What can we realistically expect from this band at this point?
 

What do you think we can realistically expect from Fleetwood Mac at this point in time?

If I'm honest and not optimistic but realistic, this is what I expect:
- Lindsey solo album in April 2018 and short US tour
- Fleetwood Mac cash grab greatest hits world tour September 2018 - December 2019 (with a break of two or three months between continents)
- If we're lucky, Buckingham McVie II and another duo tour
- No final Fleetwood Mac album
- A greatest hits retrospective Fleetwood Mac album, maybe including four new tunes
- No new music from Stevie, not even solo (maybe another vault songs album but to me that doesn't count as new music)
- No solo album from Christine
- Mick to continue playing with his blues band
- John maybe to retire from touring before the rest of the band
- 2018-2019 tour will be the last one

What do you guys expect? Keen to hear your thoughts on this one!

Cheers

James

Lindsey Solo CD
 

Lindsey’s solo CD is likely to be delayed (well, probably because a record company is involved and they have delusions of grandeur that it can become a Fleetwood Mac CD). We may see a “Best of” collection from Warner’s for Lindsey’s solo work before we see the solo CD. Hopefully he tours solo this summer before the Mac tour gears up.

I hate it when people refer to tours as "Cash grabs." Bands go on the road and the supply/demand dictates the ticket prices. They would get bashed for not touring and when they still can for a final act, I don't think its fair to call it a cash grab.
Having said that, I believe this big world tour will be near the end of the road for the band.
I think Stevie will do another solo tour 2020? I don't believe the Mac will record again. I think Lindsey and Christine may do another album but I don't think they will tour.
I think the band may reunite for a few appearances here and there but no more touring.

Lindsey will keep making music, as long as there are labels willing to put it out--and there are.

I think another BuckVie is a BIG possibility.

Anything else is a dream, I think.

Sadly I think Stevie is in full Miss Havishan mode (only wearing black and not her white wedding dress) and will forever be living in and off her past. Now that atom is gone and her parents and no family or love life for some time (that we know of) she’s a bit of a Debbie Downer. :(

"Cash Grab" isn't in reference to them touring, or the price of tickets, it's the lack of any new material for the tour to support.

LOL Hello! :) :) (Waving)
One band member refused to record or make new music. The rest of the band would have went on the road to promote new music. If its a no go with new music, lets not have them just sit around. Lets have them play at least one more time.

You know what...? I don't think an album and then a tour is unrealistic at this point. I really never thought it would happen but I think there is a chance. It sounds like Lindsey's album has been postponed or shelved. Stevie says 'I'm going to Hawaii for a couple of months and then...well I have no plans'.

If Lindsey's album is rolled into a Fleetwood Mac album I'd be annoyed for him. Of course I'd personally prefer a Fleetwood Mac album but I'm annoyed he's pushed for a FM record for nearly 10 years and then just because her majesty might be ready he'd be expected to put the band first.

Mind you, Lindsey's position has changed over the past 20 years. 20-30 years ago he was all for the small machine. Now things are different due to his family. Its not that he wants to make money (he doesn't need it), I think its more the case he likes his family to see him as the big rock star. He's proud of his wife and kids seeing him being in the limelight.

Anyway, I do think a chance for one last album might be back on the table. Stevie's done her solo thing and I think she's genuinely ready for Fleetwood Mac...and I think she could be prepping for the band to go out in a big way.

I think there is a genuine chance of them recording together in May-June-July with a tour starting late 2018. They could return to recording in 2019 at some point.

On balance- is this likely? possibly not...but I certainly don't think its unrealistic.

I wonder how things might have panned out differently had they made a different decision when Chris rejoined.
They decided to do another big tour straight away- I'm sure Mick & Lindsey had hoped Chris rejoining would have led Stevie to immediately record an album straight after that tour.
Stevie always talks about her solo-Fleetwood Mac-solo-Fleetwood Mac cycle. Had they used that window to do an album, surely Stevie would have had no choice but to do an at least a short tour to support it. Perhaps we could have had an album and tour at that point rather than just one big, long tour.

Good point
Its amazing after that huge Mac tour that they went on another huge 2 year Mac tour with Christine back to back. I think their age had something to do with it (making up for lost time). It would have been something if they would have went into the studio first. I don't want an EP or 4 rushed live demo tracks. I want the full monty drama of a year in the studio with the Mac.

How long do you think they can cling to life?:wavey::laugh:

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: (this is to everyone above, not just the post i quoted).

they did go into studio first. they had 6 months. the 4 FM members went into studio for 1-2 months out of that (regardless of their revisionist history when that work ended up not being called FM). they basically completely fleshed out the album they later called BuckVie (after adding some finishing touches in a couple of weeks at the end of 2016) at that time. and Stevie finished her whole 24kg album in that time too.

question is willingness, not the time. obviously they had enough time considering they released 2 complete separate albums recorded in that time!

The issue discussed was completing a full album with all members and promoting it on the road. Obviously the tour was booked and there was not the time to finish. They hit the road pretty fast after Christine's return. Yes several tracks were roughly recorded. We were discussing if the tour was not booked and they spend a full year in the studio together before going on tour to promote the album. Apples and oranges.

if you say so! :laugh: :xoxo:

You know what? If the choice is between a Lindsey solo record and a Fleetwood Mac record, then I want Fleetwood Mac. And I don't think it would take a whole year to record a new Fleetwood Mac album. I mean, didn't Stevie record 16 songs in six weeks in Nashville? If so, surely the Mac can record a dozen new songs in three months from May to the end of July, right?

Lindsey clearly already has at least ten songs in the can. Pretty sure Chris would have leftover material from the latest Fleetwood Mac album, oh sorry, I mean the Buckingham McVie album, of course. That said, I wish Mick and John had the balls to join Chris and Linds on their tour. They played on all ten tracks, for ****'s sake.

What will be the last full length Fleetwood Mac album? It will technically be Say You Will, but in reality it will be Buckingham McVie.

:lol:

And those 16 songs recorded in 6 weeks sound like it. They were demos quickly recorded and most of the tracks sound better in their demo form. I want a REAL Fleetwood Mac album. I don't want an EP or rushed Dance live tracks. It normally takes the Mac a year to record an album so I would have been willing to give them that time. I want good new music, not any new music that was written and recorded in a week. I would love a cohesive yet drama filled Fleetwood Mac album.
Its not going to happen but too bad we missed that opportunity :(

I think they should get in that studio all FIVE of them, like NOW..
We know Lindsey has plenty of material and Christine can produce
really good work really quick.

If Stevie cannot knock off THREE songs and get in and out of a studio, avoiding Lindsey (if that’s such a problem) too much

then the FOUR should record without her...

I want a new Mac Album, and still hold out hope.

The band DID record without her. But they did not want to upset Stevie to call it a Fleetwood Mac album. Like a willow, they can bend and went way out of their way to appear it was not a group effort.

Exactly! It turned into a "non Fleetwood Mac" album when Stevie wanted to do her 24K tour and "the band" wanted to release what they have been working on. I still think that there will be new material released prior to the 5 going out on tour.

Hey gang, wasn't sure which thread to post this in, but this seemed as good as any. Over the weekend, former BuckMcVie (and Stevie) drummer Jimmy Paxson posted on Instagram the following:

LA Bound - Just spent weeks shedding 24 tunes and I’m about to take off for 3 days of rehearsal in LA for an ultra private gig in Cabo (plus I’m squeezing in a record date after hours)- Happy to say that @ksjump will be joining me for the best of it 🏝... I’ll be playing drums w/Billy Gibbons & Steve Miller and also playing percussion w/Christine McVie & Mick Fleetwood... Cast and crew is like a family reunion ! It’s a good thing. Gratitude is my attitude - Stay tuned !

LA Bound - Just spent weeks shedding 24 tunes and I’m about to take off for 3 days of rehearsal in LA for an ultra private gig in Cabo (plus I’m squeezing in a record date after hours)- Happy to say that @ksjump will be joining me for the best of it 🏝... I’ll be playing drums w/Billy Gibbons & Steve Miller and also playing percussion w/Christine McVie & Mick Fleetwood... Cast and crew is like a family reunion ! It’s a good thing. Gratitude is my attitude - Stay tuned ! 🛫🏝🕺💘🥁 #paistecymbals #candcdrums #innovativepercussion #evansdrumheads #gonbops #earthworkshighdefinitionmicrophones #dwhardware #bigbangdistribution

A post shared by Jimmy Paxson (@jimmypaxson) on Feb 17, 2018 at 1:50pm PST

there's also a footage of Think About Me rehearsal on his IG today. :)

Well, this is certainly very curious. I can only assume its for a one off event. It looks as if Jimmy P is off on a tour with a couple of guys for March through to August.

If its not for a one-off concert I wonder if Christine is doing an album after all. The tiny snippet of Think About Me is only just recognizable. Wonder whether she might be re-imagining some of her songs. A freshly recorded Best of Christine McVie would be pretty cool. Probably way off the mark, I'm sure.

I highly doubt she's working on a solo album. I think BuckVie scratched her itch perfektly. Her material out there, without all the pressure of being solo.

I'd ten times rather have a BuckVie II than a FM album.

Perhaps they are working on BuckVie II... but then surely Jimmy P would have referenced working with Christine and Lindsey. He only mentioned working with Christine and Mick. Maybe it is just a one-off charity gig or something.

And the beauty of working on BuckVie material is, of course, that it could easily morph into a FM album, should O.G.B. decide to pretend to be "an artist", instead of an oldies act.

I'm hoping for a deluxe edition of Buckingham Nicks, with a small number of theater-size shows to celebrate the release.

According to Gary Hodges(drummer on BN), it's never going to happen. He says that Keith Olsen wants 3 million to allow it.

3 million even though Lindsey & Stevie claim they own the tapes?

He says they don't own the masters. That Keith wants 3M or it ain't happening.

If that's the case, I'm pretty sure they won't even know 3 million left their bank. I'm kind of shocked 3 million is the hold up if that's true.

3 million? Come on records don't sell that much anymore. Even if it sells 50,000 that' no where near what they need to make a profit.

According to this q and a with Keith Olsen Stevie and Lindsey own the rights.
"Lindsey and Stevie now own the rights to Buckingham Nicks... they bought it back from Polydor/polygram etc etc... The label in the beginning thought that the album lacked imagination... but by contract they had to release it... nice eh? What a wonderful business this is... I hope they (Lindsey and Stevie) will re release it soon... I'll get on their collective case about it...! I guess I have the only CD in the world.. I pulled out the masters over a year ago, baked them to re-adhere the oxide to the backing, then built a master digital from it... it took me back so many years."

Call me crazy, but I would not be shocked if BN sold more than a Buckingham McVie II or new mac album. It has a large cult following that often spills into circles of folks who are not necessarily giant mac fans.

Buckingham Nicks
 

I am not sure it would. Most fans already have it -either on vinyl or a bootleg CD. The hardcore fans would buy it again if it were re-mastered. But without the Fleetwood Mac moniker, it likely won’t sell very well. Perhaps it should have been packaged with the White album deluxe re-release. That would have excited the fan base, which might have generated a momentum that could carry over to the casual fan. As you noted, sales to the casual fan are a key to success.

It's hard to believe as a serious fan that this hasn't been re-released. It's such a great album. It's the last thing they ever did as a duo of this quality. I mean Twisted is ok. And SA.. zzzzzzzz...

But, I do agree. Sales wise the album was a flop. And even with FM name.. how many units would it actually sell? 3MIL worth? :lol:

Would have been great to have a SUPER deluxe version w/ B/N for the White album. Great idea.

If LBCM is a duo album, so is SYW, although quality might be subjective.

SYW isn't horrible... it's just missing something. :angel:

Like the BALANCE that has always made FM work?

The QUEEN of FM?

Christine is what balances quirky Lindsey, and ditzy Stevie into.....viable product.:wavey:

___________
And I prefer Time to SYW!!!

Maybe Paxson is making an appearance at Fleetwood's On Front St...?

Why would Mick need another drummer(except with FM?:laugh:)?