Stevie's Voice on In Your Dreams

Jondalar · #1 04-30-2011, 03:22 AM

I'm really liking her voice on this album. I think her voice sounds weathered, beautiful, lived-in and is perfect for an album about her life experiences. She sounds like she has lived these songs and she has. I have to say the more I listen to Moonlight, the more I think it's probably one of the best vocals of her career. Same with Your May Be The One. Of course, her voice is perfect for Soldier's Angel and Ghosts are Gone, but even on the mellower songs like For What's Worth, her voice adds depth to the songs. You believe her.

I also like the way she tries everything on this album vocally. She not saying "NO" I can't sing that. She just sings it. It's what a lot of her latter albums were missing - VARIETY!

I hope this album helps her build confidence about her vocal ability. If she can hit that note on Italian Summer, she can navigate about anything.

darklinensuit · #2 04-30-2011, 03:34 AM

Not to take anything away from Stevie, but I think that is Dave's greatest achievement as producer of this album. Recent songs like "Candlebright" and "Destiny Rules" sound fine instrumentally, but just wrong vocally, IMO. Dave appropriately matched songs to vocals.
For example, "Annabel Lee" could have been a disaster. Mid-tempo songs with long notes are not always kind to Stevie these days. But there are some nice spots on this version.
And while the verses of FWIW are soft and pretty, the chorus sounds much deeper-voiced (almost "God's Garden"-esque!), but somehow Dave gets it to fit so it never sounds terribly flat or droning. Again, I'm not dismissing Stevie's talent & contribution. She had to be able to perform the vocal - but a talented producer gets the right take.

- Jake

louielouie2000 · #3 04-30-2011, 03:35 AM

I agree with your summation... she seems to have her passion back vocally. Especially with songs like You May Be The One and Moonlight. Trouble In Shangri La in comparison seems pretty poor vocally. She tended to be very monotone and came off as disinterested because of it. Stevie uses a much fuller range on In Your Dreams, and just sounds way more into her songs this time around.

Jondalar · #4 04-30-2011, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklinensuit

Not to take anything away from Stevie, but I think that is Dave's greatest achievement as producer of this album. Recent songs like "Candlebright" and "Destiny Rules" sound fine instrumentally, but just wrong vocally, IMO. Dave appropriately matched songs to vocals.
For example, "Annabel Lee" could have been a disaster. Mid-tempo songs with long notes are not always kind to Stevie these days. But there are some nice spots on this version.
And while the verses of FWIW are soft and pretty, the chorus sounds much deeper-voiced (almost "God's Garden"-esque!), but somehow Dave gets it to fit so it never sounds terribly flat or droning. Again, I'm not dismissing Stevie's talent & contribution. She had to be able to perform the vocal - but a talented producer gets the right take.

- Jake

In more ways than one, Dave brought her out of safety zone.

darklinensuit · #5 04-30-2011, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I agree with your summation... she seems to have her passion back vocally. Especially with songs like You May Be The One and Moonlight. Trouble In Shangri La in comparison seems pretty poor vocally. She tended to be very monotone and came off as disinterested because of it. Stevie uses a much fuller range on In Your Dreams, and just sounds way more into her songs this time around.

The number one complaint non-fans have about Stevie is that she has "lost" her voice. I hear this from friends all the time. It was important to me that she really shine vocally on this one.

IMO, the chorus to "Moonlight" sounds VERY much like the chorus to the song TISL, especially towards the end when Stevie keeps repeating "strange" with Sharon & Lori. Musically they sound almost the same to me. I thought Stevie's somewhat flat vocal sounded pretty good on the chorus of TISL, but not so much in the verses. But in "Moonlight", her vocal is excellent in both parts. She varies her voice to suit different parts of the song.

- Jake

Jondalar · #6 04-30-2011, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklinensuit

The number one complaint non-fans have about Stevie is that she has "lost" her voice. I hear this from friends all the time. It was important to me that she really shine vocally on this one.

IMO, the chorus to "Moonlight" sounds VERY much like the chorus to the song TISL, especially towards the end when Stevie keeps repeating "strange" with Sharon & Lori. Musically they sound almost the same to me. I thought Stevie's somewhat flat vocal sounded pretty good on the chorus of TISL, but not so much in the verses. But in "Moonlight", her vocal is excellent in both parts. She varies her voice to suit different parts of the song.

- Jake

and she ends on sorta of a high note, her vocal on that song is stellar.

One thing I love about her vocal on Soldier's Angel is that it reminds me of Johnny Cash's vocal on Hurt. I totally believe her. That is her experience.

melacine · #7 04-30-2011, 09:00 AM

Oh yay! I'm glad someone started a thread on this topic

I ADORE Stevie's voice on the record. I love that she's singing in a higher register. I really hated the deep gravel voice from Say You Will (think Destiny Rules) and it's so nice to hear her sound more like she used to.

Oh, and Moonlight rocks

ha ha, just had to get that in there.

--Shel

LiquidDiamonds · #8 04-30-2011, 09:05 AM

If this is considered weathered...I will take it over the TISL drone any day!

The beginning of Moonlight sounds almost RAL era to me.

desertangel · #9 04-30-2011, 09:13 AM

...totally!

Vocally, I thought several songs could easily have passed for recordings of 20+ years ago. Whether that was the producer or simply Stevie finally being in a good place and time in her life again, is unknown to us at this time. I do hope someone gets the opportunity to publicly ask her about it though, if they haven't already.

.... hmmm - exactly how good is that chemistry between Stevie and Dave?!

Artemis · #10 04-30-2011, 09:28 AM

In my opinion, IYD is the first album since Tusk (and arguably The Wild Heart), where Stevie's singing has been better, and not worse. I think it might be a combination of Dave's production, Stevie's own talent, and Stevie finally being comfortable with her voice. I think sometimes in the past ten years she's tried to sing like she used to; and failed miserably; whilst here she's recognizing the limits of her voice and working around it to create a multi-textured album. She uses her voice in more effective ways on one song (Moonlight) than she has for the last 5 or so albums she's been involved in!

tabruns · #11 04-30-2011, 09:31 AM

I think you all are forgetting that Stevie has been on a years-long project to get her voice back into shape. She talked about working with a vocal coach during The Dance tour, and she mentioned it again during Trouble In Shangri-La. So it's not a surprise that her singing has improved here....it's been improving on the later albums.

Remember that she went for higher notes for the first time in a long time on "Sorcerer" on Trouble In Shangri-La. As for the title track, I think her layered vocals are meant to be the way they are for the chorus on that song. That's actually part of the hook of that song. "Candlebright" I would agree would have benefited from a more supple vocal if she were able to do one at the time.

The one song where I would agree she just simply sang it poorly is "Say You Will". That song needs a happy/flirty vocal treatment and it's just lacking. Even though it did well on the AC chart, I think it would have done better if Nicks had put a better vocal on it. Her vocal sounds really flat on that song....I don't know why it ended up that way, but some here have mentioned that she was really annoyed with Buckingham at the time of the recording.

Morgana · #12 04-30-2011, 09:34 AM

Stevie's voice is stronger than it's ever been in some time, almost as strong as her old Rhiannon days. It feels like she has come through a lot of healing which included her voice and spirit. She is truly singing from her heart and that passion is what makes this CD so awesome. Moonlight is my absolute fav song, her voice is awesome and almost like crystal clear. To me it feels like Stevie has put her heart and soul in this cd and Dave managed to capture that.

tabruns · #13 04-30-2011, 09:49 AM

How would you all characterize Stevie's voice in different phases of her career? I sometimes get kind of fuzzy on when her voice seems to change, but for now I'd say roughly:

Fleetwood Mac/Rumours - Her first "voice", which got blown out by singing "Rhiannon" so often but without a vocal coach

Tusk - I remember her voice sounded shockingly different when I bought this album. Very cracked, ravaged....it sounded particularly fragile on "Storms"

Bella Donna - This was a "thank god she didn't lose her voice" record. Her voice comes back a lot stronger though not back to her "first voice". I remember at the time that many critics cited Bella Donna as the first evidence that Nicks could be a very good technical singer.

Mirage - her voice sounds the same as on Bella Donna to me

The Wild Heart - ditto

Rock A Little - Here her voice changes again....it seems huskier and raspier. *Not* weaker, just rougher.

Tango In The Night - Her voice sounds less raspy than it had on Rock A Little, but now she's starting to get into the "powerful but limited range" type of vocals

The Other Side of the Mirror - sounds the same to me as Tango

TimeSpace/The Chain - ditto

Behind The Mask - ditto

Street Angel/Enchanted - Actually her vocals seems to have slightly more nuances here (I think) than the Tango-Mask era

The Dance - I think this album shows the very first inklings of improvement from the vocal coach....the way she ends "Silver Springs" (the lines "...silver spring...my blue-green colors flashing...") are actually with a softer Fleetwood Mac/Rumours-ish "first voice"

Trouble In Shangri-La - Again, I think the monotone layered vocals of the title track were intentional. That was part of the hook of that song. "Sorcerer" shows real vocal growth as she actually tried for an upper range for the first time in a long time.

Say You Will - This album slides a little bit back into the "powerful but monotone" voice of the Tango-Mask era. I don't hear her going for nuances once in awhile like she did on Trouble In Shangri-La. The "Say You Will" vocal is completely flat and compromises the song....that's the first time where I would say that it's not a question of vocal limitation its simply that Nicks didn't put in a good vocal performance.

In Your Dreams - I think her vocals make a great leap forward with this album. It actually sounds like a weathered, older version of her "first voice". It's one of the amazing things about this record.

Anyone have a different take on the vocal eras?

Jondalar · #14 04-30-2011, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tabruns

How would you all characterize Stevie's voice in different phases of her career? I sometimes get kind of fuzzy on when her voice seems to change, but for now I'd say roughly:

Fleetwood Mac/Rumours - Her first "voice", which got blown out by singing "Rhiannon" so often but without a vocal coach

Tusk - I remember her voice sounded shockingly different when I bought this album. Very cracked, ravaged....it sounded particularly fragile on "Storms"

Bella Donna - This was a "thank god she didn't lose her voice" record. Her voice comes back a lot stronger though not back to her "first voice". I remember at the time that many critics cited Bella Donna as the first evidence that Nicks could be a very good technical singer.

Mirage - her voice sounds the same as on Bella Donna to me

The Wild Heart - ditto

Rock A Little - Here her voice changes again....it seems huskier and raspier. *Not* weaker, just rougher.

Tango In The Night - Her voice sounds less raspy than it had on Rock A Little, but now she's starting to get into the "powerful but limited range" type of vocals

The Other Side of the Mirror - sounds the same to me as Tango

TimeSpace/The Chain - ditto

Behind The Mask - ditto

Street Angel/Enchanted - Actually her vocals seems to have slightly more nuances here (I think) than the Tango-Mask era

The Dance - I think this album shows the very first inklings of improvement from the vocal coach....the way she ends "Silver Springs" (the lines "...silver spring...my blue-green colors flashing...") are actually with a softer Fleetwood Mac/Rumours-ish "first voice"

Trouble In Shangri-La - Again, I think the monotone layered vocals of the title track were intentional. That was part of the hook of that song. "Sorcerer" shows real vocal growth as she actually tried for an upper range for the first time in a long time.

Say You Will - This album slides a little bit back into the "powerful but monotone" voice of the Tango-Mask era. I don't hear her going for nuances once in awhile like she did on Trouble In Shangri-La. The "Say You Will" vocal is completely flat and compromises the song....that's the first time where I would say that it's not a question of vocal limitation its simply that Nicks didn't put in a good vocal performance.

In Your Dreams - I think her vocals make a great leap forward with this album. It actually sounds like a weathered, older version of her "first voice". It's one of the amazing things about this record.

Anyone have a different take on the vocal eras?

The low point in her career vocally was The Other Side of the Mirror, Behind the Mask and Timespace period. I liked her voice on Rumours. That is when I thought it was prettiest. On Bella Donna she just sounded strong. Her vocals on Bella Donna are my favorite. They were more craggy on The Wild Heart and I remember when Gypsy came out; people were talking about how Stevie's voice seemed to have dropped or changed. Her vocals on Tango were stellar. She sang Seven Wonders to the hilt. I think she sang Talk to Me, Has anyone ever Written and I Can't Wait great. It's just that I don't think she even tried much on the other songs. Say You Will and TISL she did not sound that great. I like her vocals on this record because of what I stated above.

LiquidDiamonds · #15 04-30-2011, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tabruns

How would you all characterize Stevie's voice in different phases of her career? I sometimes get kind of fuzzy on when her voice seems to change, but for now I'd say roughly:

Fleetwood Mac/Rumours - Her first "voice", which got blown out by singing "Rhiannon" so often but without a vocal coach

Tusk - I remember her voice sounded shockingly different when I bought this album. Very cracked, ravaged....it sounded particularly fragile on "Storms"

Bella Donna - This was a "thank god she didn't lose her voice" record. Her voice comes back a lot stronger though not back to her "first voice". I remember at the time that many critics cited Bella Donna as the first evidence that Nicks could be a very good technical singer.

Mirage - her voice sounds the same as on Bella Donna to me

The Wild Heart - ditto

Rock A Little - Here her voice changes again....it seems huskier and raspier. *Not* weaker, just rougher.

Tango In The Night - Her voice sounds less raspy than it had on Rock A Little, but now she's starting to get into the "powerful but limited range" type of vocals

The Other Side of the Mirror - sounds the same to me as Tango

TimeSpace/The Chain - ditto

Behind The Mask - ditto

Street Angel/Enchanted - Actually her vocals seems to have slightly more nuances here (I think) than the Tango-Mask era

The Dance - I think this album shows the very first inklings of improvement from the vocal coach....the way she ends "Silver Springs" (the lines "...silver spring...my blue-green colors flashing...") are actually with a softer Fleetwood Mac/Rumours-ish "first voice"

Trouble In Shangri-La - Again, I think the monotone layered vocals of the title track were intentional. That was part of the hook of that song. "Sorcerer" shows real vocal growth as she actually tried for an upper range for the first time in a long time.

Say You Will - This album slides a little bit back into the "powerful but monotone" voice of the Tango-Mask era. I don't hear her going for nuances once in awhile like she did on Trouble In Shangri-La. The "Say You Will" vocal is completely flat and compromises the song....that's the first time where I would say that it's not a question of vocal limitation its simply that Nicks didn't put in a good vocal performance.

In Your Dreams - I think her vocals make a great leap forward with this album. It actually sounds like a weathered, older version of her "first voice". It's one of the amazing things about this record.

Anyone have a different take on the vocal eras?

Bella Donna/Mirage is my favorite era for her Vocals.

I would say Street Angel was the most shocking and disappointing change for me.

I loved The Dance Era vocals...GDW, Landslide, and Silver Springs are my favorite renditions of these songs.

TISL - After The Dance vocals I was very disappointed to hear the vocals on this Album.

SYW drew a mixed reaction. I thought the vocals in Thrown Down and EFO were a much needed improvement.

IYD - Thank you Dave!