Let's discuss Stevie's songs on this new Deluxe version of "Mirage"!!!

[SpyNote]

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

"Gypsy" - OH MY GOD!!! The 5.1 mix is sooooooooo LUSH! I adore it!!! The echo of the xylophone intertwined with Lindsey and Chris' "Ooooooo" harmonies. Otherworldly! One can really tell why Lindsey considers this his favorite contribution to a Stevie song. There's so much going on but Ken's mix is perfection with the highs and lows. Hat's off to him! I also love that they brought her last line "still see your bright eyes" way up in the mix on this one.

"Straight Back" - Damn! This is almost like a brand new song with the old vocal. So much instrumentation that you could never hear before. Likewise with the harmonies. The best thing is the new Stevie vocals added during the "Hours and hours" part. Then there's the guitar flourishes that Lindsey does here and there, reminiscent of the Edge of Seventeen guitar lick. My only complaint is that they added so many new Stevie vocals and "upped" the volume, that Christine's harmony kind of gets lost in the mix. And it was Chris' harmony that partly made this song for me, personally.

What always bothered me until the reissue was how a lot of the printed lyrics didn't match up with what was actually released. Both "Gypsy" and "Straight Back" had totally different lyrics, so for years I knew there were different versions. It's nice to finally hear what was originally intended to be on the record until all the cuts and editing happened.

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

What always bothered me until the reissue was how a lot of the printed lyrics didn't match up with what was actually released. Both "Gypsy" and "Straight Back" had totally different lyrics, so for years I knew there were different versions. It's nice to finally hear what was originally intended to be on the record until all the cuts and editing happened.

I remember reading the lyrics in the Mirage CD booklet of Gypsy and thinking "when do they sing 'she was just a wish' at the end". I even played it a few times to see if it was there way in the background. It wasn't until the version on The Chain, after I had completely forgotten reading it, that I heard it and thought "Oh my God, it really is there, it was just cut out!!!"

[redbird]

I bought the Mirage re-release entirely for "If You Were My Love" and "Smile At You". Disappointed that the latter wasn't the great infamous angry version, but I do love having the former. Wish they hadn't snipped the outro but it's not a huge deal.

"Straight Back" sounds much more interesting now, love that.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by redbird

I bought the Mirage re-release entirely for "If You Were My Love" and "Smile At You". Disappointed that the latter wasn't the great infamous angry version, but I do love having the former. Wish they hadn't snipped the outro but it's not a huge deal.

I concur.

Looking at the total running time, it's just over 79 minutes for the whole CD. The better version of Smile At You wouldn't have fit unless something else was snipped, since it runs a minute longer than the one we got.