Disappointing Lindsey Comment From Mark & Brian Interview

[ERigby818]

Maybe I'm making something out of nothing here, but this made me fall out of my chair when I heard it:

Mark/Brian: "We've been talking about your solo record here and waiting for it forever!"
Lindsey: "Well, this is it." (talking about SYW)

I guess I'm kinda freaking out . Up until then I was so confident we'd still get a GOS, with all the great songs that were left: DOR, TOF, etc. Now I'm not so sure. Am I overreacting?

BTW: Interview mp3s are on burnish.net/audio and are a must-hear.
-Sonia

[wondergirl9847]

I just watched the AOL Sessions video again and DANGIT, he goes "This is so much a more effective and big picture thing that I would much prefer to do another Fleetwood Mac album." I mean, I would rather have FM than NOTHING, but I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want a LB solo album. WAAAHHHH!!!!!!

[strandinthewind]

I think LB was saying he "agreed," perhaps under duress, with the record company's reasoning that a FM record is an easier sell, etc., than one of his solo records, which for whatever reason have not sold that well.

I cannot say that solely from a business point of view, I blame the record company for "influencing" this decision. Make no mistake, I love LB's music. However, if it was my dime/job being used/risked for production/promotion, I would also insist on a FM record than a LB solo record. Who would not solely from a business point of view. I mean with all due respect to John and Mick (and they deserve a bunch after 35 or so years), FM with Stevie and LB is historically proven to sell in big if not huge quantity, even though it may be viewed by whomever as unfair or constraining on both of them. That is what in my opinion is "wrong" with the record companies being these huge money making things. They seemingly from the public’s point of view do not care for "artistic" value; they have to sell records. I mean even LB said that the record company "brass" puts it on the line with artists' records and those same "brass" could lose their jobs if the record(s) fail. I would certainly hate to be in that position!

You know what, despite all of that and as much as I liked the GOS solo stuff, I like the new stuff I have heard more (granted I have not heard all of it). Moreover, despite whatever opinion I may have, LB stated (perhaps under threat of punishment from Warner Reprise ) that this process has been very creative. So, maybe LB does not feel his artistry was compromised by releasing these songs as FM songs. Who knows. I just cannot seem get away from the "loss(?)" of the greatness of the "unreleased" GOS demos even though I really like perhaps more these tracks that were altered for Say You Will.

NOTE: I hesitated posting this for fear of being unintentionally insulting as tone is difficult to discern in prose. So, let me say, I meant this post solely from an analytical point of view and not in an insulting “LB is nothing without Stevie or FM way” for in my opinion that could not be further from the truth.

[wondergirl9847]

I didn't take your post as rude or anything. It's just sad (to me anyways) to know that LB probably won't be putting out any more solo records. I am happy that LB is happy about working with the band and HIS excitement is getting ME excited because hearing Peacekeeper bummed me out a lil, since I was MADLY IN LOVE with his solo version, but now, I'm easing up and getting more and more anxious to hear SYW in it's entirety!!!!

Yep, I've gotten used to the title SYW and the album version of Peacekeeper too. So, it's all good!!

As a LB fan first and foremost, I'm always hungry for ANYTHING I can get from Lindsey, but if he's working with FM and that's it, hey, works for me.

[BlueGrass]

I'm sure some point down the road Lindsey will do a solo record or records.

[Skylark]

My heart aches that... Lindsey BucKINGham
must change his brilliant musical work to be a
Fleetwood Maccer! Peacekeeper lost its hard edge
and original wording... with a female softening!

This is also not a mean critique but... my Truthful
feeling about what I like...Lindsey's Original Music!!!
Please Lindsey, produce a SOLO for your fans!!! Sky

[CarneVaca]

I have insisted and will continue to insist that it didn't have to be this way, regardless of what the label wants. Lindsey should have gotten himself out of his contractual obligations with Warner as a solo artist and found a nimble, flexible independent label to market his stuff to the right audiences and radio stations. As a solo artist, it is unlikely that he would have gotten tremendous sales volumes, but he could have had the gratification of releasing a work with the integrity he's always talking about. Using his GOS songs for Say You Will compromises that integrity to some extent. The changes to Peacekeeper are a perfect example.

He could have still stayed with Fleetwood Mac and Warner while keeping a modest solo career on the side.

[strandinthewind]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
I have insisted and will continue to insist that it didn't have to be this way, regardless of what the label wants. Lindsey should have gotten himself out of his contractual obligations with Warner as a solo artist and found a nimble, flexible independent label to market his stuff to the right audiences and radio stations. As a solo artist, it is unlikely that he would have gotten tremendous sales volumes, but he could have had the gratification of releasing a work with the integrity he's always talking about. Using his GOS songs for Say You Will compromises that integrity to some extent. The changes to Peacekeeper are a perfect example.

He could have still stayed with Fleetwood Mac and Warner while keeping a modest solo career on the side.

You know, I used to think that as well because my initial perception was LB seemed to have compromised in some way the GOS songs and that he viewed this as a negative or coerced thing. I just cannot get away from LB saying in this interview that the FM recording process "added" to the GOS songs. For example, he says Peacekeeper lended itself to a duet, it works that way, etc. It does not seem like he is saying "what the hell happened to my songs," "I cannot believe I had to do this to placate that evil Warner/Reprise," "Here we go again," etc. !!!! I realize he could be saying this because he wants to sell the record - sort of like Stevie did during the Street Angel interviews in that she has stated she was promoting something she knew was not her best but she still had to promote it. But, I tend to agree with him in that I really like the songs I have heard with the addition of FM. Although I really liked the solo stuff, I think the addition works very well. So, I have concluded LB did not sell out or compromise his artistic integrity because he happy with the end result as am I at least for the most part

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by strandinthewind
For example, he says Peacekeeper lended itself to a duet, it works that way, etc.

If he really believes that, then I simply have to disagree with him. The solo version of the song was more menancing, and therefore more appropriate, to the message. Never mind what he says now. Let's see what he says in a few years, after the album either flops, enjoys tremendous success or simply sells a respectable couple million. As I recall, the band members' takes on Tusk and Mirage changed with the benefit of hindsight.

[ERigby818]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Lindsey should have gotten himself out of his contractual obligations with Warner as a solo artist and found a nimble, flexible independent label to market his stuff to the right audiences and radio stations. As a solo artist, it is unlikely that he would have gotten tremendous sales volumes, but he could have had the gratification of releasing a work with the integrity he's always talking about. Using his GOS songs for Say You Will compromises that integrity to some extent. The changes to Peacekeeper are a perfect example.

I agree completely he should have hooked up with a different label (smaller and more independent) for his solo stuff so he could release it on his own terms. I've decided his own version of Peacekeeper is infinitely better than the FM one, much as I love it. But I'm not convinced that SYW will make him miserable or feel compromised. He may actually be very pleased with it. This is not 1987. He and Stevie actually enjoy working together again. He seemed very pleased with The Dance. He has a whole other dimension in his life that he didn't have before.
We won't know how he feels till the band members spill their guts years later about what REALLY went on behind the scenes of SYW and Lindsey can reflect on what it meant to him creatively (he has a tendency to do that ). Obviously, when they're promoting an album, they say everything's great and better than ever. But I think we may get a vibe from him on this tour as to whether he's at peace with himself. And if he isn't, it may be even more incentive for him to put out the solo album we're all craving, sometime this decade.
-Sonia

[jeffles]

Regarding the comment he made on radio.
At some point, he'll probably put out a solo record. If not on Warner, then on a smaller label. Several of his best new songs are left of "Say You Will", probably because they may not be appropriate for the band, and maybe because he simply wanted to keep some of his best stuff for a possible solo set.
A solo album is neither here or there. At the present, when he does radio or other promotion, he's gonna plug Say You Will.

[Les]

As I recall, the band members' takes on Tusk and Mirage changed with the benefit of hindsight.

Not that this has anything to do with the discussion really, but only some of the band member's takes changed with the passage of time. Lindsey's actually stayed pretty consistent. Loved Tusk. Not so of Mirage.

Being a die-hard Lindsey fan myself, I'm torn by the M&B comment. As always, I'd love for him to do solo projects as I certainly know that my appreciation for his abilities and ideals jumped greatly when he was separated from the band and showed what he could do solo. There is a vision and a freedom in his solo work that is more pronounced than when he's in FM. I love the way he constructs albums - he's always been a theme person and his albums are like movies in some ways. Up til now, I think his solo songs were also more personal. Up til now, I think there was some sense that there were some constraints that he writhed against in FM.

But I don't know if he feels that anymore. It's nice to hear him be so enthused about the Mac again. It seems to me like he's in a place right now where he feels FM is very open and that sharing the experience with others is more fun to him than doing it alone. In that case, I can't really complain about it. As he's the man in charge in the studio, I still feel like the Mac is a huge portion of his vision. I enjoy not just what he creates, but what he does with everyone else's contributions too. It's his ability to do that that is one of the things that makes him interesting and I think that's also a big part of his integrity: the molding of the music to make the music special and to help his bandmates shine, rather than concentrating on being sure he's "the star."

What happens going forward? I still believe he'll continue to produce music for some years....but it's really up in the air to me right now in terms of how he'll pursue it. He's expressed the hope that the others will want to do more after this. Stevie's already said she's ready to start her next solo album after this. Clearly, that doesn't jibe. If that means he'll go back to the solo route, I certainly can't complain about that either.

[chiliD]

Or, maybe, we'll just end up with a THREE piece Fleetwood Mac:

Lindsey, Mick & John.

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by chiliD
Or, maybe, we'll just end up with a THREE piece Fleetwood Mac:

Lindsey, Mick & John.

I'm all for that.

[Johnny Stew]

Or it could just be that they'd approach their next album in much the same way they approached this one: work on and refine Lindsey's songs, then begin constructing Stevie's songs, while she's off doing her solo thing (since there really isn't anything for her to do in the studio, until they're ready to add the vocal parts anyway), then finish them once Stevie has returned.

Quite honestly I'm torn about Stevie's recent comments. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of her solo work, but I'm also extemely excited about the prospect of future Fleetwood Mac albums, with both her and Lindsey.

She probably wouldn't handle it this way, but it would be nice if she recorded and released her next solo album in a more low-key fashion... promoting it with a few TV appearances, and maybe some dates at the House Of Blues, or something... but *not* embarking on a three month tour.
She can return to The Mac quicker that way, and we'd have the benefit of another Stevie solo album AND a new Mac album, without a two-year gap between them.

As for the "softening" of "Peacekeeper"... I just wanted to say that biting lyrics don't always need to be delivered aggressively.
I'm thinking especially of a lot of Simon & Garfunkel's material or Crosby, Stills & Nash.

But then, I can also understand the desire to hear Lindsey doing something with some "crunch"... much like "Wrong."

I tend to think we have the best of both worlds now though, since we have an excellent CD-quality copy of his solo version, and now we also have the Fleetwood Mac version.
And I really luck out, because I loved the original, but I have an even greater affection for the new.



Johnny Stew