New Mirage tour live album on Spotify

[Street_Dreamer]

There are definitely production elements on most of the songs on Mirage that are akin to Tusk. Hold Me is probably the one song that has a perfect balance between the Rumours "feel" and the Tusk "feel".

Originally Posted by cbBen

I have long felt Lindsey mischaracterizes Mirage as devoid of experimentation. It doesn't have anything akin to "That's All For Everyone." But there is plenty of weird stuff whizzing around in the background of "Eyes Of The World" that would never be on Rumours.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by cbBen

I have long felt Lindsey mischaracterizes Mirage as devoid of experimentation. It doesn't have anything akin to "That's All For Everyone." But there is plenty of weird stuff whizzing around in the background of "Eyes Of The World" that would never be on Rumours.

I've also felt he mischaracterizes the actual choices available to the band given the material it had on hand in 1978-79. He presents the situation as one where he heroically forgoes the option, but the truth is the band didn't have the material to make a Rumours II even if it had wanted to. What songs in the mold of, and with the potential commercial appeal of, "Don't Stop" "Dreams" and "Go Your Own Way" did Lindsey pass on or make weird? Lindsey presents the situation as one of choosing artistic integrity at the expense of album sales. But I don't see that set of material–however produced or presented–generating more album sales than it did.

The claims of Mirage lacking experimentation don't really hold up. "Eyes of the World" and "Empire State" could have fit in perfectly on Law and Order, which is generally seen as an experimental album. Even more conventional songs on the album like "That's Alright" have unusual production elements, particularly in the keyboard drones during the chorus, the jaw harp sounds effects, and the metallic percussion.

As for the idea of Tusk not conceivably having the available material to make a Rumours II, that's partially because Lindsey went out of his way to write songs that completely deviated from the material found on Rumours. With some tidying, "Save Me a Place" and "I Know I'm Not Wrong" could have been crafted to fit on a more conventional follow-up to Rumours and Lindsey was demonstrably capable of writing poppier material, as evident by "Monday Morning", "Second Hand News", and later
"Trouble".

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by cbBen

Who sings the backing vocal on the studio version (link below to the vocals only)?: Stevie, Christine, or both of them (see for example 1:57, 2:09, etc.)?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzJWGRNCxO8

Hard to identify.I could even say it's any of them. Even Lindsey with his "voice sampled through a variable-speed oscillator", similar to Big Love, as Mick described.

Wikipedia page list the personnel and Chris is just keyboards. Stevie is the backing vocal, but how reliable is the source, I don't know. There is no reference mentioned in that segment.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by Villavic

Hard to identify.I could even say it's any of them. Even Lindsey with his "voice sampled through a variable-speed oscillator", similar to Big Love, as Mick described.

Wikipedia page list the personnel and Chris is just keyboards. Stevie is the backing vocal, but how reliable is the source, I don't know. There is no reference mentioned in that segment.

The audio clip makes it incredibly obvious that Stevie is on there.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

The audio clip makes it incredibly obvious that Stevie is on there.

Incredibly, I couldn't be sure.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

The audio clip makes it incredibly obvious that Stevie is on there.

Originally Posted by Villavic

Incredibly, I couldn't be sure.

who else is doing the high harmony? Stevie is clearly on there, identifiable both by the voice and the phrasing of the harmony.

[cbBen]

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

The audio clip makes it incredibly obvious that Stevie is on there.

And this is why I think she's running off stage to do coke.

She is the right backing singer for "I'm So Afraid." She has more bite and darkness in her vocal than does Christine. And yet in the Mirage live video she leaves it to Christine to sing backing vocal.

When you're sacrificing the music to run off and do drugs in the middle of the show, it's time for rehab.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by cbBen

And this is why I think she's running off stage to do coke.

She is the right backing singer for "I'm So Afraid." She has more bite and darkness in her vocal than does Christine. And yet in the Mirage live video she leaves it to Christine to sing backing vocal.

When you're sacrificing the music to run off and do drugs in the middle of the show, it's time for rehab.

I think you're wrong about the singing(yet right about the coke). Christine was always able to sing the high parts better(and much easier) than Stevie.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by cbBen

And this is why I think she's running off stage to do coke.

She is the right backing singer for "I'm So Afraid." She has more bite and darkness in her vocal than does Christine. And yet in the Mirage live video she leaves it to Christine to sing backing vocal.

When you're sacrificing the music to run off and do drugs in the middle of the show, it's time for rehab.

Stevie did not sing back up on I'm So Afraid on the Tusk tour either. I hear Chris on the Tusk tour versions too. But definitely on their first 2 tours together Stevie did sing back up with Lindsey on ISA. I think it's because even though its not on the Buck/Nicks album its sort of a Buck/Nicks song Lindsey was working on during that time.
In Largo on the Wild Heart tour she said she was off stage with Fleetwood Mac for 8 songs and could "do whatever she wanted to do." Gee isn't that nice. She says it like she goes out shopping for shoes during Not That Funny or something. But we know she was shoving copious amounts of blow up her nose.
My theory is that ISA is a Lindsey show piece. I think Stevie and the band could sense her onstage presence was a distraction to Lindsey and the fans during his showpiece. That's a long time to be on stage shaking a tambourine dancing for only one small backing vocal on the second verse. It would be so awkward and can understand why Chris took over.
Its not the first time the Mac has mixed things up in concert. In 1987 during GYOW Stevie was added to the second verse. Maybe without Lindsey they tried to put a Stevie stamp on the song. It really surprised me that when Lindsey came back in 1997 that they continued this tradition, and it went on with OWTS and the 2018 tour.

[Villavic]

I like The Dance version of ISA, including Stevie singing there.

[Street_Dreamer]

Christine's high notes when she sings "so afraid" really added to the live performance. It's a shame that went away with The Dance performance.

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

I think you're wrong about the singing(yet right about the coke). Christine was always able to sing the high parts better(and much easier) than Stevie.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by Street_Dreamer

Christine's high notes when she sings "so afraid" really added to the live performance. It's a shame that went away with The Dance performance.

Didn't all back up singing go away on that song. I remember Chris not singing it on OWTS and being disappointed. She didn't do it on the Buck/Vie tour either. The song became Lindsey's moment that got him a standing ovation. I think they let him do the song all by himself.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

The song became Lindsey's moment that got him a standing ovation. I think they let him do the song all by himself.

Yes, I just watched the standing ovation he got at The Dance ISA. Stevie's voice was great in 1997.

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Stevie did not sing back up on I'm So Afraid on the Tusk tour either. I hear Chris on the Tusk tour versions too.

This conversation make me listen this morning the whole live disc of the 2015 Tusk Deluxe edition.

[cbBen]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Didn't all back up singing go away on that song. I remember Chris not singing it on OWTS and being disappointed. She didn't do it on the Buck/Vie tour either. The song became Lindsey's moment that got him a standing ovation. I think they let him do the song all by himself.

No, Christine sings the backing vocal in 1982 (see, just for one example, 2:25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPNGKZHRFSU

I take everyone's points about Stevie not singing the backing vocal in 1980 either, and perhaps Christine being perfectly suited to the part – for a change of pace if nothing else. I still say Stevie's lower and darker voice fits the song better.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by cbBen

And this is why I think she's running off stage to do coke.

She is the right backing singer for "I'm So Afraid." She has more bite and darkness in her vocal than does Christine. And yet in the Mirage live video she leaves it to Christine to sing backing vocal.

When you're sacrificing the music to run off and do drugs in the middle of the show, it's time for rehab.

I couldn't disagree more. Christine's backing vocals on the live track give me goosebumps, (she enhances the angst of the song). I don't like Stevie's on this at all. She just bellows and sounds ... well like a goat. She gives me angst, but it's because of her tone quality on this song, not the actually lyrics of, "Slip and I'll fall and I'll die."

I prefer her on Oh Daddy, which she shined. Wish they hadn't taken her that off that song.

She doesn't belong on Don't Stop either. She kind of ruins it for me. And finally, stay off World Turning, while you're at it!!