I completely understand the pain and hurt that we all feel in relation to Lindsey leaving the band. He was the band's guiding musical force since 1975 when he joined the Fleetwood Mac.
On the other hand, I understand the perspective of the other band members. If my understanding is correct (please correct me if I have this wrong), the five members agreed to the upcoming tour back in 2017. The members have said that they planned their schedules to tour from last 2018 into 2019 and then Lindsey changed his mind and decided that he no longer wanted to tour and instead wanted to start the tour in late 2019. The rest of the band spent weeks trying to convince Lindsey to honor his commitment to this upcoming tour, but he stayed firm with his decision so the band had two choices at that time:
1. To cancel the upcoming tour and rearrange their schedules to move the tour to 2019-20 or ...
2. Recruit new players to replace Lindsey for this tour
This must have been a very difficult decision to go with option #2 given everything Lindsey has meant to the band, but didn't Lindsey put the band in a tough bind? They were all planning to tour in 2018-19 and then Lindsey changed his mind. If Lindsey had simply honored his commitment to this tour, he would likely still be in the band and all would be ok.
Either way, it's painful for both sides. The classic lineup has been broken up.
That being said, it is important to note a few things.
Although Lindsey Buckingham is a mega-talent and was instrumental in creating the "classic" Fleetwood Mac sound, he wasn't an original band member. In fact, the band recorded nine studio albums before Lindsey joined the band in 1975. Truth be told, Fleetwood Mac has recorded more studio albums without Lindsey than with Lindsey.
Of course, Lindsey was the main creative force for the band's most successful period of time, but it's easy to forget that the band has recorded more music without Lindsey than with Lindsey. There is no doubt that Lindsey has been been a huge part of the band's creative and commercial success, but they also have a ton of music that doesn't include him at all.
So while the events of the past month have been very sad, I am trying to focus on the positive and look forward to what this new lineup will bring to the table. Mike Campbell is a phenomenal guitarist who should sound great especially on some of those old songs.
And Neil Finn is a world-class songwriter, lead vocalist, arranger, and collaborator who has created a lot of great music over the last four decades in various band lineups (Crowded House, Split Enz, 7 Worlds Collide, Finn Brothers, etc.). Neil's voice should blend very well with the voices of Christine and Stevie. Despite the loss of Lindsey, this new lineup has the potential to be something different, but truly special.
With all that in mind, I'm letting go of my feelings of disappointment and focusing on the magic that I hope to hear this fall and next spring.
|