Let's Show Some love For... "Straight Back"!

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Phil

HomerMcVie,

Please don't misunderstand me - I am fond of Mirage and I agree that Tango is definitely the most sterile, synthetic offering this quintet ever issued but that said, Mirage lacks the soul of Tusk, which of course preceded it.

That was my reaction upon first hearing Mirage and as unfair as it was to do, I guess I compared the two. Nothing could ever eclipse Tusk for me because it is my all time favourite album and of course, the styles of the albums are distinctly different but in my opinion, Mirage definitely didn't match it for quality.

I happen to adore all three of Stevie's tracks on Mirage and like most of the remaining tracks but don't consider them to be amongst the greatest of Lindsey's and Christine's output. Much of the album sounds half-hearted to these ears and yet Stevie's impassioned vocals and intense compositions lend an air of authenticity to proceedings.

I agree with everything you said. To me, Mirage is just sterile, formulaic, and soulless. I even prefer Tango to Mirage, simply because it's a better album, and because Lindsey and Christine's songs on Tango are exceedingly high quality. Lindsey's Mirage songs just plain stink in my opinion (sans Eyes Of The World), and Christine's aren't much better (sans Hold Me). Stevie's songs were good... but don't quite match the emotion of her songs on Tusk, or even Tango for that matter. People may blast Stevie's Tango contributions, but she was staggeringly raw and honest in her lyrics for Welcome To The Room... Sara, and When I See You Again. As a whole, Mirage just comes across to me as disingenuous. The kids were at the top of all of their respective games (just watch videos from the Mirage tour!!), but the album was just a phoned in middle of the road effort by burned out, spoiled rockers.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Lindsey's Mirage songs just plain stink in my opinion (sans Eyes Of The World), and Christine's aren't much better (sans Hold Me).

ARGGGHHHH! I love Can't Go Back, and Book of Love, and EVEN Empire State!!!

I'll give you, that Love in Store is fairly bland, even though I like it.......I blame Lindsey's production!!!

Okay, I'm willing to admit, that my love for Mirage, probably has more to do with the fact that I was a kid, when it came out. I LOVED Mirage! I still have vivid memories, of making my friends listen to it!

When I make a FM "MY hits" cd, Can't Go Back, That's Alright, and Book of Love, must ALWAYS be sequential!

[jaycee]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

ARGGGHHHH! I love Can't Go Back, and Book of Love, and EVEN Empire State!!!

I'll give you, that Love in Store is fairly bland, even though I like it.......I blame Lindsey's production!!!

Okay, I'm willing to admit, that my love for Mirage, probably has more to do with the fact that I was a kid, when it came out. I LOVED Mirage! I still have vivid memories, of making my friends listen to it!

When I make a FM "MY hits" cd, Can't Go Back, That's Alright, and Book of Love, must ALWAYS be sequential!

To be honest, I can't see why many FM fans don't like "Empire State". It bewilders me. That said, I wouldn't say I love it like most other LB songs.
I must say I don't like "Can't Go Back" or "Book Of Love" as much as I used to, at least at the moment... I still quite like them though...
I also quite like "Oh Diane", except if anyone else is listening to it with me - all I want to do then is die! I mean, it's not as if I can skip the track, because it feels like too much of a concession, seeing as their my favourite band! And if I don't, then it probably tarnishes their view of FM anyway! I remember listening to "Mirage" one time, and Dad just happened to come in, hand me dinner, sit down next to me with his own, and start listening to the end of "Hold Me"... which proceeded to the beginning of "Oh Diane"! I would've preferred Dad to have never had to endure that during his lifetime. That said, he didn't say anything, but I'm confident that he would've thought it was rubbish. Also unfortunately, I played the first disc of (Selections from) 25 Years - The Chain in the car during a trip in New Zealand, which contains "Oh Diane"... someone should've slapped Lindsey across the face when he decided to include it in the compilation (assuming it was his fault)! (Sorry Lindsey! )
As for "Eyes Of The World"... well, I don't like it as much as I used to, because I recently listened to it with headphones, and I heard all these extra annoying vocal noises at the start, which seemed silly to me.
(That reminds me - I listened to "Tango In The Night" two nights back, and what I originally thought was merely a long pause in the song was actually filled with similarly annoying noises... except these ones didn't annoy me! )
Having said all this, I actually still love his Mirage songs! Just not as much as his other ones, of course!
And I think all of Christine's and Stevie's songs are excellent on this album! I really don't understand why some people don't like "Only Over You". It's got me mystified...

[Artemis]

Empire State is probably in my top 5 Lindsey songs >_>

I wish they would re-release Mirage and put in Smile At You and If You Were My Love, then it would be a really really amazing album. It annoys me how Stevie's songs are (in my opinion) the best on the album, yet she only gets three, while Lindsey gets more songs and most of them are horrific (Oh Diane, anyone? Awful song)

Smile At You is best in the Mirage-era demos. I think it's totally, utterly, ruined in Say You Will. I like to pretend it never happened >_>

Edit - Woo, just as I posted this, I get Mirage and Street Angel through my letter box. Huzzah for ebay! =D

[Phil]

Homer,
I really like Can't Go Back and Empire State but I'm not so convinced of his other contributions to Mirage. Christine's songs are generally good but suffer from uninspired production - for example, imagine the demo of Little Lies before Lindsey wove his magic around it - that was a beautifully produced track that made an average song actually sparkle - that's what her tracks needed. The simplicity of Stevie's tracks rang true - they thankfully didn't need any comprehensive production because they certainly didn't get it!

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Phil

Homer,
I really like Can't Go Back and Empire State but I'm not so convinced of his other contributions to Mirage. Christine's songs are generally good but suffer from uninspired production - for example, imagine the demo of Little Lies before Lindsey wove his magic around it - that was a beautifully produced track that made an average song actually sparkle - that's what her tracks needed. The simplicity of Stevie's tracks rang true - they thankfully didn't need any comprehensive production because they certainly didn't get it!

Oh Diane is really the only song of Lindsey's, that I don't care for. I'll never understand the HATE that Empire State gets! It kicks Diane's ASS!!!

You say Stevie's songs didn't get "comprehensive production"? If Gypsy's not the ultimate example of Lindsey's tireless production, then I don't know what is!

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

You say Stevie's songs didn't get "comprehensive production"? If Gypsy's not the ultimate example of Lindsey's tireless production, then I don't know what is!

Werd.

The BD demos for "Gypsy" with the Heartbreakers are painful to hear. Just awful. This is the perfect example of Lindsey's (occasional) ability to polish a turd in the studio.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Empire State is probably in my top 5 Lindsey songs >_>

I wish they would re-release Mirage and put in Smile At You and If You Were My Love, then it would be a really really amazing album. It annoys me how Stevie's songs are (in my opinion) the best on the album, yet she only gets three, while Lindsey gets more songs and most of them are horrific (Oh Diane, anyone? Awful song)

Smile At You is best in the Mirage-era demos. I think it's totally, utterly, ruined in Say You Will. I like to pretend it never happened >_>

Edit - Woo, just as I posted this, I get Mirage and Street Angel through my letter box. Huzzah for ebay! =D

I suspect that at the time Stevie was probably doing her nobless oblige and allowing the other writers to get a larger chunk of the publishing since she had just made a mint off of BD. Plus, whatever didn't get used by FM went directly to her solo career. Mama was at the peak of her powers creatively and commercially, and probably had no time or inclination for band politics. She "tread with gossamer wings."

[David]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I suspect that at the time Stevie was probably doing her nobless oblige and allowing the other writers to get a larger chunk of the publishing since she had just made a mint off of BD. Plus, whatever didn't get used by FM went directly to her solo career. Mama was at the peak of her powers creatively and commercially, and probably had no time or inclination for band politics. She "tread with gossamer wings."

Pretty image, fit for a fairytale. But according to the David Gans article in Record, Nicks wasn't showing up often enough at the Larrabee sessions to get much more than that recorded.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by David

Pretty image, fit for a fairytale. But according to the David Gans article in Record, Nicks wasn't showing up often enough at the Larrabee sessions to get much more than that recorded.

My recollection was that they were all holed up in a rented house in France to get Mirage finished. Still, Stevie could have easily had a terrific fourth song on that album in lieu of one of the fluffer-nutter pieces shat out by Lindsey or Christine, especially since she had newfound leverage within the band to demand things. With a little additional tinkering, "If You Were My Love" and/or "Smile at You" could have been hit singles.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by jaycee

I really don't understand why some people don't like "Only Over You". It's got me mystified...

I'll tell you why: "I'm OUT of my mind..." It's like nails on a chalk board to me.

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

ARGGGHHHH! I love Can't Go Back, and Book of Love, and EVEN Empire State!!!

I'll give you, that Love in Store is fairly bland, even though I like it.......I blame Lindsey's production!!!

Okay, I'm willing to admit, that my love for Mirage, probably has more to do with the fact that I was a kid, when it came out. I LOVED Mirage! I still have vivid memories, of making my friends listen to it!

When I make a FM "MY hits" cd, Can't Go Back, That's Alright, and Book of Love, must ALWAYS be sequential!

Hey, I'm totally with you on this, and I just discovered FM. I went from Rumours to the White Album to Tusk to Mirage.. and so on..

And I freakin' LOVE Mirage.(This includes ALL of Lindsey and Stevie's songs and Christine's. Love in Store sounds great live.) My third favorite FM album after Tusk and Rumours.

Also, thank you, awesome people who posted the LP version of Straight Back and the rehearsal, you rock!

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by Fiver

Hey, I'm totally with you on this, and I just discovered FM. I went from Rumours to the White Album to Tusk to Mirage.. and so on..

And I freakin' LOVE Mirage.(This includes ALL of Lindsey and Stevie's songs and Christine's. Love in Store sounds great live.) My third favorite FM album after Tusk and Rumours.

Also, thank you, awesome people who posted the LP version of Straight Back and the rehearsal, you rock!

You're welcome! And in case anyone missed it... you can listen to the original LP version of "Straight Back" HERE (http://songsoftheday.synthasite.com) (under January 13, 2010), and compare for yourself with the CD version...

I really enjoy the LP version (getting to hear certain instruments and vocals that get a little buried in the remix), but having heard the CD version first (and for years)... it sounds a little flat without those vocal overdubs that were added (sounding almost like an early outtake version of the song to me).