This is always the most interesting thing... to me, at least... when people are discussing "best" and "worst" songs, because in a lot of cases, it varies so much from person to person.
"When I See You Again" is most definitely one of those songs.
I love everything about the song, and I don't see anything bad about the lyrics at all.
Are they the most brilliant lyrics ever written? No, but the brilliance is in how deeply they can affect someone.
I can feel and hear the aching and longing in every single word, and in every nuance of her vocal.
That second verse kills me....
"So she walks slowly down the hall...
There are many doors in the hallway.
And she stares at the stairs....
Ooh, there are many things to stare at these days."
Maybe it's just me, but because of my panic/anxiety disorder, I have spent many nights just walking the floors, because I can't sleep and don't know what to do with myself.
I know EXACTLY what Stevie must have been feeling as she wrote those lyrics.
And yes, her voice is scratchy and raspy... and that's the beauty of it.
A singer with a textbook perfect voice could
never pull off a song like this. Stevie's flawed little voice brings something to this song that all the perfect notes in the world, couldn't hope to.
I feel the same way about "I Sing For The Things"... that hoarse, whispered vocal just slays me every time.
By the way, I was a relatively "new" fan when 'Tango' was released. I was familiar with the bigger hits, and grew up loving those songs... but I was so young when they were released, that I paid little attention to who sang them, etc.
It wasn't until 'Rock A Little' was released in late 1985, that I really took notice.
So that album, and 'Tango In The Night,' were the two albums that REALLY introduced me to Stevie and Fleetwood Mac, in a big way. And "When I See You Again" was definitely one of the songs that permanently sealed my fandom.
And I was only a teenager at the time.
I don't expect everyone to like "When I See You Again" (though I do believe the possibility is there, if someone truly immerses their self in the song), but it does mean a great deal to me... so it can't possibly be the "worst" anything.