Calling Fleetwood Mac a 'Tribute Act'
 

I note that on some threads the standard people are referring to the current Fleetwood Mac a 'tribute act'.

OK, so I presume they're thinking that they're so witty and clever in doing so, but it really shows up what they're thinking.

The current Fleetwood Mac has four out of five members of what is considered by many to be the 'classic lineup'. Including two of the three singer songwriters, and the two who wrote the most hits.

To call such a 'tribute act' is an implication that Lindsey Buckingham was the be all and end all of Fleetwood Mac, and that the others are inconsequential. What that tells us is exactly how bizarre the thought processes of those who call the current FM a tribute act really are.

Hey guys! Reality is over this way ------------->

Sensible discussion starts with people being sensible. Calling Fleetwood Mac a tribute act simply isn't.

I haven't personally used the term tribute act myself but fans that are upset/angry at the way things have turned out for FM are using this term as they feel the 'new band' is not worthy of continuing without Lindsey and is now on par with a tribute band as they stand.

As simple as that, not worthy of much more analysis really.

It depends. Do those people want others to take them seriously? If so, then saying something that's patently ridiculous in a public forum isn't really a way to do so.

It sucks to see people act this way! Lindsey is obviously a cherished member but Stevie and Chris are also brilliant musicians! This may be one of my only chances to see Chris live, as I’m sure Stevie still has a couple solo tours in her. The negativity won’t affect my fun of seeing the first show of the tour.

Many fans have been calling the band an oldies act for quite a while now, because of the lack of new material for so many years and the staleness of the live set. They've played the same songs over and over for tour after tour.

It remains to be seen what happens on this tour. But replacing one set of their past hits for a slightly (and I emphasize slightly) different set of their own past hits does not suddenly mean they are doing "new" material.

The last decade or so they have rested on their laurels treading the same old ground. That is a tribute band or an oldies act or whatever you want to call it. That is not a vibrant creative band.

Firing a key member and bringing in new people to take his place (not necessarily to form a new band doing brand new music) still keeps you an oldies act playing to people's nostalgia for your old hits. That's fine for what it is; but it's not a 'new' band.

The irony of it is that the band member they fired is the one band member who continuously pushed them to record new material so they would have new material for the live show. The lead singer who remains is the one who resisted recording new material for the last decade, meaning there was no new material for the show. She may have argued, along with Mick, for adding in more old hits from the PG era, but again, that is not doing "new" material.

What's the meaning of 'standard people'? :shrug:

Thank God referring to Fakewood Mac as a 'cover band' shows what we're thinking, because basically that was the whole point! I don't know if that means I'm witty or clever and I don't care.

When people from other bands join that particular band, they're a cover band. Not because of the remaining members of the original band but for the members of other bands that are joining them.

Sorry if I'm being insensitive towards your band. They're fired my favorite member of the band.All of them fired him. So, yearh... calling about being insensitive here.

I think about them as the Mick Fleetwood All Stars band, because they play various songs from people who are either not anymore, or have never been in the band. When the new guys play a FM tune that is not a song written by Christine or Stevie by now, it's their tribute to the original, because they both have not written or recorded FM material. And if they p(la)y tribute to Peter Green (and maybe another musician from before 1974), Lindsey Buckingham, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Crowded House AND one or two Stevie Solo songs - then there is not much time left for songs that were written for the band by people who are still in the band. I have no idea how they want to make this mash-up into a concert.

I will block a troll

Wasn't there supposed to be a couple of new songs released before the tour:shrug: I have heard nothing about those songs recently so it just makes it seem that much more of a cash grab and creatively bankrupt endeavor.

I wouldn’t expect new music, if there is any, to be released until right before the tour, since Neil has a new album out.

They did not say they would record new music. I believe Mick or someone said there is a possibility of new songs in the show. Songs that may not have been recorded or ever released. Its probably trying to demonstrate or prove to everyone, they are a "real" band LOL and that they are serious about being a real band. "Yes we are a new band, we are serious about making music and not replacing Lindsey so we can sing the same songs over and over for large amounts of money."
Remember now, Stevie does not to record because music does not sell LOL

Aren't we forgetting Mock Fleecewood's pronouncement that there was a possibility of them releasing some "calling cards" before the tour?

Maybe the plan was scrapped when they surmised that their "calling cards" might not be retutned in kind?

:)

When I saw FM on the Say You Will tour, the audience used the new songs to go to the bathroom or get in line to get beer or food. Apparently, the band realized this early on because they dropped some of the new songs for their classics as the tour progressed.

Last week I saw The Waterboys. I band with some hits in the early 80's and beyond.

Since their start, there were over 70 members ... but still the waterboys. Yes, there singer and songwriter (Mike Scott) was the only member being around in all incarnations ... but .. was that a coverband? No it was The Waterboys.

Same goes for Fleetwood Mac, if you'd ask me ...

something similar happened with the band New Order (formally Joy Division) the Bass player, Peter Hook, left the band (or was booted depending on your pov) and he now considers them a tribute band.

Lindsey is simply too important a figure in their sound and production to causally replace.
I felt this way back when Vito etc. joined, and then Lindsey voluntarily left, which gave me much more sympathy in hopes for their success in his absence. It was not to be. Sorry, they sucked.

Tribute Band for this current lineup sounds about right.
I feel disdain for how Stevie has behaved for years when Linds tried to get them to record. Sometimes Stevie, you have to suffer for your art:)
It's not going to be all unicorns and rainbows.

Yes, in many ways the loss is comparable. Hooky’s bass is arguably the sound of New Order and his antoginistic relationship with the band’s lead guitarist and singer Bernard Sumner is arguably the tension responsible for the bracing impact of their releases. However, as early as 1993, New Order really became Barney’s band. He is a genius. And he doesn’t want disagreement. Hooky declared the band disbanded in a public fit that lead to his ouster and the ultimate resurrection of the band without him. I call it Bernard Sumner’s New Order. Which is a great thing but different thing.

On their last album together, I listen to “I’ve Got a Feeling” the counterpoint of Barney’s guitar and Hooky’s bass always makes me cry in the bridge after Barney sings “There wasn’t a day that I wasn’t true / You were the one I thought I knew” and then the outro after “You can’t hurt me / you Can’t hold me / why can’t you see you don’t own me / ... / people may come and people may go / but yours was the love I got to know”

They love each other so much they think they hate each other.

This has happened many times and not just to the Mac. The casual Mac fans storm out of the arena for Rick and Billy tunes (1987 and 1990). Or even worse, anytime Stevie leaves the stage. In 1987 my heart sank during Over My Head. On that tour Stevie did not participate on Over My Head and You Make Loving Fun. She went backstage. Over My Head was a hit song but when Stevie left the stage about 20% of the arena got up and left. You can see this from the stage. I stayed put but I still felt shame and embarrassment :(
So it even happens during "hits."

:lol: :lol:
hold me.

Fleetwood Mac have been a tribute band since Unleashed when they were just bunging it on. how many times can you seriously tour with NO new music :rolleyes:

You’re right , they really are taking the mick, no pun intended.
They would not be able to do tour on top of tour anywhere else but The USA. America is so large with a big population, they can churn out the same old same old.....
People only see them once in awhile but it’s still enough to make gazillions of cash....
No new material required....
No offence it’s just the USA is so large, and can accommodate them over and over.

I feel they changed music twice, once as Joy Division with their Doors meet Kraftwerk poetic doom rock and again as New Order by bringing dance music to the alternative rock arena. To go from such gloom to euphoria is historic and bizarre! Hooky and Barney should bury it and get on. It's not like it all goes on forever and they have a history together that should be celebrated that way.

Yes, when Mr. Debbie Downer died, the band took off into the stratosphere.

Yes, they should have just stayed Bad Lieutenant—truly Barney’s band—but the fact is the brand makes a difference, ensuring ears to hear and butts to buy seat tickets.

In many ways, the Bad Lt experiment reflects the BuckVie experiment. If that album had been called Fleetwood Mac... but they were also being honest to the fireflies. It having, relatively, failed, Mac became Stevie’s Mac and the offending element ejected.

all this sucks for both bands, but Barney was here and he looked really happy. Maybe the drugs? Maybe no Hook? Both?;)
For months I've been ready to burst into tears over Lindsey's departure. ...then, I realized he's got a 6 vinyl lp box set coming out, he's gonna make a bundle, I'm gonna buy it to show support and it sounds like a pretty definitive solo career recap.....

I do, however, feel there's much more of a chance of a New Order regroup of core members than a Mac regroup at this point.