Love Grunts
 

Recently I've gone back and listened to live recordings from the White Tour and it's really noticeable that Mick is making grunting sounds when he's playing. There's one performance where you see his mouth moving while he playing so you can tell it's him making the noise. I've known about this for a while and it has always bothered me, but I've wondered why they allowed it to happened. I don't think I've heard anyone mention this topic before including the band or sound guys. Could it be that the mics on the drums were setup differently on that tour and they picked up the noise? Did these grunts inspire Big Love? Was Mick just excited to watch his new singer twirl and shake her...tambourine? Maybe excessive cocaine babbling? I haven't noticed it on the tours before or after 1975, but for me it ruined what would have been perfect performances. It's most noticeable on Rhiannon and you can hear it from the very start of this performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goKM7jsOwrg

5:30. Lindsey looks really good and healthy here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N71eeUFLdo

At first I thought you meant those loudy grunts he made at his solos, like those in World Turning.

But yes I hear something since the beginning of that Rhiannon video, though I had to pay attention carefully. Are you sure it is Mick? What I heard is a constant sound, it could be another thing, some kind of noise, audio distorsion?

I love Mick's roar in the beginning of I'm So Afraid from the Live album. Everyone do yourself a favor right now and put that CD in and crank it up. That is the best version of the song which says a lot. I think its right after he is striking the gong. Chris on that organ is so raw and aggressive compared to the Mirage tour.
I just assumed that is Mick in the beginning?
Mick has always made faces and grunted but it does not always get picked up on the mic.

Yes, I noticed too. Maybe when they started getting more popular and getting better money, they got better equipment to lessen the sound. I think,it was just a natural thing for him.

I think I heard a fairly recent interview w ken caillat where he mentioned that mick made noises when he played and how it could be a challenge to cover them up.

--Lis

Keith Jarrett moans and grunts when he plays, too. You can hear it on any number of his records. I saw him live in 1986–he grunted and whined and moaned when he was “feeling” the music.

I've always hated most of his grunts. Weirded me out more than LB. :distress:

Agreed. They are distracting at best, a pretentious affect at worst.

Lyle Mays didn't have time to grunt. :p

Neither did Chick Corea!

I'm assuming this was the Letterman show from 1994? Interestingly enough, one of my good friends from college made a bold claim. She majored in public relations and moved to NYC in early 1994 to intern for a PR firm that did press for the Letterman and Regis Philbin shows. A family connection got her the job. Whatever the case, she claims to have met Lindsey Buckingham while he was in town taping the show, had an extremely brief fling, and slept with him after the taping of this press tour. She was 24 at the time.

I immediately doubted her claim. However, she was not a FM or Lindsey fan, had absolutely no interest in his music, and wasn't prone to lying. She was very beautiful when we were young and had a few photos of them out and about in NYC. Made me wonder. LOL.

So he was 55(ish) while she was 24? I wanna be a rock star! ;)

That dog!!

Neither did Christine, well until Lindsey made her do Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. whoooo ha whoooo ha whoooo ha whoooo ha :lol:

Actually she said he was more like 44 or 45 at the time. No idea.