[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

He shouldn't have to, and if he didn't want to, he wouldn't. After all, he did leave the band at one point.

If given the choice, Lindsey probably would have preferred releasing his SYW songs as a part of a solo album, but the decision on how to proceed was much more complicated than that.

The new leadership at WB following the December, 1992 death of WB head Steve Ross (not the guitarist) brought in changes that didn’t necessarily benefit the band. Ross had had a hands off approach to Warner Music, but the new head was described as a bean counter. By August, 1994, Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker, both champions of Fleetwood Mac, were out at the label. Given the poor performances of OOTC, Street Angel, and Time (and the lack of promotion for the latter two albums), I think Lindsey was being very cautious about how to proceed. He could have released a solo album a few years earlier, but he was encouraged to wait and see what was going on at the label and was entertaining offers from other labels. I suspect what was going to be GoS was recorded with the durability of becoming a Fleetwood Mac album, if needed.

I have never heard anyone say the band gave him ultimatums about giving up his solo work.

No, they just stuck a producer they knew he’d hate working with to force his hand (which Mick bragged about in 1987).

And you're assuming Mick and John want that sort of active arranging role, which they have never indicated they do.

John has said in numerous interviews that he makes songwriters take the bass out of their demos and that Lindsey was especially bad about telling him what to play. It’s not an assumption, it’s what he’s said over the years.

ETA: Lindsey clearly did NOT change his vision for his songs on SYW and that contributed in part to the sense of disjointedness many find on that album. He then tried to impose that vision onto Stevie's songs and the result was not good.

But that’s the whole point of what I’m saying. The fact is Lindsey, as well as Mick, John, and even Christine, began working on the project in late 1995/early 1996. They weren’t going to change the vision for the album at that point. (“What you don’t realize, Stevie, is that we’ve just spent the last six months trying not to be ourselves.”)

That’s also why Lindsey wanted to do something from scratch with Stevie so that she would have equal input on the direction of the album.

That is also part of the reason she's not keen on working on a band album with him at the helm again.

Which he said he’d be willing to give up, and why he brought Mitchell Froom on board for EP.

But, Stevie can’t just send over demos, be completely removed from the creative process, and be upset when it goes in a direction she doesn’t like.

It's so funny because if someone said Lindsey should let Stevie have full control over how Lindsey's songs should sound, people would freak out.

Not necessarily. I see people on here who are critical of his production techniques. I think many, myself included, think Lindsey could get back to doing more basic, fundamental songs and production. And, I think he’s open to it in the context of a Fleetwood Mac album.