SYW, best album of all time?

[elle]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

BullSh*t! It had new songs on it.

man, are you combative.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by elle

man, are you combative.

LOL how dare you!

[TrueFaith77]

It is my contention that Say You Will is the best American album of the 00s.

[chriskisn]

Can I point you all in the direction of the pre-Rumours period. That is where the best albums by Fleetwood Mac are to be found.

[Dodfather]

Say You Will is pretty great in parts. As others have said, Thrown Down is, for me, the standout track and a real gem! It's the best Mac song Stevie had done since Gypsy - just superb. Yes, the album is patchy but I think if you removed 4-5 tracks it could have been pretty stellar.

Now, just what would those 4-5 tracks be?? Let battle commence! I think/hope we can all agree on Silver Girl though... No, Stevie, No!!

[Machu]

I'm a Say You Will advocate. With this album we get amazing songs like Destiny Rules, Miranda, Running Through The Garden, Thrown Down, and Peacekeeper all of which rank among the band's best, imo. It feels a little more Tusk than Rumours but I always liked Tusk better anyways.

[The Highwayman]

Geez, all the people skipping over or disliking some amazing songs on SYW: 'Silver Girl', 'What's The World Coming To', 'Say Goodbye' (!!) and 'Goodbye Baby'. Really? Well, that's opinions for ya. 'Say Goodbye' is the second best song on SYW (nothing can surpass the greatness of 'Thrown Down').

I love this album. I like the white FM album, Rumours, Tusk and Mirage more and Tango at least as much, maybe more, but still, I feel SYW is a strong strong album.

As for the title of this thread, no way is it the best album of all time. Hah, it's not even the best Fleetwood Mac album. Hell, it's not even the best album of 2003.

[TotallyTusked]

Yeah, I mean, Say You Will has some great songs on it... and I might be one of a minority that absolutely LOVES Stevie's matured voice (on SYW particularly) but I agree, I doesn't quite make the cut as an ALBUM.
Lindsey is the spectacle here, once again, and his songs are definitely the stand-outs of the album. Simply, I think that there were too many songs I skipped, and the absence of Christine weighed the LP down more than I thought it would. It's not all that bad, but not stellar. I think this is where the Rumours lineup (minus C.M) kinda lost the plot with FM's style of music the most. We see a classic Mac sound again in this year's EP, but Say You Will is a bit out of it in my opinion.

[secret love]

Originally Posted by TotallyTusked

Yeah, I mean, Say You Will has some great songs on it... and I might be one of a minority that absolutely LOVES Stevie's matured voice (on SYW particularly) but I agree, I doesn't quite make the cut as an ALBUM.
Lindsey is the spectacle here, once again, and his songs are definitely the stand-outs of the album. Simply, I think that there were too many songs I skipped, and the absence of Christine weighed the LP down more than I thought it would. It's not all that bad, but not stellar. I think this is where the Rumours lineup (minus C.M) kinda lost the plot with FM's style of music the most. We see a classic Mac sound again in this year's EP, but Say You Will is a bit out of it in my opinion.

Respectfully I disagree - there are far too many Lindsey dud songs on SYW. Murrow, Red Rover, Miranda, Say Goodbye are just sub-par for someone as talented as Buckingham and did not really excite me as I listened to them for the first time. Miranda I used to like but after a few listens it wore thin. Say Goodbye is just cliché central, as is Red Rover. Murrow is too frenetic musically and the lyric doesn't make a lot of sense. I loved the four new Stevie songs Illume, Destiny Rules, Say You Will and Silver Girl - they make a neat little EP-style playlist like that. What's the World Coming To, Peacekeeper and Come are all really cool.

I agree the collection of 9 Lindsey songs and 9 Stevie songs does not work very well as a cohesive Fleetwood Mac album but I am grateful that the band worked hard to perfect these songs and release them as Say You Will. SYW is the record which spiked my interest in Fleetwood Mac. I'm only 20 so was largely unfamiliar with the Mac's music for most of my childhood except for Rumours songs which get played to death on Sydney radio station 101.7 W.S. F.M. The Live in Boston 2003 film clips on YouTube hooked me in last year, so I downloaded SYW on iTunes (subsequently I've purchased 90% of the Rumours line-up Fleetwood Mac catalogue).

SYW is definitely not the greatest Fleetwood Mac album for me. It is not the greatest album of 2003, its year of release (I have a soft spot for Pink's Try This from the same year). But it is an outstanding musical work and I'm glad to have it. If only the band could gets its act together and do just one final, new Fleetwood Mac studio album! 12 tracks minimum thanks! Or at least something new from Stevie

[Dex]

Originally Posted by secret love

Respectfully I disagree - there are far too many Lindsey dud songs on SYW. Murrow, Red Rover, Miranda, Say Goodbye are just sub-par for someone as talented as Buckingham and did not really excite me as I listened to them for the first time. Miranda I used to like but after a few listens it wore thin. Say Goodbye is just cliché central, as is Red Rover. Murrow is too frenetic musically and the lyric doesn't make a lot of sense. I loved the four new Stevie songs Illume, Destiny Rules, Say You Will and Silver Girl - they make a neat little EP-style playlist like that. What's the World Coming To, Peacekeeper and Come are all really cool.

I like you, secret love, but I really can't make any sense of any of this!

Murrow too frenetic and nonsensical, but Come is really cool. Say Goodbye cliche central but you really like Silver Girl. Miranda (!!!) wears thin but not Say You Will. My mind is having trouble processing all of these. Different strokes, though!

Generally, I really like almost every song on the album (Silver Girl and Come being ones I sort of struggle with) but I can see why people say Lindsey "shines" here. His work on the album is just showier. He's a great guitarist going absolutely crazy on his guitar and demonstrating the heights of his skill level whenever possible. Stevie is a great singer-songwriter, but her voice and lyrical content are more subdued on much of SYW compared to the work that made her famous. I can just see Lindsey hitting harder for many listeners.

[secret love]

Originally Posted by Dex

I like you, secret love, but I really can't make any sense of any of this!

Murrow too frenetic and nonsensical, but Come is really cool. Say Goodbye cliche central but you really like Silver Girl. Miranda (!!!) wears thin but not Say You Will. My mind is having trouble processing all of these. Different strokes, though!

Generally, I really like almost every song on the album (Silver Girl and Come being ones I sort of struggle with) but I can see why people say Lindsey "shines" here. His work on the album is just showier. He's a great guitarist going absolutely crazy on his guitar and demonstrating the heights of his skill level whenever possible. Stevie is a great singer-songwriter, but her voice and lyrical content are more subdued on much of SYW compared to the work that made her famous. I can just see Lindsey hitting harder for many listeners.

I like Come because it's the only overtly sexual song Fleetwood Ma have ever produced. It was shocking at first but awesome too. Murrow is all right but just a tad too political...I don't connect with a lyric about the lack of integrity in modern journalism...how can I relate to that? It doesn't make me feel anything. It's just Lindsey having a good old rant...get off that high horse Linds! And I must admit as a Stevie fan I'm biased. Even though her voice has changed, it's rougher and huskier on SYW than it was before, Stevie can sing the Yellow Pages and make it sound soothing and intriguing. Silver Girl just hooked me in because at first I thought it was about Christine. Then later I read it was actually written about Sheryl Crow...and there is something about listening to Stevie sing about her friend in such a sweet voice, and with such honesty...that although there are many cliches in the lyric...it's still a great song for me.

Miranda is one of those songs I have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy. Its a kinda kooky crazy song. It just makes me want to be silly and stupid and dance. But sometimes you just play a song too many times you know? And you did like it but now you know it too well, so it's boring? That's Miranda for you. The song Say You Will, what can I say? It just gives me an instant happy buzz every time I listen to it. So groovy, yes so commercial but oh it's Stevie! And it's so cute.

I think for Stevie to really shine and grab people's attention she has to play an instrument? I don't know. If she played piano on stage...I would just die to see her sing and play Planets of the Universe. Just her and a grand piano. No band. Just that intimate feel of the original demo live in concert - that would be wow.

I kind feel sad for Stevie that she feels the need to have other people produce her songs so extensively. Really her piano demos are works of art in themselves in many cases. I don't care that she doesn't know 100 chords. She can play and she can play well...she needs more confidence in her ability. And I guess she doesn't believe fans would care to see her do anything other than sing. But I would. With some of her songs, what ended up released compared to the demo she made by herself is worse...it's like, why did you have to wreck the beautiful, intimate feel and emotion of your song with this cacophony of instruments and synthesizers and whizz bang production?

[bluefox4000]

Album could use some serious trimming of fat. There's some good stuff but it's Way too packed. if you're gonna make a long album. you better have class A materiel across the board. It's kinda sad that SYW is most likely how they're going out. Putting aside the EP i mean.

Mick

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by secret love

Really her piano demos are works of art in themselves in many cases. I don't care that she doesn't know 100 chords. She can play and she can play well...she needs more confidence in her ability. And I guess she doesn't believe fans would care to see her do anything other than sing. But I would. With some of her songs, what ended up released compared to the demo she made by herself is worse...it's like, why did you have to wreck the beautiful, intimate feel and emotion of your song with this cacophony of instruments and synthesizers and whizz bang production?

After having and loving her demos for many years I used to say that Stevie went into the studio and spent thousands of dollars to destroy her songs. It looks like you would agree.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by secret love

Really her piano demos are works of art in themselves in many cases. I don't care that she doesn't know 100 chords. She can play and she can play well...she needs more confidence in her ability.

She is an amazing piano player. But the 2 times she allows us to see her playing piano in the IYD doc, she plays horribly. I don't understand why she chose those segments to highlight her piano skills.

[elle]

Originally Posted by secret love

Murrow is all right but just a tad too political...I don't connect with a lyric about the lack of integrity in modern journalism...how can I relate to that? It doesn't make me feel anything. It's just Lindsey having a good old rant...get off that high horse Linds! And I must admit as a Stevie fan I'm biased.

see i feel just the opposite. when i first started listening to LB's and FM lyrics, i just kept thinking - stop!! what a bunch of self-centered & self-important a-holes! look around you, people, there's a whole wide world around you with bunch of problems and you bunch of indulgent rich people keep whining about you love life for 40 years like you are the only ones and that's the most important thing ever?!

so i was really happy to hear some political or other non-love songs from Lindsey, and that he actually finally stopped being so completely self-indulgent for a change.

and, how can you NOT relate to talk about the media? aren't you spending at least some time watching tv, or reading stuff on your computer? just my 0.02.