Stevie's Mirage submissions

[ryan4136]

Agreed, thank goodness LB didn't act that way with Gypsy, and that SN allowed some noticable changes to that song, what a gem we might've missed out on.

[Christopher]

I love Stevie's "Mirage" songs. Her voice on this, just as on "Bella Donna", is at its apex, and she sounds confident and strong. Her vocals on all 3 songs give me goosebumps. After all these years "That's Alright" & "Gypsy" are my favorites from this record. Don't get me wrong "Straight Back" is wonderful too, but it has not aged as well for me. Back in 82' as a teenager SB was the representative FM radio AOR deep cut, not to mention Stevie's archetypical moody, ambiguous mystical contribution. But if they had swapped out "Smile At You" instead of "Straight Back" on Mirage, I strongly suspect SAY would have been a big song & possible hit in Stevie's catalog, instead we have to settle for fan bootleg hall of fame. And yes, there was major tension in the band when they recorded "Mirage" with Stevie coming off her HUGE success with Bella Donna, having stayed on the charts and spawned hits spanning almost a solid year. I believe BD was still practically in the top 40 album charts when "Mirage" was released. Stevie was the undeniably the biggest female rock singer 81' through 83'

[LilyRose]

The demo versions of Smile At You will always trump the officially released version. It belonged on Mirage, no question. As much as I love If You Were My Love I kind of hope they don't try to officially record it. I don't want the charm to be taken away.

I'm holding out hope for a remastered Mirage re-release; a place to put these songs out to the masses (that is if anyone besides us diehards really care).

[porkpie]

thanks guys for If You Were My Love, it's awesome! So are the musicians the Mac or her solo guys?

Also, are there any demos from the Tango sessions which have Stevie's vocals that Lindsey erased?

[tabruns]

Lindsey erased vocals of Nicks' from the Tango songs?

[Jondalar]

I wish people would stop blaming Lindsey for everything. He more than did right by Stevie Nicks. Tango was definitely her fault.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

I wish people would stop blaming Lindsey for everything. He more than did right by Stevie Nicks. Tango was definitely her fault.

Thank you!! Even Stevie admitted it and said "that was hard for him"...

[Bandon]

At the time, Gypsy was the first song from a recorded album when Stevie presented her "alto voice." After all these years, her voice does not seem so "alto" on Gypsy, but it did back then.

Yeah, for anyone who thinks Straight Back is bland, check out the extended version. I always loved that.

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by Bandon

Yeah, for anyone who thinks Straight Back is bland, check out the extended version. I always loved that.

There's an extended version??? I never knew that! Does anyone have it?

[DeeGeMe]

Check out the article posted on the Nicks Fix from Sept 1982--The Record magazine (it was a short-lived offshoot of Rolling Stone)--whose title is "Where's Stevie?" it describes some of the behind-the-scenes drama around Stevie's contributions or lack thereof in the album and the tour preps and interviews; although Chris, Mick, John, and Linds were very kind in what they said about her; more or less.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by MariaA37

I'm in the minority here but this was the first If You Were My Love demo and imho it's the best. I searched for years to find a good quality version of it.

https://www.yousendit.com/download/Z...SWgzeUx2Wmc9PQ mp3

The version with Stevie and Lori and Sharon has grown on me, but I hate the Fleetwood Mac version. I'm sure someone will post them. If not, I'll have to find them.

~Maria

Definitely the best quality of this version I've ever come across. Thanks so much for posting. It's my favorite also.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by tabruns

Agreed....but I also agree with Artemis as to why they didn't. I recall reading an article in Rolling Stone around the time of the making of Mirage, and they described a lot of tension between the band and Nicks.

I suspect that Stevie, having just proven her ability to be independent and successful on her own terms, came back to Fleetwood Mac with a slight attitude, knowing she had a bit more clout. She probably was less passive and more challenging.

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by DeeGeMe

Check out the article posted on the Nicks Fix from Sept 1982--The Record magazine (it was a short-lived offshoot of Rolling Stone)--whose title is "Where's Stevie?" it describes some of the behind-the-scenes drama around Stevie's contributions or lack thereof in the album and the tour preps and interviews; although Chris, Mick, John, and Linds were very kind in what they said about her; more or less.

I remember reading this article back in the day. Interesting that Mick seems so non-chalant at the time about Nicks possibly leaving. I don't think he'd feel that way now.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Stevie was the undeniably the biggest female rock singer 81' through 83'

I'm not a huge fan of Pat Benatar but I'd have to say they were pretty much neck and neck during this time.By 1985 however Pat was pretty much through. Her album Seven the Hard Way released within weeks of RAL stalled at number 28 and had trouble even going gold whereas RAL was platinum within a month.

[ahafan02]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

I'm not a huge fan of Pat Benatar but I'd have to say they were pretty much neck and neck during this time.By 1985 however Pat was pretty much through. Her album Seven the Hard Way released within weeks of RAL stalled at number 28 and had trouble even going gold whereas RAL was platinum within a month.

Seven the Hard Way will always be my fav Pat album....she had two hits from the album "Sex as a Weapon" and "Invincible". "Le Bel Age" was a modest hit. I would say she killed her career with "True Love" and has never recovered since.