Rolling Stone Reissue Review
 

From Rolling Stone Issue 945 April 1, 2004

Big Macs

Lindsey Buckingham’s three great albums – “FLEETWOOD MAC,” “RUMOURS” and “TUSK” – get a deluxe reissue. By Bud Scoppa

FLEETWOOD MAC/ Reprise/Warner Bros.


The one-time British blues band Fleetwood Mac had burned through five guitar players when the three remaining members took a chance on the barely known Californian Lindsey Buckingham and his singer-girlfriend Stevie Nicks. But an instant reaction occurred when Buckingham and Nicks first played with their new mates in an L.A garage. Buckingham, who’d never led a band, decisively took charge, leading Fleetwood Mac’s transformation from journeyman combo to rock royalty.

Buckingham blended Nicks’ nasal alto and ethereal songs and his own fold-rock guitar style with what was at hand – Christine McVie's elegant balladry and propulsive keyboards, her hubby John’s inventively melodic bass playing and Mick Fleetwood’s loping drum grooves. Making extensive use of celestial harmonies and foregrounding the rhythm section, Buckingham defined the Mac sound on 1975’s FLEETWOOD MAC, paced by Christine’s "Say You Love Me” and Nicks’ trippy “Rhiannon.” On the subsequent RUMOURS (1977), they transformed that sound into a song cycle inspired by the split-ups of the band’s two couples. Every song hit home, from smashes such as “Don’t Stop” to the angst anthem “The Chain.” Rather than picking up the pieces, as his ex had hopefully mused on RUMOURS’ “Gold Dust Woman,” Buckingham scattered them like confetti on 1979’s TUSK, his perversely brilliant million-dollar flip-off. At once the encapsulation and deconstruction of the California soft-rock ethos, TUSK revels in its bipolarity, as Buckingham’s ragged throwaways piss on what might’ve been the proper follow-up to RUMOURS.

Few albums recorded since then blast out of the speakers with such shimmering authority. And while only hard-cored Buckingham-philes will want to comb through the two discs’ worth of demos and outtakes that accompany RUMOURS and TUSK, they provide a fascinating glimpse into the wheelhouse of one of rock's most undervalued visionaries.

FLEETWOOD Mac ****l/2

RUMOURS *****

TUSK ****

holy sh*t.

how was that the best review yet. It was quite possibly one of the worst yet. All it did was basically say ummm NOTHING. It was nice that reviewer raved over the albums, but the review freaking sucked. The best review was the one where they actually talked about the the reissues.

I agree...
 

This supposed review didnt talk about the tracks at all...But at least a mention in Rolling Stone is something considering how gawd awful that suck-ass magazine has become the past few years.

Hello? *Lindsey Buckingham's* three great albums? Funny, I thought there were four other people in the BAND that recorded these albums.

Get out! :laugh: Tell me more about this 'band' you speak of. :D

Maybe the reviewer was getting caught up in appreciating the remasters in terms of how the albums were produced, which wasn't exclusively Lindsey of course, but I think is something he deserves credit for if its given. And not that much is given.

For decades, reviewers' terms of reference seem to have been largely based around Stevie's input into the albums, or the band as a single entity, so now that Lindsey is getting more and more kudos for his role in the albums I think its a great thing. It may not seem even or fair in isolation, but taking into account the past thirty odd years, critical evaluations of the band are starting to resemble something more even and fair.

I agree. In my opinion, all five members of FLEETWOOD MAC deserve equal credit for these 3 great albums. I like the grades the reviewer gave these albums, but he got a bit carried away with the rest of the review. It's Fleetwood Mac NOT Lindsey Buckingham, or any other individual member for that matter.

Re: Rolling Stone Reissue Review
 

It's true that the whole band desreves credit for these albums. I justb think it's great that someone with a vision, gets credit for the vision, even in retrospect. And the mac didn't learn from it as a band: they did not accept the vision of a double-album for SYW. Give them credit for giving LB a position he deserves, although it sounds over the top, to call these albums "his" albums, he was hired as a guitarist and "musical art-director" of this band and he succeeded monstruously. So that he gets credit for that on these reissues is great: McVie had all the singles and made the band a brand. Nicks gave the band the "bigger-than-life image" and a (almost) human face. The rythm-section brought in the history and backbone of the band: musically AND concerning the Story....


and now.... the man with that vision: sometimes brilliant, sometimes destructive, sometimes selfish, sometimes idiotic, sometimes empathic....but always challenging and consequent in his vision gets the credit in RS, although that frickin' Mag is not such a icon anymore, I'm very glad with it..........


gerald

Re: Re: Rolling Stone Reissue Review
 

I second everything Gerald said. And I don't have a problem if the reviewer fails to describe the contents of the bonus discs. He's writing from the viewpoint of an analyzer; someone who's describing the albums to those who haven't heard them (ok, two of them) yet; and I believe there's many out there who haven't. Does anyone here think that people who are not hardcore fans are even willing to hear all the differences between the alternate versions?

Seems like we're getting back to the good old Rolling Stone Buckingham Appreciation Society times. Or maybe this means that he has more teen appeal these days. :eek:

Yay... Lindsey Buckingham's Fleetwood Mac :D

Undervalued visionary indeed.

Re: Re: Rolling Stone Reissue Review
 

I always thought that Lindsey and Chris gave the band a human face, not Stevie. Those two were grounded while Stevie was the ethereal, witchy poet, aloof and distant, but heartfelt and sincere. I think that Linds and Chris (especially Chris) were the ones who showed the public that the band was human.

And I agree that "Rumours" and the white album should be credited to the band as a whole, but "Tusk"? Hell no. That was Lindsey's album. :nod:

What a stupid-ass review. It doesn't say anything about the quality of the reissues or the extra songs. Rolling Stone is a joke.

Besides, how much safer could they have played it? Four stars for Tusk, five for Rumours and four and a half for the white album. Boy, that took a lot of courage!

Bunch o buffoons.

If the guy had said the albums were great because of Stevie's voice and her dreamy poetry, you'd be nodding so fast and furiously in agreement that you'd make yourselves dizzy.

This guy calls it what it is. Though he did a poor job of actually addressing the reissues, he had it right on Lindsey's influence.

I think...
 

I think Gerald meant that when you think of the band, who pops into most peoples' minds? Stevie Nicks. Is that right, Gerald? I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I read his post that way. :shrug:

I agree, it's not really a review, it's just an informative (not really tho LOL) ad.

I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THE DEALER!!!! (If it's on there!)

Yea, but LB had to have SN's and CM's material to work with before he could produce greatness and more importantly hit singles. After all, hit singles are the reason FM was allowed to continue recording, etc. In other words, if FM and Rumors failed to produce any hit singles (SN and Chris had six (Rhiannon, Over My Head, Say You love Me, Don't Stop, Dreams, YMLF) to LB's one (GYOW), then the record company would never have spent the money to produce Tusk. But, then again, these six hit singles would have not been the same without LB's production and certainly SN and CN contributed some to GYOW. So, I see it as a band effort to be credited and singling one person far ahead of the others is not fair. So, I say LB certainly should be credited as producer and a brilliant one at that, but SN, CM, JM, and MF certainly provided fuel for the fire and deserve a ton of credit for that :cool:

yes you read it like i meant it. That's why I said "almost" human face;) . For us, LB and CM gave the band a human face, but 90% of the people wouldn't recognize those two even if they were stepping on their toes.....

And Strand, I don't think LB gets credit here as a producer, he gets credit for being a Visionary: that's something else...he gave the band with three musical singer-songwriters-ego's a total recognizable character...and that is not only a sound....: it's by Blending it without crushing individuality. (musically of course, i'm not talking 'bout emotions and politics, and room on one album etcetera.)

Although this man puts LB ABOVE the rest of the band, I will never do that. But I feel proud for Lindsey, that he gets this in RS in 2004 (for g*ds sake.....)

gerald:wavey:

Despite Lindsey's unmistakable influence, I still have to wonder what Keith Olsen, Richard Dashut and Ken Caillat think about Lindsey receiving all of the credit for the "Fleetwood Mac sound" on the first three albums.

Critically, LB's always been praised for his contributions to Fleetwood Mac as a musician, so it's nice that he's now also getting praise for his behind-the-scenes work too... but it does seem to come off a little uneven when you consider that he wasn't the only one there.

Surely Keith Olsen and the veteran members of the band, had more say than Lindsey would have had on 'Fleetwood Mac;' and even though he was the "idea man" for 'Rumours' and 'Tusk,' it would have still been largely Richard and Ken who acheived the overall sound on those albums, as it seems they were the ones who spent the most time at the console.

Anyway, I'm not at all trying to detract from Lindsey's input... I just think it's somewhat unfair to give him sole credit for Fleetwood Mac's sound, when those albums featured production work by three other very skilled men (not to mention the musical contributions from four other very talented band-members). :nod:

Well, that's the first time anyone ever accused me of being a Stevie Nicks fan. :) For the record, I'm a Christine McVie fan but I believe those 3 albums are great because of everyone in the band on EQUAL terms. I did forget Keith Olsen, Richard Dashut & Ken Caillait in my original post. As Johnny Stew said, Lindsey probably had little to do with the overall sound especially on the White Album and even on Rumours to some extent. I think those 3 guys are the unsung heroes of those 3 albums. If anyone has been overlooked over the years, it's been Keith Olsen, Richard & Ken.

I’ll have to check the CD credits when I receive them, but isn’t this Rolling Stone review just in regard to the reissues and not the originals…… like Buckingham’s mixing and digitally remastering? Olsen, Caillet and Dashut aren’t even involved these days……..

….Anyway, being Buck-biased that I am :), I do consider FLEETWOOD MAC, RUMOURS and TUSK his albums, as he was the visionary. Mick Fleetwood on the making of RUMOURS DVD even said so…..

Buckingham’s sounds metamorphosized the band. I’m glad Rolling Stone gave him all the credit!

I agree - its just that it seem some people imply that without LB, SN and CM are not worth anything. I know that people may not mean to come across that way, but it does sometimes. So, we chiffonheads get our dander up and cry foul. IMO - its all good spirited - at least on my end :cool:

Also, although I am a proud chiffonhead, I also love LB and, esp. CM. So, I sort of take them as a group effort when they are in FM.

What's unfair about it? It's one guy's opinion. Reviewers make questionable assertions all the time. You either agree or disagree. I think he's got it right, but that's not news.

Johnny, the question of the Fleetwood Mac sound was answered in the Behind the Mask and Time albums.

If you or anyone else still thinks Lindsey wasn't the architect of the Fleetwood Mac sound after listening to those two albums, with all due respect, you're just refusing to hear it.

Ahh, but neither Ken Caillat or Richard Dashut were on hand to produce 'Behind The Mask.'

Richard Dashut did produce 'Time,' however, and I think the production on that album is flawless.

If I'm remembering correctly, I recall you saying that you don't own 'Time'... so that might be why you see it differently.
Or it might just be Buckingham-Fan bias. ;) :)

The issue is that the guy called them "Lindsey Buckingham's three great albums" _ not that he saw Buckingham as the band's greatest asset.
He's entitled to the latter view, but the former is simply false. They aren't Lindsey Buckingham's albums; they're Fleetwood Mac's.

I see your point.
But the reviewer's opinion still mystifies me. I'd find him just as off-base if he had called these records Stevie's, Christine's or anyone else's. What makes them great, IMO, is the chemistry between the musicians involved. In fact, they wouldn't even exist if the entire band hadn't been present. Why not recognize everybody's contributions?

Well, then I disagree :laugh:

But, my saying its unfair is my opinion, etc. I think this just goes along with that whole "SN and CM are drivel and silly helpless women and LB is the only one with talent" argument that has been rehashed over and over and will never be resolved.

I think the facts do not support that neither CM nor SN has any talent outside of LB's production. LB had nothing to do with any of SN's eight or more solo efforts (counting movie songs) save one brilliant guitar part in "I Miss You" on TISL. CM certainly had been making very good music (e.g. "Why," HAHTF, etc.) long before LB entered the picture and her solo record was no slouch. Finally, MF and JM had an established rhythm section long before LB and SN joined. So, although I think LB is very, very smart, brilliant, talented, etc., to say no one else but LB is responsible for the entire sound of FM is factually incorrect. Again, I am making a factual argument here. I am not in any way saying LB is not due the well deserved respect he has worked to hard to obtain. I am just saying the facts clearly indicate LB did not do it alone.

Lord you have it as bad as some of the die hard chiffon heads :laugh: :laugh: :cool:

I do own "Time." And wouldn't you know it? My favorite song is the one with Bekka for which Lindsey does the background vocals you can barely hear. It was my favorite song before I realized Lindsey was on it.

Johnny, do you see a lot of soud similarities between Time/Behind the Mask and the Lindsey albums? I don't. And regardless of who was behind the boards, Lindsey's vision and masterful playing are conspicuously absent. In your reference to "Time," you're talking about production. I'm talking about the "feel" of the album, the sound that Lindsey so masterfully crafted for the albums he was involved in. You can't match the feel of Time and Behind the Mask to Lindsey's stuff.

welcome to the club, lux:D :laugh:

gerald

Interstingly, I think the classic FM sound is gone because CM is not there. Other than SYHA, SYW has little of that classic sound. The song SYW has it, but SN says that song was an homage to CM. Having said that, I like the new sound very much. FO course all of this is subjective :cool:

Strand, methinks you and some others are being too literal in your interpretation of what this reviewer meant. He is merely saying that without Lindsey, the albums would not have sounded the way they did. That takes nothing away from Stevie and Christine.

And by the way, Christine's solo efforts? I'm going to be diplomatic and just say they don't do it for me.

As for Stevie, well, I won't repeat myself.

Touche' :cool:

Rolling Stone????
 

:wavey: Happy Saint Patricks Day Music Critics!!!:D

We canceled Rolling Stone Mag.!My adoration
of Lindsey has evolved since 1975!:eek: Even an
air-head (as some imply!) like this music fanatic
knows all three were made with F Mac Chemistry!:]
And those Brilliant Engineers mentioned above!!!

RS is just covering:shocked:up for not putting Lindsey
on their :eek: 100 Greatest Guitarist List! :cool: Sky;):)