Creating the Worst Possible Setlist

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I noticed several songs were chosen that were never performed live before, and that we think would sound awful based on how much we dislike the recorded song. That’s different, I think, from songs that FM have performed live that now sound awful. I have three examples; Never Going Back Again- a truly beautiful song that, in some misguided sense of passion I guess, Lindsey has unfortunately turned into a caricature of a song. Gypsy- part of it may be Stevie isn’t capable of singing it as well anymore, but what she’s done to compensate instead makes it even worse. A shadow of the song it used to be live, or is on the recording. Big Love is another example- I like the recorded version a lot, but the way it is performed live makes it a completely different song. Imagine Dragons played Big Love at MusisCares years ago, and it was awesome. If Imagine Dragons can do it justice, surely FM could!

What songs do you think FM performed poorly in the past, due to the arrangement or age or whatever?

I actually like some of the songs that I included on my list. The selections that I made were more targeted at novelty songs like "Lizard People" and "Did You Ever Love Me", both of which I adore. It's certainly possible that there are certain songs that would surprisingly translate well live, but at this current juncture, that list is dwindling given that Lindsey's and Stevie's voices are deteriorating in quality. The studio version of "Sisters of the Moon" is terrific and the live versions found on the Tusk and Mirage tour are almost as good, but the quality absolutely tanked by the 2013 tour and On With the Show. I still enjoy the acoustic rendition of "Big Love" but would welcome a rendition that's more faithful to the studio recording.

As for other songs that FM has performed poorly in the past, I wasn't a fan of "Not That Funny" on their 2013 tour or even their original Tusk tour, but I love the studio version. "Hold Me" doesn't translate perfectly live, but it wasn't performed poorly. I don't understand why Fleetwood Mac kept "Blue Letter" in their live set up until 1990. In my opinion, that was a wasted slot.