
Amber

Can I just add I HATE when people make 12 song SYW's :laugh: