Who is the least talented singer/songwriter in Fleetwood Mac

[Jondalar]

Who is the least talented singer/songwriter in Fleetwood Mac?

[Dex]

In terms of singing? Lindsey.

In terms of songwriting? Stevie. Although I usually enjoy her work the most, she is clearly the most "limited" in terms of songwriting/composing abilities.

I went with Stevie, because I thought that was more what you were going for, Jondalar.

[nicole21290]

What's this I see? A thread which basically begs for one to be negative and dismissive about one of the three songwriters in FM? THANK GOD. I'd really been struggling to find a place for that amongst all the rampant enthusiasm, flattery, praise and happiness here lately...

E) They're all great

[MoonSister75]

Very much in agreement with the above post. Can I vote E) too? Otherwise I was going to sit this one out.

[secret love]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Who is the least talented singer/songwriter in Fleetwood Mac?

They are all great singer/songwriters. If I have to pick the one that I least like, it's hard to do...maybe Lindsey? I like him, but not as much as I like Stevie and Christine.

I tend to prefer female singers to male ones. Women can hit the higher notes more easily.

I think Christine is a better writer than Stevie. Christine's songs are the most catchy (to me) of the three writers. Christine's lyrics are always more accessible than Stevie's for me. I can relate better to lyrics about finding a new friend and forming a great bond with them (Christine's songs "Friend" and "You Are") than I can to Stevie Nick's lyrics about dreams, ghosts and witches lol

Lindsey is the best instrumentalist and the best organiser - the one who makes sure everyone else gets their **** together. Stevie was the best singer - her voice has declined in quality since markedly since the early 1990s though. Christine is the best songwriter.

I hope that answers your question. I'm not going to say one of them is really, really bad and way worse than all the others, because all three artists are talented in their own way.

[shackin'up]

I went for Stevie. Although she captured some of the most brilliant pieces of work in FM's history, even rockhistory in general. But this is a question about talent and completeness. She needs others to completely write a song.
That's the reason I went for Stevie.

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

I went for Stevie. Although she captured some of the most brilliant pieces of work in FM's history, even rockhistory in general. But this is a question about talent and completeness. She needs others to completely write a song.
That's the reason I went for Stevie.

'Captured'? Not created?

Can I ask what exactly you mean by 'completely write a song'? Was The Chain not a 'complete' song in demo form? What about Gypsy? Sisters of the Moon? Sara? Planets of the Universe? Silver Springs? Rhiannon? Goodbye Baby? Because I would have thought that her many piano demos weren't exactly 'incomplete' songs, regardless of how rudimentary the playing, or the lack of proper studio production, or even a more structured arrangement such as Lindsey might give it.

They're still songs - with lyrics, melody, some structure. They're not a finished product such as we see on an album, and yes, she needs help with making them ready for that particular context, but they're 'completely written' (and I find them immensely satisfying much of the time), I would say. IMHO.

[On Ice]

I'll start by saying I love Stevie and have most of my life but I've come to see her as human and give credit where it's due: her absolutely brilliant work up to about the end of 1983 blows my mind to this day and so grateful that her once gorgeous voice was captured for all time. Her material from that period stands the test of time and will never grow old. So, despite all that I see Stevie for what she was/is and it really does cause me angst in saying Stevie is the least talented as 30 odd years ago she could do no wrong in my mind. Then came Rock a Little and a string of bad choices in her writing that to me harmed her career almost beyond repair, and the damage she did to her voice really changed her game. She has re-gained a lot of respect since the Dance era but that's largely based on past glory and I gotta say I cringe when she's referred to as a legend as this ignores at least 2 decades of sub-par and really inconsistent music. Had she continued in the vain of her brilliant work in the mid-seventies to early eighties, she would have industry recognition beyond her fan base that few could argue with but ignoring her lengthy dry period is just not realistic.

I find Christine McVie the most talented in terms of writing, although she has written some bland material, for the most part her career has maintained consistent quality since her early days, where she really shone as a musician.

Lindsey I think has aged better than either Christine or Stevie, his output has been spectacular since the Dance resurgence and he always has been a master arranger and producer. That said, I don't think he quite has Christine's talent for creating the song that "lasts". She clearly has put Fleetwood Mac on the map and surpassed both in terms of classic hits.

[shackin'up]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

'Captured'? Not created?

Can I ask what exactly you mean by 'completely write a song'? Was The Chain not a 'complete' song in demo form? What about Gypsy? Sisters of the Moon? Sara? Planets of the Universe? Silver Springs? Rhiannon? Goodbye Baby? Because I would have thought that her many piano demos weren't exactly 'incomplete' songs, regardless of how rudimentary the playing, or the lack of proper studio production, or even a more structured arrangement such as Lindsey might give it.

They're still songs - with lyrics, melody, some structure. They're not a finished product such as we see on an album, and yes, she needs help with making them ready for that particular context, but they're 'completely written' (and I find them immensely satisfying much of the time), I would say. IMHO.

In never said she never wrote a song. She did. I totally agree with you. But she normally needs someone else to finish it and call it a worked out song. That says NOTHING about the core quality of a sketch on tape. I even like Lindsey's half finish products regularly better than the finished product. But this is a question about who is the most talented Singer/songwriter. Not the most talented idea-sketcher. But one can fight that. Ofcourse.

[jkmaletic]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

What's this I see? A thread which basically begs for one to be negative and dismissive about one of the three songwriters in FM? THANK GOD. I'd really been struggling to find a place for that amongst all the rampant enthusiasm, flattery, praise and happiness here lately...

E) They're all great

Ditto. We have plenty of negativity on all the other threads.
Instigate much, Jondalar?

Give me a break.

[chriskisn]

Did you forget Mick Fleetwood? He has done vocals on two songs, plus songwriting credits on a couple of others. I'd suggest he's been an abject failure as a singer/songwriter

[On Ice]

Did you forget Mick Fleetwood? He has done vocals on two songs, plus songwriting credits on a couple of others. I'd suggest he's been an abject failure as a singer/songwriter

Good point

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

In never said she never wrote a song. She did. I totally agree with you. But she normally needs someone else to finish it and call it a worked out song. That says NOTHING about the core quality of a sketch on tape. I even like Lindsey's half finish products regularly better than the finished product. But this is a question about who is the most talented Singer/songwriter. Not the most talented idea-sketcher. But one can fight that. Ofcourse.

Ah, okay. I got some other kind of vibe from the idea of her not being able to 'completely write a song' without help. So you would consider none of those piano demos (or something like Landslide) a 'worked out song'? I guess I'm quibbling, really. I just think it's a little dismissive to act like it's less of a song because it hasn't been all produced and arranged to within an inch of its life. Would you really call the demo of The Chain an 'idea' as opposed to a 'song'?

I mean, I agree that Lindsey is more objectively talented in terms of the overall package than Stevie. The issue is that songwriting isn't just the end product - it's lyrics, melody, structure, all sorts of things. And they're all probably stronger in different areas. Most of the time here it's going to come down to either:
1) Who is stronger in the most areas? (and how do we measure stronger, anyway? personal preference? commercial success?)
2) What area do we value the most? (and even then, people have subjective opinions on who is best within those areas)
3) our definition of singer/songwriter

The problem that I have with this whole thing is that asking for the 'least' talented is just asking for trouble. At this stage, threads asking for 'positive' comments (let's say, who is the MOST talented?) already devolve pretty quickly into negativity. It's the nature of the beast (I've been through the same thing for years in debates about Lennon vs McCartney) - we compare and contrast, and usually in doing so put down one artist in order to inflate the other. Not always, of course, but it's not uncommon either.

[secondhandchain]

This thread should be deleted.

[David]

Fleetwood Mac is usually great at amplifying all the songwriters' strengths and making their weaknesses less important to the vibe the music is giving out. In the context of the classic Fleetwood Mac music, the songwriters all feel, to me, like better writers than they are. I don't know what to attribute that feeling to, but maybe it's the revolving variety of having three songwriters in one band. (The older versions of Fleetwood Mac have that magic, too.)

It has also helped considerably to have such intelligent and creative track production in the band. The singers were recorded superbly well and given excellent backdrops at the "right" levels. That made them all sound like great pop singers.