TITN: Stevie's Songs.
 

Ok I know this has been discussed before but there are new people here so lets have another round.

I think these are her weakest contributions to the band and often wondered what hapenned.

Was it the drugs, was Lindsey too angry with her to help make her songs better, was she fed up with the Mac?

I have never really hated anything from Stevie Solo or with FM but Welcome is just so horribnle. No melody, no ispiration in her voice. SW is nice but not her song really and I think there werre other producers involved in the production who were not credited. It sounds nothing like A FM song to me.

Then there is Whats a matter. I do like this one and I love the way L finishes it off for her.

I know I'm in the minority, but I love Stevie's Tango songs. Tango is album I listen to the least of the Rumours lineup and Stevie's songs took some getting used to at first, but I really love all three, for different reasons. Are they the strongest songs ever? No. But "When I See You Again" is one of my favorites of hers, I love "Welcome to the Room" and "Seven Wonders" is catchy and pop. So yeah, I can give you quite a list of Stevie songs I like less than these, haha.

I think they are the weakest of her FM songs overall on an album, but not by much for me. I really like WTTR...Sara and When I see you again. 7W would be my least favorite of the three.

I think they could have been better - there are a TON of great demos from the RAL era that didn't go on RAL that I think FM should have used for TITN.

don't know if it counts but Paper Doll from the Chain was the very weakiest imho.

and I agree titn songs were not her best effort, but I like them

I like Seven Wonders and Welcome To The Room Sara, but I really cringe when I hear "When I See You Again".

They are definitely her weakest in my opinion. I think a lot of that has to do with her making Rock A Little and touring in support of that album and not having a break between that and the Fleetwood Mac album.

Matt

For me, the problem gettng a grasp on those songs is that. . . they don't seem to belong on that album. Lindsey and Christine seemed to collaborate quite a bit, at least on her songs, Mystified, and You and I Part II (did they co-write YAIP1?). Every Lindsey and Christine song seem to belong on the same album, sorta, but the Stevie songs stick out like sore thumbs. And that's part of the 80s Mac problem for me. Each individual song is full of interesting stuff but they don't seem to sing to each other or be part of the same artistic quest. That's particularly clear, for me, with the Stevie TITN tracks.

Seven Wonders is my favorite because of that guitar touch is so killer. Welcome to the Room . . . Sara is mysterious and intriguing and When I See You Again is off-putting at first but after many listens is so touching. Both of those songs, though, are distinguished primarily by the vocal presence of Lindsey. I actually like "Joan" also . . .

I am still to this day baffled by the songs that ended up on Tango. Stevie had SO much good material that she could have used for that album. Why didn't Joan of Arc make the cut?? She also had quite a few good songs left from the Mirror, Mirror album which she shelved 2 years before.

For the record, I think Lindsey made some blunders with his songs too. Why didn't he use You and I pt 1? It was SO much better than pt 2. Make Me A Mask was another amazing song that should have made it on the record. Christine could have had Heart Of Stone included too. Tango has some great music, and is a great album as a whole... but it could have been so much better with some tweaking.

For the record, I do think When I See You Again is an artistic triumph for Stevie though. I think the way she sings the song absolutely and totally captures the utter heartache and devastation she's writing about. It may not be her prettiest vocal by far, but I think her vocal truly gets across what she's going through. I even like the line "and she stares at the stairs, there are so many things to stare at these days." To me, that line alone captures the devastation she's going through. We've all been that way after a particularly hard breakup before. I do have an issue with Welcome To The Room Sara though... the production is just too bubbly for the serious subject matter of the song.

What is the subject matter of that song?

The continuing Stevie and Lindsey Drama
 

that was awesome thanks! groovy font :)

I wish there was a way to get details on their relationship during the tango period. . . i guess it's in that song.

I suspect there's more to Stevie and Lindsey's relationship during this era than either will talk about publicly. I've got a hunch that after Stevie broke up with Joe Walsh and went into rehab, that she wanted to fall back on an old "friend" for support. If you think about it, this is right when Lindsey's nearly decade long relationship with Carol Ann Harris is ending too. I'm betting Stevie and Lindsey at least slept together once during this era. I don't think they tried to resurrect their relationship... but it's so easy to go back to old lovers for a fling during hard times. Especially considering the unique relationship Stevie and Lindsey have, rising to fame together, etc. That's why I suspect she's writing songs like When I See You Again during this era. I could be TOTALLY off base though :laugh: .

Agreed these are weak and also that Paper Doll was even weaker. This was the beginning of Stevie's klonopin daze I believe. She said she went on it after kicking cocaine. When you kick cocaine your brain cannot produce enough happy neurotransmitters so you become depressed which makes you flat. Stevie has said she was not depressed at this time but she likely was at least mildly to moderately depressed. Cocaine works by making your brain create excessive amounts of these substances which creates that state of euphoria. But it also creates a backlash effect where when the cocaine wears off your brain no longer produces normal emounts of happy neurotransmitters. Hence the addiction and the need for more cocaine. Pair this with the downer effect of klonipin and, as an artist, she was basically screwed in terms of feeling inspired and vital.

I don't think either of those songs could have been on the album, because they hadn't been written yet. I know for a fact that Make Me A Mask was meant to be an Out Of The Cradle song despite what the linear notes for The Chain box set say, and I'm certain that Heart Of Stone was written between Tango In The Night and Behind The Mask, if not after Behind The Mask.

Matt

I wonder how many times they did hook up after they broke up, because all those songs that were written for eachother post breakup suggest otherwise, and I'm guessing that's why Lindsey couldn't get closure because they both probably kept screwing around with eachother. I also wonder if Stevie ever writes the book were all waiting for if she'll talk about her entire relationship with Lindsey. The only thing she did say was that Lindsey never gave her up.