"Hold Me" Early Version
 

Has anyone else downloaded this yet? It's great!

I love the long beautiful piano intro. I've always enjoyed Stevie's prominent BGV's on Christine's songs, like on the outtake of "Oh Daddy" (which, in my opinion is better than the album cut).

I also love the extended lyric, "Hold me like a good man should..."

I'm guessing after this became a Chris/Lindsey song, they dropped the "like a good man should" part because of the implications of a man singing it, even if it was her song.

Sounds great here, though, as a Chris/Stevie song! :nod:

I've never heard this before.

I can't wait to hear it. I love when Stevie sings more on Christine songs. Oh Daddy is a great vocal for them. Straight Back is another example.

Is this the version we've already heard from the bootlegs, or is this different?

I'm not sure. I'm big into the bootlegs, but I'd never heard this before today. :)

It's AMAZING! It's the "Like a good man should" vocal we've heard before -- but with LOTS of Stevie and guitars. Feels like a sister to "Think about me"

Stevie is on fire on this! Love it!!!!!!

So is Lindsey heard on this version at all or is it just Chris & Stevie?
thanks

Is it as good as the early take of Gypsy? I love that version more than the album version.

No Lindsey vocals here.

thanks, I'm intrigued. I cant wait to hear it.

YES! It is a perfect, lush gem of a song. And Stevie's vocals are killer - LOVE! :thumbsup:

Bootleg Question
 

To answer an earlier poster's question, this is in the style of the bootleg version that I love but it seems to be a more polished studio take than the demo-ish version I have on Mirage bootlegs. I can't wait for this set myself...I have had Mirage on repeat recently.

I would say that this early version would have fit on Tusk with a little roughing up. The overly pretty album cut is nice, but too polished for me. It fits in with the album, certainly, but I have liked the rougher demo/alternate version since I heard it a while ago. Ahhh, is it July 29th yet?

Thanks!! I can't wait to hear it.

It's on spotify. And very up and rocking.

Wow you can see it must be difficult to reign Stevie in some times. All over the place on a simple pop song. Her harmonies sound good on the "hold me" parts though. But it's just not that kinda song Stevie.... "Stevie could you maybe just pull back a little and stick to the melody....*ducks chair*"

Her voice blends in well. But you are right she is all over the place...

The work that Christine and Lindsey did on the final cut of Hold Me is superb. It's why the song did so well. It's an amazing comp.

I love the piano so much in this version. I just don't like all the extra lyrics.

What a fun little song! Agree with many of you, Stevie sounds great on the chorus but the "hold me like a good man should" line is goofy. WHY did they go back and take out most of Stevie's backing vocals on almost all the core FM albums? She adds so much to You Make Loving Fun, Oh Daddy, I Know I'm Not Wrong...and would have sounded great on Can't Go Back, Eyes of the World, Book of Love....She was such a great harmonizer.

I agree with the fact Stevie really brings an extra special something with her adlibs and harmonies on Lindsey and Christine's songs but to be honest I think I like her efforts better live than on record. At least live she can change it up now and again and try different things (though she rarely does lol).

I'm hoping to hear a sound bite soon. I can't wait for this.

I couldn't agree more! Some of the best Fleetwood Mac songs are OUTTAKE VERSIONS where Stevie is harmonizing beautifully. The OUTTAKE version of "Oh Daddy" with Stevie harmonizing is the better version.

I have been streaming "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" on Spotify continually for 2 days. THIS IS THE VERSION THAT SHOULD HAVE MADE THE "MIRAGE" ALBUM.....PERIOD!!! Although the song did reach #4 on the Billboard charts, "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" would have been a much bigger single, possibly staying at #1 for several weeks.

If the MAC tours again next year, the had better include this rocking version of "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" in the set list!!!

I really like how piano heavy the early Hold Me is. I disagree that it should have been on the album. I much prefer the cleaned up and polished version that made it to the album. I really don't like all the extra lyrics in the early version. It sounds like an homage to Christine's blues roots, but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the album.

I agree. This is a fun version but what made the album was better.

It's on Spotify, so easily accessible ...

https://open.spotify.com/album/4SVbSsrj8cnkmVXdo20JTr

I do like it. I hope all these early takes are really different.

Feels like a "Tusk" jam to me... great playing and super fun vocals from Christine and Stevie. I agree, not as polished as the "Mirage" version but such a treat!

I actually like this chorus more.

I like this chorus more too.

Although I loved the version that made the album, after hearing an alternate version, I found I liked it more. Less Lindsey, More Christine, and now a bonus of Stevie!

This chorus would have been better than "Hold Meeee, Hold Me, Yeaaaah" that they did live.

You are so right. One reason that "Hold Me" has NOT been included in a Fleetwood Mac set list since 1982 is that this arrangement of the song just doesn't transfer well live. It's mainly just the chorus that sounds awkward in a live format.

By contrast, "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" is a GREAT rocking live number that could work easily on stage. It's fun, energetic and bouncy. "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" should have made the "Mirage" album. They could easily have arranged it where Lindsey duets with Chris on the verses (as per the final album version), and then Stevie chimes in on the chorus.

You are correct. But I thought Chris did a fantastic job on Hold Me during her solo tour. It sounded better than the Mac live in 1982. This live version from Kansas City is a horrible recording because the vocals are recorded terribly. I have the Jackson NJ concert professionally recorded on CD. Chris does Hold Me flawless and her backing band does the "Come on and......"
Try to imagine better sound on this recording and you will get the picture. I wish I could upload the professional recording I have but maybe someone else has it too. With 3 back up singers now :eek: I think the Mac can master this song live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jji_OEwTiwE

When they played it live in 1982, they should have rearranged the chorus to just have two hold me's. "Hold me.... hold meeeeeee" instead of "hold me.... hold me - yeah".

I saw the Hold Me at her solo show and it was much better than FMac's. Her MTV concert is no indication of how good her show was.

Is this song streaming anywhere that you don't have to sign up for? I know they did this with a couple of the Tusk Deluxe set tracks in advance of the release of the package. Are they doing it for this song?

I also saw the Christine McVie solo tour at The Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas on June 11, 1984. Chris and her band rocked the house! I agree, "Hold Me" sounded much better on her solo tour. I especially appreciated that she included Pre-Rumours era Mac songs in her set list. Her renditions of "Just Crazy Love" and "Spare Me A Little" were marvelous!

Still, I much prefer "Hold Me Like A Good Man Should" to the version that made "Mirage". I wish The Mac would play that arrangement live.

That's the truth. The Country Club concert was performed months before her album was released and even more months before the tour started. I know she was using the concert as part of the video album but I wish there was a full concert of hers recorded from her actual tour. The Hold Me verison I have live on CD from NJ is out of this world. She also dedicates Songbird to Jackson NJ for the horrible tragedy that happened right before she performed there. Teenagers burned to death in a fun house accident inferno. That bootleg used to be all over Ebay and such. I wish someone would upload it to Youtube.
I saw a guy filming her Pittsburgh show with a pocket video recorder. Gosh I wonder where that guy is today and what happened to his footage.

I love that Got A Hold On Me followed Hold Me. :)

That is a show I'll never forget. She smiled at me as she sat at her piano. I could have touched her leg. lol... I was 16 years old.

I was 14 and Eddy Quintela winked at me and my friends when we waved at him when he came out to play some additional keyboards late in the show. I wont forget it either ;)

I love the early version of Hold Me. Nicely done. It goes on a minute too long, but I enjoy hearing some splashes of piano and drums on the extended take.

My only problem with it IS Stevie's contribution. She's all over the place and sings flat on the chorus. I get the sense she was just playing around, toying with an early version, knowing it wasn't anything the band would use. Too bad: if she'd controlled her voice and attempted to stay on point with it, the two women harmonizing would have been a real selling point!

I feel similar about Stevie's harmonies on the early version of Think About Me. Though she's more in control there, I sense she's kind of holding back, not fully singing or attempting to harmonize, just killing time behind the mic, feeling out the tune in its early stages.

I'm green with envy that you attended that performance. Thanks for the micro review. I now want the bootleg!

The YEAH was the performance highlite for me when I saw them twice in 1982. After being surprised with it the first time, the second was even more precious.