No Questions Asked-thoughts?
 

I was disappointed when I bought FM Greatest Hits and heard this song. I loved As Long As You Follow and I was hoping this new song by Stevie, her first with Rick and Billy, would be a strong single, but I knew right away radio wouldn't play it. Later, I came to like it, but still felt it was an odd choice for the album. When I learned Paper Doll was originally supposed to be on the album, I was really shocked, because PD is an even odder song choice!

However, I now recognize No Questions Asked is a great song. The lyrics are awesome "When I see him, I feel him..." but that music- it's incredible! Musically, I can't tell the difference between a flute and a saxophone, but the guitar playing is so unique and catchy. The part I'm specifically curious about is, right after the words "you feel..." and before "pushed up against the wall." Is that Billy or Rick, and is it a particular kind of guitar? It's such an unusual sound.

Thanks for the help, and I'd love to hear thoughts on the song in general.

Huge disappointment. Did not belong on a greatest hits. As Long As You Follow was great. No Questions was a throwaway.

I love No Questions Asked. Its raw and a big step up from anything Stevie did on Tango or RAL. The group appeared on Rock line in Nov or Dec. 1988 and Stevie spoke extensively about this song. Its written about some guy that was living at her house. I forget the context about the name of the song but she tells it. Its obvious that Stevie contributed a new song instead of one of her vault classics. I am sure she did not want one of her better songs hidden on a Greatest Hits package. In addition she was in the middle of finishing TOSOTM when asked to contribute this song. It sounds like it was a rough cut from her demo. There is a reason for this. She was busy recording her own album to really spend time in the studio with the Mac. Remember that the band and especially Stevie HATE greatest hits packages. Its the record company that makes them do them.
I like the song and how Stevie outwardly sings. Love hearing Christine play keyboards again. Its sad for me to have to say that but her playing took a back seat to Lindsey's programming on Tango.
I was surprised what a dud As Long As You Follow was. Usually a greatest hits package is promoted with a big hit song. The video was good but mainstream radio had no interest in Rick and Billy. It did well on Adult Contemporary stations though.
Funny story: There was a shady bar I used to frequent and there was a jukebox and had Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits. I once played No Questions asked. It really had people interested. I would see so many go up to the jukebox and look what song was playing. They were like " Wow, what Stevie Nicks song is this?"
In any event, I think the quality of the song is consistent to what we got from her and the band on Behind the Mask.

Thanks for the info, macfan4life. I see the song was co-written by Kelly Johnson, who was (is?) Steve's personal assistant at one time, so maybe she knew the person Stevie was writing about, as well.

I can see why it's considered a throwaway song, since it's so not radio friendly. But Sleeping Angel, Battle of the Dragon, and Blue Lamp have also been called throwaway songs, so No Questions Asked is in good company. While I would agree Stevie kept songs she might have thought could be hits for her own solo album, especially after Rock a Little, I'm sure she recorded No Questions Asked with the hope that it would chart. After all, a hit is a hit.

I never heard anyone say Sleeping Angel is a throw away song :eek:
Maybe the rockline interview is somewhere you can listen. She talks a lot about the song and how many people live or were living in her house. I think she does also talk about the co-writer. The song does not have much of a melody but I love when Stevie sings outwardly almost yelling throughout the song. I wish the Greatest Hits package had ALL their hits. They should have left off a new song and included Love In Store, Think About Me and Seven Wonders. The song just sounds like a polished demo with no intricate workings. I see Stevie sending over a demo and the band recording it quickly and putting it on the record. The only way anyone was going to hear this song is if As Long As You Follow charted big and there would be a second single.

I have always loved this one, and As Long as You Follow. I am one of the traitors who wishes Rick and Billy had stayed and, well, you know.

I love No Questions asked and always have. My standout memory of this song is from 1998 when my boyfriend was playing the greatest hits CD and when this song came on I sang it to his face as many of the words totally applied to our situation at that time. He smiled widely cause he understood completely. (This won't mean anything to any of you but apparently I needed to amuse myself)

Are you sure they hate Greatest Hits packages??? They've certainly done extremely well out of them financially. I'd reckon Mick in particular loooooves GH's.

As Long As You Follow...a dud??? Each to their own. Perhaps you are referring to its chart placings rather than the quality of the song. Over the years I'd suggest its become a real Fleetwood Mac fan favourite in a way No Questions Asked really hasn't. In my opinion As Long As You Follow is an absolute gem that deserved much greater recognition.

I don't agree that "As Long As You Follow" was dud either. Fleetwood Mac was way past their prime at this point, so as long as they were appealing to their base, which they were, that should have been the measure of their success. In this case, their base was on the AC chart, and the song hit #1 and GH went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide, 8 million alone in the US. So "As Long As You Follow" did its job.

I'm with you and fuzzyplum- As Long As You Follow is in my top 10 list of favorite FM songs. Absolutely beautiful song, and the video is beautifully shot, with the whole band looking beautiful and dignified. Wow, I used the word beautiful 3 times here! Anyway, it should have charted higher, and man, how I wish Christine would have sang this on their Behind the Mask tour. The song is also, lyrically, such a great Valentine to the fans. I've always felt like Christine wrote this as a thank you to the fans for sticking with them. If Christine and Lindsay had performed this on their current tour, I think I would have passed out! But the album selling 10 million+ copies is probably due more to the album being a greatest hits album rather than As Long As You Follow.

Back to No Questions Asked, though- glad to hear this little gem has a following, too. Stevie tried something different for her, lyrically and vocally, and it works, despite being a little jarring at first. But can anyone tell me what type of instrument is being played in the section I mentioned?

You had me go back and re-read my post :eek: OF COURSE I was referring to the charts since I said "I was SURPRISED what a dud it was...." When I heard the Mac was releasing new music in late 1988 I was thrilled. YAY! The new world will finally hear the new Mac with Rick and Billy. WRONG! The song never even cracked the top 40 in the USA and did even worse on your side of the pond. So it surprised me. I was in my teens and would frantically listen to all the top 40 countdowns waiting desperately to hear the song on the top 40. Well it never happened :(
Another bummer was the video was a mainstay on Vh1 but not really MTV. But in those days VH1 was sort of the adult contemporary and oldies video channel. I loved the video and being winter made it even more romantic.
Did I mention I was SHOCKED the song was basically never played on the radio? I was like...what gives? Its a great song with a great video from a famous group but a flop (meaning not a hit, not my personal preference).
When I first heard the song, I was like. OMG the Mac is going to get a #1 song!!!!
As far as Greatest Hits packages...I am sure Mick loves the sales but since he was not a writer of any of the songs, his cut is not as big as the song writers. Stevie hated when they wanted her to release a greatest hits package and only agreed if it was not called greatest hits and she could add other songs like Beauty and the Beast, etc to make it not sound like a greatest hits album. There is no creativity what so ever and its money for the record label. I am sure Lindsey hated it too. They used to say when a group does a Greatest Hits album their career is over and it means they cant get anymore hit songs. Sounds harsh but since the Mac's Greatest Hits release they have never even cracked the top 20 with any song :eek:

Thanks for clearing that up. I was surprised by what I thought you meant.

I know I'm going to start sounding like a broken record soon. Greatest Hits was the first time I had even heard Fleetwood Mac - it was my mom's CD, omnipresent in her minivan. I would hear it every day on my way to school or camp or dance class, which is how FM kind of became a part of me. So this album will always be pretty special to me.

Mind you, at 4 years old all I was processing was the sound. This group of songs just simply sounded beautiful. "As Long As You Follow" felt a lot like a lullaby to me, and my brother and I became obsessed with "Hold Me;" singing it at each other at the dinner table. it had such a playful vibe to it, really accessible to children. Just a stellar experience listening to that CD to be honest.

In terms of "No Questions Asked," I had no idea the people of this band, I had no idea the drama, I had no idea the legends. All I knew was that I loved the way the woman sang "real hard to be nice" and I loved the sound of the cool guitar licks, the really unique ones. Now that I'm older I can appreciate the juxtaposition of the upbeat melody with a truthfully depressing song, the Bob Dylan reference with "broke down like a little girl" - Stevie loves that imagery. I also think it's a really good showcase vocally of Rick and Billy, and honestly the song just hooks you in with the first 2 seconds, which is genius when you put it as the last song on a GH album where the audience might not actually be interested in new music?

Bottom line: great song; as were many of Stevie's contributions during that period. I have such fondness for "Paper Doll" and "Freedom" but hey, that's just me.

You're not understanding. The song does not belong on a greatest hits. Stevie has a history of putting of putting low level songs such NQA, Desert Angel, Loves A Hard To Play on greatest hits. When you buy a greatest hits the songs shlould not be skippable. She weakens her packages.

Wow, you're right. It really does sound or feel like a lullaby, both lyrically ("I've been searching for the pot of gold/like the kind you find at the end of a rainbow" and "yes I can live today/if you give me tomorrow) and musically. A lullaby and a fairy tale, actually. This song might be the first time Christine ventured into Stevie-Town, lyrically LOL

Really? I think it would be 100% opposite kind of song Stevie would write. Stevie does not write lullabies or songs with such clichés. I personally believe that is why she passed on These Dreams. The song is fully such cheezy clichés and that is definitely not Stevie's style of writing.

I love Stevie's lyrics & think she's uniquely poetic. However, she is entirely capable of the occasional misstep, e.g. NOT MAKE BELIEVE, a catchy song with one cheesy cliche after another for lyrics:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
And they both rushed by, like a thief in the night
Taking no prisoners, just like the first time
Adventures in paradise
Just like the first time

*Ricoh*

I am in the minority opinion-but this is a top notch song that captures Stevie and The Mac in 1988. I think it was an excellent choice and could have been a big hit single in early 1989 prior to TOSTM release. No questions asked has drama, Rick, Billy and John McVie create an incredible guitar/bass wall and I like Christine's piano just before the chorus. Putting this on GH was a good choice, it would have fallen into the cracks on TOSTM, somewhere between Juliet and Rooms on Fire.

Love this song:wavey:

I am also in the minority opinion that I think this is one of Stevie's strongest songs of all. I fell in love with it immediately and it is still one of the first songs I listen of hers to this day. I can't exactly explain why but it's the sum of all the parts, it was a departure of sound from Tango so it was fresh - and remains fresh to me today - her voice is raw and yet dynamic. The guitar work is more raw than the jungle taps of Tango. The lyrics pull the heart strings and I was a college DJ at the time and this always got more reaction than As Long As You Follow. The reviews at the time panned ALAYF and said Nicks "Fared Better" with No Questions Asked and said something to the effect of it was a shame it was not selected as the single. I tend to agree, I believe it could have been a big hit single although radio would still not have embraced Rick and Billy so no matter what, it had an uphill battle.

But all in all, I love this song and think it is one of her best.

Honestly, I remember when I first heard it in 1988 and always felt her vocals were way too buried in the mix. I always have felt they should have turned her microphone up louder.

I agree. Somehow AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW & NO QUESTIONS ASKED seemed to be produced very differently. ALAYF sounded rich but very clear, whereas NQA seems very muddled. And this would sort of represent how I felt about this Mac line-up: they had the potential to be great by quite often didn't because of production & inconsistency.
*Ricoh*

True - I think its because Stevie was so busy working on her solo album in her magical castle and making her videos. It almost sounds like a demo for a reason. The band probably huddled together and worked so hard on ALAYF and Stevie probably sent over her demo she did at her house and they just recorded it some afternoon and put it on the record.

I've been obsessed with this song lately - one of my favorite Stevie songs of all time. I love the lyrics. I feel it really has a different sound for the Mac - much more indie/shoe-gazey.

The guitar sound that was being inquired about above is the low strings on a guitar with a tremolo effect thrown on it. You can hear a similar sound on a song like Emmylou Harris' "Heaven Only Knows" off the top of my head.

NQA is a song I always pull out when I'm having a lot of feels.

To be honest, I find it near-unlistenable. A lot of that could be because of the wafer-thin production. But I don't much care for Stevie's vocal or lyrics either. Maybe Lindsey could have turned it into something decent, but as it is... just no. Weird that the absolutely wonderful 'As Long As You Follow' comes from the same session or close, and the production on that one is fine and dandy. Well, and the song is outstanding too, that helps. My second favorite Christine song. But anyway...

Eh, have you heard "Paper Doll?"

Thanks Jeremy! I’m going to check out that Emmy Lou Harris song to see if I can catch the effect there.

NQA has really grown on me, so I’m happy to see the attention it’s gotten. I also think that being on the GH CD has given it and As Long As a you Follow a lot of listens, so that even the casual fan of FM have heard the songs. For that reason, I think they would have been great for FM to play live… especially more so with Rick and Billy but also with Mike and Neil.

No Questions Asked is one of Stevie's songs where her singing in the klonpin era is not really noticed. Many of her songs on OSOTM are ok but the demos reek of klonopin. Her singing sounds like she just woke up. BTM songs are especially noticeable. NQA is one of the exceptions of this era. Its a faster paced tempo song and she keeps up outwardly singing. Its not the most daring song musically but when Stevie throws a punch vocally it brings you in!

I love the line:
Its hard to be civil and real hard to be nice
but you did in my love,.....everytime

I just listened to that song by Emmy Lou Harris, and dang if you weren’t right about that guitar! Right from the first note, too! I also saw that it was released in 1989, which was after No Questions Asked.

Rick Vito was so underrated in Fleetwood Mac.

I was actually thinking the exact same thing. Listening to Paper Doll puts me to mind of being at a carnival with all the crazy and loud sounds playing while trapped on a carousel spinning madly out of control lol.

I'm sure I'll get slaughtered for saying this but I love NQA and I even really like "Paper Doll" !!

I think it's weird "Paper Doll" was recorded for Greatest Hits because her vocals sound very "Street Angel" on it to me which wouldn't be until a few years later.

I never caught the nuance of the "hard to be civil REAL hard to be nice" until recently - what a great line.

Sure, NQA kinda sprints forward without a huge hook but it's one of those songs I just love for the vibe. To me it sounds more (earlier) 10,000 Maniacs than a rock band from the 1960s/1970s.

In the BTM podcast we touched on NQA and "Follow" and I knew the lyrics "miss those arms that used to go around you" was referenced again in a later Stevie song. I thought it was "I Miss You" but I was wrong, it's in "Love Is" (a classic in my opinion).

Yes! I always thought the same. I bet she went back and recorded a new vocal in preparation for The Chain box set, along with perhaps the band recording some additional overdubs. She could have done it in the same sessions where she recorded backing vocals for Christine’s “Heart of Stone.”

I think Sweet Girl is more known by casual fans than NQA. NQA could have easily been played on the BTM Tour, especially since Stevie didn't do Love Is Dangerous many times. NQA could have been her new song representation in the set when Love Is Dangerous was dropped. Then you have Sweet Girl which was done every show in 1997.

It seems Stevie just doesn't care much about NQA

I think she was so tranqued at the time that she doesn’t remember it that much or associates it with a hard time in her life.

I think the latter too. Hence why I think she hasn't sung Rooms On Fire, Whole Lotta Trouble, Talk To Me,I Can't Wait, Blue Denim, or Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind (all pop songs) in decades.
And why she didn't sing Paper Doll or Freedom on the FM 2018 Tour. Paper Doll was on the 50 Year anthology too.

I dont see her singing songs like Paper Doll or Freedom in concert no matter what band or where. Most people dont know those songs and it represents a bad period in her life. They also did not sell well.

On the other hand, I don't get why she or Lindsey didn't throw Fireflies into rehearsals for SYW, Unleashed, or Live 2013. Maybe they figure people don't know or want to hear bonus tracks or odd songs on compilations. She didn't sing Sometimes It's A, Desert Angel, or Love's A Hard Game To Play on the TimeSpace Tour.

In buying my tickets for the 2018 Tour, I was excited thinking that Stevie was really going to do her rare songs since every tour beginning with The Dance she stage debuted or resurrected a gem but I got nothing good from her for the $150 - $300 tickets I paid for my couple of shows, instead I got her singing songs that weren't hers.

Because Christine wasn’t there. Stevie wasn’t going to sing her love letter to the five fireflies with one firefly not there.

It was the 50th Anniversary tour and they had a career retrospective released during the tour.

I get that but Stevie could have done Crystal, Angel, or Straight Back without a problem as part of her 4/5 of her own songs she did.
Even when they played their last tour date in Las Vegas, they played the 3 covers instead of FM songs. So drop four Mac songs but keep 3 covers. Give me my money back!

My thought exactly. She should have brought it back in 2014 to commemorate the 5 fireflies being together again.

Silver Springs was a cult classic and even played on the radio far before the Dance. The Dance was the anniversary of Rumours so introducing a B side cult classic just fit perfectly.
My point is that its possible to get deep cuts from popular Mac albums but we will probably never get deep cuts from albums that were considered flops for their time. Stevie never even did all her deep cuts from Rumours and Mirage let alone digging up BTM and its outtakes.
Sadly the sets are always picked for the casual fan (not us). The 2018 tour just reminded the band dont dig too deep as many of their "surprise" deep cuts went over like a lead balloon and dropped. Fleetwood Mac fans are really against the grain. The band was always bitten by their audience for performing new songs even on the Rumours tour (believe it or not). We laugh at the stale setlists but I think the Mac got really shy about setlists. It seems their "fans" had expectations what to hear and did not care about anything else. This does not even take into account that most of the live show "fans" are exclusively Stevie fans. One of the saddest and maddest moments in my life was the 1987 show was when Stevie left the stage after Seven Wonders and the band started Over My Head masses of people were heading to the exits as if a fire drill happened. Over My Head was a known song but they were only there for "Stevie."
As frustrating it is being a fan its just as frustrating being a member of Fleetwood Mac because you have all these elements to consider when performing. Bruce or Paul or the Stones could perform deep tracks and no hits their entire show and the fans would eat it up.