Lindsey story on Crooks and Liars website
 

link



One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me at Reprise was when my counterpart at sister label Warner Bros thought Fleetwood Mac might be a little passe for the direction he was taking the label and offered Reprise the opportunity to release their live album, The Dance. I jumped at the chance– and the record sold millions around the world, helping me pay bonuses to every single employee of our company. Because of that I also availed myself of the opportunity to get to know these incredible musicians, particularly the 3 living in L.A., Stevie, Mick and Lindsey. Lindsey Buckingham, while best known as one of the brilliant minds behind Fleetwood Mac, always really wanted to be respected for his solo career as well. His songs were always great and I always encouraged him to record them in his own unique style. This is one of the songs he released on Under the Skin which came out last year, “Someone’s Gotta Change Your Mind.”


It has a video set to "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind". It was written by Howie Klein, who was president of Reprise records.

Some of those comments are... eh, strange:

If there was ever a person most expendable to Fleetwood Mac it was Lindsey Buckingham. {snip} I always to be honest never thought Lindsey Buckingham was the “brains” behind the group’s success.

Okay.

Most expendable?! Well, yeah I agree with that, because when he left in 1987, I don't think anyone even noticed. Made no difference whatsoever.


Michele

Right! Nobody noticed when he came back either. Not the five million who bought The Dance and sent it to #1 on the charts. Certainly not the millions who bought Tango when it also went #1 before he left. The millions who bought Behind the Mask and Time, which both went multi-platimum and ranked #1, never noticed at all. What do you mean they didn't? They weren't? :eek: Nevermind!!!!!

Well, as I understand it, he contributed very little to TITN. That album probably sold well because people were so glad he was gone.


Despite the fact that the band has carried him for 22 years, it is my opinion that he is the least expendable of the 16. However, I realize such thoughts are irrational. Curls get in your eyes.

Michele

You guys ever see a website whose comments section wasn't filled with dozens of stupid, misinformed, or naive posts? People are stupid, and shouldn't be allowed to comment on things! ;)

You know, that is very true. Even when we have earthquakes and they interview the "man on the street" and ask what it felt like to him, I get annoyed about something and have to turn away. Whether it's Court Tv or the Home Shopping Network, if people have an opportunity to call in and state their opinions, my sanity is at risk if I don't turn away.

Blog comments about Fleetwood Mac surface a lot in the news clippings and I see statements that are mind-boggling, but I guess you just have to take that stuff with a grain of salt. Many people think Fleetwood Mac is a car.

Michele

And the beat goes on…
 

Reminds me of Genesis...Peter Gabriel's genius propelled a good band to fantastic heights, walked away and no one noticed (c'mon! Peter Gabriel was in Genesis??). Phil Collins took Gabriel's leftover material and kept the band going until Collins found his own style. Which was basically copying whatever Peter was doing at the time and making it less 'artistic', more 'pop' and much more marketable.

The same thing happened with Pink Floyd (who the heck is Roger Waters?? Oh yeah---the guy responsible for our smashing success! WTF, we don't need him, let's go on tour using the name, play his songs, write some new ones based on his old themes and sell a few more million albums---bloody brilliant!!)

So you take another good band, add genius singer/songwriter/guitarist Lindsey and hot little diva Stevie and whaddya get? A 20-million-album machine called Fleetwood Mac. Take away it's primary engine, Lindsey. Just for kicks, take away Stevie too. What happens? Not much, unless your former bandmates are blithering idiots. Any half-decent band wearing the FM moniker after 'Rumours' could go on tour playing Lindsey & Stevie songs, churn out a few radio-friendly hits of their own, sell a few million albums and most people wouldn't bat an eye. Hell, even Meatloaf, his chick singer and Todd Rundgren on guitar could have handled the job!

Lindsey expendable? Of course, as long as you feel that "Two out of three ain't bad!"

This might just be lack of sleep, but I'm not sure whether you're joking or not. I hope you are.

Oh, I'm not. Did Lindsey do anything on Tango?? I just got it because I thought he wasn't on it. It's like when I bought my Mirage dvd and I was all happy because Lindsey wasn't on the cover and I thought I was going to get my fill of Billy and Rick. Then, when I got it home and played it, Buckingham was all over the thing. I was so upset that I threw it right out. When Dave Walker left the band I was broken hearted. When Lindsey left . . . I honestly couldn't tell the difference:shrug:

Actually, if you can imagine being a Sonny and Cher fan since you were 8 years old and continuing over the next 27 years. My email clippings were set up to collect all news articles about Sonny Bono. One Tuesday I open the email and have 364 messages all telling me that Sonny has skiied into a tree and killed himself. Honestly, the only thing more shocking and devastating than that day, that week, were deaths I've experienced in my own family. So, as far as being a fan goes, that was the worst. That's #1. Right after that, right after Sonny Bono skiing into a tree and dying, is Lindsey leaving the band. That's my #2 worst fan tragedy.



Michele

How would you have felt if Lindsey ran away from Fleetwood Mac on skis and killed himself by running into a tree, on the same day? :p

When I read Carol Ann's book and she mentioned that when they first met Lindsey had a ski trip planned with Mick and Richard, I did think to myself, "Oh no. Please don't tell me Lindsey skis!"

Michele

Are we talking about the same album? Really? Lindsey produced, arranged and co-engineered the album and contributed to most of the songs on it. Heck, Tango practically is a Lindsey Buckingham album.

What? I heard Lindsey wasn't even around when they recorded the TITN album and they just overdubbed his voice onto it afterwards.

Really, this is as silly as when I said that maybe Lindsey was saying "phony magician" on Go Insane. It's just such an absurd comment on its face that I don't know why anyone would take it seriously. Yet, people were arguing about how he didn't say that. Then I theorized that he might be saying "foamy electrician." And come to think of it, it might not be that unlikely as Stevie did talk about how he ruined an electric frying pan by putting it in the dishwasher, so there could have been a foamy electrician incident and he could have worked those lyrics into Go Insane, but the odds are he didn't.

Michele

I can't really follow you anymore and I'm still not sure if you're yanking my chain or not. Right now I'm thinking yes, so I won't comment on the Tango recording.

As for the electric skillet, he put it on a heated stove. I doubt they owned a dishwasher back then.

Wow. This thread has turned out to be fantabulous. Points to Michele for finally making Vanessa look like an idiot. (I love her, but still, we all need a taste of our own medicine.)

I was actually wondering about that. They were still considered luxury items back then and Lindsey and Stevie were struggling. So, I didn't think they could afford a dishwasher, but I couldn't actually remember what it was she said. I do recall her conclusion that, then they had no skillet and no Hamburger Helper!

When I was growing up we had a dishwasher, but it wasn't built in. You had to roll it to the sink and connect it to the nozzle.

Michele

They equally didn't notice when Christine McVie left before that multi-million selling #1 record Say You Will...

Oh yeah, I'm the idiot. :cool:

Well, look at the history of Fleetwood Mac...there's not a more "expendable" position in rock than being a guitarist for Fleetwood Mac (except maybe drummer for Spinal Tap or bassist for the Allman Bros Band, but at least all Fleetwood Mac guitarists are still living). So, yeah, Lindsey WOULD be the most expendable. :shrug: Makes a helluva lot of sense to me.

Yes, I would agree if he had only been 'the guitarist', which wasn't/isn't the case. :shrug:

But in all fairness, even if Christine had been with the band, SYW wouldn't have sold that many more copies. I'm not saying she's expendable. I missed and miss her balance greatly. I'm just saying that none of them are Justin Timberlake or Beyonce, which tends to help in the multi-million selling categories.

Michele

To say that Lindsey was never the brains behind the Mac is madness. He was on albums as a producer.
Therefore Tusk at least, he was the brains behind it. Looking at tango in the night, (where Stevie was at Betty Ford), he carried that album putting songs he was going to use for his own albums.

What did Stevie actually offer to TITN anyway?.

I happen to rather like WISYA :shrug:

the other two songs...they ARE kindof...blah.


Tango kicks ass! [just putting in my two cents.]

I think that overall...Lindseys music is the most diverse of the threes. While some songs are blah, there are others that really make up for it. like REALLY.
I dont get why people hate on Linds...I really dont.

Take away Lindsey's song-writing contributions. Take away his particular style of guitar, take away his voice from the harmonies, take away any and all production work he did in the studio. There would be some pretty good stuff left, to say there wouldn't would be downplaying the contributions of everyone else. But it wouldn't be the Fleetwood Mac of that era. And the Fleetwood Mac of that era is still instantly recognizable to this day, and for many people, the only Fleetwood Mac they know.

To me, expendable means someone that can come in, fit in, do the music justice, but if they leave, it's not going make or break the sound or success of the band. That's simply not the case with Lindsey. But I'm preaching to the choir.

Which also applies to The Behind The Mask and Time versions of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac was old news. Sure they were all working, but the world had moved on. Still has. They've ruiend their own careers by some of their BS. They had a huge hit with a live album/DVD that rehashed most of the legend, that was produced by MTV. Go figure that would be a big seller.

Your comments make absolutely no sense to me. :eek:
Lindsey not only co-produced Tango In The Night; he contributed most to the album (with Stevie, the least).

You mention Tango sold well because Lindsey left the band before the tour. WHAT?? That defies logic thought.

And the band "carried" Lindsey for 22 years? Again...huhh??? The band needed a guitarist when Lindsey came on board, and he is largely known as the studio sound master of the group.

The misperceptions are baffling.

I guess that makes you an idiot also. :wavey:

Let's be so thankful that Fleetwood Mac aren't those artists! An entirely different genere. Those "singers" are dancers/entertainers/actors/personalities.

The members of Fleetwood Mac are hardcore rock and roll musicians, plain and simple. Fleetwood Mac had its long day in the limelight, and as such, are respected among generations of rock and roll fans. Just because they aren't selling in the realm of the current popular crop of "entertainers" doesn't have any bearing of the merits of Fleetwood Mac's most recent material.

Not meaning to dish directly on Justin or Beyonce, just remember this: Just because something is popular, or sells big doesn't mean it's any good...or better than something that doesn't sell. Marketing plays a big role. That's why sh*t sells!

I didn't call anyone an idiot! That comment is not appreciated.:confused:

To follow the story, you have to read most of the thread. Michele was being facetious (it was a pretty funny post, I might add), but it all spun out the odd way.

Nobody is an idiot (well, nobody who has posted in this thread). Everyone is good, & the Penguin is as balm in Gilead to us, for currently we are in wrath & despair, & much vexed.

Did anyone who visited the link read the comment by "Stentor" #29? He claims that John is his cousin's husband and that they are living in the San Fernando Valley area, not Maui.

I think the comments were tongue-in-cheek, perhaps Twisted. See?

I don't think any member of the 70s line up was expendable to the magical FM they were. They were all together greater than the sum of their parts. All of them were better in the band, musically, than they were solo IMO.

Well certainly, that's why I own more different copies of the SYW album alone than of any music by Beyonce or Justin total.


Michele

No Lindsey Buckingham - No Fleetwood Mac.

If Mick wasn't there that fateful day. I wouldn't be typing this now.

Stevie has said the same thing,