Finest Stevie Mac Vocal
 

Please forgive me if this has been done before but this is my first thread.

Following on from the Stevie penned Mac songs I would like to know which song you believe delivers her finest vocal.

Depending on my mood it really could be any but I always consider Gypsy to be my favourite vocal.

Thanking you in anticipation.

I think Gypsy is one of my favourite Stevie vocals, too.

I also think she does some really amazing stuff in the studio version of Rhiannon, especially when she's harmonizing with herself. Dreams shows Stevie using her high notes really effectively; but, for me, it's Beautiful Child which is Stevie's best-ever vocal (on record) the way she shifts so effortlessly into the high notes, and her ending background vocals are incredible.

Special mention goes to Stevie's vocal on Midnight Wind; not a Mac song, I know, but, she just sounds incredible on it.

As far as "favourite" goes it's probably Sara (the "cleaning lady" demo on the remastered Tusk), as far as overall "greatness"/technicality goes, I'd say Rhiannon. The soft high notes on Dreams are pretty impressive too, just cause she never really pulled it off so well again.

"When I See You Again"
j/k, I'd say Gypsy

I think Rhiannon is special just because of the range of her vocal and how pure and young her voice sounds. That sound never came back.

I think Gypsy is much richer and mature sounding. I also love "That's All Right" .

Silver Springs from The Dance is her best recent FM vocal.

I dunno about that... it's a bit "pitchy". Sweet Girl is pretty great though.

Actually come to think of it, I think her vocal on GDW from the Dance is pretty amazing, and probably (IMHO) the best live version I have heard of this song.

Oh, agreed there! Gold Dust Woman on The Dance is just incredible; the vocal subtleties and that glorious wail. For a brief moment, 1970s Stevie emerged :laugh:

I think her best modern vocal on a Mac record has to go to Running Through The Garden, though, she sounds so alive on that song.

I definitely rate 'Beautiful Child', 'Sara' and 'Gypsy'. More recently I like the vocal on 'Silver Girl'.

The vocals on Beautiful Child are absolutely SUPERB.

lol i just posted a seriously similar thread, didn't even notice this one :p ooops
I'd say Gold Dust Woman

Beautiful Child
Gypsy
Storms
Gold Dust Woman (Dance version)
Silver Springs (Dance)
Sara
Dreams

Mick

For me it's Dreams,with her slightly hoarse, mysterious and magic voice doing wonders to the song.

Storms is her best Mac vocal.

Vocally, I think everything she did from 1975 - 1982 was flawless. Her vocals on "The Wild Heart" are amazing, it's just a shame they weren't so good on tour.

My favourite vocal with the Mac is, by far, "Gypsy". Absolutely stunning! My favourite more recent vocals are "Gold Dust Woman" from Soundstage (not with the mac, I know, but a mac song none the less) and "Everybody Finds Out" - the last bit of the song is just so intense!

Agreed. Sheer perfection.

I love Stevie's vocal on Straight Back.

Not my favorite song, but I love when she sings like this. Its just an overall cool and moody song.

Great list. I'd also add That's Alright & Rhiannon.

Sara and Gold Dust Woman.

For a live performance I'll say the classic 1976 performance of Rhiannon that was featured on the The Old Grey Whistle Test.

penned Gypsy
however, overall (penned, or not penned) Seven Wonders - it was just perfect

Beautiful Child, just because she sounds like her heart is breaking when she sings the "I wish that you were mine" line.

Mirror, Mirror might have been my choice had it made an album. Her vocal is great on that. It makes the song.

Even though its not a Mac song, her vocal on Smiling Islands KILLS ME. I think she did this right after the Tusk tour so her vocal is hoarse and frail but they way she sing those lines...

"I don't want those lies in my bed/better just to end it/than cheat on whats left". Killer.

There was just something about Rhiannon on the White Album that seemed to weave a spell on all of us young girls at the time, hey, we all wanted to be Stevie Nicks and the guys wanted to date Stevie Nicks. There was a force in her voice then. I agree about it never coming back, not after she shredded the **** out of her vocal chords night after night. There was a crispness to her vocals on the Dance....and Silver Springs on that album was to me her best. Shame she lost the higher range though.

Thinking about this answer has led me to wonder if anyone else seems to think that Stevie's vocals were better on her solo work than FM when she was running 2 gigs back in the 80's?

Gypsy and Silver Springs from The Dance, for sure. I'd also add Sara & Dreams.

Best: Gold Dust Woman (Studio Version, Doesn't get much better, and truly a classic rock tune)

Runner-up: Rhiannon (White Album studio version shows the vocals we all wish Stevie could have maintained, although I think the ever-changing voice is what's made her so endearing and interesting. I would have like just one more song sung like that though.)

Beautiful Child :)

That's Alright Demo....better than what actually ended up on Mirage. Just &^%(*& beautiful.

Beautiful Child is also beautiful Louie.

I'm going to add her vocals on Little Lies.....damn good stuff.

What a great $%$* band! Thanks for posting...this is cool.

Agreed... that's certainly a great one. Her backing vocals from the mid '80s to about '90 were just fantastic: so fat and juicy! Marilyn Martin's version of Sorcerer is another great example. Her backing vocals on Rick Vito's Intuition is another great one.

agreed on BC
 

love the drama of her Beautiful Child vocal, the texture and layering are exquisite and affecting! close second for me is That's Alright. torn between Gold Dust Woman and Silver Springs on the Dance

Her voice on the first to Mac albums was technically the best she's ever been...her range has never been that good since. Dreams is the epitome of her voice during that golden era, then the White Album Rhiannon. Her warble on Whenever I Call You Friend ("forever and everrrr") was also from this time, never to be heard again... Beautiful Child on Tusk has some beautiful reminders of that voice.

Raspy Stevie, gotta go with Wild Heart (tho not one of my fave songs, save the backstage video version with Lori).

Not a fan of the Pro Tools tweaking or whatever the hell they've been doing with her voice lately. : (

My favorite Mac vocal by Stevie is Dreams, hands down. She's had many great vocals, but none of them compare to the simple perfection of Dreams.

As a runner up I'd say Sara, maybe, or maybe Gypsy.