Ask Anybody or Only Over You

[Macfan4life]

Each song is about Chris's mad love for Dennis Wilson. Each track ends side one of Mirage and her 1984 solo album. Which do you prefer and why?

Dennis died December 28, 1983. He definitely heard Only Over You and Chris had just performed her Country Club appearance 2 weeks before his death but Ask Anybody was not performed. Her album was not released until right after he died. Its possible he never heard Ask Anybody but maybe he still was in certain circles and he got an advance listen to her album before its release.

Both songs are brilliantly written and some of Chris's best work IMHO and that says a lot. They are much deeper than many of her other songs.

Which do you like better and why? Or maybe you don't like either? Why? Only Over You does not attract much love around this board but then again neither does Ask Anybody.

[David]

Both are great songs with sweet hooks. But ONLY OVER YOU is nearest and dearest to my heart. John McVie’s bass is wildly out there and lovely on the outro, and the B section (“Angel, please don’t go/I miss you when you’re gone”) is probably my favorite four bars in all of Christinedom. I even prefer the alternative take from the 2016 release; the studio final has great harmony singing but I don’t need that psychopathic pedal-point note on the organ drawing attention to itself like Morse code (I would have left it out or mixed it way lower just to give the barest hint of it) or even Mick’s martial drum roll at the transition. The final mix is too gimmicky for such a winsome song. The song does not benefit from “clever,” humorous production touches.

[Macfan4life]

David, I wish you would have waited till the end to comment because you have too much influence here Several members praise you and jump on your bandwagon too many times without sharing their opinion

Ask Anybody has the better lyrics IMHO. Instead of a pure love lullaby in Over Over You, we get to see the dark side of Dennis. Everyone telling her she should walk out, and she's hopeful that he will change and they will try again without all the pain. Its pure devotion yet she sees a devil and angel in him. This is a very uniquely written love song. She admits to almost liking the wildness in the relationship....drives her wild.

I will take Lindsey's jam at the end of Only Over You over Steve Winwood's on Ask Anybody. I prefer to sing along with Ask Anybody.

This is an extremely close call. I would have to pick Only Over You because of the music. Its got many classic Mac features from Micks drumming, John's bass and Lindsey's plucking solo at the end. Love Mick's slow drum roll into the last chorus too.

Only Over You gets kicked around these boards all the time but now that David has praised it, I am curious to see what others say

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

Both are great songs with sweet hooks. But ONLY OVER YOU is nearest and dearest to my heart. John McVie’s bass is wildly out there and lovely on the outro, and the B section (“Angel, please don’t go/I miss you when you’re gone”) is probably my favorite four bars in all of Christinedom. I even prefer the alternative take from the 2016 release; the studio final has great harmony singing but I don’t need that psychopathic pedal-point note on the organ drawing attention to itself like Morse code (I would have left it out or mixed it way lower just to give the barest hint of it) or even Mick’s martial drum roll at the transition. The final mix is too gimmicky for such a winsome song. The song does not benefit from “clever,” humorous production touches.

I dig the organ signal. It’s obsessive, as is the lyric. The drum roll doesn’t bother me but it doesn’t necessarily add to the song.

[michelej1]

Ask Anybody isn’t even in the same hemisphere.

[SteveMacD]

Ask Anybody.

Only Over You is one of the rare misses for me. It’s just kind of there.

Ask Anybody has a couple of great hooks, an unmistakable Steve Winwood solo, and her voice was really powerful. All of the different keyboard layers work well, too.

[Macfan4life]

Only Over You was always my least favorite song on Mirage. I never liked songs that begin with a vocal with the music. As an early teen I just could not get past the dreamy lullaby to appreciate it. I was 13 and playing Mirage on our stereo and my mother never cared for my music but she came to me and told me what a beautiful song that was playing. I still did not get it or like it much. When I got older and especially after the reissue of Mirage is when I really started to appreciate its finest. It has a bouncy beat at the end and has some incredible harmonies. Like many of Chris's songs, she is in love but someone is mistreating her i.e. They say, I'm a silly girl but I'm not a fool. Sort of reminds me of Say you love me i.e. if you use me again it will be the end of me. She is pouring out her love but does mention she is aware of something wrong in the relationship.
I always loved Ask Anybody. Brilliantly written and the song really makes you feel what Christine is feeling. It also transformed live pretty well. There is a video on youtube of this song from her 1984 tour. Its Chris against the world in the song but she is standing by her man. I forgot but Mick plays drums on Ask Anybody.
Dennis was heavily into drugs like heroin, acid, and cocaine but he also had to be very nutty. He lived with Charles Manson when they had many women living at the house as servants. The stuff that went on at that house was pretty freaky and eventually led to brutal murder.

[HomerMcvie]

Ask Anybody. Only Over Ewe has grown on me over the years, but I didn't like it for a long time. I've always been prejudiced against songs that are impossible to sing along to. Ewe is impossible for me to hit that high note. That's my criteria, Oh Daddy!

[aleuzzi]

Ask Anybody. Her vocal on the verses is moody and seductive. Then the chorus opens up in a surprising way, thanks in part to her collaboration with Winwood.

I do like Only Over You, always have, but it’s not as special as Ask…

[DownOnRodeo]

Ask Anybody has long been a top favorite of mine.

The bridge on Only is a refreshing point of interest in an otherwise dreary track. The words languid and tepid come to mind. It's a sister song to Tepid Ways.

The lyric in Only is mostly too ditzy.
The lyric in AA has more maturity, a dark edge.

"They'll say I'm going wrong" vs "They say I'm a silly girl"

But mainly I just prefer the music in AA. Winwood for the win.

And as jbrownsjr notes, Ask is deliciously lengthy at over 5 mins, such a rarity for a Chris track.

[David]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

The bridge on Only is a refreshing point of interest in an otherwise dreary track. The words languid and tepid come to mind. It's a sister song to Tepid Ways.

The lyric in Only is mostly too ditzy.

Well maybe I don’t want to be friends with you anymore, Joe, even if you convinced Lindsey to put a Tusk song in the set.

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally Posted by David

Well maybe I donÂ’t want to be friends with you anymore, Joe, even if you convinced Lindsey to put a Tusk song in the set.

There are so many Christine songs with "Over" in the title, I wonder whether she considers it the most euphonious word available to her as a lyricist, like Tolkien's "cellar door."

Perhaps we could test this by replacing all the "Overs" with another preposition.


I'm behind my head, but it sure feels nice

I'm out of my mind, but it's only behind you

Could it be me, could it really really be, behind and behind?

I'd do it all behind again

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

There are so many Christine songs with "Over" in the title, I wonder whether she considers it the most euphonious word available to her as a lyricist, like Tolkien's "cellar door."

Perhaps we could test this by replacing all the "Overs" with another preposition.


I'm behind my head, but it sure feels nice

I'm out of my mind, but it's only behind you

Could it be me, could it really really be, behind and behind?

I'd do it all behind again

Written by McVie/Joe. 1975, 1979, 1982, 1995

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

There are so many Christine songs with "Over" in the title, I wonder whether she considers it the most euphonious word available to her as a lyricist, like Tolkien's "cellar door."

Perhaps we could test this by replacing all the "Overs" with another preposition.


I'm behind my head, but it sure feels nice

I'm out of my mind, but it's only behind you

Could it be me, could it really really be, behind and behind?

I'd do it all behind again

Clearly you're over it

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Clearly you're over it

I'm behind it!