Ricky
 

Hi gang,

The subject of my first poll is that quirky song Ricky which I've always considered to be the bastard child of The Chain and Tusk.

Can you imagine what the public/critics would have thought if this track had not only been included on the Tango in the Night album but was released as the first single (shades of Tusk anyone?)

I know I'll draw a lot of flak here but IMHO Stevie's creative juices with the Mac went nowhere fast in the 80's after Gypsy so I wouldn't have minded seeing just Mick, John, Christine, and Lindsey on TITN with Ricky, Down Endless Street, You and I Part I replacing Stevie's tracks.

I think with the change in band dynamics Lindsey would have stayed on and we would have seen another great Mac album follwing TITN featuring the best of Christine from Behind the Mask (plus Love Shines and Heart of Stone) and Lindsey from Out of the Cradle.

Maybe the band's success without her might have motivated Stevie to detox sooner and we would have seen her rejoin them clear-eyed and healthy for the Mac's triumphant 25th anniversary tour/album.

Let the petty bickering begin... ;)

Well, you won't get any flak from me because I agree with most of what you said.:) I LOVE both "Ricky" & "Down Endless Street", especially. I've actually burned a new Tango CD, getting rid of Stevie's songs & replacing them with those 3 songs you mentioned. When I listen to Tango In The Night, I always play my "revised" CD. I haven't played the original Tango CD in quite a few years. The only thing I would disagree with you is releasing "Ricky" as the first single. I think that song is a bit too quirky for that, even more so than "Tusk" in my opinion.

Yes, "Ricky" is quite unconventional and would not be the hit the other singles from TITN were but I think it would have a bold statement that this band was reinventing itself and moving forward.

Besides it would have been fun to see the label execs have another Maalox moment :thumbsup:

I really love Ricky, but it just would not have worked as a single. But it's so atmospheric and lovely that I wish it would have been on the album. But if it had not been for Seven Wonders I would never have even bought Tango. And Welcome To The Room Sara is so beautiful and heartbreaking. So I disagree with your 'revised' Tango CD.

Why did they leave off You and I part 1? I thought it would have been a nice way to begin and end the album.

Are these songs from the TITN demos? I've never heard them, so I'm a bit lost lol.

OK, thanks :thumbsup: . I'll search them out.

I have a confession to make... I've never heard this song,:eek: I know...:laugh:

Haha, don't feel bad, I think I've only heard it once. Here ya go:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...DDC83A2486A7A2

Ok, so I just listened to it. I'm not really sure what to think. This is definitely one that will take a few listens to figure out if I like it or not.

A b-side that 10.000 times overrules the quality of the A-side.

The only Stevie song I would be willing to give up is "When I See You Again". But I would have replaced it with a "Juliet" that uses the "Book of Miracles" music.

But, I agree, there were a lot of good B-sides for this album.

absolutely no argument from me, as i LOVE both ricky & you and i part I. i think they both have a very seductive quality to them and that fits in perfectly with the whole feel of TITN. additionally, chris's vocal on ricky is outstanding. . .every hair on the back of my neck stands up when i hear "won't you come out tonight?"

not as fond of down endless street, but certainly if it was a toss up between that and say, when i see you again, i would clearly have to opt for the former.

A revised Tango cd? Without any Stevie songs?? How could you? I couldn't live without her three songs on there! Love all three of 'em.

I do like the idea of the You & I's opening and closing the album. That would have been a nice touch.

I like Ricky, but I would like it more if Stevie was on the track. Damnit Stevie, why did you have to be somewhere else during the entire Tango recording sessions??

Thanks! I'm listening to them now. :D

Gerald, I must say your loyalty to Mr Buckingham is impressive.

The public & the critics rarely experience the same shock. The public is usually shocked when bands try something new; the critics are generally shocked (or at least sickened) when bands don't. On those few occasions that Fleetwood Mac tried to épater le bourgeois, the critics mostly loved it.
Okay by me ... Stevie's material on "Tango" should be looked at in terms of its trackness rather than in terms of songwriting acument. In that light, Seven Wonders & When I See You Again are both noteworthy & satisfying for Fleetwood Mac. With Fleetwood Mac, it doesn't matter who writes the song; it's what's done with it that counts.
See, I feel that Mick had a bigger influence on Lindsey's departure than Stevie did. Lindsey had been fighting his Stevie demons for many years by that point, but Lindsey's aggravation factor with Mick was more recent & had actually hit crisis point in 1986 & '87.
Yeah, but you still gotta figure some time in there for detoxing Mick & John. Mick especially was a major mess during the making of "Tango."

WHAT!? OMG!!! No Seven Wonders? I love 'Seven Wonders' but When I See You Again and WTTRS SUCK!!!!

Let me begin by saying that I don't like "Ricky," but I like the idea of a Lindsey-Christine only album. Though, I would change the name of the album to "You And I." I'd also add "Can't Help Falling In Love" from the "Fine Mess" soundtrack. And, while we're at it, let's kill off "Family Man."

As for Stevie's stuff, I like "Seven Wonders" and WTTRS. But, Stevie would have been better, for her own sake, just being a solo artist at that point. She wasn't bringing her "A" game to Fleetwood Mac, which continued into BTM. So, why even bother? She had to work a lot of things out in her life at that point, and being in a band like that probably didn't help.

You & I, Pt. I
Everywhere
Big Love
Isn't It Midnight
Caroline
Mystified
Tango In The Night
Little Lies
Down Endless Street
Can’t Help Falling In Love
You & I, Pt. II

Hmm...I had forgotten about "Can't Help Falling In Love", which I love. I may have to revise my "revised" Tango CD again.:D

Better would be "You & Me."
That one's rather tepid, rather watered-down. Nothing terribly special about that track.
Because the band at that point was still arranging & producing good tracks. It didn't matter whether the song itself was any good or not. All that mattered was whether the treatment was interesting. "Seven Wonders" got a helluva treatment, for those who choose to actually pay attention to it.

I love this arrangement... :woohoo:

Stevie said in an interview (I don't remember from which era) that she brought in other songs to the Tango sessions, like "What Has Rock And Roll Ever Done For You", but that Fleetwood Mac for some reason opted to use her "stranger" songs instead. (I don't know if she used the word "stranger", but it was something like that.) Anyone remember which interview this is from? :)

Stevie's collaboration on TITN was definitely more than weak. But if she hadn't been there, I'm sure this wouldn't have been the band's second-biggest-selling studio album, much to the record company's regret, and someone else :laugh:

“Ricky”—I hate it. I don't hate it as much as I hate “Skies [sic] the Limit” but I still hate it. It goes on and on and on and yet nowhere at all. The backing track might be interesting as trance music. Or something.

Ricky IS really bad. It's nothing more than a song idea, that never really got fleshed out properly. What we're stuck with is awful.

I like Skies, though.

Yeah, Skies is a personal disgust, but I could see how someone else would enjoy it, whereas Ricky...well, it’s not home and it’s not Tara.

Ricky is a turd.

Come out tonight
 

It may not be single material, but Ricky is perfect for that album. Refine the mixing/engineering a little, flesh out the backing vocals a bit, and slip it right in there, perhaps in place of the non-sequitir and ungrammatical You and I Pt II if need be.

The problem is that no one looks and no one sees.

Oh, look! It’s the voice of a pretty girl 😆

tell me... tell me tell me... won't you come out tonight in estoril

Ha! To do what? Kick the falling leaves down into Soho?

To meet people I didn't know, people I never did see.

You don’t have the need, the need for alibis.

or doctors or psychiatrists!

Woah, woah baby, baby, baby, baby, this is the path you have chosen.

I better slow down, I'm movin' too fast.

Too much is not enough...

What makes you think about me?