gripe
 

Okay, I finally got Lindsey's "Under the Skin," which I like A LOT. However, I noticed that, as usual, his lyrics are nothing special and, sometimes, pretentious. He mentions "visionary" with re: to himelf two or three times.

None of this really bothers me. I'll listen to "Under the Skin" again and again and enjoy it immensely. What bothers me is that Christine's "In the Meantime" got slammed critically for its lyric fixation on love and romance, whereas everyone hails Lindsey's music and quietly ignores or--occasionally--hails his lyrics.

If Chris had called herself a genius, maybe Rolling Stone would've reviewed her great solo record, too.

I, personally, like the way "visionary" rolls off his tongue...much in the same way as the other night on CMT with the words "righthere." :shrug:

Enough of Lindsey...was "In the Meantime" ignored by the critics? Sorry if this is a well-known fact, but I really just don't know.

I can't comment on Lindsey's solo album, since I haven't listened to it. But, alot of these critics unfortunately are probably pretty young. These young critics nowdays don't seem to care about song lyrics anymore. That may explain it.

I recently checked out Lindsey's album on Amazon to listen to the clips, since they're free.:D Some of the fan reviews are pretty brutal, surprisingly. So there may be a disconnect between some fans & the critics.

By the way, Rolling Stone did give a pretty favorable review to "acoustic Friend".

^^

Friend is a good song, acoustic or otherwise. :nod: I don't get why Chris would be slammed for her romantic lyrics. Isn't that how she's always written?

Yeah, I know this. I gues I'm still peeved that RS only paid attention to the single. The whole album deserved some treatment.

Good point. I suppose the word does sound pretty good. And don't get me wrong, I love Under the Skin. But, yeah, RS and other major rags didn't even review In the Meantime, while a number of other places (ironically mostly in Britain) criticized her for writing, once again, about love. Who cares? Is the music good, does the song sound honest? Why expect someone to wrte a certain way?

i have nothing important to add on this topic, only that my friend & i had a bet prior to the release of UTS on how many times the word "vision" or any derivative thereof would be used in the lyrics. :lol: she won. i had guessed a much higher number. i was hoping it would be at least 8 or 9 so we could play a drinking game.

did they? i don't remember; my mind is like a sieve these days. is that review still around?

Well if he said he is a visionary, that's really pretentious. I don't think anybody should say "I'm a visionary". What's a visionary? I guess somebody who "shows a new way", makes new standars, and got lot of succes. Walt Disney was a visionary. Many enterprise men are. Michael Jackson was not, though he could have been (btw, he explicitily said he is a visionary.. so studid).

Regardless if Lindsey said or not that he is,, I don't see him as a visionary. I see him as a good artist.

I remember that she was criticized in some of those reviews from Europe. But, there were some very nice reviews of the album in some of the mainstream U.S. publications like USA Today & People Magazine. It was those snooty, pretentious, artsy type critics that didn't like the album, although quite a few liked her voice though. Of course, those types of critics never like anything good anyway.;)

Someone posted the review in this forum back when it first came out. It should still be here.:)

I typed it out!:blob2: :blob2:

it was a very key element to me in their whole vibe that made the trio of writers work -
linds and stevie are much hammier ( mmm ham ) and their stuff was much heavier - so christines underplayed romantic style was so refreshing . . . and sorely missed on SYW (cd and tour)- but im sure thats been mentioned before in here . . .

didn't her songs rack up the most sales of all three of them from the f mac albums - ?
for god sakes the woman wrote some of the most memorable tunes of the era . . . just a smidgen of respect by giving her more than just one songs worth of review . . .

i think he isn't saying "i'm a visionary"
i think he is saying "so-called" visions and visionary
or "they say im a visionary"

i think it is more him describing what it is like to be called that by people - yet not have the mass audience one would think came with that -
im not saying there isn't a kiss of pretensiosness in there somewhere but
i don't think he was saying [outloud:D ] that he believed it

and i would say he is arguably a "visionary" (
he has pushed the envelope with some success and some failures where many others in the business tend to stay in a certain box, but maybe
we can agree to call him at least a "forward thinker"

and i can't wait to finally hear the whole chris cd myself - i have heard four tracks and loved em
its on my christmas list this year - and i peaked and saw it crossed off so i know someone got it for me :blob1:

IMO one would have to listen to the words vision and visionary within the context of the song.

I am sorry if this has been discussed previously, but, I am curious, is it of popular opinion that the lack of sales for "In The Meantime" are/were due in part to Christine's absence from SYW?

personally i don't think any of the three have been great in the lyrics department...

however, i look at how simple Go Your Own Way is and I think... those are great lyrics... take away the fact that i've heard it 100000000000 times... and it's such a great tune...

same with Dreams... those lyrics are a little more complex.. but not much....

then Christine with her very straightforward approach....

they are not Tori Amos for sure

Tori Amos is just a Kate Bush wannabe. :nod:

I've listened to short clips from each song on Under the skin on iTunes.

I can't get past the vocal style which drives me mad.

I think Lindsey is a brilliant producer of individual songs but sometimes his decision making about albums is not so good, an excellant guitarist, a very good songwriter (and getting better) but his vocals always sound whiny to me.

Christine's style has remained constant, pop music for grown ups. Simple love songs, well produced and the voice which seems to have got better with age.

Some people (critics) get a bit sneery about that but I love it. I can put up with Lindsey in a FM context because his wilder excesses are normally reined in (by Christine which is why he's not sorry she left?)

Gail

That certainly didn't help. But I think it was more due to Chris herself. She didn't tour at all to support the album & she did only minimal promotion. She admitted in an interview that she wasn't expecting much in the way of sales and that she was fine with that. On the other hand, I would guess that Lindsey's album won't sell alot more than ITM, despite him doing more to promote it, and he is probably fine with that.

Also, she has never had any interest in a solo career. Most people, even casual Fleetwood Mac fans aren't all that familiar with her name, although her songs are probably the best known Fleetwood Mac songs. She's never been one to "toot her own horn", so to speak.

well thank you sir! i'm going to read it on my lunch break today. :nod:

i never take stock in reviews- music, film, literature, or otherwise. sometimes they're a fun read, but really, these people are making money off of their own opinions! nowadays, there are so few critics who have an actual scholarly background in what they're writing about. it's ridiculous. other than the late, great pauline kael, i cannot think of any critic offhand who's reviews are based in something other than personal likes/dislikes.

Well, the way I see it, every critic these days is looking for the worst in some artists. Christine's style is straightforward and pleasant, and neither she or her fans should give a **** what some turkey thinks.:nod:

Yeah dude. Like I'd said before, as much as I like Lindsey and Stevie, I wish they'd quit it with the flowery, obtuse lingo, and get the hell on with whatever they're trying to say! Chris doesn't beat around the bush in her songs, and I like that. Don't f*ck around. :lol: I did miss her on SYW, for sure.

well i didn't say i wanted them to stop - lol
i guess a time for everthing - but i love stevie and linds too - but to this day my fave choice of seeing them would be with the big mac intact - the five fireflies -
it would be my first choice but i really do love seeiing them in any format -
solo or as guests with other people -
chris stevie and linds wrote the soundtrack to my life - lol

Yes I, like you, prefer when these three songwriters stick to the straightforward stuff-not because I'm incapable of understanding denser lyrics
but because none of the three are particuarly gifted lyricists.

A song lke Go Your Own Way is so effective because, among other things, there is absolutely no pretentiousness in the lyric. It communicates in a real, visceral way, without needing to posture as ironic or clever.

haha one could definitely argue that