[dreamsunwind]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

And, it has been since 1982, at least as far as shows are concerned. For all the crap they get, the “Time” crew were able to do shows with just six people on stage and no backing tracks. To be sure, I have low expectations for the new lineup in that regard, too. I think it will be another choreographed mess.

The Rumours band was magic, but Fleetwood Mac has mostly felt like either a Vegas lounge act or a cover band for every tour since 1987, regardless of who was in the band. If they could have just gone out as a quintet, no backing musicians, backing vocalists, or prerecords, I might share that same sense of loss.

The Dance had backup musicians and it was absolutely magical. And the SYW tour was amazing, as were most of their tours. The Time crew that you're talking about was a lot younger. Everyone gets old and obviously when these people get older their voices are going to get shot and their playing skills aren't going to be the same as when they were in their 30s. But they still put on a great show because they had that wonderful chemistry. If they had actually played at these ages without any backup singers or musicians you probably would've been able to more obviously spot the little cracks in the performance. Stevie's singers are sometimes too loud but aside from that their backup musicians help, rather than harm. It wouldn't have been the same as when they were all in their 30s around Mirage. There's nothing wrong with needing a little help when you're 60 and 70 years old. I don't think it ever felt like a "lounge act" in recent years for performance related reasons at all. It was mostly just the fact that they were touring over and over again behind no new music.