Quote:
Originally Posted by nicepace
This is just my opinion and I don't expect many people to agree with me. I never saw the appeal of Stevie as a solo artist. In fact, although I enjoyed some of her songs, I generally ranked her songs in FM as my least favorite on any given album. I thought her stage persona was silly and over the top. This was true even when I first saw them, in 1975. I loved the band and the chemistry among the five, but was amused by all the young women going nuts over Stevie.
For me, the biggest drawing card of FM was always Christine: the first woman to sing lead, write her own songs, AND play an instrument in a rock/pop band. This is one of the reasons I've always liked the 5 "Bob Welch era" albums the best. Her keyboards are so much more prominent on those records than on the "Buckingham era" albums.
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I'll admit, from ages 10-12 I was pretty much smitten with Stevie. I dug her voice but much of my interest had to do with her appearance. Then, sometime around 1982 or so, I heard "Say You Love Me" blaring out of my older brother's stereo. It was on the radio and though I'd heard the song before this was the first time I really HEARD it. I was so in awe of Christine's voice, I resolved in that instant to get my hands on everything she had sung to that point. I never looked back.
Christine plays a lot of keys on Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, though her work is often mixed down (especially on Rumours). I've heard isolated instrumentation for "Rhiannon" and "Gold Dust Woman" and was surprised at how full and creative the keyboard parts are--but because of the mix we just don't hear them as clearly as the guitar. They are a texture, a layer of sound.