The Stevie of old...

[joe68]

Sometimes I look at her old tapes and I start to actually get sad, you know. Like, where is that person from back then? I have to say Stevie started to change during the Shake the cage tour; much more subdued, much more calm.

So happens my very first Stevie concert was the one Cloaks & Daggers came from. I listen to it now and Stevie is just so "out there". You never knew what was coming next. Amazing!

Referring to the maturation process: I don't know. Obviously that has something to do with it. But I find that Stevie's songs are just not as compelling as her old stuff either. Can anyone say there's just as much emotion in TISL as The Wild Heart? I don't feel it...

I like SYW, but I think the Mac ruined a great opportunity. Chris would have really added to this record and to leave her off of it because she didnt want to tour makes no sense to me. Stevie keeps saying, "What if Christine has the single...?". Well, what if she does? Lindsey had the single ("Big Love") right before he quit the band and I don't think it had any repurcussions on the 1987 tour.

Oh well, this is kind of a rant...but I know Stevie is getting older, but I'm getting older too...and I miss the dynamics she used to bring on stage.

[goldie]

I feel the same way....I miss the 1975-1981 Stevie. Emphasis on 1976/1977.

I still love her with all my heart to this day - but it's not the same.

[darklinensuit]

Here's what I think is going on.
Mind you, I'm not saying I AGREE with what's in Stevie's head, but this is what I think SHE'S thinking. JMHO.

For years, she shrieked at the mike, tore her voice apart, and the critics panned her for not singing right, and for how her voice would give out without warning, and how the long-term strain had ruined her voice.
These days, the critics praise her voice.

For years, Stevie spun and kicked and spread her arms under the shawls like they were wings. Critics called the young Stevie silly, and as she got older, they asked when she would grow up and realize she wasn't the doe-eyed ingenue anymore. They labeled her ridiculous, a caricature of the limited artist that she once was, in their opinions.
These days, Stevie mainly stands still, and the critics focus on her songwriting and vocals, which seems to be how she wants it.

For years, the critics labeled much of Stevie's best work as too airy-fairy. They PRAISED Sometimes it's a Bitch & Love's a Hard Game to Play as steps in the right direction, towards "harder-hitting" pop/rock. (I cringe just at the thinking.)
The lower-brow stuff, the stuff she doesn't write --- Talk to Me, Every Day --- these are the kinds of songs Stevie has been encouraged to release as singles & to perform.

For years Stevie thrilled fans with costume changes, & the critics said she spent more time offstage than on during a show.

For years Stevie abused her body, & now she is committed to being the last one alive oin the rocking chair on the front porch. After drugs, saline leaks, failed eyes and pregnancies, heartbreaks and slipping sales totals, she feels the need to ease up. This is a compromise she made with herself, I think. A little over ten years ago she was saying she'd be out of the music business within five years. Here she is, still, but giving only what she believes she can afford to.

Importantly, I think that while Stevie has never sold out her fans or her artistry, she is a woman who has longed for approval for years and years. She is now getting critical acclaim, sales are back up, her voice is dependable, her looks are still celebrated, young rockers applaud her, etc., and she does not want to mess with what seems to be working. She's older, she's wiser, and she's probably afraid of risking the life she's carefully gathering around herself.

Less risk, more respect.

That's not a payoff to those of us here who have loved her over the years, who have loved her more creative endeavors, so it's frustrating for us.
Still, just the sound of her voice is a kind of payoff for me still.

As I wrote at the start, this is all my opinion. I'm sure there will be plenty who disagree, and maybe time will show I'm wrong. We'll hve to hang in to see.

- Jake

[beach~gypsy]

~WOW~

what he ^ said

[paleshadow]

I agree with what Jake said. Stevie is taking care of herself now. If she had done that from the start her voice would have been completely different all those years. Yeah, there are some great moments from the past, and her famous rasp. I get frustrated though when people seem to be upset that those days are gone. Would people prefer her to be coked up still just so she would spin till she fell off stage again? I think she sounds great now, and she's healthy. Plus she seems happier than she has in years.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally posted by paleshadow
I get frustrated though when people seem to be upset that those days are gone. Would people prefer her to be coked up still just so she would spin till she fell off stage again?

I feel the same way you do, and that's a point I've tried to make elsewhere.
While I love the "Stevie of old," and all the craziness that went along with her behaviour at that time, I love and adore "Today's Stevie," and wouldn't trade her for anything.

If Stevie had continued on with that lifestyle, she'd probably be dead by now... or a walking punchline, like Keith Richards.

And yes, her music today is unlike her music from 20 years ago (when 'The Wild Heart' was released, for example), but, again, I don't see it as being less passionate and intense, or any less compelling.
Her songwriting and vocal styling has matured and progressed, and apparently it's lost its excitement for some... but then, I tend to think it's very unfair for us to want her to still be what she was decades ago.
We're keeping her in a little box... never wanting her to age or change. Like a China doll.
She always has to be "Our Stevie"... exactly the way she was when we loved her best.

If someone wants that, I guess the only option is to focus on all of those old videos, concert recordings, and albums. Anytime I want a dose of the "Stevie of old," that's what I do. But generally, I much prefer what she's doing these days, and what she'll hopefully be doing in the future.

Even if I hadn't been a fan all those years ago, I KNOW I would become a fan now... so I guess I'm lucky in that aspect.

[gldstwmn]

True. But what I wouldn't I give to see her cut loose at the end of Rhiannon or come creeping out tapping on a cowbell, or say something that doesn't make any god damn sense only it makes perfect sense. I was most electrified on this tour by Beautiful Child, Running Through The Garden and Destiny Rules. Now we're down to one of those songs and I listened to the Columbus boot tonight and Billy Corgan was right. F*cking brilliant! But safe and brilliant do not come hand in hand. If Stevie wants to be conservative, I'll still love her. But wouldn't it be cool for her to just cut loose a little? Think of the people who have never seen that side of her. Lindsey is getting a ton of praise for coming out of his shell. It almost seems they've switched stage personalities.

[Miranda]

Originally posted by joe68


I like SYW, but I think the Mac ruined a great opportunity. Chris would have really added to this record and to leave her off of it because she didnt want to tour makes no sense to me. Stevie keeps saying, "What if Christine has the single...?". Well, what if she does? Lindsey had the single ("Big Love") right before he quit the band and I don't think it had any repurcussions on the 1987 tour.

I always thought the line about Chris having a single was laughable. So what if she had a single? They're still playing Don't Stop without Chris. They're only playing 2 of Stevie's new songs on the tour, and she's there! Chris absolutely should have been part of the project.

[Villavic]

Well, I definitely miss the 5-members lineup.

About STevie, I agree about the studio versions. I don't find in SYW or TISL that feeling I heard and saw in Tusk, Rumours, and even Mirage or Tango.

But about the live performances, well, she's in her 50s. Obviously she needs to take care of herself. She can't give evrything from herself. I think that already paid it's toll (her voice was affected each year, each tour). And drugs addictions didn't help either. Now she needs to be very calm, I think.

[The Tower]

Blah........ I ****ing miss Stevie......

She teases everyone by proving that she's still got it it ("Everybody Finds Out" and "Running Through the Garden") and then she blows it by pulling out "Stand Back", "Rhiannon" and "Dreams".....


ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!

We KNOW that you wrote and have performed (beautifully, I might add) those songs.....

But..... if you care enough about your journals like you say you do, I would think that you would want some MORE of your words to get across to the "general public" (that translates to the few people who HAVEN'T heard your three major hit singles)

MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!

Your songwriting catalog of GREAT songs is HUGE

I could write an entire 20 song setlist from your fantastic career (not including the hits)........ and I think I will...

Here it is...... Stevie covering her entire song catalog in one setlist (in order, with Lindsey helping, of course )

Crying in the Night
Nightbird
Talk to Me
Julia
No Spoken Word
Wild Heart
Goodbye Baby
Sara
Nothing Ever Changes
Crystal
Blue Denim
Django/Races Are Run
Outside the Rain
That's Alright
The Second Time
Everybody Finds Out
Ooh, My Love (!!!)
Storms
Garbo
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?


This would be the greatest concert EVER!!!! And don't get me wrong- I can do the same for Lindsey.....

Countdown
Tango in the Night
Never Going Back Again
Miranda
Don't Let Me Down Again
Eyes of the World
Surrender the Rain (aahhh the greatest, with the intro....)
Down With Rodeo
Say Goodbye
Walk A Thin Line
I'm So Afraid
All My Sorrows
Come
You Do or You Don't
Save Me a Place (!!!!)
Monday Morning
Peacekeeper
Go Insane
Soul Drifter...... (oh my gawd!)
Frozen Love


SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE it can can be done!!!!! Without ****ing "Rhiannon" and without ****ing "Go Your Own Way"!!!!!!

YOU GUYS HAVE WRITTEN GREAT SONGS THAT NO ONE HAS HEARD!!!! WHY TH **** DON'T YOU PLAY THEM LIVE......?????? I WOULD, IF I COULD

[Vianna]

the rest of the audience unfortunately doesn't want that. I wish they did, God knows. I agree there is so much beautiful music these two people have written that never gets performed on stage.

We have to remember we are hard-core fanatic Fleetwood Mac fans=:-)I mean I'd just love to be their roadie, wash their dishes whatever just to be able to hear them play every night.

My guess is the majority of the concert goers never pursued the Mac much beyond Rumours and that's all they want to hear.

Unfortunate for us.

Sometimes I think they should give a concert or two just for us hard-core fanatic fans...wouldn't that be fabulous?

or do one of those Live By Request shows?that A&E puts out now and then?

[Lee]

They may be many reasons why Stevie is not the same Stevie on stage now:

1. She's not well. Rumors are there's a hip problem, & she's going through menopause which tends to tire you out.

2. She's trying to save her voice.

3. She's letting Lindsey take the spotlight more, maybe b/c she's not well & is just letting Lindsey take the lead so to speak or b/c she's wants Lindsey to get a chance to show his stuff during this tour.

JMO.

Lee

[DeeGeMe]

Yes, the majority of the audience are going to see Fleetwood Mac, and that means the Fleetwood Mac they remember--the hits, not the more obscure songs that we diehards want to hear. Or as James Taylor once put it in "That's Why I'm Here":

Fortune and fame's such a curious game
Perfect strangers call you by name
Pay good money to hear Fire and Rain
Again and again and again

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by joe68
I find that Stevie's songs are just not as compelling as her old stuff either. Can anyone say there's just as much emotion in TISL as The Wild Heart? I don't feel it...

Well, there's something I've been saying for a while. The problem is a writer has to grow, to keep challenging him/herself to remain creative. And though Stevie has evolved in some ways, she absolutely has refused to truly grow. She uses the same chords over and over, she refuses to edit herself and she keeps going back to the old tired topics. I can deal with her new voice, which still grates on me occasionally, but the substandard writing has no excuse. I've said it before here: Focus on quality rather than quantity.

Maybe she doesn't believe in the stuff herself, hence the lack of emotion. How many lost-love songs can you write before you start boring yourself? Unfortunately, when she tackles other topics, she merely taps the surface, never really giving us much substance. I'm thinking of things like "Desert Angel" and, I almost hate to say it, "Illume."

When I compare Illume to the stuff Bruce Springsteen did, it's like a superficial MSNBC segment versus the PBS special on the six firefighters who rode their bikes across the country to thank the nation for their support in the aftermath of 9/11. Stevie's writing is uninspired in this song; it's an indulgent fear fest. Bruce, on the other hand, tackles that day and its aftermath in a sensitive, sensible and compassionate way.

I don't expect Stevie to stand on stage and scream her head off anymore. But I have the right to expect better writing.

Finally, to say she is "letting" Lindsey take the spotlight on this tour is just silly. Look at footage from Lindsey going back to the Tusk tour. He was always electric. But since Stevie spent most of the time off stage back then, when she came back on and twirled, people noticed. No doubt, her stage presence was magnificent. Now, with her standing there like a mere stage prop and Lindsey continuing to give it his all, people understandably notice him more.

[Lee]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Finally, to say she is "letting" Lindsey take the spotlight on this tour is just silly. Look at footage from Lindsey going back to the Tusk tour. He was always electric. But since Stevie spent most of the time off stage back then, when she came back on and twirled, people noticed. No doubt, her stage presence was magnificent. Now, with her standing there like a mere stage prop and Lindsey continuing to give it his all, people understandably notice him more.

Hmmm. . . well, silly or not, I've never seen the any footage of the Tusk tour. I'm just going by what I've seen of The Dance & on. Silly old me is just stating my opinion!

Lee