The Last 16 years of FINISHED vault songs
 

So Stevie basically started digging back into "the vault" after The Dance Reunion. I thought it would be fun to take a poll and hear your opinion of which song was the best song out of all the ones she went back and finished. Which one ended up being better than the demo, outtake or unreleased song it was pulled from? I unfortunately forced myself to omit "If You Ever Did Believe" since this only gives me 10 poll options, but please chime in and let us know whether you think THAT song is the best, worst, etc.

I'd also be interested to hear what you think is the worst out of the ten. ;)

-Dave

For myself, I chose "Running Through The Garden". I think it's Stevie's shining moment on SYW and a vast improvement over the schizophrenic RAL outtake, in my opinion. I love her vocals on this one and how she feels it! :)

My least favorite on this list is the droning, soulless re-do of "Without You". It was a huge disappointment. I will continue to happily sing along to the original Buckingham Nicks demo for the rest of my life. Haha!

Excellent idea for a poll!

I went back and forth on this one, but ultimately chose Moonlight. I LOVE the demo for Lady From The Mountains, but never considered it to be a finished song. Moonlight took it to the next level, and is true perfection in my book. That said, the final version of Planets Of The Universe is magic to my ears, and I LOVE Stevie's vocals on Running Through The Garden.

Separately, this poll makes me want to put together a new playlist of Stevie's recent vault songs.

I think it may have started being referred to as "The Vault" post- The Dance, but she's been doing it forever, hasn't she? It's just always been how she works.

I know everyone thinks Smile At You was butchered but I thoroughly enjoy the released version. Without You, for me, is easily the worst of the bunch here. A sweet little love ditty transformed into an unlistenable stinker.

I love all of the rest of them, but I think Planets is beyond amazeballs. I love the old demos but the studio version is a brilliant transformation from that starting point and perfectly suited to her style on TISL.

You could totally do that! Adding "If You Ever Did Believe" and Stevie's Practical Magic version of "Crystal" (even though it's a "remake" from an already finished and released song) to all the songs in this poll would give you a whole albums worth of songs. :)

She had been doing it before The Dance, but I think the way she talked about it changed at that point. She brought very little new material to SA, but I think that was more out of a lack of creative output, rather than an affirmative desire to record her vault songs. With TISL, she spoke with more excitement about finally finding a way to record and release some of her old demos, in the way she wanted to.

I like them all except With out you. I chose moonlight because I think it's the best. Close behind would be any of the TISL tracks.

And what a great set of songs it is! Which makes me all the more excited about the new album! :D

It's a toss up between Moonlight and Sorcerer. Maybe I give Sorcerer a tad more credit because I like it live so much.

Michele

I also have to add this this was a tough choice for me, because I was obsessed...OBSESSED TO THE NTH DEGREE...with "Sorcerer" for the longest time. Hence my screen name. The falsetto, the build up to the galloping chorus with a perfect three part harmony, the ethereal two-note lead guitar on the chorus, I could go on and on...

I ultimately got burnt out on the song due to her "lazy" delivery of it year after year on stage. It just never translated well...and is a perfect example of "Stevie in the studio" versus "Stevie on stage". :(

I think all of the released tracks are better than the outtake/demo versions. The only one I don't care for much is "Smile at You," but that's only because the lyrics are bothersome. I love what LB did with it, production-wise.

If I had to pick one favorite, I'd go with "Moonlight."

If I'm correct in that were voting on most improved from unreleased to released then Anabell Lea got my vote, with secret love a very close second. If its just straight up which do you like most then moonlight may have won.

Sorcerer Wins for being least changed. It's basically the buckingham nicks version with Sheryl subbing for Lindsey's voice, which was fine, that song didn't need any changing.

Going against the grain here but Planets is my pick for the worst transformation. The perfect version of that song for me is on the first rumours reissue from 2004, then the piano demos, then the finishd TISL version is crap. They turned what was probably Stevie's most angry, personal song and turned it into a song ready to have dance remixes made. they even removed the best verse.

I can only listen to the extended, non-LP version for that reason - absolutely love the omitted verse.

Goodbye Baby, Smile at You, Running Through the Garden.

Best : Planets of the Universe
Worst : Without You

Running through the Garden.

But POTU turned out lovely too and of all those songs, it's really the only one I listen too. I still prefer LFTM over Moonlight ... Moonlight turned into a different song... that I like, but it's not the same (or better or worse)

I chose "Moonlight", and agree wholeheartedly that Stevie took it to the next level with her amazing much needed haunted & STRANGE chorus - which took the song to its apex. Yes, I miss the "go with her" verse, and I always thought they could have incorporated that part as a bridge, after the second chorus, if Stevie hadn't added another new verse - "she's lonely, lost, and disconnected." But "Moonlight" shines above all & feels finished & timeless, while staying very close to the LFTM demo.

Before IYD, I likely would have chosen POTU or IYEDB. However, I don't believe POTU has aged as well. Nowadays, it's more evident how muddied John Shanks' arrangement sounds than it did in 2001. Whereas, "Moonlight" sounds, crisp, classic, & timeless, and as great as Stevies' most enduring songs from her heyday. However, "If You Ever Did Believe" is a close second.

"Without You" qualifies as the worst "vault" release, mostly because of its nails on chalkboard, brassy guitar tone, that is inescapable. L & S clearly didn't put much effort into the mixing or sound engineering on that track! It sounds cheaply produced.

"Smile At You" & "Goodbye Baby" were markedly big disappointments for me when I first heard them. Not that they are ghastly, just not what I would have ever imagined they would've ended up becoming.

"The Tower" was always a demo close to my heart for MANY years, and I admit I was a tad disappointed in "Goodbye Baby" at first. The "I hope your heart's not broken, don't forget me...etc" that she added kind of turned me off. That being said, I LOVE the arrangement of the song ~ simple synth, acoustic guitar and click track ~ and I LOVE her vocal on it. It has grown on me over time and now I enjoy listening to it more than I used to. A lot of Stevie songs are like that for me.

I have to agree with this.

I loved Planets of the Universe the first time I heard it. When I heard the extended version was even more in love. I love the demo for being so soft and delicate and love the finished version for being so powerful.

Without You was a real disappointment for me. The same with Smile At You and Running Through the Garden, although to a lesser degree.

Planets all the way. The TISL version, especially the extended one, kicks total ass.

I think the final released versions of the songs sound way better then the demos.

I think my favourite would be "Planets Of The Universe" (full length version), closely followed by "Moonlight", "Goodbye Baby" and "If You Ever Did Believe" (sorry, just had to mention it!). It's difficult for me to choose only one I'm afraid.
I adored the 1970's piano demo of "Planets" and didn't expect to respond as well as I did to the TISL version, but it really blew me away. I was so impressed with the way Stevie wrote a whole new song around the original, incorporating some of her best (somewhat borrowed) lyrics, cementing it as one of my absolute faves. That said, it's such a brilliant song that I've enjoyed every version I've heard, from the Rumours recordings through to the Tracy Young dance mixes.
Once again, Stevie was able to re-write an old demo ("Lady From The Mountain") into the masterpiece that became "Moonlight". It's just about perfect in my opinion, but I do pine for the "so go with her" section and detest the title (it should have been either "Lady From The Mountain" or "Strange").
I was also a big fan of the original "Goodbye Baby" demo, but truly love the SYW version. I was not prepared for the heartbreaking vocal Stevie delivered on this version - it moves me to this day. A thing of beauty.
The Sheryl Crow produced version of "If You Ever Did Believe" does not stray far from the 1970's demo, but features a robust and committed vocal from Stevie. The harmonies are really sweet and these feature nicely as the song fades. A sublime version.
As for the worst, well it goes without saying that it's "Without You". The 2013 version is completely awful, from the lazy vocals (and distinct lack of harmonising between Stevie and Lindsey) to the generic, by numbers instrumentation. It actually makes me feel ill.
With regard to "Smile At You", if I had not heard the demo recording, I would not have been disappointed with the SYW version, which is fine as it stands. However, I do definitely prefer the 1970's arrangement. I do, however, have a problem with the "turned around and ran" line, particularly since it was given such prominence in the SYW version. I guess you wouldn't mention that to Bob Dylan...

I know I'm in the minority around Secret Love, and I had to really think hard about this one. I loved how Moonlight and Planets took half finished demos and made them into full songs. Yes, Planets was a full song but adding a chorus really makes it whole and I love the direction she went with it. The lilting meandering of the original is nice for a 70's hippie vibe but for the early 2000's the production they put into it was amazing. And Moonlight really was a whole transformation over Lady, and I loved that. But my choice for Secret Love had to do with it's pureness. I've loved that song since I got a cassette copy of the Almanac bootleg back in the 90's. Her voice, the little beat box and that simple electric piano over heartfelt lyrics about love and longing was just so beautiful. I had no idea it was going to go on In Your Dreams until I heard the pre-release snippet promo thingy and I was beside myself with excitement. But if you had told me she was going to do it I would have been apprehensive. It was just so wonderful in demo form I couldn't have imagined it being done any other way. But once I heard the finished song I could tell they wanted to keep the feeling that the original gave you and when you get to that little moment just before the final chorus where all the instrumentation drops out and you have just a moment of that little electric piano. It's like you're in the middle of this huge celebration and for a moment you're transported back to the very reason you love the song in the first place. And for that I feel this is the best finished Vault song. Because it was changed enough to be new and fresh, but it kept just the right elements of the demo for the fans that had loved it all these years.

"Moonlight" for me. I loved it at first listen.

In last place for me would be "Without You". That song wasn't all that when BN did it back in the day anyway, so I didn't expect much.


Jamie

Candlebright + Sorcerer are both absolutely lovely on TISL, but they don't really deviate from the demos all that much.
Planets Of The Universe - LOVE this one, and the dance remix is phenomenal. Totally different to the demo version, it's like two completely different songs.
Smile At You - I will NEVER understand why people like the SYW version. All the passion from the early demos is gone, and that "turned away and ran" part just irritates the hell out of me. Absolute dirge of a remake.
Running Through The Garden - Stevie's second-best song on SYW (after Thrown Down) and I love the guitar in it, but there's something about the demo I love. It's so 80s, she's all over the place. It's just fabulous.
Goodbye Baby - I don't like this enough to bother listening to the demo. Total snoozefest.
Secret Love - the demo is sweet and cute, but the finished version is such a good little pop moment for Stevie. Love the production. It makes the song feel so... epic.
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream) - It has that epic quality to it, and I love all the new additions, but Lady From The Mountains is a demo I have a special fondness for.
Annabel Lee - I've never heard the demo, but after hearing the completed version, I don't think I'd want to. The studio version is perfection. The strings! Stevie's voice! The long outro! Still one of my favourites from IYD.
Without You - Absolute dirge. Total trainwreck of a song. Lazy uninspired vocals and a terrible production. She sounds so great on Sad Angel, it wounds me how terrible she sounds on her song on the EP. The original is totally adorable and worth listening to. The finished version... is not.

The majority of them are great when they've been finished, with only Smile At You and Without You being offensive. But if I had to go for a favourite... I'd probably pick Planets. Or Annabel Lee. Although with Planets, having such a wonderful completed version takes nothing away from the powerful original. Which is one reason I'm looking forward to this new album.

Even though I've often complained about how Smile At You lost it's potency from it's Mirage days, it's still the best resuscitated demo. Why? More so than any of the others, it was totally rebuilt from the ground up. It's something truly new from the original, sans the lyrics. The production was very edgy & current when it was released. It's still rather modern, arty, & avant garde sounding after more than a decade. When it comes to these old demos being rerecorded, I either like it when Stevie sticks very close to the original vision, or totally reinvents them. Smile At You is obviously a case of the latter, and I think it's pretty damned inventive what they did with it. :)

The best is a tie for me: "Planets of the Universe" and "Moonlight."

As others have said, in both cases Stevie took beloved old demos and turned them into something even more special. And, I have to say, as much as I've always loved "Lady From The Mountains," I could see why Stevie had never released it. The song always felt like it was somehow incomplete. With "Moonlight," it became in every way equal to Stevie's most famous songs.

Now, I don't really have a "worst" on that list, but my least favorite, is "Candlebright."

I don't dislike it in any way, shape or form -- it's just never knocked my socks off. Not as a demo and not as a finished track. It's pleasant, it has good lyrics and a solid vocal. But it never lingers in my subconscious. If it doesn't come up in a shuffle, or when I'm listening to 'TISL,' it never occurs to me to listen to it. It just kind of "ceases to exist," for whatever reason.

[I seem to be in a minority, but I really like "Without You." I do have two nitpicks about it, though. For one, it was mastered way too loudly and therefore completely brick-walled. And, secondly, it goes on a little too long. But I adjusted the peak volume, and edited out about 34 seconds near the end. Now it's perfect, lol. ;) ]

The hate for the SYW Smile at you is nuts.

My favourite is Planets, closely followed by Sorcerer.

I also love Goodbye Baby and Running through the Garden. I'm fond of most songs on this list really.

My least favourite is Secret Love - I love the demo with its sparseness, but not the IYD version :sorry: I have tried many times to listen to it, hoping it will grow in me, maybe it will at some point. To me the demo is perfect as it is :nod:

Mine's an obvious choice based on one of my favourite songs of Stevie's: Sorcerer. I was so pleasantly surprised to see the high notes preserved on Trouble in Shangri La and felt they did the song justice. That said i would have loved Fleetwood Mac to have taken the tune on for the White Album and increased her much needed presence on that record. I can't say that I think any of the demos haven't turned out well but agree a softer guitar tone and vocal on Without You would have brought out the sweetness and the breezy feeling the song could've evoked and heck maybe even would've captured radio's interest. All of the vault songs are amongst her best tunes and so many missed opportunities over the years, I'm over the moon that she's doing this and I think we're all going to be pleasantly surprised with the results. I thought In Your Dreams was a great album (only flaw being some editing would've made it a little tighter in spots) so glad to hear Dave's at the helm.

"Without You" is the weakest link. When it comes up on my Ipod, for some reason I still have to listen to it, even though I hate it. I guess I just enjoy picking apart everything about it that isn't right.

Anyone else annoyed by the seemingly endless "Ooo yeahs" sung in many different ways that go on forever and ever before the song concludes?

YES! The song is too long with the neverending "Oooo yeahs"! So annoying! Another reason, besides the guitar tone & production, that I critique this song so harshly.

I think I'm the only other person in the world who actually kinda likes the released version of "Without You". I agree that it is mastered too loudly (just like all of SYW). I may try editing the ending as you did.

I understand the criticisms of this track, but those issues haven't bothered me for some reason. While I agree that the guitar is a bit strident, to me it sounds somewhat similar to the guitar in "Without a Leg to Stand On". I thought perhaps this was intentional, to subtly evoke the original BN sound. And yes, the balance of instruments and vocals in the mix sounds a little askew, but I suspect that may have been done to force the duet vocals to blend better. The timbre of Lindsey & Stevie's modern day voices just doesn't blend like it did in the old days.

Certainly not a perfect track, but for me it's not the disaster that it appears to be for most fans.

Torn between Moonlight, and Without You. But, I went with Without You. I always loved the BN version. I still prefer that version over the FM version. But, seeing them perform that song, live, was amazing, and so now the live version of Without You has become my favorite.:thumbsup:
Sidenote- Loved every single introduction to the live version as well.:xoxo:

I actually couldn't comprehend Stevie's need to waste god-knows how much time on those introductions for "Without You", particularly since they were so inarticulate and boring. The song itself, at best, was a naïve little ditty suited to it's time (ie the early 1970's) and was clearly derivative of Cat Stevens. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve! It was never anything special, but it was kind of cute in it's original incarnation. The re-recording was simply awful and more to the point, completely unnecessary. I think Stevie knew it was a case of old slops and intentionally handed it over for a release she was not at all invested in. It didn't matter to her that it was buried away on an EP that not many people were going to buy - hell, it didn't even get a physical release and you can imagine what that means in Stevie's world.
The biggest surprise for me about "Without You" was that it was actually written by Stevie and not Lindsey. Based on the original demo version from the Buckingham Nicks era, I just assumed it was his song because he essentially sang lead and it reminded me of his compositions from the BN album. I guess it was another case of "Crystal", with Stevie wanting him to interpret another of her songs? Maybe it was simply Lindsey arranging the song, as he did in the demo for "I Don't Want To Know". In any case, the 2013 version ultimately proved to be a dismal affair for these ears.

And when everything has to be articulate that gets very boring :distress: Many people enjoyed Stevie's rambling intros to WY. I can see why they might have irritated some, and were endearing to others.

I honestly believe Stevie really likes the song, and enjoyed sharing the story behind it. Its not a favourite of mine, but it's not that dreadful. Its a sweet, likable song.

Well I guess no matter which song is your fav and which song is your least fav, EVERY song in the poll has gotten a vote! :)

It's nice to see that "Candlebright" has gotten three votes. Nobody has really talked about that one yet.

It's always been a favorite of mine. I love the TISL version, and think Stevie and Sheryl did a great job with it.

I just voted for Candlebright to bump it up a little. I think I've said it before, but Sheryl did an amazing job on TISL (and that includes the marvellous If You Ever Did Believe which should have been on the album). I agree with almost everything stated on this thread - and what a GREAT topic to discuss. I think one thing that deserves to be mentioned is that all of these examples show what an amazingly gifted songwriter the lady is. I know she picks good producers, but only the truly talented artists could re-record songs that were originally written three or four decades ago and turn them into great records that do not sound old-fashioned or contrived.

"Candlebright" is one of the highlights of TISL. It's really difficult for me to choose just one from this list - that one is most definitely a favorite, along with "Sorcerer" and "Planets of the Universe."