Quote:
Originally posted by hayley
I feel that Say You Will is bloated, and agree with most critics who say that the album suffers as a result of its length. It's just too much. It's unnecessary. And despite Lindsey's pleas in the doc. that he'd be happy if it sold 300,000 copies if he's happy with the result and feels like he's grown as an artist- I don't buy it...
Lindsey once released a great album that no one heard- and it crushed him. He, and the rest of the band, wanted a commercial success with this album.
I just feel like where they ended- ...
...
managed to be the one solution that didn't work for either of their diametrically opposite goals- the fight between commercial success and artistic freedom. I just feel like it was a compromise that managed to work for no one.
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I couldn't agree more. My only other thought...what if they had put out a double but made one disc commercial and the other more daring? It could have helped. Maybe? Critics didn't like the bloat becasue it was disjointed. The songs were too different in style to hang together on a single disc, but a double could have grouped the singles together and put the heavy stuff on another disc.
As far as the doc, I was a little disappointed. It wasn't all that. Maybe I was expecting too much?
It was too choppy. Every time things started to heat up in the studio they cut to a sunset. What the hell was that? It was 90 mins. unedited so where's the beef? They could have shown a little more of the recording process--more songs. For something that was supposed to be a double album they only seemed to be working on the same few songs in the studio.
Not enough piss and vinegar either. You know they had a lot more heated debates than the ones shown. Two spots I liked a lot showed why Stevie and Lindsey aren't together. One was him telling her how to write. Whoa baby! You'd think he'd have learend by now that's a big no-no. It shows what a control freak he still is and how stubborn she is about her songs. I loved her comparing herself to Bob Dylan. Way to go girl! The other part I liked showed them fighting through their handlers. Ha! Your people are accusing my people...blah, blah! Sadly, that part probably shows the most realisitc view of the way the band operates and probably how it's been since just before Rumours. You love someone but can only talk to them through lawyers and managers, or through your music? Not a winning situation.
Overall, the enitre doc showed despite their mature years the people haven't changed much. Lindsey's still a big baby. If I can't have my way I'm going to take my songs and go. Whaaaa! Mick's still driven by the money and will do whatever it takes to cash in. No doubt Mick was 100% behind Lindsey in the beginning to get him on board just one more time....cha-ching... stroking Lindsey's big fragile ego until LB's work was mostly done and it came time to deliver the record. Then he does the 180 and leaves the man hanging. John was as droll as ever. He's a man of few words but when he talks it's worth listening. Too bad his best friend is such a big mouth. He ruined the only words John could get in edgewise. This man needs a new best friend.
As for Stevie, I thought she shined during the whole thing. She looked great, sounded great, and kept her head level when things could have gone down hill. She came off very well overall. I was just thinking...Stevie surely had veto over what was shown of her, but Lindsey supposedly had his hands all over this thing, right? Wasn't this project his baby? Wonder if that says anything? Lindsey showed himself as the spoiled brat he sometimes is but Stevie was almost on a pedestal. Hmmm?