The Nightmare
 

I'm sure this had been discussed a million times before but...I seriously think this is one of Stevie's most underrated and overlooked released songs. It has every component of a huge hit! The RAL vocals we all love, catchy hook, over-produced 80's sound. Basically, I'm obsessed with this song and I want to know what you guys think about it. One thing I will admit - I could see how some could see it as a little cheesy but in her defense, so are several other songs that were released as singles that ended up being hits. Bottom line - this song could have been a huge hit. Do you agree?

I LOVE, LOVE, Love this song!!! Definately would have made a better single than HAEWAFY.

i LOVE the nightmare! i dont hear the cheese. the 12" remix is KILLer! the vocals/lyrics are PURE CLASSIC Stevie!!

I really like The Nightmare. It's a straight forward rocker... I love it when Stevie does no frills rock songs.

Stevie does nothing with no frills. I'm drunk. :thumbsup:

I adore this song! I practically live for the line, "well you cannot know a dream until you know the nightmare." It's soooooooooo good!

Is that Bryson in the attachment?

The Nightmare 12" version
 

I have uploaded a lossless digital transfer of this vinyl only release - I just posted it, along with the alternate and extended 12" version of "Rock A Little" over on the DEMOS/LIVE REQUESTS thread. Go download it!!! :woohoo:

I do like the vocal version better than the LP version & or any outtakes or demos of it better as well.......since RAL isn't like my favorite LP by far.....I like more of what wasn't released vs what was.....(esp Mirror, Mirror as an example)......I know some don't like this song but it is to me one of her best off of the RAL LP/cd......IMO:D

One of my favorite songs of hers, and I've many times mentioned that I feel the song is about her marriage to Kim. When you pick apart the lyrics it seems very obvious.

i just downloaded the 12" Nightmare you posted. Thanks! but the remix i was referring to is a little different and longer at the beginning and end. its the version released on the b-side of the ICW 12" remixes. it opens with the guitar solo/drum/bongos intro and the end is a bit longer...everything else in between is pretty much the same.

4 of the 5 of these are m4a files...its easy to convert. use this:
http://www.maniactools.com/soft/m4a-...er/index.shtml

The Nightmare (I Can't Wait 12" remix)
http://www.mediafire.com/?zyz3zujzvud

The Nightmare (long piano demo)13min
http://www.mediafire.com/?n2gwidzb3di

The Nightmare (RAL demo)
http://www.mediafire.com/?mztyndyi3wu

The Nightmare (RAL demo 2)
http://www.mediafire.com/?izjiz3mzy0m

The Nightmare (alt remix) i got this one from youtube (mp3)
http://www.mediafire.com/?0ayothmv2z1

and then there is the other 12" remix and the Alt version posted in the Demos thread

Great Song, love the synthetic medley :nod:

I have never really liked 'The Nightmare'. I keep hoping it will be one of those songs that 'grow' on me, but it hasn't yet.

Man, I didn't know there were so MANY different versions of "The Nightmare" officially released?! So, what vinyl did the version I posted - the Vocal/Special Remix - come from? And what was the official title of the longer remix that you were looking for that appeared on the ICW 12'' remixes? Now I wanna find a lossless source for THAT one!:]

I know, neither did I! Isn't it fabulous? And to think I've been listening to the same ole' 2 versions for all these years. I can't wait to go home and rock out!

Thank you SuiteShangriLa!

These are the same. There was the version on RAL, a minor edit of that same version was on the b-side of the 7" I Can't Wait.

The 12" - or Vocal/Special Remix are the same version, and only apeared on the 12" I Can't Wait single released in the U.S.

There are some unreleased piano demos, a poor-quality outtake, and a master-reel alternate in circulation as well (posted in the master reel thread.

Any other remixes of The Nightmare are fan-made.

What a nightmare! You've rained on my parade :distress: lol!

Sorry! :sorry:

the 12" version that i just d/l'd that Ginnygog posted isnt the same as the 12" i have from the ICW remix record. it doesnt have the same intro and the end is longer

:confused:

Yeah, why would it have been edited on some singles and not on others? It is definitely the SAME remix, but without the intro and full ending. Would one have been US and one UK?

Here's the info on the ICW singles according to NicksFix.com :

I Can't Wait
- written by s. nicks, r. nowels, e. pressly
- appears on Rock a Little (1985); Timespace - The Best of Stevie Nicks (1991);The Enchanted Boxed Set (1998)
- video appears on I Can't Wait video compilation
- released as a single; b-side: The Nightmare; 12" extended mix single; b-side:The Nightmare extended mix (U.S. July 1986)
- released as a single; b-side: Rock A Little; 12" extended mix single b-side:Rock A Little, I Can't Wait (U.K. January 1986)
- b-side to 12" single Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You (U.K. August 1986)
- released as a 12" single (Timespace and dub versions); b-side: Sleeping Angel (U.K. November 1991)
- released as a CD single (Timespace and dub versions); b-side: Sleeping Angel, Edge of Seventeen (live) (U.K. November 1991)
- Hit #16 on the Pop Charts

:shrug:I'm just saying that wasn't released that way, anywhere. The only released 12" version is the one from the American I Can't Wait 12" single.

I don't think there was a UK release of The Nightmare. Luckily, we got the awesome uncut version of Rock A Little on the UK 12" I Can't Wait release instead.

So you don't think it's this one that Grinnygog mentioned:
b-side to 12" single Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You (U.K. August 1986)

I'm still confused as to how many official releases there were including b-sides and remixes.

I am too - been wanting to start looking on eBay and GEMM for various singles to see the differences.

ok i understand now.:thumbsup:

I love The Nightmare, as a Stevie fan, but we need to stay objective here. The lyrics are a mess. "So about the moon and the sisters", "i stood with you against the storm", "i'd like to leave you with something warm", "drowning in the sea", "dream" : i say caricature. Let's be realistic, it would have never been a hit.

Still, "blinded by the light of the day", <3.

Since when did having messy lyrics ever prevent a song from being a hit? I'm sure we could all names thousands of lyrics that make no sense yet the song is still a hit. And, as Stevie fans we should know that so many of her lyrics are cryptic and make no sense. That is one of the things I find most endearing about her as an artist. So many things are not literal and don't make sense to us regular people but to her they do make sense.

I really like that she so blatantly references her own material in the lyrics of 'The Nightmare'. I do agree that the likelihood of it being a hit had it been released is slim.

To be clear here, i do love this song. But she's rambling, and redoing songs she's already done : it's a lack of creativity. We, fans, know that Stevie's singing about her own life (probably within Fleetwood Mac), and we know that there's a story behind. But most people who bought singles back then would have thought "what the fukc is that?", or "the same ol' dreams-crap", or "she's definitely a witch"... Some Become Strangers, though she didn't right it, would have been a better single, imo. :)

I think the lyrics to "The Nightmare" are brilliant. A less talented writer would have merely said, "Oh, this love affair is a nightmare, and it should never have been..." But the brilliance of her writing is that, on its face, it makes no sense. But upon closer examination, if you "read between her lines" or "listen through her," it makes sense. This song is all about Mick and about something that went down around the time of the Tusk album ("ivory morning"), so she worked in references to songs on Tusk. I was under the impression that they had ended their affair prior to the making of Tusk, but based on this song, apparently that wasn't the case. Anyway, I think it was a clever device she used for dropping hints about the song's true meaning.

Correction, "DROWNDING in the sea". LOL.

"The Nightmare" is an OK album cut but I agree, it is not top 40 material. Outside of the issues with the lyrics, the melody doesn't really have much of a hook.

and there's no chorus??!! i love it but for that reason alone it wouldn't have been a hit! also... it's too long for radio..esp top40 in those days...even anything near 5 minutes wouldn't be considered for a single!

As much as I adore RAL (and I do) I never got into The Nightmare. It just seems to ramble on and on and on...kinda like Stevie in interviews. I do like the part towards the end where she goes..."she wants him to fight (anytime...anywhere) she wants him to stand up...she wants him to win". Pretty damned cool.

So many, MANY versions of "The Nightmare"... :]

;)

"How dare he...???
How DARE he...???!!!"

The Nightmare is definetly one of my many many favorites awesome song.

I can't tell ya how that songs goes. Cause every time it plays my mind wanders. that should tell you how i feel. bland forgettable track.

Mick

Okay... I am probably saying something I will regret later on. But here goes...

Why are you following Stevie Nicks? You have gone on record as saying she hasn't put out any good music in 27 years. I don't know about you, but if it was me, I would not be following someone who put out a couple of decent records and then has been putting out crap for the past 27 years. Chances are, with that kind of track record, this recording artist is not worth your time. Why bother? :shrug:

Look, I realize we are all entitled to our opinions, and we all have the opportunity to express them openly here. However, in my opinion, your chronic negativity about Stevie is not particularly meaningful for people who have a more broad appreciation for Stevie's works- both older and more recent. Let's face it- in your estimation, Stevie's great albums were a fluke and she is a mediocre artist based on her track record. Chances are, if you haven't liked anything she has put out in the past 27 years, you will not like anything she puts out in the next 27 years. Maybe it's time to just let go... :shrug:

Ok.......number 1......I have gone on record apologizing for my negative Attitude. I don't set out to bash, and I know it sounds like I hate her but I DON'T. I am a fan wheather anybody believes it or not.

Number 2.....I Never said she was a mediocre Artist. If anything, I am BEYOND frustrated that I have not liked her in so long. Cause she was Brilliant and I'm angry that album after album is a letdown because I know she can do better. I KNOW IT!!!!!

number 3.....This is a message board. There's gonna be criticism thrown out. I'm just not shy about delivering.

So I don't know how else to put it, Maybe i won't say a thing.

Mick

everyone has a right to critize that makes us human you can be critical on your favorite singer songwriter and still be a die hard fan.