Stevie's Mirage submissions
 

Besides the three tracks that made it onto Mirage, does anyone know what other songs of hers they demoed or considered for the album? (Just started listening to it again last week after a few years and am hooked on it - a very underrated album of theirs)

Smile At You and If You Were My Love, were two tracks from the Mirage sessions, iirc. I think at one point Smile At You was actually going to be on the album, but was replaced with Straight Back cause it was too angry.

This is the only Fleetwood Mac record where I think Stevie should have had more sings present. She was coming off the high of Bella Donna and was at the peak of her songwriting skills. A Lindsey song could have been dropped for Smile At You or for If You Were My Love. I'm sure they recorded more that have not surfaced as of yet. If Nothing Ever Changes was written around then, it would have fit, too....or Sable On Blond

But Nothing Ever Changes and Sable On Blond belong and fit perfectly on The Wild Heart :nod:

Hear hear!!

It is surprising she only got 3 songs and generally you can't hear a lot of her on the album (a foreshadowing of Tango perhaps...)

Can anyone pm me how to get a copy of the angry Smile At You. I never knew this was an old song and thought it was one of the most boring tracks on Say You Will - then I discovered the demo on You Tube and it's awesome! Lindsay really f*^$ed up that track on SYW.

Gypsy was the first World Premiere Video on MTV, fyi. And Straight Back is a song about Jimmy Iovine and having to leave her newly successful solo career to go back to Fleetwood Mac.

I think Mirage has, by far, Stevie's weakest collection of songs. Obviously, Gypsy is the stand-out track on the whole album, but I always seem to forget that the other two even exist.

I love That's Alright but it's so overlooked by fans. It's real hidden gem!

I think Mirage contains some of Stevie's best work. Her vocals are excellent & her writing is strong. Based on outtakes alone, I think she definitely should have gotten more songs on the album (even though, in fairness, her songs are longer), but even with only three tracks, the album showcases how diverse she is an an artist: "Gypsy" is mid-tempo pop that builds in power, even as she plays it cool; "That's Alright" is simple in all the right ways and lets her voice and words capture the listener; and "Straight back" is pure Stevie weirdness and charm.

- Jake

Oh Josh, I agree with you almost all the time but not on this :distress:. I absolutely love all 3 tracks. And her vocals soar. Believe it or not, I would take Stevie's 5 contributions from Mirage over Tusk. That's Alright, Gypsy, Straight Back, If You Were My Love and Smile At You. Stevie was on fire back then.

That's Alright is a great song - just not so keen on Straight Back - the vocals are great but the song is kind of eh. It reminds me of Nothing Ever Changes - IMO it's just one of those songs that goes nowhere.

What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done For You

I love Straight Back. It's one of my favorite vocals and songs from Stevie.

Does anyone have an mp3 of this version of Smile At You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJOQb...eature=related

It sounds really high quality (better than the bulk of her demos), I wonder where it came from

I have it, but I'm not sure where I got it from... I can try and find it though.

The only bad thing about this version is toward the middle-end where she overdubs but changes the lyrics so it doesn't match up and throws everything off.

I love the SAY demo!:thumbsup:

That song should of gotten country airplay.It would been a great follow up to After The Glitter fades from the BD album which did get some country airplay.

I hope it's all right to post these:

Smile At You Second Vocal:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...eWFxRTFFQlE9PQ mp3

Smile at You First Vocal:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...Q1BFc0pjR0E9PQ mp3

Smile At You Studio Version:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...SU9ubHhFQlE9PQ mp3

~Maria

Straight Back has always been one of my favorite Stevie songs. I love the extended version where she sings at the end "Remember this."

~Maria

Holy crap, I love you. That Studio version is what I have been looking for for AGES - essentially, the version I have, but without the distracting layered vocals that don't match up...

<3

Thanks MariaA37, love that studio version of SAY.. also you mentioned Straight Back extended version, would you mind posting that too. I only have the Johnny Thunder one, which is good but not very clear... thanks in advance:wavey:

Same here! "That's Alright" is one of my favorites. I consider it as one of her country songs.

Here you go, enjoy.

Straight Back extended version:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...NEhYSHhFQlE9PQ mp3

~Maria

Thanks heaps, listening to it now:wavey:

Nah, that honor either goes to Tango In The Night or Behind The Mask.

Very cool. Thank you!

I love Stevie's songs on Mirage. "That's Alright" is a great, compact country song. I only wish they had mixed the woodblock higher up in the mix, I think that would have added some nice atmosphere to it. "Straight Back" is nicely atmospheric and I love the dense production on it.

IMO Stevie was contributing top notch songs to all four of the first Fleetwood Mac albums. She only slipped on Tango and Behind the Mask.

Vocally Stevie was at or near her peak for the Mirage sessions as well IMO.The sessions where the bulk of her vocals were recorded came right after the recording of Bella Donna.She left for France right after Bella Donna wrapped so she was kind of a captive at the" Honky Chateau" for a few weeks otherwise Fleetwood Mac probably wouldn't even gottens as much out of her as they did.For Tango she probably did a total of less than two weeks of work on an album that took eighteen months.

Yeah. Its amazing that her voice was so shaky on Tusk but came back so strong on Bella Donna and Mirage.

I agree that Stevie's Mirage contributions are among her best. Her voice just soars at every turn and I don't think there is a single weak moment in her delivery. The only thing wrong with the album is that Smile at You and If you Were My Love weren't brought to completion. It would have been amazing for the band to have done at Nicks dominated album, especially after Bella Donna. 5 Stevie, 4 Christine and 3 Lindsey would have been a stellar album. Too bad she faltered so badly on Tango in the Night, such a shame.

I think that's precisely what the band wanted to avoid, they didn't want to suddenly push her as the star of the band, and gave her the least amount of songs for that reason. Which is a shame, cause the material kicked ass. :(

Although, I'd say Rumours was the Nicks-dominated album, she's all over that. And, if you count Silver Springs, I think she has the most writing credits... or is tied with Christine.

Agreed....but I also agree with Artemis as to why they didn't. I recall reading an article in Rolling Stone around the time of the making of Mirage, and they described a lot of tension between the band and Nicks.

Hi Artemis,

I agree that Stevie was out at the forefront on Rumours and to me was mostly responsible for its classic sound, but 5 stellar Nicks tunes on Mirage would have been a complete treasure. Mirage would have been a more exciting album sans a couple Lindsey tunes. My biggest gripe about Fleetwood Mac was not allowing more room for her songs; as we know, there are at least a couple dozen or more missed classics that should be recognized alongside Landslide (which is not by a long shot, her best song).

Yes. And it was basically band politics that I think always led to 5 Buckingham, 4 McVie, 3 Nicks songs. Instead they should have given each writer a reasonable "starting point" (say 3 songs) and let the remaining 3 spots go to simply the best songs. In such a case "Smile At You" and "If You Were My Love" might have ended up on Mirage after all.

Maria - thanks for the demos!!

Does anyone have If You Were My Love? I've never even heard that one.

Re. her vocals on Tusk, I like the vulnerability in them - her version of Landslide on the Fleetwood Mac Live album, i think, is the definitive version. Mid 90's her voice seemed to get more nasally and quite flat but then bounced back and she sounds great again on IYD.

I'm not sure how to post downloads:shrug::sorry:, but if i were you I'd check out the Demo Thread probs on page 2, there's a mountain load of treasured gems in there including master reels of If you were my love.. Enjoy:thumbsup:

I'm in the minority here but this was the first If You Were My Love demo and imho it's the best. I searched for years to find a good quality version of it.

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...SWgzeUx2Wmc9PQ mp3

The version with Stevie and Lori and Sharon has grown on me, but I hate the Fleetwood Mac version. I'm sure someone will post them. If not, I'll have to find them.

~Maria

I like what we got from Stevie on Tango In The Night. Little Lies sounds just as good cranked up today at full volume as it did in 1987. Christine's lead vocals with Stevie's coming in was pure perfection. :nod:

Per KC, the band and the crew were all supporters of Smile at You. But Lindsey vetoed it, even while working on it, he was against it's inclusion. Apparently he was jealous of how little Stevie was willing to mess with the arrangement that her Bella Donna buddies had put together. Since he really had no creative impact on the song he shot it down, and would not back off it.

Seeing how different it sounds on SYW it makes some sense.