[Les]

Originally posted by cliffdweller
What I'm saying is, stop talking out of both sides of your mouth (not you, Lindsey) just admit you enjoy your lifestyle, make a Fleetwood Mac record that you can live with, and then go into the studio and do your solo album and purge yourself buddy. How hard is that?

But I think you're putting words into his mouth. Why does arguing for a double album, which would admittedly sell less, mean he's not admitting to liking his lifestyle? Why does making money from his work mean he has to shut up about his ideas?

His ideas (along with the ideas of everyone else) have been a big part of making the band what it is. Lindsey personally plays a big part in what has made this band a critical darling, which has, in my mind, helped greatly in making their longevity possible. That's not a jab at anyone else in the band who have also earned praise through the years. It's just a comment on the basic fact that for many years Lindsey was most singled out by critics for praise. To me, that did nothing but help the band. So why the urge to stop him from making the same such arguments and arguing for similar artistic directions now?

And don't get me wrong, I love Lindsey, in fact, he's the reason I first got into Fleetwood Mac. I just think that sometimes, he goes a bit over the top and isn't it our job to reel him back into reality!

You seem to be starting from a place that says that what Stevie wants is what is best for the band, while what Lindsey wants isn't best for the band. I don't think that's true. I think they just look at different factors. Lindsey's argument was for something that he thought was a larger "statement" because he thought that would make for a better album. And yes, it was, as he admitted several times, also self-serving in that it would allow him to get more of his material out. Stevie's and Mick's arguments that a double album wouldn't sell well is a valid point, especially if you're looking at sales as a determining factor of what indicates a good album. It was also a self-serving argument for them to make sure they made more money than they thought they'd make if they followed Lindsey's path. I'm not trying to say that sales is the only thing that is important to either of them or that sales are never important to Lindsey. But his making an argument for an album that aspires to be something different than just one that will sell most easily isn't wrong for the band. At least I don't think so.