Rhiannon VS I'm So Afraid

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by michelle2677

I agree that ISA and Rhiannon are much better live than studio.

But I'm interested as to why you did not pick Big Love for Liddy.

anywho...yes..def the dance version of ISA is the best of all. I just watched it last night and can never get enough of it. To think, I used to skip that song!!

on to Rhiannon-the studio is just blah, although it does give me a nostalgic feeling and takes me back to my childhood. Favorite by far is Rhiannon Rosebud. Nothing beats it. Ever. Second would be SYW. I like the ..."weeeeeelllllll...I don't THINK YOU DO!!" saaasssyy!!!

Of course. Big Love was on my list of songs to consider. Maybe in another round .

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by David

I haven't heard a single version of GYOW, Rhiannon or I'm So Afraid during the past twenty years that I felt was anywhere near as good as some really old-time performances. Either the lead vocalist is spent & hoarse with age or the soloing/playing is just sort of boringly derivative of earlier licks & riffs.

I disagree with the members of the band who say they're playing better in their 50s & 60s than they were in their 30s. I just don't hear the improvement. In fact, I hear a lot of stalling & hesitating these days, like Rin Tin Tin making his way gingerly across the mine field. I hear no ball-busting opening up, splaying & flaying & filleting a fish in hot spattering oil.

I could probably be convinced of your point, and while I personally was blown away at all of the SYW shows I saw, all 35 I never once left the building thinking I hadnt gotten their all, What youre saying makes me wish even more that I had seen them live back then. Oh well, the perils of being young I guess.

[Hawkeye]

I think Rhiannon has the better studio version, and the better live version in the 70's although ISA rocked hard then. But ISA has aged better, and while I still find Rhiannon enjoyable live these days ISA is still just as explosive.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Hmmm, I think the live versions of "Rhiannon" from the '70s were best, though "I'm So Afraid" seems to have aged MUCH better in concert. I also love both studio versions.

I especially love the studio version of "Rhiannon," especially when compared to the live Buckingham Nicks version. The latter was good, though sounds like any other band you'd see in any bar in any city in North America. The Mac's studio version shows just how critical Mick and the McVies really were to THAT sound. John's bassline is very bluesy. Christine's electric keyboard gives the song a wonderfully creepy eliment that suits the lyrics perfectly. Micks slightly behind the beat drumming gives the song an added tension. Add to that the haunting harmonies, and you've got rock perfection.

Is there a hidden meaning behind the graphic in your signature? In other words, are you being tongue-in-cheek or just misogynistic?

Anyway, as far as the topic at hand, I think the studio version of Rhiannon is fantastic, I don't get the milquetoast responses to it. I think the F.M. Live album version IS the best, but the studio version is just magic imo. Stevie has never sounded sexier, more mysterious or more ethereal in any other studio recording she has ever done.

[David]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

Anyway, as far as the topic at hand, I think the studio version of Rhiannon is fantastic

It is fantastic. It's one of the great seminal studio tracks by the then-new Fleetwood Mac. It's a beautiful conception that is executed perfectly.

I don't get the milquetoast responses to it.

People don't know a good performance when they hear one. Although, luckily, the radio audience did back then because the song was a big radio hit. Kind of ironic that today's typical Machead doesn't appreciate its qualities -- qualities that radio audiences appreciated back in 1976.

I think the F.M. Live album version IS the best, but the studio version is just magic imo.

Remember that the "Live" recording was from April 1977, not the Tusk Tour.

Stevie has never sounded sexier, more mysterious or more ethereal in any other studio recording she has ever done.

Excellent point. But that's not the only reason to be in love with the track. Listen to what the band is doing, too. It's extraordinary.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by David

Excellent point. But that's not the only reason to be in love with the track. Listen to what the band is doing, too. It's extraordinary.

Oh I know! Don't get me wrong, it's the band that enhances Stevie's sound and really adds that special magical quality to the whole arrangement. I was mainly drawing attention to the fact that Stevie's voice is like buttah on this song-smoother than it's ever been before and since.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

Is there a hidden meaning behind the graphic in your signature? In other words, are you being tongue-in-cheek or just misogynistic?

That pic was the logo of "NO MA-AM" from the TV show "Married...With Children." I saw the logo on a website, and I couldn't stop laughing. Then I saw the Al Bundy quote, and I knew I had a new sig. It was just too classic.

[UnwindedDreams]

I think Rhiannon is the best of the two live... When it's live there is so much energy put into it and the band always rocks off with it.

[Sahara]

The Dance was the second Mac album I got [after Say You Will] and I loved it, but it was I'm So Afraid that really made me fall in love with Lindsey Buckingham....