You Can't Fix This - Full Song

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Compare this to any TISL/SYW song, and is it just me, or is her voice waaaay less nasal lately? Heck, even compared to IYD this is a marked improvement. Great song. Makes me want more from Stevie.

i wondered if it was due to the way she was recorded. I think Dave Stewart uses a lot of digital technology. He even manipulates her voice in spots-- the computer enhanced vibrato on the word "day" in the middle of the IYD "come in out of the darkness/it's a beautiful dayyyy" is one of the most egregious.

[xhector]

Dave did an amazing work. He got perfectly into Stevie's sound, with a slight compact rocking edge but everything very familiar anyway.

I like how sometimes it even sounds to me like Christine's there (the electric piano, some color of the backing vocals).

At first I thought the verse was a bit lazily written, but the chorus is great and the production fantastic and all the passion and all mystery are there so I'm happy

[Jondalar]

Here is a bad review

STEVIE NICKS + SOUND CITY PLAYERS, ‘YOU CAN’T FIX THIS’ – SONG REVIEW
by Billy Dukes 8 hours ago

RCA/Roswell
Stevie Nicks leads Dave Grohl and the Sound City Players on ‘You Can’t Fix This,’ a song inspired by the death of the Fleetwood Mac singer’s godson. The group recently performed a slower, bluesier version of the track from the ‘Sound City’ soundtrack on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman.’ It’s best experienced live.

The studio version ultimately relies on Nicks, who is not quite the gifted vocalist she once was. Only when one knows the context in which she penned the lyrics is it effective. Lost in the studio mix is the swirling guitar licks that set the mood for this dark quasi-anti-drug message. “We were careful in our own way / We walk through the darkness / We made a pact not to dance with the devil / Even when the devil seemed to have a heart,” she sings before the first chorus.

That chorus is an unimpressive, slogging arrangement that fails to grab one’s attention. “You can’t fix this / You lost a friend / Hearts breaking / Right and left / Friendships break like glass / And the devil pours another glass,” Nicks sings. Later a pair of backing vocalists freshen-up the lyrics. It’s a necessary addition, as the finished cut comes in at a lumbering six minutes.

“We never allowed the devil to come to the party,” Nicks sings multiple times. Presumably the “devil” is the drugs, which she did let come to the party during points in her life. Her godson overdosed, and Nicks has talked about him before.

Lyrically, the message is meaningful but not brilliant prose. Clumsy rhymes aren’t softened by a magical arrangment of guitars and drums. Instead they’re left as the focus of a song that just sounds flat on the record. The slowed down live version they performed on late night television adds another dimension to the single, but ultimately it’s not going to be one fans remember forever.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/stevi...cant-fix-this/

[WildHearted]

That was a terribly written/structured review.

The studio version ultimately relies on Nicks, who is not quite the gifted vocalist she once was. Only when one knows the context in which she penned the lyrics is it effective.

The flow of sentences here makes no sense. Her vocals are only effective when you know the context of the lyrics? What? It sounds like the second sentence was meant to refer to the lyrics as only being effective when you know their context, but they left out a sentence or something.

Personally, I think the studio version is just as good as, if not slightly better than (due to the perfected vocals), the song performed live. Not to mention that I'm not sure the live version really differs from the studio version in any significant way, aside from the obvious constraints of a live performance...

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

That was a terribly written/structured review.



The flow of sentences here makes no sense. Her vocals are only effective when you know the context of the lyrics? What? It sounds like the second sentence was meant to refer to the lyrics as only being effective when you know their context, but they left out a sentence or something.

Personally, I think the studio version is just as good as, if not slightly better than (due to the perfected vocals), the song performed live. Not to mention that I'm not sure the live version really differs from the studio version in any significant way, aside from the obvious constraints of a live performance...

He's trying to say the lyrics don't stand on their own. You can only understand what the song is about when she tells you.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

He's trying to say the lyrics don't stand on their own. You can only understand what the song is about when she tells you.

I know that was what he meant - unfortunately that wasn't what he said.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

I know that was what he meant - unfortunately that wasn't what he said.

Only when one knows the context in which he penned the review is it effective.

Michele

[Sanne2]

I don't get all the negative comments (especially in the comments section on Nickslive). I think it's a great song, I might even go as far as saying that I love it. Maybe it's because English is not my first language but I'm never too bothered by some of Stevie's "bad" lyrics. This song sounds great to me: it rocks, it's a bit mystical, it's GDW-esque and I like the way she sings it, the Letterman live version really sold it to me and the recorded version is great too.

[DashingDan]

My poorly worded critique of YCFT


I give it a solid B.

Passionate singing and spooky, musical atmosphere abound. A perfect combination for her and her fans.

However, with the exception of her choice to engage the word 'fix' in a song about drug use (fix--an amount of an illegal drug, or of another substance which has an effect on someone if they take it. ) and a situation that is beyond repair, which is brilliant (she's always excelled when she written about her favorite things, love that is over, or just about to end, and drugs), it's the lyrics that are very weak. It's stuff like; landing two lyrics, one after the next, with the word glass; cliches such as 'we walked through the darkness'; awkward lyrics "We made a pact not to dance with devil, even when the devil seemed to have a heart". We're super-fans here, so we know how she uses her poetry as lyrics, but I wonder what would have happened if she listened to someone whom she respected say to her, "Great first draft, but there are a few problems...", "Great second draft, I like the changes you made, almost done, it just needs polish".

[Lilyfan]

Originally Posted by DashingDan

My poorly worded critique of YCFT


I give it a solid B.

Passionate singing and spooky, musical atmosphere abound. A perfect combination for her and her fans.

However, with the exception of her choice to engage the word 'fix' in a song about drug use (fix--an amount of an illegal drug, or of another substance which has an effect on someone if they take it. ) and a situation that is beyond repair, which is brilliant (she's always excelled when she written about her favorite things, love that is over, or just about to end, and drugs), it's the lyrics that are very weak. It's stuff like; landing two lyrics, one after the next, with the word glass; cliches such as 'we walked through the darkness'; awkward lyrics "We made a pact not to dance with devil, even when the devil seemed to have a heart". We're super-fans here, so we know how she uses her poetry as lyrics, but I wonder what would have happened if she listened to someone whom she respected say to her, "Great first draft, but there are a few problems...", "Great second draft, I like the changes you made, almost done, it just needs polish".

You know she would say, "You wouldn't say that to Bob Dylan".

[Angel69]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think this is a good point to make. I have thought this about FFG. The FFG lyrics are Stevie, but not the music. I feel it is just generic rock. Noise. It felt she wanted a rocker, rather than that should naturally be a rock song.


Michele

The live versions of FFG are way better than the album version, especially that Blockbuster Awards performance.

[elle]

Originally Posted by Sanne2

I don't get all the negative comments (especially in the comments section on Nickslive). I think it's a great song, I might even go as far as saying that I love it. Maybe it's because English is not my first language but I'm never too bothered by some of Stevie's "bad" lyrics. This song sounds great to me: it rocks, it's a bit mystical, it's GDW-esque and I like the way she sings it, the Letterman live version really sold it to me and the recorded version is great too.

GDW has a melody. this one doesn't. i love GDW, it's a timeless and amazing song.

maybe i'm deaf but i don't get how this song has anything in common with GDW.

i do agree that the arrangement of this song rocks. i just don't like talk-singing and no melody.

[elle]

Originally Posted by DashingDan

However, with the exception of her choice to engage the word 'fix' in a song about drug use (fix--an amount of an illegal drug, or of another substance which has an effect on someone if they take it. )

ha that's a great point - brilliant!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by DashingDan

However, with the exception of her choice to engage the word 'fix' in a song about drug use (fix--an amount of an illegal drug, or of another substance which has an effect on someone if they take it. ) and a situation that is beyond repair, which is brilliant (she's always excelled when she written about her favorite things, love that is over, or just about to end, and drugs), it's the lyrics that are very weak. It's stuff like; landing two lyrics, one after the next, with the word glass; cliches such as 'we walked through the darkness'; awkward lyrics "We made a pact not to dance with devil, even when the devil seemed to have a heart". We're super-fans here, so we know how she uses her poetry as lyrics, but I wonder what would have happened if she listened to someone whom she respected say to her, "Great first draft, but there are a few problems...", "Great second draft, I like the changes you made, almost done, it just needs polish".

When you said that about "fix" it revealed to me how clever the usage actually was. I like that more now.

You're right on the lyric repetition. And she shouldn't use "break" and "breaking" so close together either. She could say hearts were aching, instead or it doesn't even have to rhyme. She could say hearts were pounded, crushed, whatever and then let break have more power in the subsequent line.

Michele

[AliceLover]

Is this song great? No. Is it good? Yes.

I've listened to this more times than I have "Everybpdy Loves You" and "Wide Sargasso Sea" combined.