Another Link in the Chain

michelej1 · #1 08-04-2003, 11:21 PM

I just taped a Fleetwood Mac concert off of Trio, featuring Dave Mason, Bekka Bramlet, Billy Burnette, etc. It was downright frightening. They started off with "The Chain" and then it only got worse. Bramlett's "Gold Dust Woman" was unrecognizable. I didn't watch long enough to see what songs of LB were performed or how they were mangled.

I actually enjoyed Behind the Mask, (the album, not the tour) so it's not like I can only appreciate FM music that has LB involved. I also really liked Christine's song "Hollywood (Some Other Kind of Town)" on Time, but seeing that FM line up in concert made me wonder where Mick even got the guts.

I saw the show in Reno Friday (I reviewed it, under the Delta Arena post because there was no place for me to place a Reno review). A fight broke out in the crowd which upset Stevie and was truly unfortunate. The mood exuded from the band had been SO terrific before then. However, Lindsey did such a good job singing "Goodbye Baby" for Stevie in the most gentle and sweet voice imaginable, that it was almost worth the violent outbreak to hear it.

He sang the part,

And I who went to sleep as 2
Woke up as one now only you remain
You'll close your eyes and travel back
To the time when the light went fading fast
And the words you'll never, forget oh no
As you slipped away . . .

Then Stevie joined him for the chorus and she was able to complete the song herself. Michele

wondergirl9847 · #2 08-05-2003, 12:08 AM

Welcome to the board, first of all!

I have a concert from the Dave/Bekka/Billy era and I agree, it's not extremely interesting, but hey, there are peeps out there who like/love those particular members, so that's cool. Billy does a decent job with the songs, tho, IMO.

Dear sweet Moses, if ANYONE out there has the boot of Lindsey singing GB, PLEASE share this!!!!!!

<--- Me kissing you when you share it!!

DownOnRodeo · #3 08-05-2003, 12:16 AM

Knowing WB I guess that Time concert will be released soon as The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac In Concert

Seeing as Lindsey got all those GB lyrics spot on, you'd think that'd really score brownie points with Stevie in terms of him being 'into' her songs ...

michelej1 · #4 08-05-2003, 12:43 AM

Christy,

Thank you for the welcome. I have been reading the bb for awhile and just thought I'd join in.

I actually like Billy Burnette.

Joe,

Well, I can't say that Lindsey got the lyrics exactly, but he knew enough of them that any mistakes he made were not noticeable to me.

Hmmm, ever since Lindsey told her that TSL was the best thing she's ever done (although the first time he told her that, she later wasn't sure if he'd even listened to it) and went on to weep when she played her 4 new SYW songs for him, I think SN's been under the impression that he IS now really into her songs. Michele

NowSounds · #5 08-06-2003, 11:38 PM

What was the name of that concert? Was it ever commercially released?

I don't have Trio, but I'd love to see it--I've always wanted to see that lineup live. I couldn't stand the album, but I've always wondered how they sounded on stage.

I almost went and saw them when that lineup toured (it was with another band or 2, wasn't it?) but chose not to. Just didn't seem like it was really FM without LB, SN, or Chris, and I can't stand Dave Mason.

michelej1 · #6 08-07-2003, 12:10 AM

Kev-I don't know the official name of the concert, but Trio broadcast it as "Another Link in the Chain," with no programming information and it was an hour long. To tell you the truth, I liked "Time," better than I liked what I saw of the live concert.

Whether or not Dave Mason was right for FM, he's a talent unto himself. I think Burnette had already proven himself on tour in 1987 and on "Behind the Mask". I didn't think much of what I heard from Bekka, but I can't say that the Time line up was a total failure. I still listen to the c.d. now and then, but I'd never seen any live footage. Without Christine even there in concert, it was excruciating to hear them distort familiar tunes beyond recognition and worse watching them.

But, as far as that goes, I guess some people hate hearing LB sing "Oh Well"

Michele

chiliD · #7 08-07-2003, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by NowSounds
I almost went and saw them when that lineup toured (it was with another band or 2, wasn't it?)....

They were "middle bill" between Pat Benatar & REO Speedwagon.

CarneVaca · #8 08-07-2003, 10:20 AM

When I saw them, they were last, after REO. And I have to say, REO kicked their ass. Go figure.

chiliD · #9 08-07-2003, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by michelej1
Without Christine even there in concert, it was excruciating to hear them distort familiar tunes beyond recognition and worse watching them.

Hmmmm...which songs in particular are you referring to? When I saw 'em, they stuck pretty much to the standard arrangements. The only one that they revamped (but not to my mind "beyond recognition") was "Gold Dust Woman". With Billy starting the song out on dobro, Mick playing his African Talking Drum through the first couple of verses and then when the chorus came in he was behind his drumset and thats when John & Dave came in too. But, still it was QUITE refreshing to hear it played that way.

michelej1 · #10 08-07-2003, 11:02 AM

ChiliD wrote:

>Hmmmm...which songs in particular are you referring to? When I >saw 'em, they stuck pretty much to the standard arrangements. >The only one that they revamped (but not to my mind "beyond >recognition") was "Gold Dust Woman". With Billy starting the >song out on dobro, Mick playing his African Talking Drum through >the first couple of verses and then when the chorus came in he >was behind his drumset and thats when John & Dave came in >too. But, still it was QUITE refreshing to hear it played that way.

I was referring to GDW in particular, as that was the one most changed, but it was also jarring to hear "Say You Love Me" and "The Chain" as rendered. Songs like "World Turning" and "Don't Stop" weren't so bad. Anyway, remember I probably saw an edited hour of the show on Trio. I didn't see them live. I saw the Behind the Mask line up live, however. Michele

michelej1 · #11 08-07-2003, 01:19 PM

I was just thinking that Friday I forgot to notice whether Stevie was still singing the last, "it'll soon be here," on "Don't Stop." She was in California, but I don't know if that stopped.

What I always liked about Lindsey and Christine was the vocal urgency he would add to her songs. I know that she wasn't always happy being the love song duchess. The band selected those songs of hers and probably passed over the more "shaggy" stuff she wrote. Plus, I think a lot of the times she made the pancake and Lindsey added much of the syrup in the studio. So, I think that to the extent that she has been pigeon-holed by some into a Neil Sedaka genre, that it was a group dynamic that put her there. That's not all she is.

Still, I find it amusing on the songs when her lyrics are very passive and she is singing them quite mellow, like "Think About Me" that Lindsey jumps in with a demanding and insistent yelp, which rather undermines the passive message. Christine is saying, "Well, I know you like me because I don't require much attention, but if you care about me, then every once in a while will you think about me?" the tone of her request is submissive, but Lindsey chimes in singing, "Think about me!" in a manner that is far from acquiescent. Same thing on the few live performances of "Hold Me." She asks to be held. He orders. Yet, their voices blend so well on that song, that it is sometimes hard to distinguish them.

The effect is that although there is a polarity in how they're interpreting the lyrics, the resulting message seems to be their combined intent. She feels his urgency, even though it's not apparent in her voice and there is also gentle pleading underlying his frantic, forceful surface tones.

I think this dichotomy plays out in their songwriting. Many times, she's singing about deception, but in a tone that's light and loving. So you don't hear the accusation: "Say You Love Me." Whereas, Lindsey's vocals and arrangements are strident, so you don't always notice the love and vulnerability in the lyrics, which is certainly true of GYOW. The words of the chorus are whipped out, in a way that contradicts the tender import of some of the verses.

Anyway, because when you read the lyrics, then listen to the vocals, Christine and Lindsey can both say one thing, but convey it's opposite, when they come together, meaning and manner seem to meet.

"Don't Stop" would have a smooth, che sara or "don't worry be happy" tone all the way through, making you believe that you could lay back and let the bad memories wash away with the sunrise, except Lindsey's interjections are more proactive, giving the message that tomorrow is going to be here any instant and you must be ready to do something about it, nothing laid back in his approach. She sings "feel good". He sings feeling. Yet in the end they're together.

Michele