Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveMacD
They seemed to have moved past that by the time she got involved with SYW. She and Lindsey seemed to be in a better place.
The flip side of that coin is that TITN and especially SYW began life as Lindsey solo projects, so why should he have to change his vision and interrupt the continuity of a project he (and the others) had been working on for five or six years before she got involved?
And, what about Mick and John? Should they have to be beholden to Stevie’s demos? They’re artists, too, and it’s their band. John is as passionate/territorial about his bass lines as Stevie is about her songs. John gets especially offended with writers coming in with completed demos, and will demand they come back with the bass taken out of the mix. Fleetwood Mac is a band, and everyone has his/her input on the songs. What might be completely reasonable and necessary for her solo career won’t necessarily fly with Fleetwood Mac.
I suspect that’s why Lindsey wanted to start what he’d hoped would be the next album from scratch with Stevie.
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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. He's been very open in interviews about needing to step away from FM in order to appreciate being in a band, and working more collaboratively and less dictatorially. He could easily hold onto his stuff for solo work if he wanted. I'm sure he realizes that his work gets more attention and reaches a wider audience when he's with FM. I have never heard anyone say the band gave him ultimatums about giving up his solo work.
Yes John and Mick might have ideas, and those ideas are consulted when they contribute their parts. They are free to offer ideas about the full song, e.g. when Mick suggested a brass band on Tusk. John created the bass line to the Chain etc. But always the writer of a song has more of a say, in pretty much any band. And you're assuming Mick and John want that sort of active arranging role, which they have never indicated they do. As John says, "I can't see into the writer's head" sometimes when working on songs so the studio can be tedious for him. No one (anymore) tells mick or john "just play this and shut up" (Lindsey tried this in this past). I'm sure any of the writers ever in FM had more of a say of what they wanted a song to be, while being open to suggestions from others.
So yes, Mick and John to some extent ARE beholden to the vision of Stevie or Lindsey or Chris. Just not slavishly. Your Stevie hatred is showing.
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. That is also part of the reason she's not keen on working on a band album with him at the helm again. 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.