Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveMacD
And, kudos to Stevie on building her brand and image after the 1997 makeover. She played her cards brilliantly.
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She really did do that beautifully. She had just begun to rebuild herself in 1996, with a series of public concerts and a Lifetime documentary and concert slated for broadcast—talking to the press again, getting her "look" done (including weight and hair), getting a little "I'm still cool" help from Courtney Love and Billy Corgan. 1997 with Fleetwood Mac pushed her right back to the top again (albeit an older audience this time around). And she took it and ran with it for several years, from 1998's work with Sheryl Crow for "Practical Magic" to the "Enchanted" box set and tour (which everyone loved). She kept it up with a series of one-up concerts, short tours (including the New Year's Eve shows in Anaheim), her 2001 eagerly awaited "Shangri-La" album (again which everybody liked), with a fine tour and cool TV spots on Rosie O'Donnell and the Blockbuster Music Awards—all of which fed of course by the Internet fan base.
As a self-promoter of her own strengths and her connection to people, she has it all over the other Fleetwood Macsters. Mick Fleetwood is every bit the drummer that Stevie is the songwriter—but while she's getting awards from BMI and Blockbuster for songwriting, he is . . . selling wine at Costco. I was going to say that it would be funny if it weren't so sad. But it IS funny.
And Christine's case was no less ridiculous than Mick's. I realize that personal anxieties and depression don't run on a schedule. But to completely ditch Fleetwood Mac coming off the reunion tour and some Grammy nominations for a Number 1 album was just . . . unbelievably bad planning. Just like the heart, I guess the psyche wants what it wants, and Christine wanted to curl into a fetal position in a Kent country manor at the most inopportune time.
Considering the "Say You Will" trials and tribulations, the in-fighting, the nonsense, I think Christine's 1998 departure dealt Fleetwood Mac a blow it never really recovered from (although the other four put up a game front). When she came back to the O2 for those shows, I think everyone (including Fleetwood Mac) got very excited because here was a chance to have another 1997 reunion—in 2014-15. This past year made everyone feel as if they were stuck on a hamster wheel. I think that's why the anger is at fever pitch.