Gypsy - who would have thought

[Macfan4life]

I was in the car today and Gypsy came on. It made me think about the song. Stevie was really on a creative roll coming off epic and poetic songs like Sara and her huge solo album that was still charting singles when Mirage was released. Gypsy is like Sara in that its not a typical pop song in that it has no chorus. Its pure poetry crafted into a fantastic melody and one of the best vocal bridges in music history. Gypsy was a monster video. Stevie could do no wrong having 2 #1 albums back to back solo and with the Mac. You would think so much more was yet to come but sadly Gypsy was the high water mark with her in the band. It was her last self written Mac song to be released as a single. That would be impossible to believe if someone would have told you that in 1982. Stevie did hit it big with one of her biggest solo songs the following year but the Mac era was over. By the time Seven Wonders was released, Stevie just came off a solo album where most of the songs were co-written or written by someone else. The next Mac album in 1990 no Stevie songs were even released as a single. I suppose in theory Say You Will counts as a self written single but it never charted. Its really surreal to think that Gypsy was her last written Mac single and hit in the States (Paper Doll charted in Canada).
Really shocking and sad. Drugs really took momentum off her career.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I was in the car today and Gypsy came on. It made me think about the song. Stevie was really on a creative roll coming off epic and poetic songs like Sara and her huge solo album that was still charting singles when Mirage was released. Gypsy is like Sara in that its not a typical pop song in that it has no chorus. Its pure poetry crafted into a fantastic melody and one of the best vocal bridges in music history. Gypsy was a monster video. Stevie could do no wrong having 2 #1 albums back to back solo and with the Mac. You would think so much more was yet to come but sadly Gypsy was the high water mark with her in the band. It was her last self written Mac song to be released as a single. That would be impossible to believe if someone would have told you that in 1982. Stevie did hit it big with one of her biggest solo songs the following year but the Mac era was over. By the time Seven Wonders was released, Stevie just came off a solo album where most of the songs were co-written or written by someone else. The next Mac album in 1990 no Stevie songs were even released as a single. I suppose in theory Say You Will counts as a self written single but it never charted. Its really surreal to think that Gypsy was her last written Mac single and hit in the States (Paper Doll charted in Canada).
Really shocking and sad. Drugs really took momentum off her career.

The consensus seems to be that "Gypsy" was Stevie's last legendary Fleetwood Mac song, and I generally agree with those sentiments. I suppose that "Seven Wonders" got a brief moment in the spotlight around 2014, but as we know, her involvement in that song was exclusively confined to performing lead vocals rather than contributing in a meaningful way to the songwriting process.

Up through Other Side of the Mirror, Nicks continued to have at least one song per album reach the top twenty, although her commercial fortunes took a nosedive by the 1990s. She only managed to achieve three more songs on the Billboard 100 as a solo artist and a member of Fleetwood Mac: "Sometimes It's a Bitch" (#56), "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" (#57), and a live version of "Landslide" (#51).

That being said, she's still achieving impressive streaming numbers for a legacy act and is by no means irrelevant. But in terms of writing notable songs, "Gypsy" is essentially her last significant contribution to the Fleetwood Mac discography (unless if we count "When I See You Again")

[SteveMacD]

I’ve said it before, but Stevie only had ten years of consistently incredible recorded works.

But after TWH, meh. She spread herself too thin between her solo career and Fleetwood Mac, always giving deference to her solo works. Which is sad. BTM would have been infinitely better with songs like “Rooms on Fire,” “Whole Lotta Trouble,” and “Doing The Best I Can.”

Instead, fans got two mediocre albums. Stevie didn’t have the material to do what she’d done up to TWH.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

I’ve said it before, but Stevie only had ten years of consistently incredible recorded works.

But after TWH, meh. She spread herself too thin between her solo career and Fleetwood Mac, always giving deference to her solo works. Which is sad. BTM would have been infinitely better with songs like “Rooms on Fire,” “Whole Lotta Trouble,” and “Doing The Best I Can.”

Instead, fans got two mediocre albums. Stevie didn’t have the material to do what she’d done up to TWH.

When Campbell cowrote with her, the results were often really good. "Blue Denim" in particular is one of her best songs. The lyrics work, the music is tuneful, and her vocal is great.

"Twisted" is a head higher than anything on BTM and about five heads higher than "Paper Doll." I also think the studio demo of "Sweet Girl" is damn good.

Her collaboration with Dave Stewart (IYD) was better than we had a right to expect.

But yeah, her peak creative period for writing and performing was 1974-1984. And even then, I cannot listen front-to-back to any of her solo albums. I can take four, possibly five songs at a time. Any more and what initially seemed bewitching sounds tiresome.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

But yeah, her peak creative period for writing and performing was 1974-1984. And even then, I cannot listen front-to-back to any of her solo albums. I can take four, possibly five songs at a time. Any more and what initially seemed bewitching sounds tiresome.

I, of all people (who can't stand her these days), listened(and played guitar along) with the entire Bella Donna album last night.

Much like Rumours kept FM alive for the past 47 years, she was damned lucky she was sleeping with Jimmy and put out BD. If the old goat had released OSOTM out of the gate, she wouldn't even be a footnote, now.

[Straightback]

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

She only managed to achieve three more songs on the Billboard 100 as a solo artist and a member of Fleetwood Mac: "Sometimes It's a Bitch" (#56), "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" (#57), and a live version of "Landslide" (#51).

I could be wrong, but didn't "Silver Springs" from The Dance chart on Billboard?

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Straightback

I could be wrong, but didn't "Silver Springs" from The Dance chart on Billboard?

Looks like it reached #5 on the old geezers charts.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Springs_(song)

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

The consensus seems to be that "Gypsy" was Stevie's last legendary Fleetwood Mac song, and I generally agree with those sentiments. I suppose that "Seven Wonders" got a brief moment in the spotlight around 2014, but as we know, her involvement in that song was exclusively confined to performing lead vocals rather than contributing in a meaningful way to the songwriting process.

Up through Other Side of the Mirror, Nicks continued to have at least one song per album reach the top twenty, although her commercial fortunes took a nosedive by the 1990s. She only managed to achieve three more songs on the Billboard 100 as a solo artist and a member of Fleetwood Mac: "Sometimes It's a Bitch" (#56), "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" (#57), and a live version of "Landslide" (#51).

That being said, she's still achieving impressive streaming numbers for a legacy act and is by no means irrelevant. But in terms of writing notable songs, "Gypsy" is essentially her last significant contribution to the Fleetwood Mac discography (unless if we count "When I See You Again")

I think its more than just her last legendary Mac song. Its pretty much her last (self) written Mac single and hit. When Gypsy was on the charts her career with the Mac and solo was on rocket fuel. Who would have thought it would be her last (self) written Mac hit.
The next 2 Mac albums she was on solo tours and was barely involved in those albums. Many used to call her the "star" of Fleetwood Mac yet her songs were so bad on BTM that none of them were released as singles. If no one gave her Seven Wonders, she may not have had a single or hit either.
That was her talent was writing epic songs that were woven into commercial success. Being on drugs, on solo tours, and not much Lindsey really impacted her Mac success.
When Gypsy faded from MTV, her Mac career "ceased to exist." Her songs on Mirage were so strong.....so strong that the insanely good Smile At You was left on the cutting room floor. It was her last Mac album that had all Aces.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by Straightback

I could be wrong, but didn't "Silver Springs" from The Dance chart on Billboard?

What's sad is that none of The Dance's NEW songs made the charts and were well promoted. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they were released even as singles or as the B-side of singles. They focused on promoting Landslide and SS, which were performed wonderfully, but the band had the potential to include interesting new songs. Bleed to Love Her was a missed opportunity, Sweet Girl was too.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Villavic

What's sad is that none of The Dance's NEW songs made the charts and were well promoted. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they were released even as singles or as the B-side of singles. They focused on promoting Landslide and SS, which were performed wonderfully, but the band had the potential to include interesting new songs. Bleed to Love Her was a missed opportunity, Sweet Girl was too.

They could only live and breathe from the Rumours era songs. Nobody cared about new material. It is sad, however.

[billwebster]

Originally Posted by Villavic

What's sad is that none of The Dance's NEW songs made the charts and were well promoted. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they were released even as singles or as the B-side of singles. They focused on promoting Landslide and SS, which were performed wonderfully, but the band had the potential to include interesting new songs. Bleed to Love Her was a missed opportunity, Sweet Girl was too.

They did play "Temporary One" on the radio back in the day here in Germany.

[WalkAThinLine.]

Originally Posted by billwebster

They did play "Temporary One" on the radio back in the day here in Germany.

And it received enough airplay to reach number 99 there.

[blinker12]

I think there was a moment when Stevie could’ve gotten back to having the discipline and drive to write great songs again. That was circa 1995. Street Angel had tanked and there was no FM to fall back on (she’d quit anyway), giving her a wake up call that she needed to do something drastic to continue her career; meanwhile, she was finally off drugs and had the mental clarity and focus to write again. Out of this brief window came “Twisted” and “Love Is” and possibly “Trouble in Shangri-La,” all solid efforts. But then came “The Dance,” and the nostalgia machine took her to the top of the charts again with minimal effort on her part. No longer was there any urgency to reinvent herself or write new material, and she lost focus. There was a brief spark of creativity around SYW, with the “Phoenix Four” songs offering a glimmer of the old magic (well, three of the four of them anyway haha). Maybe she was trying to impress or at least keep pace with Lindsey. Then, mostly laurel resting and cowrites ever since.

[Villavic]

I'm not a big fan of Stevie solo albums, actually I've never bought one. But I liked some Trouble and IYD songs. Actually I read positive reviews of IYD, though IMHO none of them got the level Gypsy did. Because Lindsey was not there? I'm not sure, cause SYW songs didn't get that level either, in my opinion.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Villavic

I'm not a big fan of Stevie solo albums, actually I've never bought one.

You're missing out, then. Bella Donna is a work of ART. If I was on a desert island with 20 albums, BD would be one of them. The Wild Heart is very good, but BD is greatness. She hit two home runs, then her songs and albums got the runs...