The Tango sessions were this bad?

[Macfan4life]

We know the struggles Lindsey went through during the making of this album. But I will cut and paste this from wikipedia with sources. We know Lindsey faked Stevie's voice in several areas. However, were we not led to believe it was because of Stevie's absence? Apparently Stevie showed up intoxicated and her vocals were so bad that Lindsey deleted them after she left. Mick admits he forced Lindsey to make Tango and has regrets that no one was listening to him when he was trying to speak. Now it makes sense because during the reissue of Tango, I have always said that Stevie sounds drunk on Ooh My Love. There were no good demos of hers that came from these sessions. Its clear Lindsey had standards and what Stevie got away with in the studio during RAL (quality of sound) was not going to damage this record. Its also no surprise why her songs are so bad on this record.

*****cut and pasted****

Although the record eighteen months to complete, Stevie Nicks spent a total of two weeks in the studio with the band, as she was promoting her third solo record, Rock a Little, throughout this period. Nicks sent demos of her songs to the band, recorded while she was on tour, for them to work on in her absence. "Welcome to the Room... Sara" was inspired by her thirty-day stay at the Betty Ford Center to overcome her cocaine addiction in October 1986 (Nicks used the pseudonym "Sara Anderson" when she checked into the facility).[16][17][18]

When Nicks did go to the studio, she often felt unmotivated: "I can remember going up there and not being happy to even be there... I didn't go very often". With vocal sessions taking place in Buckingham's master bedroom, Nicks recorded her parts for Buckingham and McVie's songs intoxicated. Given their poor quality, Buckingham was forced to erase most of Nicks' vocals from these recording sessions after she left the studio.[19]

Buckingham recorded some of the vocals using a Fairlight, an early sampling synthesizer.[20] On "When I See You Again", he re-assembled separately recorded takes of Nicks, explaining, "I had to pull performances out of words and lines and make parts that sounded like her that weren't her".[8] "That was in my estimation when everybody in the band was personally at their worst. By the time we did Tango in the Night, everybody was leading their lives in a way that they would not be too proud of today".[21]

With pressure on Buckingham to keep the project focused and moving forward, things came to a head shortly after the release of Tango in the Night. At a band meeting at Christine McVie's house to discuss the accompanying tour, he announced his departure. "The album was well received", noted Mick Fleetwood. He continued, "Somewhat sadly, the kudos of that was never really fully attributed to Lindsey because he wasn't present... He was coerced and persuaded to do that album—mainly by me. And, to his credit, he put aside everything that he'd dreamt of doing, including making his own album, for Fleetwood Mac, but then realised that he'd made a mistake... Lindsey was not being heard. We just didn't get it".[22]

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Although the record eighteen months to complete, Stevie Nicks spent a total of two weeks in the studio with the band, as she was promoting her third solo record, Rock a Little, throughout this period. Nicks sent demos of her songs to the band, recorded while she was on tour, for them to work on in her absence. "Welcome to the Room... Sara" was inspired by her thirty-day stay at the Betty Ford Center to overcome her cocaine addiction in October 1986 (Nicks used the pseudonym "Sara Anderson" when she checked into the facility).[16][17][18]

When Nicks did go to the studio, she often felt unmotivated: "I can remember going up there and not being happy to even be there... I didn't go very often". With vocal sessions taking place in Buckingham's master bedroom, Nicks recorded her parts for Buckingham and McVie's songs intoxicated. Given their poor quality, Buckingham was forced to erase most of Nicks' vocals from these recording sessions after she left the studio.[19][22]

Already I’m confused by this timeline. It says Stevie sent demos to the band while she was on tour for RAL; then it says Welcome to the Room Sara was written and recorded after she went to rehab… which was after her RAL tour was over. So apparently some of the album was done after rehab.

While I appreciate Lindsey did the album as a favor to Mick, guess what- so did everyone else. Stevie said she didn’t want to be there, and she barely participated, but she did sing 3 songs. Christine did her best work here, too. She outshines Stevie and Lindsey so much on this album. And John didn’t have to work on this album, either. So does Lindsey deserve kudos? Absolutely, but so do Christine and John. Mick benefitted from the album, but they all did. A lot. And considering Lindsey’s solo stuff didn’t sell as much as FM, it benefitted him to have his solo songs Caroline, Tango, Family Man, and Big Love on this album, because they got maximum exposure they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I’m sure Lindsey knows this, too.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by bwboy

Already I’m confused by this timeline. It says Stevie sent demos to the band while she was on tour for RAL; then it says Welcome to the Room Sara was written and recorded after she went to rehab… which was after her RAL tour was over. So apparently some of the album was done after rehab.

While I appreciate Lindsey did the album as a favor to Mick, guess what- so did everyone else. Stevie said she didn’t want to be there, and she barely participated, but she did sing 3 songs. Christine did her best work here, too. She outshines Stevie and Lindsey so much on this album. And John didn’t have to work on this album, either. So does Lindsey deserve kudos? Absolutely, but so do Christine and John. Mick benefitted from the album, but they all did. A lot. And considering Lindsey’s solo stuff didn’t sell as much as FM, it benefitted him to have his solo songs Caroline, Tango, Family Man, and Big Love on this album, because they got maximum exposure they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I’m sure Lindsey knows this, too.

Huh?
Confused by the timeline? Its true she sent them demos while on the RAL tour. WTTRS was definitely written and recorded post rehab. It may have been the final track recorded and slapped on the record. Apparently all the songs were crap and Welcome/Sara was the least worst option.
The only reason I posted this was because the part of Lindsey deleting Stevie's vocals pre-rehab. I had not heard that so direct before. I knew she was rare in the studio but much of the reason Lindsey was crafty was because Stevie was so terrible and then not around because of rehab. I wish Lindsey would write a book someday. IMHO listening to Ooh My Love tells a story. Its so bad I was surprised the Mac released it on their Tango deluxe reissue.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Huh?
Confused by the timeline? Its true she sent them demos while on the RAL tour. WTTRS was definitely written and recorded post rehab. It may have been the final track recorded and slapped on the record. Apparently all the songs were crap and Welcome/Sara was the least worst option.
The only reason I posted this was because the part of Lindsey deleting Stevie's vocals pre-rehab. I had not heard that so direct before. I knew she was rare in the studio but much of the reason Lindsey was crafty was because Stevie was so terrible and then not around because of rehab. I wish Lindsey would write a book someday. IMHO listening to Ooh My Love tells a story. Its so bad I was surprised the Mac released it on their Tango deluxe reissue.

I think a book by Lindsey would be incredibly fascinating. Doesn’t seem likely, though. Sorry you don’t like how Stevie sounds on Ooh My Love- I loved the outtake on the Deluxe Edition but I’ll have to listen to it again to see if I can hear what you’re hearing with her vocals. As for Stevie’s least worst option, I would give that honor to When I See You Again.

Learning more about when each song was recorded for Tango would be cool, and certainly interesting. I wonder if Christine had any idea at the time how stellar her contributions were? Or any of the band members, for that matter. Little Lies, Isn’t It Midnight, Everywhere, Mystified… not a bad song in the bunch! And why Down Endless Street didn’t make the album over Family Man is hard to comprehend.

I wanted to add, it’s always been curious to me that Lindsey left when he did. I totally understand that making that album was not fun for him, but the thing is, the worst was over: Stevie went to rehab and quit drugs, Mick knocked off the drugs, and the album was complete. By all accounts, Stevie, the biggest problem at the time, was doing well at that point, and totally recommitted to touring with them. I wonder if the tour had gone well, if that would have kept them together and with another album following. Moot point, but this post got me thinking ‘what if?’

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I wanted to add, it’s always been curious to me that Lindsey left when he did. I totally understand that making that album was not fun for him, but the thing is, the worst was over: Stevie went to rehab and quit drugs, Mick knocked off the drugs, and the album was complete. By all accounts, Stevie, the biggest problem at the time, was doing well at that point, and totally recommitted to touring with them. I wonder if the tour had gone well, if that would have kept them together and with another album following. Moot point, but this post got me thinking ‘what if?’

Based on how Mick looks in the Tango video, I'll wager that Lindsey knew what he was talking about when he said the road was always worse!



But yeah, it would be a cool alternate timeline to see.


I think Family Man belongs on TITN over Down Endless Street.
I also am an outlier in that I think WTTRS is not bad. It's got a rich, full band sound, Stevie's vocals on it are not as problematic as on Whassamatterbaby, and the jungly vibe to the music is a good fit with the album's motif. Granted the lyrics and title are a bit off the wall.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

Granted the lyrics and title are a bit off the wall.

The first cut is the deepest one of alllllllllll

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

Granted the lyrics and title are a bit off the wall.

Mirrors of her former self…

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I think a book by Lindsey would be incredibly fascinating. Doesn’t seem likely, though. Sorry you don’t like how Stevie sounds on Ooh My Love- I loved the outtake on the Deluxe Edition but I’ll have to listen to it again to see if I can hear what you’re hearing with her vocals. As for Stevie’s least worst option, I would give that honor to When I See You Again.

Learning more about when each song was recorded for Tango would be cool, and certainly interesting. I wonder if Christine had any idea at the time how stellar her contributions were? Or any of the band members, for that matter. Little Lies, Isn’t It Midnight, Everywhere, Mystified… not a bad song in the bunch! And why Down Endless Street didn’t make the album over Family Man is hard to comprehend.

I wanted to add, it’s always been curious to me that Lindsey left when he did. I totally understand that making that album was not fun for him, but the thing is, the worst was over: Stevie went to rehab and quit drugs, Mick knocked off the drugs, and the album was complete. By all accounts, Stevie, the biggest problem at the time, was doing well at that point, and totally recommitted to touring with them. I wonder if the tour had gone well, if that would have kept them together and with another album following. Moot point, but this post got me thinking ‘what if?’

The worst was not over. You work with addicts so you know addicts usually relapse or substitute another substance. Stevie started klonopin and she even said in the interview that it caused her to not show up or show up late. I really dont think Lindsey was going to trust her especially since she could not even complete the 30 days in rehab and ran away after 28 days. Mick's substance abuse continued well after Tango. A recovering addict cant be around parties and other drug users. I think the experience of making the album just made him want to cut ties with these people. I think Mick even acknowledged that bringing drug dealers to Lindsey's house was so wrong. There is a photo of Stevie smoking one of her kool 100's sitting in a chair next to Lindsey during the Tango sessions. Stevie looks so tired or completely wasted and Lindsey is looking at her almost trying to peak her interest. That photo does not say "I'm clean, lets go on tour"

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

The worst was not over. You work with addicts so you know addicts usually relapse or substitute another substance. Stevie started klonopin and she even said in the interview that it caused her to not show up or show up late. I really dont think Lindsey was going to trust her especially since she could not even complete the 30 days in rehab and ran away after 28 days. Mick's substance abuse continued well after Tango. A recovering addict cant be around parties and other drug users. I think the experience of making the album just made him want to cut ties with these people. I think Mick even acknowledged that bringing drug dealers to Lindsey's house was so wrong. There is a photo of Stevie smoking one of her kool 100's sitting in a chair next to Lindsey during the Tango sessions. Stevie looks so tired or completely wasted and Lindsey is looking at her almost trying to peak her interest. That photo does not say "I'm clean, lets go on tour"

But Stevie did quit using cocaine, and by all accounts the tour with Rick and Billy went incredibly well. Stevie’s dependence on Klonopin was very gradual, she didn’t quit using cocaine and the next day become addicted to Klonopin. Her time after Betty Ford was successful in the sense that she quit cocaine, went on tour with FM, recorded with them on at least 3 new songs, then did her solo album and tour for the OSOTM, followed immediately by another album and tour with FM. She was very productive until the Klonopin became an issue during the Behind the Mask tour, but from 1987-1990, she was in a much better place, and I think Lindsey would have responded well to that. His mind was made up, though. Ultimately it worked out fine, I mean BTM is one of my favorite albums ever, so if Lindsey hadn’t left, that album wouldn’t have been made.