Stevie's Extra Vocals on Tango

[APerfectLie]

Originally Posted by SaidSomething

Was that her only extra lyric along with, all the way down to emmeline...instead of all the way you held the line?

hahahaha...

Seriously...to give her a writing credit as a member of FM?

Someone here said Stevie changed a number of lyrics and Sandy was not happy and wanted to then keep the song for herself, but she was convinced she'd make way more money if she let FM keep it.

[mikebise]

Originally Posted by randydesertrat

According to one source Stevie is in fact singing "Aaron" and not Sara/Tara as everyone thought. I often wondered what she was singing there and came to the same Sara/Tara conclusion but wondered because I never heard the S or T sound. When I found out the song was originally titled Aaron then it made sense when someone pointed it out that "Aaron" is what she is singing there.

Yeah, the last few years, I sing "Aaaarron" when I sing along with Stevie to "Seven Wonders". YES, I sing along to Stevie all the time!

And, yes, I've heard interviews that stated Stevie changed MORE THAN ONE WORD. Stevie changed quite a bit, not just a single word.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by mikebise

Yeah, the last few years, I sing "Aaaarron" when I sing along with Stevie to "Seven Wonders". YES, I sing along to Stevie all the time!

And, yes, I've heard interviews that stated Stevie changed MORE THAN ONE WORD. Stevie changed quite a bit, not just a single word.

Kinda like Some Become Strangers, except that Stevie did not get a writing credit on her ad libs at the end of that song, as well as the killer line "I don't really need this in my life! Why don't we forget about it".

So yeah, Mike, I tend to believe Stevie got an additional writing credit due to more changes than just "to Emmiline".

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by GoldDustOrphan

I agree with every single sentence - make that every single letter and punctuation mark - in the above review. Lindsey tried to poison her "WEELLLLS," but they're a force of nature. Those "wells" injected some life into the live version of "Isn't It Midnight" and her throwaway vocal on the Big Love remix is my absolute favorite moment from the entire project.

I looked this up on YouTube after reading this and I agree, her vocals add a lot to the song for me. I think I actually used to forward past it on the video as I was never a big fan of it but seeing it now I really like this version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GIjhLZvIw

But I must say, if I were a member of a band and we did a concert video and one member had all their shots redone so they looked better than everyone else I'd be pretty pissed. As much as I love Stevie I'm not a fan of how she was acting at this time. I do give her the benefit of the doubt that she was going through some pretty strong problems at that time but even in interviews from Tango until The Dance she seemed kind of snarky and obnoxious. But once The Dance came out she was like a kinder gentler Stevie.

Is there an extended remix of Isn't It Midnight?

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by UndoingTheLaces

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GIjhLZvIw

Ooh, thanks for sharing that. I loved that! I really like Stevie's vocals on that song, should have been on the album mix as well.

Gotta love just how... eighties the whole thing is as well. I wouldn't be surprised if a small family of elves lived in Stevie's hair.

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by mikebise

No, that's "Big Love".

"Family Man" is definitely Stevie, as the Extended Remix makes very clear.

Thanks. Although I don't have the extended remix of "Family Man", on closer listening I can now hear that it is Stevie on the "I am what I am.." repeated vocal during the section starting at 2:22 on LP version.

But to what point? Her vocal is fairly low in the mix and has been speed manipulated. It's puzzling why he would use her on vocals in this manner instead of her true gift as a harmony singer.

Which brings up a broader issue: I still don't understand why, starting in the Tusk era, FM squandered one of its greatest assets, the unique three-part harmony sound of LB, SN and CM. The signature harmony sound was used on fewer and fewer tracks with each successive album, to the point that by TITN only "Seven Wonders" and "Wecome..." featured all three vocalists singing in block harmony.

Such a shame that they weren't able to get past their personal differences during that era to leverage their strengths as a BAND.

[mitzo]

I always thought she was on a "Gone With the Wind" kick on Tango, she makes reference to "Scarlett" in WTTRS, and inserts "Tara" into 7W?

[GoldDustOrphan]

Warner never commissioned or issued remixes of "'Isn't it Midnight," and there aren't any bootleg remixes that I'm aware of.

I'll double-check to see if any have surfaced.

[UndoingTheLaces]

Originally Posted by GoldDustOrphan

Warner never commissioned or issued remixes of "'Isn't it Midnight," and there aren't any bootleg remixes that I'm aware of.

I'll double-check to see if any have surfaced.

A bootleg called Tango In The Night Sessions has a version of it marked Extended but after downloading it I see it's just a remix edit. It doesn't have the background voices in the chorus so i think it's the one from The Chain box set. But it's not extended. So much for that. Thanks anyway.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by drzubritsky

Which brings up a broader issue: I still don't understand why, starting in the Tusk era, FM squandered one of its greatest assets, the unique three-part harmony sound of LB, SN and CM. The signature harmony sound was used on fewer and fewer tracks with each successive album, to the point that by TITN only "Seven Wonders" and "Wecome..." featured all three vocalists singing in block harmony.

Such a shame that they weren't able to get past their personal differences during that era to leverage their strengths as a BAND.

I hear you. I think one of the biggest flaws of Tusk is the lack of harmony on so many of the songs - mainly Lindsey's tracks. His isolation on his songs feel out of place on a Fleetwood Mac record, imho.

For example, I love when Stevie and Lindsey sing "your hands held mine so few hours" and then Christine chimes in with "I'm having to learn.." on "Beautiful Child" just gorgeous..

and "Never Forget" especially the ending .. pure Mac perfection..

[jellyman10]

Originally Posted by UndoingTheLaces

As much as I love Stevie I'm not a fan of how she was acting at this time. I do give her the benefit of the doubt that she was going through some pretty strong problems at that time but even in interviews from Tango until The Dance she seemed kind of snarky and obnoxious. But once The Dance came out she was like a kinder gentler Stevie.

Not to defend snarky and obnoxious behaviour, but it strikes me that entire flocks of chickens came home to roost for Stevie circa 1987, and the reasons might have their roots in the complicated oppositions that existed among the five over the years.

To start with, it's all pretty much on record that when S&L joined in '75 she was much keener than he was, liked the other three much more than he did, and was very close to Christine, may have felt 'protected' by her personally and not really bothered at that point about how big a role she had musically.

But then all that began to change with the success of the white FM album. As Stevie herself has said, the second people started to single her out was when it changed. I think Stevie herself didn't see a problem -- her view would be that attention on her was attention on the whole band, but that wasn't how they saw it, and especially LB.

It's on record that LB felt aggrieved by how little credit/attention he was getting, especially compared with Stevie. But in 1976/1977 he found himself in a now undeniably successful band, which, although it caused him ambivalence, he just couldn't walk away from. So, with his dawning realisation that he and Stevie were finally going to transition from being a couple to being bandmates, he immersed himself in The Work.

And this, for me, is the really interesting change. Because I think LB's steady relationship with Carol Ann Harris kind of freed him up to look at FM as being about 'Lindsey and Music', and not just as another chapter in 'Lindsey and Stevie'. That then allowed him to not feel guilty about forging ahead into areas with Christine where Stevie just couldn't go.

And I think that was what made Stevie realise that the musician--musician grouping between the other four was stronger (or had certainly become stronger) than the girl--girl bond between her and Chris. In effect, she felt she lost Chris to Lindsey, and so started to depend on her girlfriends outside the band for emotional support.

I think this all started to play out on the Rumours tour, and was a big part of what drove her to Mick. He was, don't forget, essentially The Boss of the band at that time, and being close to him probably, again, made her feel more secure within the group. But then that ended, and while I'm here I'll say why I think that happened!

Mick wanted a relationship with Stevie, but Stevie was still attached to LB. That, I think, is why she didn't want LB to know about her and Mick. Yes, it would 'be the end of Fleetwood Mac', as she always says, but it would also be the end of any hope whatsoever of her and Lindsey finding their way back to each other. Mick, I'm quite sure, sensed that that was the real reason Stevie didn't want their relationship out in the open, and so he cut his losses and left her for Sara.

From Stevie's point of view, the recording of Tusk and the tour afterwards were really pretty miserable. Robin was off in Kim-land, Christine was off in Dennis-land, Lindsey was off in CAH-land, Mick was off in Sara-land. And at exactly this time, other voices in Stevie's ear -- most notably Paul Fishkin's -- started to point out what everyone else could see as plain as day: namely, Stevie Nicks didn't need Fleetwood Mac.

But what did that really mean to Stevie in 1979? I think when the solo thing first came up, it had three sides to it. 1. Commercially, it was a no-brainer, as was borne out by subsequent events. 2. Artistically, it was a half-brainer: LB had been a good producer for her, but there was other good producers around, too, it was just a question of getting the right person. And she had no shortage of decent material. 3. Emotionally was really the only side of the move that might not have been the best thing for Stevie -- however, at that point, her choice was really between a rock and a hard place. And in her own way, she did exactly what LB did: she immersed herself in The Work.

The fact that no one in FM ever spoke to her about Bella Donna is shocking, but I believe it encapsulates the dynamic that was at play in the band at that time. Basically, everyone except Stevie was in 'don't upset Lindsey' mode. LB absolutely hated the fact that Stevie had had success without his involvement, therefore the other three would just pretend it hadn't happened. (Sidebar: almost the only interesting thing I read in that recent 33 1/3 book about Tusk was the hypothesis that Mick was more than usually predisposed to indulge Lindsey on Tusk because of some feelings of guilt over banging Stevie, which seems to ring true to me.)

A lot of the things Stevie said around the time of Bella Donna point to her confusion over where her future lies. Her 'band' was, of course, composed of hired hands from other 'real' bands, and no matter how much they enjoyed the touring there was of course no future in a band being led musically by Stevie! So that drove her back to FM. But there, her solo success was kind of academic: it wasn't respected artistically by LB or CM (if they even listened to it!). It was in fact merely commercial (and commercial for her), and it didn't bring her any more credibility or influence musically. In fact, if had any effect at all, it probably caused LB to seek to take her down a peg, leading to her feeling even more isolated and irrelevant. Which, in turn, made her look for refuge in her solo career, and the spiral worsened.

The Wild Heart and Rock A Little were the really bad addiction years for Stevie, and by the time Tango came around, and she'd begun to get a grip, I think the sheer lack of contact through 1983-1986 (the Joe Walsh years -- coincidence? hmm) made for some very cagey, remote relationships going into that album.

I was very interested to read what people said about LB taking Stevie's vocals off Tango, and I totally agree that, at that time, she 'Stevie-fied' everything she touched, and it sat wrong with the hi-gloss production. So there is a justifiable aesthetic rationale for what he did. It could also be a handy smokescreen for a personal vendetta, but I'm inclined to think it's a bit of both.

What I do think is often overlooked is that when we focus on the Big Fight at Christine's house in August of '87, it's easy to assume that Stevie was the main reason that LB backed out of the tour, all the while forgetting that Mick was an absolute wreck, and John was still drinking too. I've always thought it was interesting that whenever LB talked about why he backed out, he said that however bad it is in the studio, it's always times ten out on the road. Well, square that up with the complaint that 'they never saw Stevie in the studio', and you're left wondering whose problems 'times ten' did LB not want to deal with on the road?

Stevie -- a consummate narcissist, if ever there was one -- thought LB leaving in '87 was all about her, but it wasn't. It was only partly about her. The rest of it was about the breakdown in the band as a band; about the law of diminishing returns; about the fact that the more LB did 'for' them, the more they let him do; and the fact that, artistically, he realised he might as well be doing this for himself.

For Stevie, though, going back to FM -- going back to Lindsey -- for Tango came at a very low ebb. The pressure of her solo 'success' had almost killed her. She is on record as saying she felt responsible for people's livelihoods, not to mention the way her father told her to just get on with it. She said her mother used to tell her she was 'born guilty', that she feels guilty even when she hasn't done anything.

And that all strikes me as borne out in Stevie's late '80s behaviour. She had always seemed to go between not feeling worthy of any of her success, but then lashing out because she knows she's talented but feels she doesn't get respect, equality, inclusion as a musician whose instrument is her voice. That was for sure the case within FM for many a year. Just watch the Tusk doc (if you can). It's painful, the way they mock her contributions. But she loved them, and she wanted to be part of them, so she stayed. They, I don't think, would have cared if she didn't. Oh, maybe Mick would. But the others wouldn't have lifted a finger to persuade her to stay. I think she knew that, and it hurt her to the core.

So, some of the bitchy things she's said about FM over the years are, for me, nothing more than attacks of lucidity, in which it dawns on her that she was/is emotionally dependent on a bunch of people who didn't/don't really like her as a person, didn't/don't really like her voice, didn't/don't really respect her songwriting, and weren't/aren't even grateful for the money her continuing membership of their band has made them. That's not a very comfortable berth to occupy.

To end on an upnote, though: I'm just glad that, over the years, Stevie has found people to work with who really value what she has to offer. And it would be lovely beyond anything if there could be one more Fleetwood Mac album that put Lindsey and Stevie on level pegging, with an outside producer, and got the best out of them both with that wonderful rhythm section behind them. I can but hope, right?

Loz

[SaidSomething]

Those close up shots on RAL tour and then on Tango were horrible...and distracting. However, yeah, maybe it was Stevie Vanity but, more like Corporate designed to me. I think that it was impossible to get close ups naturally at this time from a buisness sense. She looked like hell during Red Rocks...wild eyes...runny red nose...you know, stuff that pounds of make up peeling off during the show...sweating...not the Stevie tthat was glamours for Hollywood but kind of the public and Stevie being freaked out over how she looked. Again, during the Tango Tour 1st she was Heavy for the Big Love Video...then shapley and smokin' in her Signature off the shoulder velvet gold down the front dress for the tour...hot in the 7 wonders video...by the time Tango tour did the video...shed almost never been off tour for a healing of voice and such...she was steroid bloated from vocal chord shots and asthma...klonopin was kicking in dealing with stress and exhustion...and freaked without LB...again, Hollywierd and business needed a sellable thing...so studio Stevie...the sex siren labeled chick sing...and big draw for the band...and again...a butchered creepy LIVE video...with fu*ked out synthed digitized vocals...now it became horror show evident to everyone. I mean, at that time, saw the tour myself...got the video...and I'm like...Oh God...what the???

Much like Ann Wilson from Heart singing behind props in the videos showing only her face...and a stand in for her long shots.

Ummm. These are talented gifted women with feelings and vanity...and everyone is watching with a creepy critical eye...all over the world.

I would ostrich out if it were me...until everyone was gone....and I pop my ugly fat head out when no one could see me...or make me sad.

[UndoingTheLaces]

You know, you guys have a lot of good points. I thought I had read some years back about Stevie insisting on reshooting closeups, but looking back it could have just been someone's personal opinion. And it does seem like she was really mistreated in the Tusk doc. Not so much in the way it was released but in the extra scenes that are floating around YouTube.

Another way to look at it is to think of your relationship with your family and friends. Imagine the worst situations you've been in with them. Now what if those had been televised and written about in magazines. And then you were forced to be next to them for months on end when you really just wanted to get away. It had to have been hard.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Oh, really? I absolutely LOVE Stevie's harmony on I'm So Afraid (live). It's the best part of the song for me, totally makes it.

I just fell in love with the "LIVE" and "MIRAGE TOUR" versions where LB and CM did the harmonies. It's rare I don't like her haunting harmonies.. but this is one place.

[Spoinny]

Always loved her crazy vocals on the Big Love Remix. Come to think of it, her vocals on the Little Lies were kinda crazy too, come to think of it, she sounds totally crazy on all her vocals on this CD. I still love Christine and Lindsey's contributions which makes this one of my fav FM cd's. Imagine if Steve actually did contribute some good songs and sounded good? Boy the album would have been even more super!!!