It Takes Time
 

So I thought I'd start a thread on this song for a couple of reasons. Mainly, it's wholly unlike anything we've ever heard from Lindsey... or from Fleetwood Mac for that matter. A piano ballad?! This is a shocking departure for the our band! :eek:

But more than anything, WHO is it that's playing the piano? Does the iTunes download include liner notes? I've never known Lindsey, Mick, or John to be able to play piano to that extent. I do recall Lindsey playing piano while he & Stevie worked out their harmonies for Angel during the Tusk Documentary. But from what I remember, it was mostly rudimentary chords he was playing. We know Stevie can barely clank away on a piano like a 6 year old. :laugh: So who was it that laid down that beautiful piano track? Surely Christine didn't have anything to do with this when she was stateside? :shrug:

All I do know about It Takes Time is that I very much enjoy it. Lindsey pulled a rabbit out of his hat that I totally could not have foreseen, and it gives me hope that there is still new ground for Fleetwood Mac to explore. :nod:

Mick said in one of the radio interviews he did yesterday that Lindsey is playing the piano in It Takes Time.

I love the song too Louie. At first I didn't like it because after he says "slow down baby" I keep saying "slow down nowwwww" in my head. It's a really beautiful song, though that's possibly become my favourite off the EP.

Aren't Songbird and Beautiful Child piano ballads:shrug:to name just a couple that spring to mind.

I love the track.
Yes - it is a total departure for Lindsey, but I think it's great - and an important departure.
I'm just grateful that Lindsey Buckingham is still making new music with Fleetwood Mac.
Without him, the band would have either produced a few more really mediocre albums or they would have turned into an embarrassing nostalgia act - like Journey, Pat Benatar, etc.
There's a reason this band has transcended time - and that reason is Buckingham.

I'm pretty sure the piano playing is Lindsey. He's played a lot of keyboards on most of his solo albums.

I said in another post that this song reminds me of some recent Springsteen songs.
Yes, we could have easily had another guitar masterpiece track from him. But I'm glad they included this one instead. He keeps the band interesting and it makes me realize that we could very well have a full album with a lot of variety. This song and Miss Fantasy could easily fit into Tusk - and that makes me very happy.

Love the other three songs. Loathe this one. IMO it doesn't fit well on a 'band' release.

The song certainly took me aback. It's good....that's as high as i can go at this point. It's kinda too much of a dirge-fest for me and usually i like that sorta stuff, lol. real draggy. It's good though. I was looking forward to it cause of the high praise but....it's ok.:D


Mick

It's definitely my favorite as well, by a long shot. Sad Angel & Miss Fantasy are fine, but a little too pop for my tastes. Without You should have been left in the vault; it's from another era & deserved the right to remain there.

Songbird is without a doubt a piano ballad. But the production of the song just puts it into a class all of it's own where it transcends that label, IMO. The way Songbird was recorded during 1 live take and the distant/echoey auditorium sound kinda makes the song it's own animal, in my eyes. Like Mick said, Songbird is Christine's little prayer.

Beautiful Child does have some promiment piano licks, but I wouldn't really consider it a piano ballad. It's more multideminsional than that- it has gorgeous guitar parts & lush folk-style harmonies as well.

What about Wish You Were Here? It reminds me a little bit of that.

haha Without You is my 2nd favourite...

My favorite too, because it's a surprise. Yes we had Fleetwood Mac piano ballads, but did we ever have Lindsey piano ballads? I don't think so. I want people to see that he's more than a finger-picking guitar god.
I would have loved to hear a beautiful long outro, i was even expecting it when the drums slowly kicked in, but never happened. It could have been completely epic.
The piano track is so simple. I'm sure he is the one who plays it.

I want him to play it live "Songbird" style.

I may be in the minority here, but I think if Lindsey is going to do 'Lindsey piano ballads' on which noone else appears then they are probably more suited to his solo projects.

I totally get that the band has evolved post-The Dance, but this track is just basically a Lindsey solo track which sits totally apart from its three companion tracks. I'm sure that delights all the Lindsey solo fans, but as a fan of Fleetwood Mac proper it feels odd to me.

I'm not a Lindsey fan. But i've always (since Tusk) classified Lindsey Fleetwood Mac songs as just Lindsey songs because he's doing everything on these tracks.
So to hear Stevie sing backing vocals on Sad Angel isn't going to change anything, it will always be a Lindsey song to me.
It takes time didn't need backing vocals or drums because it's pretty this way, just as Sad angel sounds damn good with the whole band.
Should they only choose songs that sound good when played with the whole band? I don't think so, it would reduce their range, and currently Lindsey is the only one who is bringing something to the table.

that's exactly what bugs me about this. Totally new? Hardly. It's more like a piano demo of Show You How. He completely rips off the (melody) of the chorus from that song. It sounds like it came right off one of his last solo albums. I love Lindsey, have gone to all his tours, own all the albums, but this is not new or original -- other than he's on the piano instead of say an acoustic guitar. It's a repackage of an existing song. I hate when Stevie does it and I think I hate it even more that Lindsey's doing it because I have higher expectations for him. Bleh.:shrug:

His singing style kinda reminds me of Randy Newman's in this tune.

And I couldn't get "Trouble" outta my head after hearing "Miss Fantasy."

The song is beautiful and I cannot help but wonder how much more beautiful it would be with Stevie's vocals included.

After I played It Takes Time I remembered Brandon saying it wasn't what he was expecting. I wasn't expecting anything other than the hope that I was gonna like the new music. I could instantly tell this was Lindsey playing piano. He has a distinct way of playing just like Stevie does when she plays(has her own distinction). I really liked this track, a lot. It is so nice and tender to have a ballad from Linds, especially a piano one. It's funny that usually I'm the one who doesn't like something by this band when the rest of you are raving. It feels so good to like something from the first listen. Many times in the past I had to listen to a LB song several times before I 'got it.'

unlike many, it doesn't bother me at all that It Takes Time borrows from Show You How chorus. and that's because i hated Show You How repetitive chorus (while i like SYH verses a lot, chorus just ruined that song for me). so It Takes Time rights the wrong that wrong and brings to the surface the actual prettiness of the Show You How chorus.

i think it's a completely unexpected and a really pretty ballad. love when his voice cracks when he sings. i had to listen to it over and over when i first heard it, couldn't resist. however, i actually don't like the strings and would bring in less sparse arrangement at that point to make it perfect.

That's it.. Bang on! Love the track!

I figured the piano player was Lindsey or Mitchell Froom. I had hoped it would be Christine, but I will say that I predict (let me put on my turban here) that Miss Fantasy will be added in Europe and that Christine will play on it and that the ending will be even more extended when she plays on it. I feel that they must have shared this song with her when she was in Los Angeles.

Lindsey is always, "Ah piano. Gotta make room. Losing 30%. Help me. I'm dying here. No testosterone left." And suddenly there's a very prominent piano on half the tracks on a 4-track EP. There's got to be a reason for that. Either he has been in touch with a pianist or he wants to touch one.

As for the song, I think it's plodding and I don't think it would be good live. I think it would hurt a live set, BUT I love its message so much that I can't help but be moved and it is growing on me. I hear it as the end of the conversation he started in Show You How. When the lights go out what's it all about?

It's like he's saying, "I've been a crazy man in a crazy band for 30 years and even when we weren't performing together, I was holed up in my studio with Richard. I haven't had a 'normal' life in decades. I've never had a family since I left my parents' home. I want what you want, but I need time to adjust and to let go of the drama and pain I thought was natural for so long. I thought it made me creative and I clung to it. Now, I have to find a way to be fulfilled without that. It took me 30 years to get here. It's going to take a little while to get away. If you want to save me, it's going to take time.

And it's so gentle and needy and heartbreaking that it pulls me in, even if I wish it had more melody.

Then, you cap it off with Miss Fantasy which kind of saddens me in a different way and I think this EP packs a lot of emotional punch for just 15 minutes of sound.

Michele

argh. do you all have me blocked or something?? :laugh: see here:

http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showpo...46&postcount=2

I can say that if this song had been on the UTS tour, I'd still be in a coma listening to all of those . . . Shut Us Down, UTS, Not Too Late and It Takes Time. Lethal stuff strung together. But I can take it as one snuggled in among uptempo songs.

Michele

isn't Froom a keyboardist? i'm vaguely remembering reading something about him suggesting and sending piano or keyboard parts to Lindsey / FM guys when they were working on those new tracks.

Oh please, it would RUIN perfection! :distress::distress::distress::distress:

Me too. That's why I thought the arguments that he should do a solo song if Stevie does Stand Back were silly. All of Lindsey's songs are solo songs. I see him as being a member of FM mainly through his work on other people's songs. End of Gypsy? That's Lindsey in Fleetwood Mac. That's All for Everyone? That's Lindsey on Mars.

Michele

Because Show You How is a masterpiece in the same way that the Mona Lisa is and is meant to be copied, like all great art? I see your point.:nod:

I don't mind it because most people have never heard Show You How, so it's not like he came and stole from GYOW. I don't care if the 3 people who know Show You How see the similarities, because most FM fans will have no idea.

To me, it only sounds like SYH with "Slow down baby. Cross that line." That's the only part that sounds ripped off to me and to me it's more sampling SYW than ripping it off.

Michele

It's beautiful. I like the lyrics a lot. Don't like the fact that he borrows from show you how, But besides that, it has a deep quality, reflection seldom heard. If Chris had played it on her Fender Rhodes with her touch and depth, it would have been the best song he wrote since Tusk. But Hey! She did not.

We do, Elle. I only see you when other people quote you.

No, I'm saying what I thought. Past tense. That was my guess.

Michele

still not a big fan of the song but I do like your interpretation.

I wish he went back there.

Awww. Maybe that can be fixed, some day. Michele

Funny you should say that. I kinda thought he thought the same thing and took advantage of it.:(

he will. as soon as he's done with FM phase. maybe he wants some lightweightness for a change? :shrug:

I know. Mick, John and Stevie have no idea, because they never listened to UTS either. :laugh:

Michele

i don't think it would be the best song he wrote since Tusk, not by a long shot, and i don't really believe you do either. but, i agree that better piano player would add something to the song. although would probably take away some of the vulnerability and reflection...

excuse me, but I resemble that remark......;)

Why does the piano remind me of "Wild Horses"? :shrug:

I agree, but no hyperbole here: I really do think that Show You How is one of Lindsey's top 5 songs.

Michele

^ this........

I don't know. he never went back to the fabulous analogue recording sound from Tusk. Lightweight can be fab and deep. Like TAFE, or BTLH. Or even Underground. Sad Angel is Lightweight too, and I love it. I just can't stand that he builds a perfect ending live on his Turner, and nothing else from it is there on the studioversion. And then that obnoxious fade out. Such a Shame.