**New Single** - Secret Love

[Christopher]

The production on this song sounds more Glen Ballard than Dave Stewart to me. I definitely hear the Wilson Phillips vibe others have pointed out esp. in the vocal production on the girls, the held notes, and chorus. There is a dash of Alanis thrown in there as well as a dash of classic 80's Stevie. Really wish this song were longer. Other than the small music interlude in the middle of the second verse there is really no guitar solo or major interlude. My main criticism of the song is I wish Stevie had fleshed out the chorus to have a little more bite and be a bit longer. This is a good song, better than Everyday or Say You Will, and the vocal is the better than I could have imagined. But this isn't the knock outta the park that they really needed for the 1st single. I am confident there are better songs on the record. Even David Wild said this is his 6th Fav song from "In Your Dreams". Time shall tell...

[BombaySapphire3]

I still think that this is a promotional single ..Since when has Stevie ever released a single 4 months + prior to an album's releaseI believe that the single that they hope will sell the album will be released just before the album and from everything I have read about the song I believe that it will be the title track.

[wheart]

Originally Posted by Christopher

The production on this song sounds more Glen Ballard than Dave Stewart to me. I definitely hear the Wilson Phillips vibe others have pointed out esp. in the vocal production with the girls... on the held notes, and chorus. There is a dash of Alanis thrown in there as well as a dash of classic 80's Stevie. Really wish this song were longer. Other than the small music interlude in the middle of the second verse there is really no guitar solo or major interlude. My main criticism of the song is I wish Stevie had fleshed out the chorus to have a little more bite and be a bit longer. This is a good song, better than Everyday or Say You Will, and the vocal is the better than I could have imagined. But this isn't the knock outta the park that they really needed for the 1st single. I am confident there are better songs on the record. Even David Wild said this is his 6th Fav song from "In Your Dreams". Time shall tell...

I agree...another minute of this Secret Love would not be too much! This song has been lodged in my brain the entire day today! It's becoming borderline annoying Not only do I love the lighthearted vibe of this song but I think the vocal is pretty darn good as is the production. There's a lot to like in these 3 minutes

[mikebise]

How do we know when "Secret Love" was actually written?

The song first appeared on the bootleg album Almanac, which was mostly Stevie demos with a few live Fleetwood Mac performances (of Stevie songs) in 1975. The songs seem clearly divided into two different eras, based on instrumentation mainly, and also Stevie's vocals.

The first batch of songs can be put into the late Buckingham Nicks era, all being guitar based:
Cathouse Blues
Garbo
Goldfish & Ladybug
That's Alright
Sorcerer
Candlebright
Without You

The second batch of songs are all more keyboard based, with that Tusk-y vibe to some:
Storms
Secret Love
Watch Chain

Almanac was released in Late 1978, the same year as Stevie's affair with Mick, so why can't it be about him? Just wondering. The music on that "Secret Love" demo sounds closer to 1978.

Has Stevie given interviews about when it was written?

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by wheart

I agree...another minute of this Secret Love would not be too much! This song has been lodged in my brain the entire day today! It's becoming borderline annoying Not only do I love the lighthearted vibe of this song but I think the vocal is pretty darn good as is the production. There's a lot to like in these 3 minutes

I think there is another minute ..if you notice the song cuts off just at it is building again ..not the way a song usually ends.

[Dark Angel]

The copyright catalog lists it as being written in '77, same as Watch Chain.

Title: Secret love.
Description: on 1 sound cassette.
Notes: (With Outside the rain et al.)
Copyright Claimant: Stephanie Nicks
Date of Creation: 1977
Authorship on Application: words & music: Stephanie Nicks.

Title: Watch chain.
Description: on 1 sound cassette.
Notes: (With Outside the rain et al.)
Copyright Claimant: Stephanie Nicks
Date of Creation: 1977
Authorship on Application: words & music: Stephanie Nicks.

Originally Posted by mikebise

How do we know when "Secret Love" was actually written?

The song first appeared on the bootleg album Almanac, which was mostly Stevie demos with a few live Fleetwood Mac performances (of Stevie songs) in 1975. The songs seem clearly divided into two different eras, based on instrumentation mainly, and also Stevie's vocals.

The first batch of songs can be put into the late Buckingham Nicks era, all being guitar based:
Cathouse Blues
Garbo
Goldfish & Ladybug
That's Alright
Sorcerer
Candlebright
Without You

The second batch of songs are all more keyboard based, with that Tusk-y vibe to some:
Storms
Secret Love
Watch Chain

Almanac was released in Late 1978, the same year as Stevie's affair with Mick, so why can't it be about him? Just wondering. The music on that "Secret Love" demo sounds closer to 1978.

Has Stevie given interviews about when it was written?

[mikebise]

Very good, thank you! I have that info somewhere and forgot the year. Thanks!

[louielouie2000]

Anyone else think the drumming on the song sounds distinctly Fleetwood?

[BlueDenimLamp]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

I still think that this is a promotional single ..Since when has Stevie ever released a single 4 months + prior to an album's releaseI believe that the single that they hope will sell the album will be released just before the album and from everything I have read about the song I believe that it will be the title track.

I agree with the promo/Secret Love concept...4 months is a long time...SL way have been put out simply to get people talking about Steves again...The real songs may be still to come...

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

I agree with the promo/Secret Love concept...4 months is a long time...SL way have been put out simply to get people talking about Steves again...The real songs may be still to come...

Ummm whether or not you consider this a real song or not, this is probably the best release she has had since Talk to Me. This song already belongs on her Best of CD. If this is just a middle of road single from the album, the album really could rival Bella Donna.

The song is suspicious. No one has ever mentioned the song as being the best on the album, or one of the stand out tracks. They also said this is the first single, not the lead single. Yeah, it may be on itunes Feb 3rd, but that doesn't mean it's going to be released to all the radio stations. It could be just released to A/C. With songs like In Your Dreams released everywhere. I think it's just a primer single, but if it's not, I'm very satisfied with it. Like I said, it's the best release she's had in ages.

[vivfox]

My mother is 83 and she loves the song. I'm still not fond of it. I haven't played it since Sundae.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by jellyman10

So much for my theory then! Excellent!

Is the guy you mention the same guy that she said 'Enchanted' and 'Destiny' were about? The one who 'wanted [her] but didn't try'? Are these songs all from around the same time, pre-FM?

Loz

I think that is the same guy...although now I'm reading the info I had may be incorrect...

Originally Posted by mikebise

How do we know when "Secret Love" was actually written?

The song first appeared on the bootleg album Almanac, which was mostly Stevie demos with a few live Fleetwood Mac performances (of Stevie songs) in 1975. The songs seem clearly divided into two different eras, based on instrumentation mainly, and also Stevie's vocals.

The first batch of songs can be put into the late Buckingham Nicks era, all being guitar based:
Cathouse Blues
Garbo
Goldfish & Ladybug
That's Alright
Sorcerer
Candlebright
Without You

The second batch of songs are all more keyboard based, with that Tusk-y vibe to some:
Storms
Secret Love
Watch Chain

Almanac was released in Late 1978, the same year as Stevie's affair with Mick, so why can't it be about him? Just wondering. The music on that "Secret Love" demo sounds closer to 1978.

Has Stevie given interviews about when it was written?

Honestly, I don't know if Stevie herself has said when the song was written. I was going by a post I read on another board by a long time fan who I'm sure you all know. Since he's been a fan longer than me (like forever and a day), I was assuming he had his facts straight. He said that the song was written around the time she and Lindsey joined Fleetwood Mac.

That I know of, no time frame is confirmed except for the excellent details you posted on the demo boot. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Dark Angel

The copyright catalog lists it as being written in '77, same as Watch Chain.

Title: Secret love.
Description: on 1 sound cassette.
Notes: (With Outside the rain et al.)
Copyright Claimant: Stephanie Nicks
Date of Creation: 1977
Authorship on Application: words & music: Stephanie Nicks.

Title: Watch chain.
Description: on 1 sound cassette.
Notes: (With Outside the rain et al.)
Copyright Claimant: Stephanie Nicks
Date of Creation: 1977
Authorship on Application: words & music: Stephanie Nicks.

Thanks for sharing this info.

However, let's keep in mind songs may have been written years prior to the recording of demos or obtaining of copyrights. I have hundreds songs, partial songs, song ideas and poems that I have written over the past 30 years and I have never copyrighted any of them. I would think that Stevie, who we've been told wrote constantly, would have a plethora of material to pick through at any given time. So, the date of a copyright or a demo may not help us connect any dots when trying to determine who a particular song ("Secret Love" in this case) was written about. Just sayin'.... back to the party.

By the way, I've decided this is one song I don't really care who it's about. I just really dig it.

[mikebise]

Good food for thought. However, Stevie has also said she records and copyrights her stuff in rough demo form very quickly to protect herself from claims of plagiarism.

And that famous Longtimer's opinions certainly hold weight, although I wonder if he wasn't just lumping "Secret Love" in with "Cathouse Blues", "Without You" and the others on Almanac. The music on that demo is a much later Stevie than on "Garbo" and the rest, more akin to "Storms" to my ears. Those keyboards and drum machine/metronome/whatever aren't on Stevie's earlier demos.

I'm sure David knows all about that keyboard, right?!

Anyway, I just like being a detective, looking at all the possibilities.

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by mikebise

Good food for thought. However, Stevie has also said she records and copyrights her stuff in rough demo form very quickly to protect herself from claims of plagiarism.

And that famous Longtimer's opinions certainly hold weight, although I wonder if he wasn't just lumping "Secret Love" in with "Cathouse Blues", "Without You" and the others on Almanac. The music on that demo is a much later Stevie than on "Garbo" and the rest, more akin to "Storms" to my ears. Those keyboards and drum machine/metronome/whatever aren't on Stevie's earlier demos.

I'm sure David knows all about that keyboard, right?!

Anyway, I just like being a detective, looking at all the possibilities.

Totally agree. We might can narrow it down! Oh, but as far as her copyrighting stuff - yeah after FM I'm sure...but probably not before. If we checked a lot of the BN songs that we know were written in the early '70's for instance, we would probably find later copyright dates...

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by BombaySapphire3

I still think that this is a promotional single ..Since when has Stevie ever released a single 4 months + prior to an album's releaseI believe that the single that they hope will sell the album will be released just before the album and from everything I have read about the song I believe that it will be the title track.

I would agree that neither Stevie, the producers or the record company think that Secret Love is the real "single" for the album. It was just released for buzz and it succeeded at that, in the fan community. Michele