Funny thing about that book: I remember devouring it when it first came out, then going away with such bad taste in my mouth about Mick, even though the slant of the book was clearly intended to paint Lindsey as the villain. It's been a while, but among the things I remember are Mick's endless praise for Stevie. He mentions that her songs on Mirage and Tango, though left over from solo projects, were brilliant. Aside from Gypsy, there is no brilliance in those tracks at all.
Mick seems to put down Lindsey's contribution, accusing him of being jealous of Christine and Stevie for having written most of the hits. Yet, ironically the book was released just as Behind the Mask was stumbling through the charts. You think that man might have been able to put two and two together -- that the Mac without Lindsey at that point was simply a vain commercial exercise devoid of any real artistry. Gee, they had to get two guitarists to replace Lindsey! Don't get me wrong, I even like a couple of songs on that album, though I find that effort as a whole to be pretty mediocre. By then, I really couldn't listen to Stevie's voice any more, but that had started with her contributions in Tango.
Mick admits he was "disloyal" in writing the book, even though some very palpable tension remains between him and Lindsey about that time period. It appears that Mick flat out lied about Lindsey's departure from the band, accusing Lindsey of striking Stevie. Maybe he did, and that's why I say "appears." Yet, if I'm not mistaken, Stevie has said she struck Lindsey. Whatever. There was probably a little shoving. Mick probably should have kept that episode to himself, rather than using his rather murky recollection to put it in a book, the proceeds of which he reportedly snorted away.
Mick is a distasteful guy. When he gets on TV he is almost endearing, but then he invariably says something infinitely stupid that makes me cringe. I get embarrassed for him. Lindsey, on the other hand, comes across as somewhat humble and insecure, though occasionally a flash of immodest self-recognition of his talent and genius pokes through as, for instance, when he says he was the one who always knew exactly what to do with Stevie's songs.
Lindsey showed some real class through that whole episode. Rather than hitting the talk show circuit, he merely addressed it through his art. And he did it elegantly, couching the obvious anger in the song with an unlikely arrangement and leaving enough ambiguity so that if you weren't familiar with the story, you wouldn't know who he was bashing. Think of how Lennon treated McCartney in How Do You Sleep. No ambiguity there.
Mick's book actually points to the fundamental problem with the Mac. Fleetwood Mac has become more of a story than a band. Problem is the story has become rather old and dull. This band invented "Behind the Music" before VH1 ever thought of the concept. Now if they would only give us some music, instead of the story behind the story of the story, I'd be much happier about the whole thing.
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