5 worst decisions in Fleetwood Mac's career

[Mac Fan]

Originally posted by seteca
1. Letting Lindsey go in 1987 (I mean "let go" in any sense that you want it to mean...I'm not gonna start arguing about whether he left or "basically was fired".) If you watch the '92 OOTC Concert Video, it is clear that Lindsey was both musically and vocally at his aboslute peak. His voice was at that point where he could reach the "highs" of the Rumours-era, and could also reach the low ones he hit on The Dance. Imagine how incredible the equivalent(s) of the Behind The Mask and Time albums would have been if he was still at the helm.

2. Having the worst publicity any group/artist has ever had.

1. I think Lindsey should've stayed.
2. If they had more pubilicity, I personally think they'd be more popular in UK and would've done much better as well.

[Janet]

1. Making Tusk a double album and not doing one in 1979 and one in 1980.

2. Taking too long between Mirage and Tango. A 1985 record would have kept them closer and not allowed Lindsey to stray

3. Letting Lindsey go.

4. 1988-1997.

5. Taking way too long after the Dance and now putting out a GH album with no new songs

6....not appearing on the MTV music awards in 1997..could have really gotten a whole new crowd.

[Street_Dreamer]

1. Publicity: How many times do you see the Mac on tv? HARDLY EVER!!!!

2. Lack of props all around: Stevie is basically the face of Fleetwood Mac which isn't fair to the members of the Rumours era as well as all other members who have been in the band. Lindsey is the studio wizard, Chris is the writer of pop hits and Stevie is the mystical witch, all three should have garnered the same praise and attention, whether it be good or bad. Now Mick and John are different because they don't contribute as much musically to the band than those three.

3. Lack of information on ALL Eras of The Mac: How many fans know of the Peter Green era? The Bob Welch Era? The Rumours Era? The Behind The Mask Era? While the Rumours lineup is definately the favorite amongst fans (as well as myself) there isn't enough information about the other incarnations of the group (just watch the pitiful BTM of the Mac.) Most fans (unless they have visited this site and read the bios, or have read Mick's book :rollseyes: ) have no idea how the group progressed from the blues to mainstream rock/pop. Very few people know who Peter Green, Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan, Jeremy Spencer, Rick Vito, Billy Burnette, etc. are. That's why there needs to be a new BTM with interviews with as many Mac members as possible. Tell the story straight up (not glazed over like Mick's book) and give us information about the people who have come to be apart of the Mac family. No punches pulled!

4. Solo Work and Breaks: Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Lindsey's/Christine's/Stevie's solo albums but the time in between albums for the group is just way too long. '79 to '82 to '87 doesn't cut it.

5. The Time "Debacle": The whole Time lineup probably shouldn't have happened. I have NOTHING against Billy, Bekka and Dave Mason, nor do I hold a grudge with John or Mick with their decision, but it shouldn't have happened. Fans wanted Lindsey, Stevie and Christine not these guys. Unfortunately, (at least in my eyes) for Bekka, she got a lot of crap because she had to do Stevie's songs, which had to be hard at times for her, because she wasn't in her own world, she was in somebody else's.

Matt

[wondergirl9847]

I agree with everything...the lack of publicity, not enough albums being made (AND not enough LINDSEY SOLO ALBUMS!!!!!!!), not changing the set lists very much, etc...

Also, I agree that Lindsey's songs MAKE Tusk!! I mean, Beautiful Child is my fave song from Tusk but without Lindsey's songs, there's no quirkiness to it, which is what I LOVE about him so much!! His songs give the album a mystery, a whisp (whatever the heck that means! LMAO!!) and an edge. Rumours may be the most cohesive album, but Tusk makes you work at falling in love with it, which is something that makes an album interesting.

[Mac Fan]

Originally posted by Street_Dreamer
1. Publicity: How many times do you see the Mac on tv? HARDLY EVER!!!!

I've seen them once. That might be one of the reasons they haven't really done well in UK.

[estranged4life]

I'll try to keep this simple & short:

1.Too much time between studio albums (Seems they're competing with the likes of Van Halen, Guns'N'Roses & Boston for that honor...)

2.Ignoring the past members contributions (There are some great tunes in the back catalog, I would like to hear a few more of them in concert.)

3.Too many compilations (ie-Boxed set) and NOT enough studio albums.

4.Tours that dont last 12-15 months like they used to in the past, But last only 40 dates and don't cover the WHOLE world (Right my buddies over the other side of the ocean???)...WAY too short

5.What happened to the "Penguin" as a "sort-of mascot"? He's somewhere "out there" holding a sign up, (On his lil' iceberg in the Artic) that reads "I fell on hard times, Will work as a mascot for food, or money...Hell, Put me on an album cover"...lol...Brian J.

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by estranged4life
What happened to the "Penguin" as a "sort-of mascot"? He's somewhere "out there" holding a sign up, (On his lil' iceberg in the Artic) that reads "I fell on hard times, Will work as a mascot for food, or money...Hell, Put me on an album cover"...lol...Brian J.

I heard he's been too busy running a fan web site.

RESCIND THE STRIKE!!!

[estranged4life]

he has been busy...lol...That seemed to have skipped my mine at the time I typed that, Brian

[Johnny Stew]

And I'll be the loan voice of dissention, and say that I don't think Fleetwood Mac has made any bad decisions... because all roads lead to where they are today, and the batch of new music that will be coming our way in 2003.

Change one single thing over the course of the past 35 years, and there might not even be a Fleetwood Mac anymore.

"Fate Decides"... thanks, Bob.


Johnny Stew

Originally posted by seteca
3. Releasing about half of the amount of albums that they SHOULD have done in a 35 year career. And it's their post-blues line-ups which are to blame. They have 18 studio albums. ELEVEN of them were released between '68 and '74. Between '75 and '87 only five were released....that's pretty poor. And between '87 and '95 two were released....that's just pathetic.

4. Not playing "Oh Well"...a signature FM tune, on The Dance.

and here's a bold 5th statement...

However (regarding #3)...Look at the popularity and longevity they gained from those 5 albums ('75-'97)...even if FM had known no other incarnations than the Rumours one they still would have been successful...the '75-'82 years saw new records every two years which is pretty acceptable compared to every five years like the '87-current period!!!

#4...i agree completely! And, i've said this before (and probably will be shot) but FM sucks at recognizing their earlier roots in concert these days...They could throw a few others in too. I personally don't find it necessary to hear "Stand Back" at a FM concert. I never thought it worked for them.

Originally posted by estranged4life
5.What happened to the "Penguin" as a "sort-of mascot"? He's somewhere "out there" holding a sign up, (On his lil' iceberg in the Artic) that reads "I fell on hard times, Will work as a mascot for food, or money...Hell, Put me on an album cover"...lol...Brian J.

haha!!!! Love it!!! Poor bird!~ Someone needs to draw one on a poster and hold it up at the next show!~

[The Tower]

#1) The lack of live set-list variety. So many great songs, and most of them are recorded and then never heard from again. I had enough of "Dreams", "Rhiannon", and "Go Your Own Way" to last the rest of my life....

#2) Allowing dissention and other differences to limit the amount of material they have released. I've heard all the "vinyl limits the amount of music we can put out" stuff- but there were soooo many discarded great songs that should have been the 12th, 13th, or 14th song on each album released.

#3) The whole Time-era thing just wasn't a great idea. I think Mick tarnished the FM name. Better to not release material than to release weak material. I just listened to that album the other day and it's just not very good. Oh, well....

#4) Ignoring the past. I really liked the Buckingham Nicks interpretations of "The Green Manalishi", "Hypnotized" and, especially, "Why". When Billy and Rick joined the group they obviously decided to take back some of their past. However, I wish they would mine some more of the obscure, great, old material to play live. I guess this one kind of coincides with my #1.

#5) I don't think I have a number five....

[The Tower]

I DO have a number five....

#5) "The Chain" box set was the biggest let down EVER! With all the outtakes, unreleased material, and demos that FM/SN/LB have out there they could have done a much better service to their fans. Who gives a **** about some alternate mix of "Gold Dust Woman" when they could have given us "The Dealer"????

JEEZ!

[wondergirl9847]

The Chain box set blew a bit...I did love the pre-BN era songs like Trinity and stuff, but a live version of Stand Back?? WHA? They can't put Go Insane on the Dance, but they put SB on this box set? I'm confused. Anywho, yeah, that whole thing was not well thought out.