Fave pre-Rumours member?
 

So, who is your fave pre-Rumours member? I ain't askin' who's the best, greatest, most clever or whatever......who is YOUR fave?

My fave is Danny Kirwan.

Why?

Because he was, IMO, a mix of Lindsey and Stevie, like a foreshadowing of what was to come in terms of talent. His lyrics were very airy fairy (I mean that in a good way, not a negative way, like Stevie...her lyrics are airy fairy too), mostly his solo songs, but with the Mac too. His guitar playing...GREATNESS, very interesting and melodic. His voice was soft and delicate which contrasted with his heavy guitar playing.

We can only pray for him as he struggles with his demons. I hope that one day we can witness his talent again. :(

Well, technically Christine is a pre-Rumours member, but I think you probably mean a non-Rumours line up member. So, then it would have to be Bob Welch. He was so different from anybody that has ever been in Fleetwood Mac. I LOVE "Mystery To Me" and he was responsible for about 2/3 of that album. I think he and Chris worked so well together both on that album & on "Heroes Are Hard To Find". And, "Hypnotized" is one of the coolest songs that I've ever heard. Peter Green would be my second choice as my favorite re-Rumours member.

Well...obviously, since Peter Green is my favorite all-time Fleetwood Mac member, that would be my answer. Bob Welch is a VERY close second; with Danny Kirwan very close behind him. Jeremy Spencer is up there too; but there's a bit of a gap. And, the more I hear Bob Weston (and now I know what parts HE played on Penguin & Mystery To Me, the more impressed I am. Dave Walker...uh...no. Of course, Mick & John were ALWAYS there! Bob Brunning was a placecard since everybody KNEW John would be along eventually.

So, to list 'em out

Peter Green
Bob Welch
Danny Kirwan

Jeremy Spencer
Bob Weston




Dave Walker

I dont have a lot of their stuff but out of the older Mac albums I have (Bare Trees, Future Games, Mystery To Me) it would have to be Bob. He wrote SO many great songs on those albums, and his two from Bare Trees are the best ones on the album. I also love the Yessy "Future Games" the rocking "The City" and the melancholy pop of "Emerald Eyes." "Hypnotised" really should have been their first hit, thats one of the coolest drum beats ever. :)

Christine I think should be up for this too. She appeared on 8 albums (Im counting her uncredited performances on Kiln House and Then Play On) before Rumours so I think she's overqualified for "best Pre-Rumours member!" She wrote some of her best songs back then!

Well for me it's the one and only MR PETER GREENBAUM....

No contest.

But if we are talking podium positions, second up is Bob Welch and in third place Danny Kirwan..


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Bob Welch is one of my all time favorite Mac members, and most certainly my fav pre BN Mac member. He just had the coolest vibe about him... and made some neat music. I've always wished we could have heard some music with him and the Rumours folks.

Chris' music should count towards this too. After Buckingham and Nicks joined, her music changed pretty drastically. She went from this ethereal bluesy presence to "the sensible pop presence," I think because Stevie's trademark was the witchy, mystical one. I just love Chris' older material... because it's just so much more raw and pure... and I think representative of who she really is.

Peter Green
 

Peter Green. He's cool bluesy rock and roll. Plays a mean guitar with a style all his own. A smooth yet wicked voice. It would have been sweet to hear Peter and Chris do some songs together in the Mac. Peter does it for the music. I think he had it right when he didn't want himself or his music to be sold out to the almighty dollar. And he's prolific. Rock on Peter Green!!


Danny's my second pick!


Joe

Hmmmm...I don't really agree. "Show Me A Smile" from the Future Games album sounds like it would fit nicely in place of "Songbird" on Rumours or even on Tusk. "Dissatisfied" & "Remember Me" from Penguin could've seamlessly fit on any post-1975 album. I don't think her music changed from 1971 to 1997 much at all, really...only who was harmonizing with her did.

I agree. I don't think her music changed much over the years either. But, I think her keyboards did change. There is ALOT of acoustic piano on the 1971-1974 albums, not as much on later albums(especially from the 1980's on). Sometimes, I just miss that.

And, I think "Show Me A Smile" would have fit perfectly on Tusk, even more than Rumours. She was in a pretty mellow mood when she wrote a lot of her Tusk songs. "Show Me A Smile" would have been perfect on Tusk.

I think the music was pretty much homogeneous in that transition, so when you listen to the albums by order of releasing you don't get too much of a difference between the previous one and the next one, in respect of the one you're listening to now, so the transition was never that hard, even though it is a totally different band between Dog And Dustbin and, Tango In The Night, for saying something.

I could also count Christine as my favorite pre-Rumours Fleetwood Mac member, as my favorite tunes from that era come right from her mind and voice. "Why", "Show Me A Smile", "Morning Rain" and the ones that always appear in these discussions are just big examples that her songwriting was (almost) always top class.

But if you want to make me pick up just one that was not in the Rumours album, I'd have to say that Danny Kirwan's guitar-playing and voice move me the most. Although you can't ignore Peter Green, so it would be a tie between those two, with Bob Welch coming close. I would have liked Bob Weston to stay a little longer with the band, I believe he had more things to collaborate, but we all know what happened there.


Song of the moment - Say You Will

Really good point! From album to album, there's always been some point of "crossover".

From Then Play On to Kiln House:
Despite being without Peter Green, "Station Man" & "Tell Me All The Things You Do" are similar in feel to TPO. And Jeremy's parodies draw from earlier album ideas and their live show. "Jewel-Eyed Judy" and the single "Dragonfly"/"Purple Dancer" hint at what's to come on Future Games

From Kiln House to Future Games:
"Sands Of Time" & "Sometimes" draw from some KH ideas, "Woman Of A 1000 Years" stands on its own here; but even with new members with Christine McVie & Bob Welch, "Morning Rain" would've fit on KH, as would've "Lay It All Down". Welch's title cut and Christine's aforementioned "Show Me A Smile" was a precursor to the sound of the band further down the road and not necessarily the next album.

With Bare Trees having the same lineup as Future Games similar, yet more refined ideas are presented.

From Bare Trees to Penguin:
Here's the biggest "jump", I think.
1) the "Dave Walker mistake"
2) Welch's sound drew more from FG than BT, yet seemed to show more forethought than a drawing from the past
3) Christine's songwriting is getting more refined here. "Dissatisfied" & "Remember Me" are precursors to a much future time...more along the Rumours type sound.

From Penguin to Mystery To Me:
More refining of their sound since Dave Walker was now out of the way and Welch & CMcVie wrote for themselves than for someone else. THIS really should've been their "breakthrough" album...thanks Mr. Weston & Mrs. Fleetwood. :(

{time for a break} I'll come back in a while and finish this idea.

Oooh, that's a tough one.....

I don't think I could pick one, since the group was so diverse up to the LB/SN lineup (and during and after it too.)

I love all of Danny's tunes, and Jeremy's stuff gets better every time I listen to it, but I think I'd have to go with Greenie!

Hmmmm......Let me think......Peter Green?

I would say it is a tie between Peter Green and Danny Kirwan.

I'd say a tie between Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. My 3 favourite FM guitarists are Lindsey, Peter and Danny. So having seen Peter and Lindsey live now, it's a great shame that I will almost certainly have to only imagine what it must have been like to see Danny play live.:(

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