It would seem by the recent flurry of public appearances with her former band, Chris might be showing interest in returning to Fleetwood Mac. However, I can't see her wanting to do it in a full capacity. And now we know that Lindsey wants all or nothing. :mad:

So that seems to leave open her making another solo album. However, Chris has been a recording artist for what, 45+ years? In that time she's only released 3 solo albums. Her recording another solo album seems a bit remote to me. I realize her nephew drew In The Meantime out of her. But what's he up to these days? Maybe he's moved on in his career, has his own family, etc. :shrug:

So it seems to me, the only real option we're left is Chris going back into retirement. :distress:

I'm not defending Lindsey here, but I think we need to stop jumping to conclusions about what he thinks based on a single offhand remark (possibly misquoted) from Stevie in an interview. I think the question here is NOT why Lindsey demands "all or nothing" from Chris, but why would Stevie say something about his attitude that paints him in such a negative light, at this moment in the band's history when everybody should be rejoicing over Christine's appearance with them?

What's Stevie's motivation in representing Lindsey as having such a bad attitude? Is she just trying to make him seem like a jerk, so she will seem like a nicer person? It wouldn't be the first time that dynamic was at play in their relationship.

I personally was annoyed with Stevie for trying to steal the limelight from Christine that first night, when at the end of the song Christine was happily waving to the fans and Stevie grabbed her from behind, and intruded on her moment. (You can see in the videos how surprised Christine was that she did that.)

I guess I'm saying I'm suspicious of Stevie's behavior in all of this. But don't listen to me because I've never been much of a Stevie fan.

You know, I'm the FIRST one to criticize Steve E., and I didn't take it like that at all! When she grabbed her from behind, I took that as GENUINE JOY, in having Chris back on stage!

I thought the joy was genuine too. She was obviously happy to have her there and it's true to her natural personality.

I don't get why all of them don't seem to want to meet in the middle in terms of Chris rejoining. If you want her to join full time, you have to make some concessions for her. Same with Chris having to make some compromises on her end as well. :shrug:

I think the Mac should do an extended Vegas residency. No travel. Lots of money. With Christine.

I was annoyed too. I think Stevie's feelings for Christine are certainly genuine, but I also think that she was also making that 'first time in 15 years' just as much about her as about Christine. Christine had no time in the spotlight alone. I think Christine is very used to Stevie's exuberance, so when Stevie grabbed her from behind it didn't seem to me that she was surprised, but I felt her silent response patting Stevie's hands quickly was, "ok, ok settle down" which is always the role she has had to play with Stevie really. In that sense, she really has taken the big sister approach. I had a little brother and I probably said to him frequently, "Will you be still? Could you be quiet for just two minutes?!"

Friday night, Stevie was much more respectful of boundaries. She wasn't doing that raise our arms in Victory play. After Don't Stop, she didn't rush to Christine. Christine accepted the applause and then John came and escorted her from the piano and Stevie was very patient, waiting her turn to embrace Christine.

Michele

Stevie and Lindsey are just shameless mudslingers. Can't wait do hear Lindsey's side on this thing.

I think Lindsey is Lindsey, so I predict his side of the story won't be helpful to Christine fans, but he has his own petard and can incriminate himself. Stevie doesn't need to hoist him on hers.

I was thinking of SYW and maybe it was Lindsey or maybe it was all of them who said that she shouldn't record if she wasn't going to tour, but we never knew who said it. They just repeated that excuse without pointing fingers or naming names, so it was a joint front and that's the best approach to take, unless you want to create bitter feelings.

It's like, "Son, I really wanted you to go to that concert, with your school friends. I thought you deserved it, but your father said 'No,' because he's an awful man -- although, he adores you." :lol:

Michele

Maybe he could clarify things, but based on previous history... :lol:

He might not have a choice if he wants more Fleetwood Mac albums.

As I said in another thread earlier, I would have loved a two-to-three song mini set with Mick, John, Christine, and Peter Green just doing a few blues numbers from back in the day and maybe “Oh Well” with Lindsey. I get why that didn't happen, but it's not like it's not the 45th anniversary of the first two Fleetwood Mac albums, and Chicken Shack's first album...

I don't think he does either.

That's a splendid idea. Imagine the outrage if Jeremy Spencer isn't involved though. :lol:

I don't know, I think Stevie probably realizes everyone is baffled by the whole situation. Why would Chris return after 15 years? Why just for ONE song for 2 shows? Why those 2 particular shows? If Christine is talking about wanting to record again, why can't she with the band? Why can't she record, but not tour... she did that for the Time album? It's not just fans asking these questions, it's journalists, too.

This time around, I honestly believe Stevie isn't slinging mud at Lindsey. They seem pretty content with each other at the moment. The way Stevie phrased her comments on the subject leads me to believe she was not sharing Lindsey's feelings out of malice. Stevie just seemed matter of fact, and perhaps even understanding of his point of view.

Regarding Lindsey's motivations for blocking a partial return from Christine... I'm a bit torn. We all know how much of a purist & idealist he is. But at the same time, he's also repeatedly expressed his joy of the 21st century Fleetwood Mac dynamic. He likes the more "masculine" sound without Christine, and the fact he has more breathing room in the setlist. His reasons for blocking Christine could be more selfish than idealist this time.

Either that, or he's playing hardball with Christine in attempts to muscle her into a firm commitment to Fleetwood Mac- one she couldn't simply excuse herself from if she changed her mind. :shrug:

While Lindsey clearly enjoys the "breathing room", and the "masculine" sound (your mileage may vary, of course), I think deep down he wants Christine back. She was pretty much an equal to him musically, mainly because they have similar writing styles, and unlike Stevie, she played an instrument. He works best when there's someone else to keep him in check (and as many sources stated, she's the only one who can effectively do that), and Christine works best when someone gives her tunes a little bit of flair.

However, he may have most likely learned from the Tango fiasco that being only partially committed to the band (okay he left them in a lurch, but yeah) may bring more complications than ever (though Christine seems to be okay with that arrangement, and that where she and Lindsey differ), perhaps seeing other people perform with the people he's been with for quite a long time what affected him quite a lot, and he didn't want this to happen again.

So maybe it's a mix of all the reasons you gave.

Yes, he's expressed this many times. Too many times for me to think of it as completely truthful. I think it was partially true and partly false bravado because he was frustrated that she left.

Plus, even though he got to do more experimental things on SYW, Sad Angel and Miss Fantasy aren't masculine. If he has to write songs like that (which I like, mind you, I'm not a person who disparages those songs) to keep Stevie from feeling alienated from his sound, then he really has not gained anything from Christine being gone creatively. If he could make more Murrow, Red Rover, etc. in her absence, then that would be a reason to keep her away. But I actually think his best bet to make those songs is with her back. If they had twelve songs, Stevie and Christine's could be commercial (Christine) and pleasing to Stevie (Stevie's 4) while Lindsey's could be as strange as he liked, without anyone complaining too much, since there would be 2/3 other stuff to balance him.

As for Stevie, by naming Lindsey as the culprit -- when no one was named in 2003 as to why Christine couldn't record when she couldn't tour -- I think she was mud-slinging. She didn't have to say who was the person behind that and certainly didn't have to add that she herself didn't care about such things. I mean, I believe the general truth of what she said, but I don't believe she wasn't trying to make him look bad. Ten years ago they gave an explanation for Christine's absence without pointing the finger at anyone in particular. They made it sound like just a joint band consensus. This time around, it was Lindsey's view.

In fact, Mick said more about Lindsey and Christine being on the phone together and Mick wondering if it was really going to happen, than Stevie ever said about Lindsey perhaps influencing Christine's participation, back then.

Michele

Would you explain this? I need a refresher course. :confused: