Gypsy Flashback

[David]

Originally Posted by petep9000

I should maybe try to read something about Herr Beethoven. If you can recommend a bio that is considered good (in English) and only one volume, I'd take a crack at reading it.

You don't want to read a biography. You want to read "Beethoven: Impressions by His Contemporaries," published by Dover in softcover in 1967 & edited by O.G. Sonneck.

David I think you might like Theroux earlier book, called 'The Great Railway Bazaar'. That is the one I really liked, the book I reviewed was a sequel he did 30 years later.

I'll look for a used copy somewheres. I feel like reading something out of the ordinary for me.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by David

I guess the director -- whatever his name is, I've forgotten -- Mulcahy or something -- was emulating various film "looks" of the 1930s & early '40s, such as the sultry Warners melodrama with satiny black & white ("Casablanca," "To Have & Have Not"), the earlier social-problem films of the Depression era from Warner & Monogram ("East Side Kids," "Public Enemy"), & finally the glittering & oversaturated MGM & Fox musicals in 3-strip Technicolor ("Wizard of Oz," "Moon Over Miami," "Meet Me in St. Louis").

It's a Hollywood cornucopia -- a pastiche of old styles, which really made it stand out at a time when music videos generally looked pretty cruddy visually (most probably shot on video whereas GYPSY was shot on film stock).

It should have occurred to Fleetwood Mac, after having done this video, to shoot the Forum concerts on film stock instead of video, because that concert video has always had a cruddily way-too-realistic look & sound to it (it's like watching something shot by a personal digital video cam). Imagine that concert shot with the care & style used on GYPSY.

There is a video called "The Making of Gypsy" out there somewhere wherein La Nicks discusses this topic. I can't find it. Maybe someone who has it can post it.

Also - CM is uttery fab. in the nightclub scene.

[ThunderHappens]

Gypsy is such a beautiful song, some of Stevie's best vocals. The video is spectacular, too. Stevie is absolutely shining with radiance in the forest/cliff scenes.

If I correctly understand what you guys are saying, then the song was mixed/extended just for the video, and this particular cut is not available on any form of audio?

I can't quite hear what she says at 3:54, anyone catch it?

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by ThunderHappens

Gypsy is such a beautiful song, some of Stevie's best vocals. The video is spectacular, too. Stevie is absolutely shining with radiance in the forest/cliff scenes.

If I correctly understand what you guys are saying, then the song was mixed/extended just for the video, and this particular cut is not available on any form of audio?

I can't quite hear what she says at 3:54, anyone catch it?

Someone posted a really nice rip of the audio from the video as an mp3 and it's as close to an album cut as I've ever heard. If nobody else has it, I'll post it when I get home (I'm at work now). If you don't see it posted in the next day someone please PM me as I'm likely to forget. My brain is like a slotted spoon these days.

The lyric you are asking about, ThunderHappens, is "You're bright eyes... I can't find you". I had trouble with that myself until The Chain came out and the unreleaed extended version there not only has this line but also a bit before it that didn't make it to the video where she sings "I can't find you" more prominently. I love that version but they left out the little bit of Stevie's vocal that happens just after Lindsey's guitar solo stars, "ooh, see your bright eyes".

And for those of you who are as fanatic about this song as I am, have you ever noticed in the Mirage liner notes where the lyrics show the background vocals as singing "she was just a wish... she was just a wish" during the vocal ad lib at the end, yet you never hear it in the original, or even the video version for that matter? Listen closely to the mix on The Chain shortly after it veers away from the original version. Stevie sing "but I still see...." before the verse starts and as she finished with "...you're bright eyes" you can hear Lindsey and her singing "she was just a wish" in the background. The first time I heard that I was totally thrown down. I thought "that's why they had those lyrics in the liner notes".


And yes, without meaning to I've found myself saying "thrown down" a lot. It's sort of the opposite of "fell out", as in " When I saw my bf cheating on me I totally fell out and when he finally admitted it I was totally thrown down".

[RoseGarden]

I agree with Wolfontherun---Stevie seems to have a natural smile at the end that makes me feel like I am smiling back at her.

---to the inquirer that wants to see the making of gypsy, I am looking for that footage for you . I remember it and enjoyed the fussing of her hairstylist as she is explaining what she is expected to do for this photo shoot. This was back in the early 80's and Stevie was expressing she wasn't comfortable doing videos, however she gave a lot of credit to whom produced this particular video as most of the FM characters wern't even looking at one another (nor getting along) but it appears differently while watching it.

This is a great video---especially since the 80's had a lot of cheesy ones out there!

[galestreet]

thanks for sharing the video, its one of my favorites!