"Sara" also posted on Rumors board
 

What's your favorite version of "Sara"? Any that you have heard.

Just curious.

I like the "Cleaning Lady" version. That one part, "no sorrow for sorrow you can have no more." I just love that part of that version!

I like the studio version.. there is just something there that just cannot be duplicated. On the other hand, the live version on FM Live is also a really cool version. I just love the way Stevie sounds on that version.

:) Michelle

I believe the exact opposite! :lol: The studio version, IMO, does nothing for the real emotion she feels about this song not to mention the fact that it is cut down dramaticly. I think the original "Sara" was rumored to be something like 12 minutes long! (or more). The "Cleaning Lady" version is like 8 minutes-& I love it!

Don't get me wrong, I respect your opinion, as I do all opinions & lets face it, they are all GREAT!!!:nod:

I respect your opinion as well.. and agree that they are all great versions. :nod: I have heard the cleaning lady version and it is more of the story. I would love to hear the original Sara.. the entire 16 minutes. I bet it's a great version too! There is just something about the studio version.. for me I guess it's the music that I really feel doesn't sound the same on the stage.. just my opinion. :)

:) Michelle

I really like listening to the lyrics on the cleaning lady version. I like the part when she sings, "and the wind became crazy...and the girls sing, doo wha....gotta love it!

Nae:nod:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nae
[B]I really like listening to the lyrics on the cleaning lady version. I like the part when she sings, "and the wind became crazy...and the girls sing, doo wha....gotta love it!



I just listened to the 8min version. I think it's Christine singing OOH WHA? I've never heard the 15min version. I wonder how many more lyrics there are?

Nae

HUH?
 

Well now I am confused! :confused: I always thought that was Chris too, but someone just posted over on the Rumors board that they thought it was Lori? I'm sure someone here knows!

Anyways, glad this made you pull it out for a listen :nod: ! Or was it already out? :laugh:

If I find out about that Lori thing over on the other board I'll let you know.

From what I can tell, that "Ooh waa" definitely does not sound like the work of Christine. Christine's voice is a lot softer than what that sounds like. In fact, it doesn't seem to me that any other FM member vocals appear on here. The music kind of sounds midi-ish, and the backups definitely sound like Sharon or Lori. But, I don't know that for sure...just seems that way to me. While I love the ending lyrics and layering in the Cleaning Lady version, my favorite Sara goes between In Concert and Largo '83. I'll never know why Stevie thinks it's a boring song to do on stage...so was How Still My Love and Beauty and the Beast, but then again, maybe she realized those were also long, boring songs on stage. (By the way, just my opinion that those songs are long and boring live...). :wavey:

We had talked about this previously... quite a long time ago actually... and I had posted my thoughts about it then, so I figured I'd cheat and paste them here.
I hope no one minds! :)
If so, just think of it as 'The Very Best Of Johnny Stew.' ;)
:laugh:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "cleaning lady" demo of "Sara" has been the subject of some heated discussion in the past. Some people feel that those background vocals have to be Lindsey and Christine... feeling that Fleetwood Mac would have never had Stevie's background singers on one of their tracks.

Others feel it has to be either Sharon, or Lori, or both... since the vocals don't sound like Chris or Lindsey.

I feel that both sides of the argument are right.
IMHO, I think some of those backing vocals we hear definitely belong to Sharon (and probably Lori).

Stevie met Sharon in Hawaii in 1978, so they were already working together... and Stevie knew Lori thru Lori's then-husband, Gordon Perry, who had a studio in Dallas... which is, in fact, where the original demo for "Sara" was recorded (this tidbit was revealed when a woman from Grand Rapids, MI. tried to sue Stevie in 1980, claiming that she had written "Sara." At one point during the case, Stevie presented her first demo of the song, which was recorded in TX., in 1978, at Gordon Perry's studio).

Since the "cleaning lady" version is merely a working demo that the Mac were obviously adding tracks to, I don't see why it *couldn't* be "the girls."
We know now that, at this point in time, Stevie was recording her demos seperate from the band, and we also know that FM used her basic piano demo to record around (Yep, the piano-line in "Sara" is played by Stevie, not Christine).
And none of the background vocal parts in question are in the final mix of the song... which would make sense, given the valid opinion that the Mac would not have had Stevie's background singers on one of their albums at the time.

So basically, it seems that the "cleaning lady" version is a hybrid of Stevie's original demo, recorded in Dallas, TX., and the instrumentation Fleetwood Mac was adding to it.
Eventually, those particular background vocals were stripped away, and the song was edited down to the version we hear on Tusk.



Johnny Stew

That makes alot of sense J.S.

Thank you,

N.

i had said on the Rumours forum that i thought it was Lori but i mistakenly wrote that instead of Sharon. When i first heard it i instinctively thought "what is Sharon doing on here"...It surely doesn't sound like anyone in FM to me....thanks Johnny Stew for all that clarification...i don't remember seeing that when it was originally posted. I don't think i was on the Forums then.

Thanks! Knew we could count on you! That's some good info.

Oh, by the way, I saw a pic of you on a picture thread over in Chit Chat & may I say ;) ! :lol: For 3:00am you look d#*n good Johnny Stew! Neil too! (blush away):laugh:

Studio version
 

Well, I do enjoy the Cleaning Lady version, but I could really do without the Doo-Wah thingies in the background I think that they are distracting and don't really go with the song. That said, I like the Studio version better because it doesn't have those! lol. That is cool that it was Stevie playing the piano, she can actually play pretty well! That makes me like the song even more.

-SeventhWonder

Originally posted by SeventhWonder:
 

Me too! :nod: It does nothing for the song IMO. But, I still like the Cleaning Lady version better (minus that). It just seems more emotional. Plus, I love that it is longer! :lol:

More Stevie always makes me :) !

the question is....which piano track IS Stevie playing? There are two piano tracks that are quite different in sound (one is more simple and softer) and each is assigned to the right and left channel respectively. ????