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Gold Dust Woman
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Gold Dust Woman
"Gold Dust Woman" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). Written and sung by Stevie Nicks, the song was released as a B-side to "Don't Stop" in the United Kingdom and "You Make Loving Fun" in the United States.
The 2004 two-disc special edition release of Rumours includes two demos of "Gold Dust Woman". One demo features a vocal melody and lyrics in the coda which would later be developed into Nicks' solo single "If You Ever Did Believe", which became the theme song for the film Practical Magic.
"Gold Dust Woman" originally started as a folk song, but Nicks sought a darker arrangement as production on the song progressed. Nicks presented the song to bandmate Lindsey Buckingham on an acoustic guitar and remarked that the band began recording the song two days later. Ken Caillat, who produced Rumours, remarked that the song "evolved slowly" and that "the basic track was very simple, kind of like a folk song. Stevie wanted it to grow. It just kind of snuck up on you. The next thing I knew it was getting kind of creepy." In its original demo form, the song was nearly eight minutes long and consisted of a few alternating piano chords and vocals. It was the third song the band worked on for the Rumours album.
For basic tracking, Mick Fleetwood was on drums, John McVie played his recently acquired Alembic bass guitar, Lindsey Buckingham used a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, Christine McVie played a Rhodes piano, and Stevie Nicks laid down a rough vocal. For a couple of early takes, Nicks played the piano instead, although she moved exclusively to vocals once Christine McVie was more familiar with the song's structure. They recorded eight takes, but none of them were satisfactory.
On February 14, the band resumed work on "Gold Dust Woman" and recorded another seven takes, with the fourth being deemed the best. During this batch of takes, Fleetwood mounted a cowbell on his drum kit, replacing the hi-hat. Several months later, while the rest of the band was away on vacation, Buckingham overdubbed some parts on a Dobro guitar. Caillat placed masking tape near the guitar's sound hole and used ECM-50 and AKG C-451 microphones to record the instrument. He then boosted the upper-mid frequencies and attenuated the lower frequencies so that the instrument would cut through the mix.
The take chosen for release on Rumours was reportedly recorded at 4 a.m., after a long night of attempts in the studio. Just before and during the final take, Stevie Nicks had wrapped her head with a black scarf, veiling her senses to tap memories and emotions. Many unusual instruments were used in the recording, including an electric harpsichord with a phaser. The keys of the harpsichord were marked with tape so Fleetwood could play the right notes. To accentuate Nicks's vocals, Fleetwood broke sheets of glass. According to Caillat, "He was wearing goggles and coveralls — it was pretty funny. He just went mad, bashing glass with this big hammer. He tried to do it on cue, but it was difficult. Eventually, we said, 'Just break the glass,' and we fit it all in."
Slant Magazine critic Barry Walsh described the song as finding Nicks "at her folky (not flaky) best with one of her most poignant character studies". Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic thought that "Gold Dust Woman" was a "true autobiographical song for Stevie Nicks" that "foreshadowed her substance abuse problems in a poetic and somewhat biting manner." Billboard highlighted the song's "desert-like production" and felt that it was "as alluring and enigmatic as its singer — a note of anti-closure for the LP to end on." The Guardian and Paste ranked the song number 16 and number 12 respectively on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. Rolling Stone ranked the song eighth on its list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs, deeming it a "seductive guitar ballad that doubles as a horror show."
In a 1976 interview with Crawdaddy magazine, Nicks said that the song was about "groupie-type ladies" who would give her and Christine McVie "dirty looks" but change their disposition when around men. When asked about the song in an interview with Courtney Love for Spin in October 1997, Nicks said that "gold dust" was a metaphor for cocaine:
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Gold Dust Woman
"Gold Dust Woman" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). Written and sung by Stevie Nicks, the song was released as a B-side to "Don't Stop" in the United Kingdom and "You Make Loving Fun" in the United States.
The 2004 two-disc special edition release of Rumours includes two demos of "Gold Dust Woman". One demo features a vocal melody and lyrics in the coda which would later be developed into Nicks' solo single "If You Ever Did Believe", which became the theme song for the film Practical Magic.
"Gold Dust Woman" originally started as a folk song, but Nicks sought a darker arrangement as production on the song progressed. Nicks presented the song to bandmate Lindsey Buckingham on an acoustic guitar and remarked that the band began recording the song two days later. Ken Caillat, who produced Rumours, remarked that the song "evolved slowly" and that "the basic track was very simple, kind of like a folk song. Stevie wanted it to grow. It just kind of snuck up on you. The next thing I knew it was getting kind of creepy." In its original demo form, the song was nearly eight minutes long and consisted of a few alternating piano chords and vocals. It was the third song the band worked on for the Rumours album.
For basic tracking, Mick Fleetwood was on drums, John McVie played his recently acquired Alembic bass guitar, Lindsey Buckingham used a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, Christine McVie played a Rhodes piano, and Stevie Nicks laid down a rough vocal. For a couple of early takes, Nicks played the piano instead, although she moved exclusively to vocals once Christine McVie was more familiar with the song's structure. They recorded eight takes, but none of them were satisfactory.
On February 14, the band resumed work on "Gold Dust Woman" and recorded another seven takes, with the fourth being deemed the best. During this batch of takes, Fleetwood mounted a cowbell on his drum kit, replacing the hi-hat. Several months later, while the rest of the band was away on vacation, Buckingham overdubbed some parts on a Dobro guitar. Caillat placed masking tape near the guitar's sound hole and used ECM-50 and AKG C-451 microphones to record the instrument. He then boosted the upper-mid frequencies and attenuated the lower frequencies so that the instrument would cut through the mix.
The take chosen for release on Rumours was reportedly recorded at 4 a.m., after a long night of attempts in the studio. Just before and during the final take, Stevie Nicks had wrapped her head with a black scarf, veiling her senses to tap memories and emotions. Many unusual instruments were used in the recording, including an electric harpsichord with a phaser. The keys of the harpsichord were marked with tape so Fleetwood could play the right notes. To accentuate Nicks's vocals, Fleetwood broke sheets of glass. According to Caillat, "He was wearing goggles and coveralls — it was pretty funny. He just went mad, bashing glass with this big hammer. He tried to do it on cue, but it was difficult. Eventually, we said, 'Just break the glass,' and we fit it all in."
Slant Magazine critic Barry Walsh described the song as finding Nicks "at her folky (not flaky) best with one of her most poignant character studies". Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic thought that "Gold Dust Woman" was a "true autobiographical song for Stevie Nicks" that "foreshadowed her substance abuse problems in a poetic and somewhat biting manner." Billboard highlighted the song's "desert-like production" and felt that it was "as alluring and enigmatic as its singer — a note of anti-closure for the LP to end on." The Guardian and Paste ranked the song number 16 and number 12 respectively on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. Rolling Stone ranked the song eighth on its list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs, deeming it a "seductive guitar ballad that doubles as a horror show."
In a 1976 interview with Crawdaddy magazine, Nicks said that the song was about "groupie-type ladies" who would give her and Christine McVie "dirty looks" but change their disposition when around men. When asked about the song in an interview with Courtney Love for Spin in October 1997, Nicks said that "gold dust" was a metaphor for cocaine: