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

what criteria are we using here?

best song

anyway the answer will probably be sara either way

xpost

best song = everything about the song, including production etc.

SARA

is perfect.

sara

sara - overrated
rhiannon - underrated.so that.

dreams

plus, rhiannon is the first Mac song that ive heard, so it's childhood nostalgia,
xpost to myself

^i suspect it was the first mac song i heard too - certainly it was either that or go yr own way

i had that 70's collection on cassette, and that was the song they chose.
but yeah, go your own way is also one of the first songs ive heard

the lack of a moroder mix of this shows a failure of imagination on somebody's part.

(also, where's "gold dust woman"?)

Real hard this one. After years of worshipping sara, i think i'll go with dreams in the end

Voted for this

For what sounds like 4/4, Fleetwood/MacVie are pretty unstoppable here. Always liked the guitar bit at the end.

the lack of a moroder mix of this shows a failure of imagination on somebody's part.

OMG SO OTM

anyway, lightning strikes, maybe once maybe twice

lol xpost but 2/2 LAilxorz agree!

i dunno, 'dreams' and 'rhiannon' are pretty even for me. though miles better than the other two.

Probably "Sara", but I love how "Gypsy" is like a compressed version of the others, combining the witchiness and yearning of "Rhiannon", the resignation and pop perfection of "Dreams" and the wispiness and production nous of "Sara". Guitar solo at the end shreds.

But um, still can't go past "Sara". ALL I EVER WANTED!

"Sara" :: "Kashmir"
"Gypsy" :: "Ten Years Gone"

i have the full concert that 'sara' clip is from on vhs somewhere, first mac i ever saw, on television when i was eleven or something, and that whole show is INSANE.

"Dreams" is great, but it's also one of the most overrated FM tunes.

Gypsy > Sara > Dreams > Rihannon

i always find it hard to think of tracks from 75-79 period FM as overrated, i love them all as if they were my children

I don't think you can overrate perfect things

'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.

Going for dreams because of the harmonies in the chorus. But neither of these are among my favourite Fleetwood songs.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

wow! Justice is done...but look how close!

not close enough. ILM, this time your Tusk stanning has gone too far.

ohno!
rhiaaaaaaaaannnnnnnon

Seriously Tusk is beyond stanning. If anything its better than its ILM rep.

I have Gypsy on my new iPod. It is almost enough to feel complete as a human being. Almost.

This is one of the best threads on the entirety of this board, just saying. I'll be quiet now, but this one is a doozy.

Okay last post for tonight, but Fleetwood Mac are the best band in the universe. I don't care if it's Lindsay or Christine or Stevie singing. It doesn't fucking matter. It just doesn't fucking matter at all. I've made a special exception for New Order just to do this post, because everyone knows New Order are Bimble's fave band. I made a special exception. I even overrid the Beatles. THANKING U.

I want lots of friends who love Fleetwood Mac. If you don't like them, well...

Had I seen this poll I would've voted Rhiannon, just because I've been playing it quite a bit recently.

^^^ this is good

OH yeah, damnit. Oh yeah. She can kick the shit out of any rock and roller that happens to get into a 400 mile radius. Just sayin'.

I've just had a complete and total Fleetwood Mac moment. Thanks iatee. Can't believe some of the original "Gypsy" video is in that. It's almost too much.

And then you can play the studio version of Gyspy and almost triumph over the whole of life. You can almost transcend death. You know I went to a graveyard this morning in the sunshine and it was so beautiful it's like pins & needles in my heart.

But yeah, Fleetwood Mac.

Madness.

Inconceivable alternate reality, from that article linked above:

"Well, "Tusk" wasn't MY album. "Tusk" was mainly Lindsey's conception, dream, everything he ever wanted to do. Everybody just figured that for whatever his reasons were, it was important that he do that and we just sort of sat back and let him do it. I don't mean to sound blase or anything. I was there. I just didn't have very much to do with it. Because if I had had much to do with it, it wouldn't have been a double album and it wouldn't....it wouldn't have been crazy."

I pledge allegiance to the Buckingham guitar solo at the end of Gypsy, I promise. He can get an honorary Brit award or something, for that. Right?

Dreams > Gypsy > Rhiannon > Sara

― (*ﾟーﾟ)θ L(。･＿･)　　　°~ヾ(･ε･ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:45 AM (1 year ago)

starting to think Gypsy=Dreams>Rhiannon>>>>>>Sara

I just listened to gypsy! like 3 seconds ago!

what the hell is wrong with sara!!

fuckin nothing is wrong with sara

Seriously Tusk is beyond stanning. If anything its better than its ILM rep.

― ❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉Plaxico❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉ (I know, right?), Monday, 11 May 2009 03:09 (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4EGaNrAp4

^^^ first public performance of "rhiannon"

<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