'sara' vs. 'gypsy' vs. 'dreams' vs. 'rhiannon'

'Rhiannon' is maybe my favourite FM song, so that. It's all about the harmonies in the chorus. I'd rank the other three Sara>Dreams>Gypsy.

omg the bit in the rumours doc where you hear the bare harmonies from dreams... chills i tells ya

i voted "dreams" but honestly i could throw a dart at any of these choices and hit an amazing song.

the lyrics are just so scathing for a soft-rock hit...

"it didn't end up being silly at all" (sure, stevie)

I'm voting for "Tusk."

Wow, this is tough -- these are all easily in my Fleetwood Mac top 10.

Right now, I am thinking Sara = Dreams > Gypsy > Rhiannon.

Nice to see some people repping for "Gypsy," which has long been my favorite FM track. I've heard it a thousand times, and the bridge, with Stevie building towards her vocal climax and Lindsey playing those staccato guitar arpeggios, can still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

No "Seven Wonders"?

Voted for "Sara," of course – my favorite Mac ballad.

THUNDER ONLY HAPPENS WHEN IT'S RAINING

dreams is basically perfect. sara is too though

the lyrics are just so scathing for a soft-rock hit...

seriously! the lyrics are bruuuuutal

i think dreams > sara > rhiannon > gypsy

on a different day i could sara though

*vote

listened to sara on my way to work like 6 times in a row--so perfect for this weather. last minute and a half are my favorite.

Gypsy. Perfect track.

These days I might even prefer the edited version from the original CD and the 1988 greatest hits: it packs even more of a wallop and contains more mystery within the limitations of a four-minute pop song.

guys i'm so happy that i 'discovered' fleetwood mac for myself literally about one week ago! like how is that possible??!! but i'm so glad i finally did. like i always knew dreams and 'go your own way' but didn't even know that 'don't stop' was them.

listening to s/t right now and these guys are like the best pop band evah

Shouldn't "The Chain" be in here too? Just a thought.

Nah. These feel of a piece - The Chain and even Gold Dust Woman are a different category.

The thing about dreams is it's all (gently) downhill from the first verse.

Dreams > Gypsy > Rhiannon > Sara

I'm going for Sara, but hey, if Dreams wins, it's not like a big deal or anything. I think I've got more childhood nostalgia around Dreams, anyway. Gypsy is an excellent track, but certainly at the bottom of this ranking. I'm glad mark cl has discovered them! I often talk to music fans about them and you'd be surprised how many people scratch their heads as though actively investigating them is the weirdest idea in the world.

Toughie - either Sara or Dreams.

Both are so perfectly excuted. Dreams for it's pop-ness appeal but Sara for the tingles felt on each hearing; Sara creates such a tense mood but so beautiful!

I voted Dreams 'cos I ain't too deep,

Either Dreams or Sara, I can't decide!

Great poll. I don't know 'Gypsy' either, so treat for me. WIll report back.

Lindsey doesn't look well in those first couple of clips. Great guitar at the end on Gypsy. I seem to remember Rhiannon having some blistering guitar too. This is hard.

I have only ever heard Fleetwood Mac on the radio. Which ever song has the 'thunder only happens when it's raining' lyric is the one i'd vote for.

^^"Dreams"

just searched my library and discovered that I do have one FM track in my collection. Little Lies (Dub Mix). Good little mix too.

I got Tango In The Night at the weekend. It's better than I expected (and I was expecting it to be pretty good)

Yeah, I was surprised at how much I liked TITN when I first heard it a year ago -- I think I had assumed that FM were solid for a few years in the late '70s and useless thereafter, but there are some fantastic pop songs on that album.

I usually like Christine's stuff least, but her songs on it are impeccable

I'm voting for "Tusk."

― Alex in NYC, Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:59 AM

Me too.

'tusk' isn't even a stevie nicks song, so you might as well vote for 'hey jude'

Listen, you wrote "best song" and cited four Fleetwood Mac tunes.

I usually like Christine's stuff least, but her songs on it are impeccable

On TITN? Hells yeah. "Big Love" aside, McVie saves the album.

I still don't understand this poll, though. Why omit the TITN and Say You Will Nicks singles? Or "Fireflies"?

cause only a crazy person would vote for them over these 4

Nah, I'd put "Thrown Down" and "Say You Will" up against them. I'd at least want to read what people write about'em.

those are great songs, but cmonnnnnnn

'say you will' can stand up to 'dreams'??? I mean really

I think I probably love Rhiannon most, and I really like the guitar at the end of Gypsy, but the Dreams that get bent posted upthread is so beautiful that I voted for that in the end.

'say you will' can stand up to 'dreams'??? I mean really

No. I'm just (again) wondering by what criteria where those four poll options picked. Whatever. We can create a Say You Will post.

I think they stand pretty clearly as the massive Stevie Nicks songs of the classic era (Self-titled / Rumours / Tusk)

See: SN songs on this album -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(1988_Fleetwood_Mac_album)

I feel like if I should have added anything else, it should have been 'Landslide'

oh wait, gypsy's on mirage...err...I'll just go w/ the greatest hits explanation then

Yeah I think the poll makes sense - these songs strike me as anthems in a way that the Say You Will songs aren't. I think "Thrown Down" and "Destiny Rules" and a couple of others on that album are amazing, but they feel more like album tracks (whether or not they were actually released as singles). Maybe the purpose of Nicks' songs on Say You Will was to prove that she could do astonishing album tracks, something I'd say she hadn't managed previously since "Beautiful Child".

i have a cousin named after rhiannon

hey, me too! i just met a woman who named her daughter "aja". remember that guy on the real world named "yes"? the world is a funny place. if i ever have a son i'm naming him "supertramp"

if i ever have a son i'm naming him "supertramp"

You're setting him up to be this guy though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless

Haha met a beautiful chick named aja a couple weeks ago - don't repost to braggin thread tho :-/

<3 you forever for this!

It's amazing that on the demo she already found the right vocal melody for "Gypsy." It's almost identical to the released one.

omg @ rhiannon right there

dreams and rhiannon both all time faves of highest order, while sara and gypsy both bore me to no end. think Fleetwood Mac only band to really hit these extremes for me

never saw this thread but i would've voted for "Gypsy." never really occurred to me but i'm not that big on Stevie Mac -- generally prefer both the FM hits by other singers and her solo stuff

i don't think i voted, but dreams

i would have voted for "gypsy." it's something in her delivery.

you know:

"so i'm back
to the velvet

uuuunderground"

little lifts of smoke

oh hell, "rhiannon" for all time. wish i'd voted.

and thanks for that live version, aero! too fast & tough, but still so great.

i voted for sara and id do it again in a heartbeat

id do it a thousand times over

never change

i would have voted for "gypsy." it's something in her delivery.

― preschoolin' life (BradNelson), Tuesday, July 5, 2011 5:01 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark

People slag the bridge in that tune, but for me what makes the song is the way that Stevie ends on a lower note for each line of the first half while Lindsey's arpeggios imply the rest of the band is climbing for something; then in the second half, she ends on the same note three times before reaching for that last high one. It's spine-chilling.

now i am reading hilariously written interpretations of the lyrics to "sara" online

Though the years were hard, her years with Lindsey, at least at the start, were basked in a joyful love, one that shined and gave off this promised light of happiness. Behind this light, though, was another source, this one more emotional and intense, such as the flames of a fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKIC_Kza4Ek

^^ this version of gypsy almost makes me want to vote for it. but, no, its sara! sorry guys!

i was watching Stevie duet w/ one of the competitors on The Voice last week and she flutters her fingers while performing even more than any impression of her could ever hope to convey

dreams vs. sara was tough for me

okay maybe "sara" is correct. i have been listening to "storms" a lot lately, too; the quality of stevie's voice on it is so ;_;

I believe the Rhiannon youtube revive proves that song #1

i have been listening to "storms" a lot lately, too; the quality of stevie's voice on it is so ;_;

"storms" is my favorite fleetwood mac song and is better than any of these okay sorry

this poll is vicious but right now i could listen to the little ascending guitar bits in the chorus of 'gypsy' forever.

well not the chorus. whatever that section is. the 'to the gypsy that remains' bit. what is that! why does it only appear once!

i kinda think these are the four best fleetwood mac songs

"storms" is my favorite fleetwood mac song and is better than any of these okay sorry

― preschoolin' life (BradNelson), Thursday, July 7, 2011 12:49 PM (six years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hey me, you're an asshole and an idiot. the answer is either "sara" or "gypsy"

Sara for sentimental reasons but gypsy would be my pick as that song is so uplifting and great to sing along to. Silver springs is up there too

sara vs dreams for me. very difficult