Breaking the Band episode on Reelz
 

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but I caught an episode of the series "Breaking the Band" on Reelz. This one covered Fleetwood Mac from the 1977-1987 era, so the focus was on Buckingham leaving the band in 1987.

The episode chronicles the tensions rising over the FLEETWOOD MAC/RUMOURS/TUSK eras leading to the TANGO blowout.

Interesting tidbits from the episode included how difficult it was to get good vocals from Nicks at the time. According to the episode, she was already on klonopin at the time, and klonopin being a relaxant actually takes away some of the vocal chord tension needed to sing well.

I can't imagine the frustration that Buckingham must have felt when Nicks went off about TANGO sounding like she wasn't on the record after he wasn't able to get good vocals from her in the first place. Might also explain the warbling on "When I See You Again".

The episode covers Fleetwood's partying at the same time, and John McVie being largely absent during the recording sessions (not nearly as absent as Nicks though). It essentially gives the impression that TANGO is effectively Buckingham carrying the rest of the band across the finish line to get the album done. It's not surprising at all that by the time the album was done Buckingham was really just over it with the rest of Mac.

My impression of Tango is that Lindsey is puling teeth to extract from a bunch of coke heads just enough to make a FM album out of what was mostly in effect a solo album. He should have gotten at least 85% of the dough. The others provided name value but probably made the job a whole lot harder.

This is the show with actors that portrayed the members? If so, there is a very long and funny thread when this show debuted a few years ago.

Now we know why Lindsey left. The hell he went through and yet he marched on to make this album especially for Mick (to get him out of bankruptcy).

To fair Christine stepped up on this one as well. 2 of her songs were international hits and they were responsible for most of the millions that the album has sold. As for Stevie there is no excuse for someone of her caliber dropping the ball so badly on a major release. Seven Wonders is good but she didn't write and it and the vocal was done pre Betty Ford. She was grandiose about her solo career which was on the wane at this point and really she had only been big in North America and the Antipodes but they still needed her for sales so...

Ok now kids, here is the crazy and scary part. We know Stevie was in bad shape during Tango. We get a bit of her prior rehab and post rehab.
However, her condition as bad as it was, was probably better than her RAL studio times and RAL tour dates. While supposed to be in tour rehearsal she was in Australia partying with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. She also was on tour with Heart in Arizona and CA. Her career was in the way of her massive party. Even her long time producer could not take it anymore. Left with almost nothing, her crew grabbed at straws throwing together a bunch of songs she would have never done if it was not for the state she was in. Even Christine took a swipe at Stevie during a 1984 interview how she lived in her own world and they are not really friends anymore.
Now THAT is scary kiddos :eek:

I’m always shocked when people — including Buckingham — forget how central Christine was to the success of TANGO. Her four songs are obvious highlights and as the deluxe edition shows, she was heavily involved in others that were of high caliber. The “You and I” songs are also a treat—and I prefer the version of her singing part 2 to the one that made the record.

I know Mick and Stevie were barely functional and John would have preferred to sail instead of lay down bass parts, but Christine, as usual, was there and present. She’s only not heard on the songs where Lindsey demands to do everything—or mostly everything—himself. She can hardly be blamed for that. She has always been a great team player and rarely gets acknowledged for this on Tango.

And for what it’s worth, Mick’s drumming on the title tune and Caroline are inspired; John’s bass lines on “Seven Wonders” and “Little Lies” are great.

I love her Tango contributions. She's so fluid. And BuckVie working together has always been a gem, in my opinion.

Yeah, I think "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" really sold this album.

Chris's songs definitely are the highlight of the album and she knows it. During one of those Sirius interviews she stated that she was the only one in the band that enjoyed making Tango. She said she was very involved and it was a very fun process for her. Clearly she was happy with her product and she has a right to be.