Download Instrumental    Oh, sure… she’s got that sultry “I just got outta bed’ voice that defines so many of Fleetwood Mac’s songs, but I don’t much care for Stevie Nicks. There, I said it…. and social media will rip me a new one.   I have my reasons and they certainly don’t have anything to do with her voice – she can sing anything, any style, anytime.  If your voice doesn’t come close to sounding like Stevie, don’t even think about using these backup tracks.  It won’t go well for you.

“Gypsy” pretty much defines who Stevie Nicks is as a person and as a performer.  She wrote the tune as a tribute to the time she shared with Lindsey Buckingham in the early days of their career.  They were a duo – Buckingham Nicks – they were lovers, and they were each other’s greatest enemy.  Their relationship eventually turned toxic, but Stevie longed for the days when they had nothing – living in a one room apartment, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and taking any crappy gig they could get and releasing a horrible album.  She fancies herself a “gypsy” – living carefree and cavalier, not answering to anyone or making excuses for her lifestyle.  She was happier then, she knows, but she also knows she can never go back there.  Fame and Fortune have changed all that forever.  But that doesn’t stop her from holding on to that “gypsy” persona that started her on this journey in the first place.  That’s what this song is all about – harking back to what once was but knowing it will never be again.  I think we’ve all got a little gypsy in us.

So why don’t I like this woman?  Well, she does something that drives me crazy.  She dances… constantly.  I’ve seen Fleetwood Mac in concert on three different occasions – once even springing for front row seats.  Her gyrating onstage made it difficult to appreciate the music.  I like to watch lead guitar players – I’m envious.  But every time Lindsey would go into a solo, there’s Ms. Nicks buzzing around him like a bewildered bird – arms flailing, tambourine raised high, and spinning like a top – blocking any view of fingers moving swiftly over a guitar neck.  She dances like – there’s no other way to describe it – a crazed GYPSY.  And Lindsey Buckingham doesn’t talk about his long-ago relationship with Nicks (poor guy has his own major issues now, bless his soul).  But Stevie talks about it incessantly.  It’s the classic “poor, pitiful me” routine.  That gets tiresome after awhile, Stevie.  Give it a break.  You’re rich and famous and oh, so talented.  Let it go.  Go back to being a gypsy – just tone down the dancing… please.