Are you over Stevie?
 

I finally feel that I’m over her. It’s the way she acted the last few years. I just don’t see her in the same way. Looking back, I just think that she is someone who got extremely lucky and was able to surround herself with truly talented people.

I am not over her. I understand your feeling about her but I for one always saw her as a self absorbed weirdo. Her behavior over the past several years has not bothered me any more than in other time periods, I was never a worshipper of her as a person, but she attracted me as a songwriter and performer. The thing that will get me over her is a lack of new music, eventually. As for her success being based on the talents of others, yes, partly true, but her limitations as a musician and even as a vocalist have been a weird part of her appeal. Oddly, way back in the beginning, she showed us that you can make appealing music with oddball songs and limited vocal abilities. Even now, when lights are low and she croaks and moans a mysterious ballad in her raw voice it can be compelling as hell. You and I both loved 24kG, imagine if we got more of that!

This is true to some extent but also is unfair and doesn't give her enough credit.

Would she have been anything without Lindsey Buckingham and the rest of Fleetwood Mac? Highly unlikely. That band (as it existed in the late 70s) brings the absolute best out of her and compliments her strengths and weaknesses perfectly. Same goes for her first solo album, had it not been for the collarboation with Tom Petty and Jimmy Iovine and the other wonderful talent hired for Bella Donna, the album may never have seen the success it did.

That being said, how is that different from any other popular artist? Music is always a collaborative effort and all of the cogs have to be turning for it to work. She may have been nothing without Fleetwood Mac, but would Fleetwood Mac be what it is without her? HELL NO. Lindsey is an amazing guitarist but if the band had only taken him in 1975 the band would've lacked all of the factors that she brought to the table that McVie and Buckingham could never do. That star power that only she possessed, a unique writing style that provided a contrast between McVie's lighter content and Buckingham's more un-relateable content, a voice that (while not necessarily the best from a technical standpoint ala McVie) was incredibly distinctive and managed to emote to an incredible degree, and finally a stage presence that could captivate audiences with little more than some chiffon-laden outfits and twirls.

And also most importantly, her writing: She's a writer first and foremost, with her musicianship limited to being able to craft basic song structures for her lyrics. While that strength was certainly running dry by RAL, her songs on the White Ablum, Rumours, and Tusk are by far the most lyrically interesting of the three members imo. The balance between esoteric and relatable is hard to pull off and she did wonderfully with it (at least until RAL forward).

(examples: Beautiful Child, Dreams, Gypsy, Gold Dust Woman, Sara, Storms, Landslide are AMAZING from a musicianship standpoint, but the lyrics are what most people connect to)

Do I approve of any of her recent comments/actions? I don't think it's as black and white a situation as many of the more emotional fans seem to think (Stevie just hates Lindsey so she got him fired vs the band decided to tour and rudely moved on without Lindsey when he did not agree), but that doesn't mean I approve. I don't really approve of any of the bands behavior at any point in time, frankly. They consistently squandered opportunities at every turn since 1979 that could have made them even greater than they are if they had just acted like adults for 10 minutes. None of them are saints, now or then. It leads to the question why recent events caused you to lose respect when she's kind of always been like this. Please don't take this as an attack, but what was your image of her before? If it was anything besides an out of touch, self-indulgent person with a propensity for petty nonsense than you must never have seen an interview with her from literally any time period post 1976.

In conclusion: she's never been a great human being and has relied on the talent of others but that's a part of collaboration. She's not a producer or a musician, but she is a personality/performer and a lyricist. Combine that with some of the best talent in the industry at the time and you've got the Queen of Rock and Roll. That is why I am still a fan of her work.

No but I'm over this line of discussion. :sorry:

I get that and feel a bit similar. But this thread gives us a chance to reflect a bit on what it is that draws us to Stevie.

I'm not over her as a musician and I never will be because I don't agree with the premise of the OP. If you listen to her demos, even before the help she received, there was a lot to work with there. Also, her lyrics and voice are emotive and striking. They affect people.

I am over her "persona" and the person she has become; I always knew she was a diva, but I thought she was cool, too. I had a lot of affection for her as a person. No longer. However, I am able to divorce that from her music.

I realize I probably don't even need to answer this thread but I am absolutely not over Stevie. I think the one thing she has constantly done for me over the years is surprise me. Just when you think you have heard the last from her she will come back with something amazing! She did it with The Dance, TISL, and even a little bit with 24 Karat Gold. I believe she will make another solo album that will be her swan song and it will be excellent!!

Her strength is definitely in her lyrics and poetry...but watching some of these documentaries has shown me how much she knows what she wants her songs to sound like and she fights for it until she gets it. No one person can be everything in the music business. I believe she knows what her strengths and weaknesses are...and she uses that to her advantage.

My love for Stevie goes back to 1975 when I was a teenager. That is how much of my life has revolved around her. I have spent countless amounts of money on concerts, albums and memoriblia.

I've been thru her ups and downs in life, always with her, always loving her. But something happened when Christine came back and interviewers started asking her about doing a Fleetwood Mac album. Her vague answers just told me she would never go back in the studio with FM. I don't know why it bothered me so much. But it did. Now with Lindsey gone and it seems Stevie had a big hand in it, I struggle. I still love her music and love the past, but the future with Stevie, I'm not so sure.

I'm really looking forward to Lindsey's interview with Redbeard. I hope he tells us what happened. Maybe that will help some. Hearing Lindsey's side of things.

this has been rough as a fan.

I don’t like what has happened to Fleetwood Mac but in no way am I over Stevie Nicks. Period.

Ditto! Not happy at all with what down but I will separate the business and the music.

Since it's all about the music and not about the person, I'm not over Stevie. I saw her for the first time on the Rock A Little tour and she barely spoke between songs - I bought in hook, line and sinker. I can do without the rambling between songs currently. Whatever the drama with Fleetwood Mac, I'm definitely over it. I can't invest in their emotional nonsense. I've got enough of my own. If I have to hear Lindsey solo and the rest of them as FM, I'll take what I can get as long as I can hear the music I love.

Her talents as a singer and songwriter are unquestionable. And for that she should garner a ton of respect. And I do respect that. And she does garner a ton of respect for that.
From a scruples, human being, ethics, and moral compass standpoint, I can't say she lost my respect, I don't know that she ever had it. I don't know her as a person. The behavior of all of them over the last few months leaves a lot to be desired and I don't know I would hold them in any regard as people I would strive to live my life as. But I never did. These are (Stevie included) not people I would look to emulate as a way to live my life. Delusional, misguided and no ones ego should be that puffed up. I don't care who you are.
Am I done with her? For what she is (a singer and song writer) no. Does she strike me as being a decent and honest human being and someone whose behavior I would want me or my children to emulate....no. Take her for what she is.
She's gotta look herself and the mirror every day and feel at peace with her behavior and actions (as do all of them) If they can and do.....well alright then. And it's not for us to judge (but always fair game to have an opinion..LOL)

I'm not over Stevie, but I'm pretty much over the Ledge, so much so that I can barely muster the stamina to type a response. If you don't like Stevie, fine. If you think Lindsey got a raw deal, fine. But it's over, it's done, it's a business deal that has nothing to do with any of us. Want to make a thread or two to vent your displeasure, also fine. But those folks who want to inject their venom into every thread in every forum are just plain nasty, and there's nothing you can post that's safe from them. I still lurk in hopes of picking up some news, but I can't tolerate the discussions. It's kind of like reading anything on Yahoo News....the article itself may be interesting, but reading the comments will make you renounce your faith in humanity.

No one is injecting venom. Not everyone thinks like you or has too. You just don’t like opinions that differ from yours.

The events of this year have been the final nail in the coffin for me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still love the music from earlier in Stevie’s career. However, any excitement or interest for her/FM’s future is definitely gone. It’s been a very long road for me to get here, and it began in 2006 when she toured with Tom Petty for free vs going back into the studio with FM. Stevie’s refusal to record with the band even after Christine’s improbable return greatly accelerated my being over Stevie. I’ve been a fan since 1993- I’ve waited for 25 years for a final album from the Rumours 5. So it’s not like I haven’t been patient. But I’m at peace with everything now. I don’t really care what Stevie and the band do or do not do from here out. It’s wonderfully liberating to not have the stress of waiting for new Mac music dangling over me anymore. I’ll always have the wonderful music of the past to enjoy, and for the first time, that’s enough for me. No more stressing over cash grab oldies tours or ill conceived solo projects- just simple enjoyment of what we already have. It’s a wonderful feeling!