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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
My answer would be yes, absolutely, definitely. But they didn't. Why? Because they didn't have to because they were a big success and they were making money on the road.
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My point was that the early versions didn't have that luxury. I highly doubt that Bob Welch spent as much time in his ENTIRE tenure in the recording studio as Stevie and Lindsey did on their first album, when they were still unknowns. Incidentally, prior to 1975, the only artists with a name that either Stevie or Lindsey worked with outside of Buckingham Nicks, that I know of, were the Everly Bros. when Lindsey toured with them.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
You have to consider that FM had many years jump start on BN, so of course FM would have had the most extensive network of resources. It's just an artifact of having been around longer and having more experience at making a living with music.
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Not really. If you take Fritz into account, they had been in the industry since at least 1968. John McVie, who was the first Maccer in the music business, got his start in 1964. So that's just four years. According to what I've read, Fritz got to open for Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane. So they were playing on an equivalent scene, in the same era, with as many big name acts as Fleetwood Mac were in England. Why weren't they able to establish more contacts with other artists?
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
Also, for whatever reason, FM just happened to be able to put lightning in a bottle with their first albums. Who woulda thunk that blues would become such a sensation during Beatlemania?
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Well, they weren't exactly the pioneers of the blues boom. Well, John was with the Bluesbreakers, but it was that band's second album that really saw the explosion of British blues as well as Eric Clapton's guitar god status. Anyway, the Beatles in many ways paved the way for it to happen, as their early music was more R&B. So an interest in American black music was already underway.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
I am absolutely convinced that BN, or even Lindsey and Stevie as individual solo performers would have become commercially successful. As evidenced on those few BN live tracks that surfaced last year, they put on a powerful live show that received critical praise. Stevie especially was just a little firecracker; it was just a matter of time before they would hit the big time.
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I have those songs, and I'm not as convinced. Frankly, I thought that early version of "Rhiannon" sounded like any bar band in any town in America. For me, John's bass line, Christine's odd keyboard touches, and the three part harmony really make that song classic. Anyway, I could say the same for the "Bare Trees" band. I have a 1972 boot, and they were on fire. If Danny hadn't gone off the deep end, who knows how big that album would have been?
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
By 1974 FM was down to just four members- Mick, John, Christine and Bob Welch. Now, I love love love Christine, but the thought of Bob Welch and Christine fronting the band in concert makes me want to slump over in my chair.
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Have you actually heard any of the "Heroes" live stuff that's out there? OMG, Bob Welch was on fire on that tour! His live version of "Green Manalishi" is probably the best, at least in terms of guitar playing.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
but Bob Welch was just a stoner who wrote stoner music and sang stoner songs.
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And some say Stevie was just a coke head who wrote coke head music and sang coke head songs. Let's not forget who was in the band when they upgraded from pot. Anyway, in 1997, Lindsey admitted that he still gets stoned when he's writing his music in Guitar World magazine. So that statement is frankly irrelevant in this discussion. Why do you think he kept saying "organtic" every time he could?
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
Unless you have box office data, I would find it hard to believe that anybody but the most hardcore potheads would be attending FM concerts in 1974.
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Hell, there was an army of pot heads in 2004! I know, because I was sitting around them. Anyway, it's not like they were touring alone in 1974. They were on the road with Jefferson Starship. But even if they were out on their own, it wouldn't surprise anyone if attendance was low, given that two tours had been cancelled and a fake Mac was on the road only months prior.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
Lindsey and Stevie, on the other hand, weren't just drop-dead gorgeous kids, but they seriously rocked. And Stevie especially had that "it factor" going for her that's tough to describe.
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Well, drama queens. Can't forget Mick. :thumbsup: I agree that they had the "it factor," the look, and the music. But even that wasn't enough for them to make it as Buckingham Nicks. Hence why I keep saying that there was a lot more to the success of Fleetwood Mac than just that.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
Are you suggesting that "Over My Head" could have been recorded with such restraint and subtlety with Bob Welch producing and playing guitar? Puhlease!
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Why not? The main rhythm guitar part that Lindsey played wasn't that much different than what Bob played on the song "Heroes Are Hard To Find." The big difference being that Lindsey did it on a Dorbro whereas Bob did it on a Les Paul. As for the other guitar parts, if Bob had three months in the studio, and was working with a decent producer, I'm sure he could have come up with something very similar.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
It would have been full of "wah-wah" guitar effects and his monotone backing vocals.
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I can't think of too many, if any, songs in which Bob used a wah pedal. In fact, I can't think of many Mac songs that had a wah. Danny used one on a few songs, but that's about all that comes to mind. As for backing vocals, the only backing vocals are Christine. Stevie and Lindsey didn't sing on the studio version of "Over My Head."
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
I think Lindsey and Keith Olsen instinctively knew that less was more, so the end result was beautiful in its nuance and simplicity. Lindsey's guitar work on that song (both the single and album versions) were absolutely beautiful. And I do think Stevie did sing a faint high falsetto harmony on the choruses.
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I agree that Lindsey and Keith had great instincts, which is one reason that album was great. I don't agree with the less is more thing, as most of Fleetwood Mac's earlier work was done in a few takes with just a few overdubs. Lindsey's strength was how he could orchestrate the band's sound. "Over My Head" isn't necessarily the song I'd use as an example of that. Mine would be "Say You Love Me," which is, for me, THE song that shows why this particular group of folks were so powerful together. BTW, if Stevie did sing on it, I certainly can't hear it.
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Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
I do recall you mentioned some gold and platinum sales figures for the 1971-1973 FM albums, but I suspect that the vast majority of these sales occurred AFTER they hit the big time in 1975. I recall hearing in interviews that each album released during that era sold 250-300 thousand copies, which hardly sounds like they were "developing momentum." If anything, they were slowly creeping towards obsolescence; they were really at their commercial peak (in the UK) in the late 60s and were just spent creatively and commercially by 1974. Without BN, they would have gone further into the abyss.
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Again, that's speculation. I'm the first to admit that those albums sold more after they hit the big time. However, I always qualify that with it being the joint success of Fleetwood Mac and a solo Bob Welch. I mean, the Peter Green era stuff, I don't believe, had the same benefit as the Bob Welch stuff. As for heading toward obsolescence, the fact that they were on TV, had a radio staple with "Hypnotized," and were still getting fairly large articles written about them in Rolling Stone suggests that they were still on an upswing. By the same token, where were Buckingham Nicks headed? Let's face it, there's a lot more to their success than who was in the group.