That's the way I would see it, but I don't think Stevie does.

Michele

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Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if WB told her that she had to play it coy if Fleetwood Mac wanted the opportunity to even be on the label.

Why wouldn't WB tell the rest of FM to play it coy too, if that's the case?

Mick was talking about their uncertain future with a label. He doesn't know if it will be WB or not. No conflict exists between 24K promotion and FM promotion, but if it did, I would think WB would tell Christine, Mick and Lindsey to shut their traps too, not just force Stevie into unaccustomed reticence.

Michele

Agree. And even if it did the band would know it. They're not naive. Not with all the experience they have. If they knew Stevie couldn't talk about it (which, again, defies all reason) they would give her more of a pass in interviews rather than emphasizing her lack of commitment.

I always appreciate your talent for getting to the heart of the matter in a clear, concise manner, Michele. Good on ya.

I don't really understand the notion of FM not being good for Stevie's solo career. Really, Stevie is coming across as the smartest person in the room right now. She's got a solo album out, and while the band isn't playing her new solo songs, just the very fact that they're doing the reunion tour keeps Stevie's face and name out there in the media. Many of the articles I've read make a brief mention of the solo record. Surely, she's getting at least some sort of sales bump, and she doesn't have to share a piece of the pie with the rest of the band members. She owns the whole pie.

matt

I'm wondering if she's waiting to see whats in Mick's new book. She claims she didn't read the 1st book but someone must have informed her of the contents because she was pretty miffed by it. Also, in the IYD documentary she mentioned that she didn't like Lindsey trying to change her lyrics on SYW, although she did say she had a good experience recording the EP and Solder's Angel with him. Honestly I don't think shes knows what she wants but I do think that she needs someone to offer more constructive criticism than Dave's been able to provide on the last recordings. I think she holding out to get her way, which is to probably have Dave produce her tracks on the new recordings.

Please. No.

Lindsey or Rick Rubin.

If that's a deal-breaker for Stevie, then I'm fine with no Stevie. Hopefully, it won't come to that, though. Because the best option is for all five of them to be present.

matt

I'm surprised to hear someone else say Rick Rubin, he popped into my mind as well.

I've thought about Rubin as a possible candidate for years. Lindsey is my first choice, but if he doesn't have the energy to fight the battles or the band insists on someone else or a co-producer, Rubin is the guy.

Honestly, I don't see it happening, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't.

Rubin already has connections to the band---Tom Petty has worked with him several times, and we all know Stevie is in Tom's corner.

Interestingly, Lindsey has most likely worked with Rubin, too, and it's again through the Petty connection. Lindsey sang some Brian Wilson-style backing vocals on Petty's "Walls (Circus)," which Rubin produced.

Rubin seems to love high-profile gigs for well-established acts that need to, for lack of a better phrase, "rediscover their roots" or re-establish their stature. He did this successfully with Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, and others.

He has a very no-nonsense style, and he encourages acts to be who they are.

It would seem to be a perfect fit. But I still don't see it happening. I don't see Lindsey giving up the chair unless it's HIS choice to do so. And if Rubin is smart, he won't get in the middle of the Mac's mess. It's like people who run for president of the US. Who would really want that job?

matt

I think she likes Dave because he tries to keep her songs true to her demos. As a fan this is both good and bad…. I've said it before and will say it again, she desperately needs a keen editor on her music.

Dave is not that. He lets songs go on too long, too repetitively. Lindsey held her feet the fire with the lyrics and also tweaked her melodies (listen to her original demos of Silver Springs or watch him work on Angel in the Tusk doc).

Jimmy understood what fans liked in her music-- the echoey vocals, the "chanting" lines and vamps in the outros and kept those magical things in and tightened up the rest.

I find her vocals with Dave very "flat" (speaking as a non-technical listener). There's none of the depth that some reverb always gave her voice. It's too upfront and flat and frankly auto tuned or otherwise tweaked in Dave's productions. She sounds more "generic" for lack of a better word in Dave's production.

I don't know if Rick Rubin would be mindful or respectful of that traditional Stevie sound or not. I thought Dave Grohl was in his work with her on You Can't Fix This (mind you, I am NOT suggesting he work with her and the Mac). They need someone who gets what makes her "her" and not someone who wants to transform her into whatever their sound is. Unfortunately, it seems to me that over time that's what's gone wrong with LB working on her stuff-- they have diverged so much musically that he can't make her music come out the way she wants. He wants to make clever musical statements and she just wants commercial hits. :shrug:

She needs an editor, badly. This is why I give Jimmy and Lindsey so much credit. They did excellent jobs doing that. The music arrangements are sometimes pretty cool with Dave, but the mix kills me with those lead vocals. uhhhh

Great post.

All very true..
Lindsey and Mick both worked with Rick Rubin in 1997 as they provided guitar and percussion on Johnny Cash's track "Sea of Heartbreak" from the Unchained album pro ducted by Rick.

FM will not put out a record without Stevie while she is still a member of the band and Fleetwood Mac ( MF in particular and possibly LB not sure about JM or CM) will not do anything that will potentially put their "cash cow" touring revenue at risk ( cash over creativity ) so if FM want's a new album Stevie will get her way.

Oh....let Jeff Lynne have a crack at it. He's already turned the Beatles (individually & collectively) into ELO, why not Fleetwood Mac?? :lol:

I don't that she'll get her way on everything, let's hope she has more class than that. I do agree that they wouldn't release an album without her. Does not make sense in the slightest.