Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveMacD
Thing is, Christine’s songs didn’t sound radically different from her 1971-74 songs, harmonies and all, and she went on to have the majority of Top 40 singles.
I think just having a complete mainstream pop package would have helped them become more successful. As much as I love the Bob Welch era, there was a ceiling to their potential success. He had two or three bubblegum songs, but the rest were pretty heavy subject matter for the Hit Parade. Plus, he was kind of weird looking and had a weakish voice. They made great records, but they were never going to be blockbuster hits. Think about it, Bob Welch’s Carlos Castaneda inspired mystic jazz rock and classic Christine McVie songs produced by Deep Purple’s producer. If that doesn’t scream identity crisis, I don’t know what does. It wasn’t until they moved to LA and started playing up having a woman in the band (Jefferson Starship tour) that they had a Top 40 album.
I don’t know how well Fleetwood Mac would have done without the drama. Fleetwood Mac was selling only moderately better than its predecessors until it came out that the McVies split and that Stevie and Lindsey had mostly split. Then it became a huge hit. Obviously, Rumours. Fast forward to TITN, and its sales started skyrocketing after Lindsey quit.
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Yeah, but he had those great berets.
I like Mystery to Me, but I can't imagine another three or four albums like it. They would have to be Christine-heavy, and even then, you're looking at a lot of lukewarm radio-friendly fare between the two of them.
I mean zero offense to Chris either. I love her, but even she has admitted to being a formulaic songwriter, and did not really expand her repertoire beyond the basic 1-2-3 love/lost love song. Bob, like Danny Kirwan, was not the most lighthearted guy, at least not lyrically. Bare Trees and MtM are good albums but are not ones that I would listen to in their entirety. Not without feeling a little broody afterward.