Hey, the whole thing is finally beginning to make sense to me.

You wicked Lowlander, you. :lol: :lol:

I've closely examined my own views on all this, & I believe that only one guy could get me back to a Fleetwood Mac concert, & that's Roger Kimball, editor of The New Criterion.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Media/Homepage/Kimball2.jpg

I know it's a crazy pipe dream, but if the band hired Kimball to replace Christine or whomever, I'd go to their next concert. :thumbsup:

http://www.billkopp.com/keyboards/yamaha-cp30.jpg

exacally. people will actually be interested in fleetwood mac again. and if this leads them to discover, or re-visit their material thats good. I look at it this way, if it werent for me loving stevie nicks, I would have NEVER discovered the song from old classic Mac "WHY" from Miss Mcvie. And that is one of my FAVORITE SONGS.

I actually like all of her SYW songs except Illume, and TSIL is AMAZING, except for Too Far From Texas, but thats just because of my personal dislike for Natalie Maines, so I refuse to listen to it. Stevies newer material is good. And Michele, I agree Thrown Down is MUCH more than pretty good.

I remember somebody said something about Sorcerer live?
I would just perfer that as Buckingham Nicks, I like that version much better anyways.

I think this might be a good thing (Why be negative?).
Sheryl is someone who grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac, and she loves Stevie Nicks. I don't think of her as Christine's replacement, i don't even think of her as a new member of the band. I think what they are trying to do is like a co-headlining tour or even try something different. I don't see this as a desperate thing either. We all know how much Stevie loves sheryl (even wrote about her and as much as people hate that song she wrote it because it means something to stevie, and i love that song). Sheryl is not going to leave her solo career to joing a band, i think is cool that she gets to work with people that she loves their work. and i can't wait to see what happens.

What? You are in no position to tell me what would make me perfectly content. Yes, I am a Lindsey fan, among many other things. First and foremost I am a Fleetwood Mac fan. I'm an FM fan before I am a Lindsey fan. In fact, I'm a Buckingham Nicks fan before I am a Lindsey fan. Indeed, I'm a Christine and Lindsey fan before I'm a Lindsey fan. What would make me perfectly content would be for him to make new music with Stevie and/or Christine.

I have never said I want a Lindsey solo tour before an FM tour, because I never even thought of wanting such a thing first. I've always wanted Lindsey working with those 4 people.

You keep saying you want change. I have no objection to change, I'm just not indiscriminate. I think change is great, as long as it's the right change. I don't think ANY change is preferable to the status quo. As for your analogy, Lindsey has never accepted that the world is flat. He was always the one member of FM who explored and discovered new worlds. He's never been static. He's created change from within himself and the assumption that a new person will bring advancement and progress to the band is a faulty one. They won't, if they aren't the right person, the right fit, for that particular band.

Lindsey is into experimental music, but the type of music that inspires and challenges him isn't the type of music that Sheryl Crow has produced thus far. Maybe together they will surprise and can make something wonderful, something that neither could create alone. However, if the combined result is insipid, greeting card fodder, then I'd rather have nothing than have a new, unimproved Fleetwood Mac which frustrates Lindsey. Not everything and everyone is compatible. If Sheryl Crow works, that's all good, but if she doesn't I hope Lindsey will leave rather than feeling he has no choice and cannot walk away from a lucrative venture. I want him always to be willing to walk.

It's not a question of Lindsey being anything. Stevie indicated that she did not want to tour. If an ultimatum is being presented to Lindsey, "Either we tour with Sheryl or we don't tour at all," then I only hope that his personal life and finances are such that he can always reject that ultimatum.

Michele

Thinking of change, change, change -- something I'd heard much too much about in the Democratic stump speeches -- I've just been thinking that if Little Big Town announced that they would be collaborating on an album and tour with Lindsey, I'd be ok with that, because I liked what I glimpsed on Crossroads.

Sheryl is an unknown quantity though. I've heard her stuff and I've heard FM's and I am not sure how the twain will mix.

Michele

I know, I was worried it was going to be Vanessa Carlton there for a while myself. I guess of the two, I would rather have Sheryl.

Umm, after reading all these posts and trying to digest this news, I have to say I am excited that FM will be touring again and also have mixed feelings about it. I am happy that Stevie will have a girl pal to hang out with on the tour, but don't know how everyone will work together. But then again, you would think that everyone in the band would have had to "sign off" on the idea. So, LB must be okay with it at some level you would think.

And maybe we will get lucky and get a couple of new songs in the set list. I do hope though that her role is more to play piano and harmonize rather than singing Christine's songs.

I can only imagine the "theatrics" banter between Stevie and Sheryl up there on stage. I am still confused if Sheryl will be considered an "official" FM member or just a guest musician. I am getting the feeling she will be an official member, but time will tell I guess. I only think this because I am reading between the lines and think Sheryl will be involved with a possible new CD release next year, but still confused for now. I wish FM would release an official statement on this to clear some stuff up.

One thing is constant when it comes to FM, and that one thing is drama.

We've all been waiting for FM to change its website. It would be funny to go there in the coming weeks and see a photo with Sheryl there.

Michele

Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far there is only the one source quoting either party on this matter. I'm not saying the source is unreliable, but I think it's where everyone else in the media is picking up the story from.

And yeah Sheryl can produce but I shouldn't think Lindsey will be too happy about abdicating or sharing his throne in the control room. Hey when has another individual Mac member ever had a production credit? Well exactly! If he let Stevie into the booth to do a bit on her own songs, there might be less general moaning from her about "I don't like what Lindsey does to my songs".

I foresee that if Buckingham/Crow really take over the control room - hey presto. Stevie gets upset and leaves again and does yet another album about how badly she's been hurt by everybody and dressing up her issues with SC/FM under the usual swords and sorcery disguise.

Sorry to be cynical.

I'm really excited too and look forward to seeing what Sheryl can bring to Fleetwood Mac.

Sheryl Crow may be used in the same fashion that Steuart Smith has been with The Eagles since 2001. "Steuart Smith is a guitarist, vocalist, writer and producer currently working with American rock band the Eagles." He works with The Eagles, but he's not really an "Eagle." He's a hired gun. And he has contributed songs on their current album. But I don't think he has any weight in terms of how the band is run, etc. He seems to be there in a supporting role, which is how I imagine Sheryl will be used.

There was a lot of anger when Steuart came on board, as if he could possibly replace Felder. He didn't replace Felder. He's not a "full fledged flyin' Eagle." Sheryl will not replace Christine.

At the same time, while I don't see Lindsey taking "orders" from Sheryl, I think there could be some useful collaboration. Why wouldn't there be? She's got talent. She's got smarts. She's got a lot of energy. She can ROCK! Lindsey might enjoy a bit of that.

About this business of Lindsey walking. If there are "issues," I don't see Lindsey being the one to walk. Right about now, the first issue might be Sheryl announcing her role in the band before Fleetwood Mac did. Mick might have to have that chat with Sheryl about "you're in a band now" with her! I think there will be a system of checks and balances system on what Sheryl can contribute to the band. Sheryl seems to really want to do this. At the same time, if Sheryl can't "fit", she'll be the one to walk. But all of this collaboration could be a win-win situation. We get a new album AND a tour. And a varied set list. And the band plays on.

(And I still believe Lindsey will put out his album. At least I hope so.)

I agree. Her new songs are pretty darn strong, I think. Throw Down, Destiny Rules, Illume, Bombay Sapphires, are good examples. And as far as the old songs that she drudged out for TISL and SYW, I think some of them are fantastic, especially Planets of the Universe, which is one of my favorite Stevie songs.

Okay... sorry... I must have confused you with Sarah, who admitted to preferring Lindsey solo. Take a chill pill, please. :wavey:

Did I say I was for "indiscriminate" change? :shrug:

"Right" according to.....? :shrug:

Right now the status quo is that Stevie and Lindsey are at loggerheads with each other and Stevie's refusal to re-join the band is preventing FM from working together again. The net result is zero music from FM. Sure, Stevie can always have a change of heart... but they no longer have decades to stare each other down waiting for someone to give. If they have the ability and desire to do it, NOW is the time to do it, not 10 years from now.

There is no denying that Lindsey has pushed the musical boundaries within the band, as evidenced by the relatively tepid BTM and Time albums that weren't produced with Lindsey. But Lindsey simply doesn't know what he doesn't know. Accordingly, he doesn't know everything about everything. Nobody does. Albert Einstein probably didn't know how to tile a bathroom wall. I think every new experience, good or bad, imparts some kind of a lesson, and perhaps it can spark something even more brilliant. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But personally where I think the change is needed most is interpersonally. Just judging from the DR documentary, it's clear that there is something fundamentally dysfunctional about the way Stevie and Lindsey work together in isolation. And Stevie is not blameless either. Not only do they have tons of emotional baggage behind them, they come from very different places musically. And talk about stubborn! Lindsey is classically passive aggressive, whereas Stevie feels the need to over-assert herself in the male-dominated environment. The end result was constant feuding, painful decisions and eventually deep resentment. A change to this interpersonal dynamic vis a vis Sheryl Crow may help to make this a more tolerable, democratic situation. If nothing else, Sheryl seems like she would be a good babysitter for those two.

I would hardly consider Lindsey "experimental music." He experiments with production styles, surely, but his pop sensibilities are always firmly in place. I don't think you will hear Lindsey's name spoken in the same breath as the Velvet Underground, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, etc. In that sense, Sheryl and Lindsey share some common ground.

We all hope so!

aka, most of Lindsey's songs on Mirage. :eek: I kid, I kid... well, kinda sorta... But you must admit that FM has cranked out the occasional syrupy sweet song... "Mystified" always sends me into a hyperglycemic coma...

Well, hopefully they will get the chemistry sorted out before they commit to some huge recording contract and advance. I would like to think that they are truly going to take this one day at a time and will only go to the next level if the feeling is right.

Of course he has the right to turn all of this down. But the fact that Sheryl is even talking about this in the midst of her own album promotion pretty much shows that this is beyond merely the negotiating stage, and that Lindsey has signed on. Whether he was coerced to jump in, or whether he jumped in of his own accord will probably never be known, so we should assume that he felt that this was at least a workable situation. :shrug:

If this is true...........OH YES!!!! Love Sheryl too. Would be a great concert together.

Oh no need. I just don't like to have my feelings described as being exactly the opposite of what they are.

I think that's the main thing that's giving me cause for pause. If they aren't considering Sheryl because she might be someone great to work with for all of them, but are teaming with her because that's Stevie's condition for continuing with the band, I think that's a bad way to start off in the first place. But hey, it could work out. Sometimes, arranged marriages turn out to be the most loving.

I disagree entirely. I don't think Red Rover, Murrow or Come are about pop sensibilities and I see no similarity between Sheryl's style and his. More importantly, I don't see any similarity between Sheryl's sensibilities and his. But I don't have all of Sheryl's albums. I only have VBO and Greatest Hits.

With their retro commentaries, I found Book of Love and Oh Diane more experimental than syrupy. Whether they worked for me or not, if they failed, it was because he aspired for something different, not because he went for the Top 40 -- not unless he suffered a blow to the head and thought it was 1952 rather than 1982.

The thing is, I'm not worried about what he feels now. I'm worried about whether he will be independent enough to end it if it's not working out, as he has been in the past. I hope he's not softer now than he was then. You're right, Lindsey and Stevie don't have decades to stare each other down anymore, but they also don't (or shouldn't) have decades to feel creatively stifled. Although others here feel that the SYW tour was all about the money, not about the music anymore, I didn't. Even if they played few songs from it, FM was touring on a new album and it was one Lindsey was proud of. I don't want him on stage with Sheryl Crow for the wrong reasons. I don't consider that a compromise or change that will do anyone any good.

Michele