Enough Already

[SufferYourLove]

I am so fed up with Stephanie for wasting album space with songs written by other people and co written with other people. Enough already!! How can a great songwriter do such a thing??? There are tons of song in the vault to choose from. She has a big enough catalog to release 10 plus albums. I know she is 63 but come on!!!! I wish I was in charge of her career. It would have been a lot different.

Also, all this covering songs at concerts has to stop!! I don't care about Crash, Circle Dance, etc. Sing some of your own songs girl. Even duds like Whole Lotta Trouble, Rooms On Fire, etc are better since she has written them.

Does anyone agree with me or what????

[Spoinny]

Calm down You have to accept the fact that the artist has a reason they don't want to perform or record certain songs and just be happy they still record quality music! Although I DO agree that Stevie certainly does NOT need to do any cover songs in her set! She has plenty of her own material that can fill up a 1.5 - 2 hour show.

[Josh2003]

Disagree.

She is writing these songs...I think that working with Dave has fueled her creativity in a way that NOBODY ever has. She's taking a new approach to songwriting, and it sounds like we're getting some really interesting stuff out of it.

The process she's used with Dave sounds much more natural and organic than her typical co-writing approach, wherein she puts her lyrics over someone else's music. So while this is co-writing that she is doing with Dave, it sounds like it's much more similar to Stevie sitting down and writing a song on her own...she just has another creative force there along side her.

And yes, she has tons of vault songs...but I know that I would be terribly disappointed if a new release consisted more than 50% of songs written 20 years ago. I would read it as a sign that she has given up on ever being creative again.

[CADreaming]

I agree she's got a plethera of her own songs that I would prefer to hear over a cover but I think she does those songs for one reason: She just wants to...

[HejiraNYC]

Somebody seriously didn't get a good night's sleep. The way I see it, Stevie has always done collaborations- some that were fruitful (e.g., Tom Petty, Rick Nowels) and some that were not (e.g., Mike Campbell ). If anything, we are about to get an album that contains 100% songs written or co-written by Stevie. That's unprecedented.

Regarding covers, I think you would be hard-pressed to find any band (other than Fleetwood Mac!) that doesn't do covers in their live shows. It's fun and usually goes down well with the audience, especially if the audience is not intimately familiar with the band's catalog (which is especially the case with opening acts). I'm not crazy about "Rock and Roll" as a cover, but that's only because she's been doing it for too many years. She really doesn't do a bad version at all.

[Dowie100]

You must hate when Paul McCartney plays songs he co-wrote with John Lennon :P couldn't disagree more with the co-written songs thing.

[bluefox4000]

I love covers in concerts. Keep things fun. As long as this doesn't produce cover ALBUMS, I'm good. I HATE when an artist does a cover album. covers in concerts are fine with me

Mick

[KarmaContestant]

I agree regarding live shows - I disagree regarding album releases. I don't mind Stevie recording a cover, or co-writing; but I am bothered by her increasing use of cover songs in her setlists. She isn't even performing the covers she released on her own albums, which is a source of further annoyance.

Stevie has had more than 110 songs released on Fleetwood Mac and her own solo albums; it's absurd that she has chosen from the same pool of 25ish songs for the past decade+ of touring.

[GarboSpeaks!]

Agree.
As for her albums, I'm just grateful she keeps releasing new music, old gems or new things. It's still "new."
As for her covering other people's songs in concert, it is kind of frustrating, but I gave up a long time ago on hearing SOTM, or stuff like that. The last time I was BEYOND OMG, was during the Enchanted tour when she did some rare gems. I see no reason why she couldn't continue some of those selections, but she doesn't.
It is frustrating when you go see another performer w/ just as large a back catalog and see them night after night (like I do w/ SN/FM) and they do an entirely different set vs. SN/FM who do a fully scripted show nightly. But then, I come back to the fact that I'm blessed at all to be seeing SN or FM, so take what I can get!

[wheart]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Somebody seriously didn't get a good night's sleep. The way I see it, Stevie has always done collaborations- some that were fruitful (e.g., Tom Petty, Rick Nowels) and some that were not (e.g., Mike Campbell ). If anything, we are about to get an album that contains 100% songs written or co-written by Stevie. That's unprecedented.

I thought "Cheaper than Free" was a Dave Stewart creation..no?

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by SufferYourLove

I am so fed up with Stephanie for wasting album space with songs written by other people and co written with other people. Enough already!! How can a great songwriter do such a thing??? There are tons of song in the vault to choose from. She has a big enough catalog to release 10 plus albums. I know she is 63 but come on!!!! I wish I was in charge of her career. It would have been a lot different.

Also, all this covering songs at concerts has to stop!! I don't care about Crash, Circle Dance, etc. Sing some of your own songs girl. Even duds like Whole Lotta Trouble, Rooms On Fire, etc are better since she has written them.

Does anyone agree with me or what????

YES. I agree with you more than I could ever express.

I would only add that about all the current co-writing with Dave, based on everything I've read and seen, this current album situation is more like a "band" situation, not a solo artist thing. They should have just formed a band and given it a name ("The Traveling Stewartburys") and put it out as the band's album.

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by Dowie100

You must hate when Paul McCartney plays songs he co-wrote with John Lennon :P couldn't disagree more with the co-written songs thing.

But that's the whole point. This is not that type of situation. Lennon-McCartney was always Lennon-McCartney. They were a songwriting team. Right from the start. The writer Stevie Nicks that I fell for thirty years ago was not Nicks-Stewart.

I am specifically talking about Stevie Nicks here, and not about artists whose normal practice is to write with others. I can see cowriting with other people, but 80% of the album written with the same cowriter? That's a bit much. Especially since it isn't just a "given" that Stevie fans are Dave fans. Some of us are not, and are quite the opposite of Dave (or even Eurythmics) fans. As a side note, I swear I am so sick of looking at pictures of Dave Stewart.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by SufferYourLove

I am so fed up with Stephanie for wasting album space with songs written by other people and co written with other people. Enough already!! How can a great songwriter do such a thing??? There are tons of song in the vault to choose from. She has a big enough catalog to release 10 plus albums. I know she is 63 but come on!!!! I wish I was in charge of her career. It would have been a lot different.

Also, all this covering songs at concerts has to stop!! I don't care about Crash, Circle Dance, etc. Sing some of your own songs girl. Even duds like Whole Lotta Trouble, Rooms On Fire, etc are better since she has written them.

Does anyone agree with me or what????

I whole heartedly disagree. And being a dyed in the wool Stevie fan for a very long time, I got over all the co-writing/cover controversy after Rock A Little was released. Sure, Stevie has many good to great self penned songs in the vault, But it's simply more complex than that. It takes the right producer/arranger and Stevie's trust in them, in addition to her passion to bring them to fruition. Plus a whole lot of intricacies that we are not even privy to! I also just posted a reply in the thread: Stevie the Enigma, that addresses this exact subject, in relation to current state of songwriting for popular artists.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by seekerj

But that's the whole point. This is not that type of situation. Lennon-McCartney was always Lennon-McCartney. They were a songwriting team. Right from the start. The writer Stevie Nicks that I fell for thirty years ago was not Nicks-Stewart.

I am specifically talking about Stevie Nicks here, and not about artists whose normal practice is to write with others. I can see cowriting with other people, but 80% of the album written with the same cowriter? That's a bit much. Especially since it isn't just a "given" that Stevie fans are Dave fans. Some of us are not, and are quite the opposite of Dave (or even Eurythmics) fans. As a side note, I swear I am so sick of looking at pictures of Dave Stewart.

Me too.

But that other guy in Stevie's sizzle reel? The one standing by the stairs with the bloodshot eyes and tired expression? For some reason, I can't stop myself from pausing the clip and wondering what his story is.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by seekerj

("The Traveling Stewartburys").

I think "Eurnicksmics" would be more appropriate.

Ok, so she did "Gold" with John Stewart, she wrote songs in Sly Stone (real name Sylvester Stewart)'s room at the Record Plant in Sausalito, recorded her new album with Dave Stewart, is on tour with Rod Stewart...does she sit at home and watch Jimmy Stewart movies? Is she going to trade housekeeping secrets with Martha Stewart]?? Does she want Kristen Stewart to play her in the movie? Did she like Boo Boo Stewart in The Twilight Saga?? Did she watch Star Trek: The Next Generation with Patrick Stewart??? Is she planning on going on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart? Was she a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers when they had Kordell Stewart as their QB?? Was she a golf fan when Payne Stewart was still golfing?? Is she going to do a new duet with Al Stewart on a remake of "Year Of The Cat"?? Is she going to get Stewart Copeland as her drummer?

What's with the "Stewart" fetish, there Ms. Nicks??