Nicks says she doesn't know whether she'll ever be on board with new FM album

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Why? This is a position she has had regarding the others for years. Remember when Stevie said on August 18, 1987 (the press conference announcing Billy Burnette and Rick Vito) something along the lines of "we could wait another five to ten years for Lindsey to come around, but we're trying to preserve the entity of Fleetwood Mac, which is bigger than Stevie Nicks or Lindsey Buckingham..." Remember when she said Christine couldn't record songs for SYW and not tour? It would be hypocritical to change that now.

Yes, Stevie told Lindsey it was judgment day and that he wasn't going to stop FM. Why shouldn't she have her own judgment day?

She also said:

"What were we supposed to do? Lindsey left. So did that mean we were done? No. Why should the rest of us quit just because of him?"

Michele

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

That's never going to happen again. Again, the band would still have most of the classic line-up, so they could still go on. It's not like they couldn't do the talk shows and play smaller venues while still remaining viable.

Well, ticket sales will drop drastically without Stevie. They might be cut in half. FM could still be viable, because I think they could put on a great show together as a foursome. But would it be profitable considering the expense?

Michele

[bombaysaffires]

so out of curiosity I posted a question about this to Dashut when this first came up. He's just gotten to answering it, and despite his earlier protestations that the current tour was NOT all about money, he seems to finally admit the cash grab is indeed a big motivator for much of the band:

Anonymous: Stevie seems to have her knickers in a knot about doing another Fleetwood Mac album after the current tour. She says she can't say whether she will "feel like" doing an album with them when the tour is over or not. What do you make of this? Body language on tour lately seems to indicate some friction between her and Lindsey. (Despite their professionalism, they're human and emotions do show). They were all about how they'd finally resolved differences last tour. WTF do u think is going on??

Dashut: I haven’t seen any of the recent shows lately so assuming what you are saying is correct, (because I have heard this from many others who have seen the show now) I believe we could be seeing signs of conflicting schedules in the future. I know Stevie has a busy solo career going on with her popularity seemingly greater than ever. She probably has many opportunities on her own in the new year and is perhaps feeling frustrated with what I now call “Tour Creep”, or the natural ability of a Fleetwood Mac tour to go on endlessly, making money all the way, which is hard for the other band members to resist. The feeling she could be “trapped” in a successful tour, may be keeping her from her own future vision at a period of life when time is of the essence. After all, she is an artist first. Don’t bet against a new Fleetwood Mac album with Stevie on it, I still believe they will work things out and give history what it wants. This is just my opinion, and my opinion only and take full responsibility for the comments that shall surly follow.

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by editme2

I agree. I don't think a new Fleetwood Mac album will exactly burn up the charts, with or without Stevie's participation. That said, I do think that if the band tried to tour without Stevie, their ticket sales would drop considerably.

There's no doubt their ticket sales would drop. I'm not sure they'd drop considerably though. They may play less concerts and may downsize a bit but they'll hardly be playing in the back rooms of dingy bars (and so what if they did, that would be great). The majority that attend FM concerts are casual fans that only have a basic knowledge of the band (they'll probably own Rumours & Greatest Hits and/or Very Best of). I think a lot would still get tickets without having slightest idea she'd even left and still come away happy hearing all the familiar hits from Christine. The majority of die hard fans would still attend (and many may be even more likely to attend future concerts with the prospect of a varied new set list). I for one would be so excited by the prospect of hearing Isn't It Midnight, Why, Brown Eyes, Got a Hold on Me, Just Crazy Love...etc.
Bring it on (Jeez, I'm actually getting excited about something thats probably never even going to happen)

[BlueDenimLamp]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

so out of curiosity I posted a question about this to Dashut when this first came up. He's just gotten to answering it, and despite his earlier protestations that the current tour was NOT all about money, he seems to finally admit the cash grab is indeed a big motivator for much of the band:

Anonymous: Stevie seems to have her knickers in a knot about doing another Fleetwood Mac album after the current tour. She says she can't say whether she will "feel like" doing an album with them when the tour is over or not. What do you make of this? Body language on tour lately seems to indicate some friction between her and Lindsey. (Despite their professionalism, they're human and emotions do show). They were all about how they'd finally resolved differences last tour. WTF do u think is going on??

Dashut: I haven’t seen any of the recent shows lately so assuming what you are saying is correct, (because I have heard this from many others who have seen the show now) I believe we could be seeing signs of conflicting schedules in the future. I know Stevie has a busy solo career going on with her popularity seemingly greater than ever. She probably has many opportunities on her own in the new year and is perhaps feeling frustrated with what I now call “Tour Creep”, or the natural ability of a Fleetwood Mac tour to go on endlessly, making money all the way, which is hard for the other band members to resist. The feeling she could be “trapped” in a successful tour, may be keeping her from her own future vision at a period of life when time is of the essence. After all, she is an artist first. Don’t bet against a new Fleetwood Mac album with Stevie on it, I still believe they will work things out and give history what it wants. This is just my opinion, and my opinion only and take full responsibility for the comments that shall surly follow.

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

Could be that Stevie has not said she's on board with recording is because she knows Mick will probably want to extend the tour into 2016 so they can promote the new album...She's already committed to 3 years of FM and changed her recording schedule to accommodate the band...She simply might want time off...

As I posted earlier...I wonder if this is closer to the reason behind her reluctance to commit to another FM project maybe it has a little less to do with LB and more to do with the never ending FM plans..Let Stevie take 2 years off then FM can come back in 2018 with a final album from the five as well as a farewell tour...

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

She does if she chooses to remain in the band.

No. She can tour with them, and they can do albums without her. The exact opposite option should have been offered to Christine when she left. She even offered to record and was denied. That should have been a lesson to everyone.

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

"Many, many times over"? I could almost get behind that, except that Christine had the most hits with Fleetwood Mac. Just sticking with this particular line-up, Christine and Lindsey had bigger hits off of their last studio album than Stevie (who really didn't even write that song), and that was when Stevie still had hit singles off of successful solo albums. So, no, she's always just been a part of a much bigger picture, and audiences know this, hence the bigger ticket prices, bigger venues, and second shows added in some some cities with the return of Christine, all just under a year of their last tour without Christine.

The number of hits aren't important. I don't want to downplay the successes of the other two song writers, but, Stevie's songs and stage persona have been the draw. It is absolutely undeniable, written about in nearly every single article about the band ever published, that Stevie is the Ace. She is the magnet that draws the insatiable appetites of fans who want more. Christine had more hits? Yes. Stevie has more charisma, and it's that charisma that sells tickets to a Fleetwood Mac show. Disagree if you'd like, but I'd call it denial. Go back in time to 1975, take Stevie out of the band, and assume Rhiannon never happened. Where would they all be now? Retired with a fifth of the fame and notoriety they have now. They certainly would not be touring sold out stadiums. The endless ticket selling drama of those two ex-lovers would never have existed had only one of them been in Fleetwood Mac.

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Why? This is a position she has had regarding the others for years. Remember when Stevie said on August 18, 1987 (the press conference announcing Billy Burnette and Rick Vito) something along the lines of "we could wait another five to ten years for Lindsey to come around, but we're trying to preserve the entity of Fleetwood Mac, which is bigger than Stevie Nicks or Lindsey Buckingham..." Remember when she said Christine couldn't record songs for SYW and not tour? It would be hypocritical to change that now.

People change. Situations change. Emotions change. Life changes. And it was Mick and Lindsey who said Christine had to tour or go home - that was not Stevie's decision. Stevie parroted it in interviews at the time. I didn't agree with it then, and I don't agree with it now.


Ultimately, as I've said, I want the fivesome. I want Stevie to get her issues sorted out. I want an album with all of them. But if Stevie can't decide or isn't sure, the others just need to confront her about it and *tell* her they are moving forward with the album, whether she's on board or not.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Well, ticket sales will drop drastically without Stevie. They might be cut in half. FM could still be viable, because I think they could put on a great show together as a foursome. But would it be profitable considering the expense?

Michele

I think half is optimistic. The first tour after Stevie? Sure. After that? I bet they'd be playing the same places in Denver that bands like Franz Ferdinand, and Fiona Apple are playing - old theatres with a 500 to 2500 seat capacity, maximum.

[BlueDenimLamp]

It does not matter who wants what or why because if they keep dragging their feet about making decisions and wasting time the "Grim Reaper" will make the decision for them...

[pauls90]

I honestly think the media would demonize her considerably. They would pit her against the band (Lindsey), and make it a big thing. I don't think she would want that publicity, but I could be wrong.

In the end, If she has some great ideas and songs up her sleeve than she needs to do what's best for that material.

But I'd rather have a great Fleetwood Mac album than ANOTHER tired, safe solo album with Dave Stewart that will sell at a mediocre level and not add anything worthwhile to her legacy.





But that's just me.

[BlueDenimLamp]

Originally Posted by pauls90

I honestly think the media would demonize her considerably. They would pit her against the band (Lindsey), and make it a big thing. I don't think she would want that publicity, but I could be wrong.

In the end, If she has some great ideas and songs up her sleeve than she needs to do what's best for that material.

But I'd rather have a great Fleetwood Mac album than ANOTHER tired, safe solo album with Dave Stewart that will sell at a mediocre level and not add anything worthwhile to her legacy.





But that's just me.

I don't think the media will be harsh on her if she parted ways with FM for good reason ( Standing up for her self from a creative point of view or not wanting to spend all her time on FM ) If she were being greedy and wanting a ridiculous amount of money then yes the press may play that up.

[James89]

Originally Posted by pauls90

I honestly think the media would demonize her considerably. They would pit her against the band (Lindsey), and make it a big thing. I don't think she would want that publicity, but I could be wrong.

In the end, If she has some great ideas and songs up her sleeve than she needs to do what's best for that material.

But I'd rather have a great Fleetwood Mac album than ANOTHER tired, safe solo album with Dave Stewart that will sell at a mediocre level and not add anything worthwhile to her legacy.





But that's just me.

And me.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by michelej1

She also said:

What's interesting, especially in the context of this discussion, is that she also said:

"I would just as soon not be the captain. I never liked being responsible for everything. Too much time is wasted handling problems that have nothing to do with music. Basically, I do not like being a businesswoman, which is what I have to be when I am on my own. Again, the only reason I started a solo career is because I wanted to do more of my songs. I will much rather work within Fleetwood Mac."

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

It does not matter who wants what or why because if they keep dragging their feet about making decisions and wasting time the "Grim Reaper" will make the decision for them...

Now that's a fact!

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Well, ticket sales will drop drastically without Stevie. They might be cut in half. FM could still be viable, because I think they could put on a great show together as a foursome. But would it be profitable considering the expense?

I think you underestimate the band's ability to function without Stevie, and I think you're basing it all on what happened with the Time band. That's a terrible parallel.

The better parallel is with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Even when Neil is gone, Crosby, Stills & Nash are still able to function as a viable band. Although, Stevie Nicks is nowhere near as important to Fleetwood Mac's popularity (ability to sell tickets) as Neil is to CSN(Y). Fleetwood Mac was bigger overall than CSNY, and Stevie's solo career pales in comparison to Neil Young's career, but then Neil is bigger than any band he's been in.

[jkmaletic]

Originally Posted by James89

And me.

Not me.

In Your Dreams and/or 24 Karat Gold trump anything on that God-awful EP they released. Talk about mediocre.

Jamie