Rhiannon intro

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by jmn3

Years of listening to bootlegs and recordings of so many concerts that I couldn’t keep count. The sound of the band, Stevie’s voice, they are dead giveaways that the recording is from 1977 and definitely not 1979-80.

Yes very true. A few months ago Jeremy had his panel discussing this album. Some on the panel kept saying "this sounds like Rumours tour" yet they were reading from the booklet. I wanted to chime in and say, you guys are right with what you are hearing...because IT IS the Rumours tour.
Stevie's background vocals on Over My Head are so early Stevie and so good.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Yes very true. A few months ago Jeremy had his panel discussing this album. Some on the panel kept saying "this sounds like Rumours tour" yet they were reading from the booklet. I wanted to chime in and say, you guys are right with what you are hearing...because IT IS the Rumours tour.
Stevie's background vocals on Over My Head are so early Stevie and so good.

It's crazy, but I have so many versions of both tours, I have to think about it.
However, the difference between Tusk Live and Mirage live is unmistakable.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

It's crazy, but I have so many versions of both tours, I have to think about it.
However, the difference between Tusk Live and Mirage live is unmistakable.

Stevie’s voice starts to deteriorate later in the Rumours Tour and definitely in the 1978 shows. It’s very noticeable on Rhiannon from ‘76/early ‘77 compared to later in that tour.

Rhiannon from 1975-1982 really encapsulates for me what made Stevie such an interesting live performer. The band took a relatively polished and calm song on record and cranked it up to be a true tour de force on stage and Stevie just owned the F out of those 7-9 minutes every night. Even as the voice deteriorated, she still made the performance interesting (along with the entire band - they were on fire!).

What they’ve done with Rhiannon in the “modern” era (since 1997) is a joke in comparison. It’s a pathetic shell of its former self and neither Fleetwood Mac or her solo band have made it even remotely interesting for at least 20 years.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by jmn3

Stevie’s voice starts to deteriorate later in the Rumours Tour and definitely in the 1978 shows. It’s very noticeable on Rhiannon from ‘76/early ‘77 compared to later in that tour.

Rhiannon from 1975-1982 really encapsulates for me what made Stevie such an interesting live performer. The band took a relatively polished and calm song on record and cranked it up to be a true tour de force on stage and Stevie just owned the F out of those 7-9 minutes every night. Even as the voice deteriorated, she still made the performance interesting (along with the entire band - they were on fire!).

What they’ve done with Rhiannon in the “modern” era (since 1997) is a joke in comparison. It’s a pathetic shell of its former self and neither Fleetwood Mac or her solo band have made it even remotely interesting for at least 20 years.

Everything you said. I will add that I loved Christine's piano intro during the Dance. Also, can't forget Sisters of the Moon.

Gypsy will never ever be as good as studio.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Everything you said. I will add that I loved Christine's piano intro during the Dance. Also, can't forget Sisters of the Moon.

Gypsy will never ever be as good as studio.

Agree that Chris’s piano intro in 1997 was a nice touch and though Stevie’s solo band had done that many times before, I prefer the subtle Christine touch versus how it had been done beforehand. Sisters also cooked but I’d still put Rhiannon (especially those first few years) ahead of it - simply because I think it’s a better song. Though they gave Sisters basically the same treatment live with the solos and extended outro.

Gypsy is maybe one of their best studio works ever. It’s sublime. It will never compare in a live setting. Whereas songs like Rhiannon, Sisters, GYOW, The Chain, etc can, IMO, be preferable in a live setting, Gypsy is more like a typical Christine song - perfect in the studio and hard to improve upon live.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by jmn3

Stevie’s voice starts to deteriorate later in the Rumours Tour and definitely in the 1978 shows. It’s very noticeable on Rhiannon from ‘76/early ‘77 compared to later in that tour.

Rhiannon from 1975-1982 really encapsulates for me what made Stevie such an interesting live performer. The band took a relatively polished and calm song on record and cranked it up to be a true tour de force on stage and Stevie just owned the F out of those 7-9 minutes every night. Even as the voice deteriorated, she still made the performance interesting (along with the entire band - they were on fire!).

What they’ve done with Rhiannon in the “modern” era (since 1997) is a joke in comparison. It’s a pathetic shell of its former self and neither Fleetwood Mac or her solo band have made it even remotely interesting for at least 20 years.

I'd say it went lame by 1981...it was pretty lame on the Bella Donna tour....I mean, I really liked that she added in the piano intro with Roy Bittan to show more of how the song sounded as she wrote it, and then switched it into the version everyone knew. But it was no longer a rocking version ... it was a really sort of adult contemporary version. And it's been that way ever since.... just getting slower and slower with each decade.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by jmn3

What they’ve done with Rhiannon in the “modern” era (since 1997) is a joke in comparison. It’s a pathetic shell of its former self and neither Fleetwood Mac or her solo band have made it even remotely interesting for at least 20 years.

I remember I read in 1997 Stevie had a voice therapist to recover her voice and be in good shape for The Dance shows. Well obviously "recover" didn't mean to get her 70s voice again, but I understood she would have a decent nice voice. And IMHO she did. I loved her performances of SS and Landslide.
Her voice was far better than... for example, that 1987 Silent Night performance that never listened again and it's forbidden in my personal playlists, Ipod, etc.

So, a Rhiannon song that sounded like the 70s was impossible in 1997. It wouldn't sound good, and probably her voice therapist told her Don't do that! Then the energic act we used to see in the 70s was gone too. So I found The Dance Rhiannon a fine performance, taking in count years had passed and she had take care of her voice.

Mick mentions the Rhiannon performances and Stevie's excessive abuse singing it several times, just picked two of them:

we took her friend Robin Anderson, a voice therapist, on the road with us to try to train Stevie to use her voice differently. But it was like trying to tame a wild thing. Every night, at the climactic end of "Rhiannon," Stevie would rip her voice to shreds. It was a sacrifice she chose to make for her art.

....
When Stevie's voice cracked dangerously during "Rhiannon," she turned to Lindsey and hid her face behind the microphone. Eight months of touring was beginning to take its toll on all of us.

...
Also in Dallas, Stevie took "Rhiannon" to its outermost limits, chanting "Is this what you want from me?" during the crashing finale of the song.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I remember I read in 1997 Stevie had a voice therapist to recover her voice and be in good shape for The Dance shows. Well obviously "recover" didn't mean to get her 70s voice again, but I understood she would have a decent nice voice. And IMHO she did. I loved her performances of SS and Landslide.
Her voice was far better than... for example, that 1987 Silent Night performance that never listened again and it's forbidden in my personal playlists, Ipod, etc.

So, a Rhiannon song that sounded like the 70s was impossible in 1997. It wouldn't sound good, and probably her voice therapist told her Don't do that! Then the energic act we used to see in the 70s was gone too. So I found The Dance Rhiannon a fine performance, taking in count years had passed and she had take care of her voice.

Mick mentions the Rhiannon performances and Stevie's excessive abuse singing it several times, just picked two of them:

we took her friend Robin Anderson, a voice therapist, on the road with us to try to train Stevie to use her voice differently. But it was like trying to tame a wild thing. Every night, at the climactic end of "Rhiannon," Stevie would rip her voice to shreds. It was a sacrifice she chose to make for her art.

....
When Stevie's voice cracked dangerously during "Rhiannon," she turned to Lindsey and hid her face behind the microphone. Eight months of touring was beginning to take its toll on all of us.

...
Also in Dallas, Stevie took "Rhiannon" to its outermost limits, chanting "Is this what you want from me?" during the crashing finale of the song.

Nobody expected a 1976 level vocal in 1997. It’s more the boring arrangement and ending that is the problem with Rhiannon for the last 30 years. The lack of the solo and the lack of an interesting vocal performance really drag it down. She was able to put a lot of life and energy into Silver Springs and Gold Dust Woman in 1997. It just seems like Rhiannon is and continues to be an obligation and not a standout moment in the set like it once was.

Also, wellllll it was aaaaaaa…holllllleeeeeeee niiiiighhhht…wellllllll ��

[David]

Originally Posted by Villavic

So, a Rhiannon song that sounded like the 70s was impossible in 1997. It wouldn't sound good, and probably her voice therapist told her Don't do that! Then the energic act we used to see in the 70s was gone too.

A highly unpopular opinion: When I listen to the screaming in the song in the early days, I get a sore throat. And not a good sore throat. I wince. I don’t like it. But I love the way the song used to wind out instrumentally, like a snake sunning itself and then coiling and striking. I think the playing is what most of us miss.

[jmn3]

Originally Posted by David

A highly unpopular opinion: When I listen to the screaming in the song in the early days, I get a sore throat. And not a good sore throat. I wince. I don’t like it. But I love the way the song used to wind out instrumentally, like a snake sunning itself and then coiling and striking. I think the playing is what most of us miss.

The arrangement makes the whole thing. The solo, the nice quiet jam that ensues after with Christine’s amazing keys, the slow buildup to dreams unwind loves a state of mind…etc etc…the wild part with her screaming, and then the ending all building up to that crescendo at the end - the arrangement is on fire!