Christine McVie (1984)

[Chris_Lover]

Originally Posted by michelej1

[Review of the 1984 album by Wordpress blogger Bob Lefsetz]

Lefsetz Letter
http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.p...ristine-mcvie/

I read that article some days ago and I liked it.

"Ask anybody
They'll say I'm going wrong
They said I should walk out
But that's not what I want"

You ask for advice, but you don't want to listen to it. “

That reminds me of another song, “Only over you”…I think she wrote it in 1980/81, but never released it until the end of her relationship with Dennis Wilson, in 1982 (for “Mirage”):

“People think I'm crazy
But they don't know
Thought love had failed me
But now, they're watching it grow
Angel, please don't go
I miss you when you're gone
They say I'm a silly girl
But I'm not a fool”

That makes me think that even in “Ask anybody”, after 2 years from Dennis’ death and 3 years since the end of their relationship, someway she was still in love with him and was sure that her love for Dennis was right. We know that in 1984 she had already met Eddy Quintela: maybe Eddy, at the time, was the only one who helped her forgetting Dennis and the pain she felt for his death and the way their relationship ended. Maybe Chris felt guilty for not having helped him enough (but, at the time, she did all she could, it was just a lost cause). At the same time, she had to leave Dennis ‘cos it was becoming impossible to deal with him because of his addiction to drugs and alcohol. In fact, then she says:

"But that's all right 'cause I know somehow We can make it right and I'm putting up a fight Somehow, somewhere he'll change And we'll try it all over again without all the pain"

Is it another song she wrote one year early, before his death, when she was still hoping they could be together again, trusting he would have changed?
Even if I really love Stevie, I totally agree with this part:

“And maybe because "Christine McVie" was a relative disappointment, Christine retreated. To the point where the press still follows Stevie Nicks's every move, but Christine's been forgotten. But for those of us who just didn't listen to the songs on the radio, who bought the albums and read all the credits, saw the musicians as three-dimensional, Christine McVie was always the queen. (….) That's a rock star.”

I like her 1984 album: not only because it’s Chris’, but because there are some great songs in it. For example, “Got a hold on me”, “Love will show us how”, “Who’s dreaming this dream” and “So excited”.
A completely different style from “The Legendary Christine Perfect”, my fav album: during her "blues years" her voice was huskier, she was still happy and full of dreams. Yes, there were always hopes and dreams in her lyrics, but that feeling of grief and loss was already there too, even if the real heartbreaks she endured during the years were still far away. Obviously, she was "stronger" at the time she wrote songs like “No road is the right road”, “For you”, “Close to me”, “Wait and see”, etc… this is what I miss about her, but I understand that she’s almost 70 years old today. She had a stressful and eventful life with FM, furthermore the men she loved all ended by using and/or betraying her. She is simply tired of all of this, and you can feel it in most of her songs, from 1977 to 2004.