Who are the most talented members of Fleetwood Mac?

[chiliD]

Just to paraphrase something I read about Stevie a long time ago:


"All women want to BE her, all men want to be WITH her."

With the exception of "gender preference" which would toss it into "vice versa" mode, I think it sums it up.

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by bjk3047
It seems discussion has been sucked out of the proceedings and have become a giant version of the movie "High Fidelity". Brian

Hey, great movie by the way.

Brian, I think we should come up with some worthy topics of discussion. Forget the To 10 crap. Let's think up some good topics and drive away the drivel.

[The Tower]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
"Well hey now, hold on a minute. I agree with a lot of what you said, but 'Her voice is shot?'"

I honestly did not mean that as a cheap shot. I accept that most folks around here still love (or like) her voice. But in my opinion, when you compare it to the voice that recorded Landslide, Dreams and Sara, it is shot.

I think her voice has aged, but by all means it's not shot. With very few exceptions Stevie can still hit all the high notes she hit in the 70's and 80's (when she feels like it, obviously).

On record, listen to "Planets of the Universe" or "Fall From Grace"- she's as vibrant as ever.

Live, listen to "Silver Springs" from The Dance OR anyone who saw the Enchanted tour knows she kicked ass on "Sleeping Angel".

[celestenadia]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the question was who ARE the most
talented members of FM?... That is PRESENT tense! And that would have
to be their current line-up, if the new record ever sees the light of day
At any rate, I feel that the legacy of FM is that ALL their members past
or present have been talented...But I hate to admit it, Mick Fleetwood
is the most talented, and when the word talented was asked, was it
musically,business-wise,VIBE wise??? Because Mick IS the vibe of
Fleetwood Mac...Even at his worst/chemical ridden I think he's
ALWAYS had a vision and a plan... He's been very talented
at never breaking the chain...

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by celestenadia
I hate to admit it, Mick Fleetwood is the most talented, and when the word talented was asked, was it musically,business-wise,VIBE wise??? Because Mick IS the vibe of Fleetwood Mac...Even at his worst/chemical ridden I think he's
ALWAYS had a vision and a plan

Mick is a good drummer, but saying he has vision is giving him too much credit. If that were the case, the band lineups that followed Lindsey's departure would have been successful. In fact, there would have been no need for TWO lineups because the first one would have worked. And while he is a good drummer that delivers a nice steady beat, he is hardly the most talented band member. From what I understand he often has to painstakingly practice his parts and there are at least two infamous instances in which he simply could not replicate what he did originally: the cowbell in Oh Well and the drumming in the song Tusk.

Still, I would not take anything away from him as a drummer. I love his work and I think the chemistry between him and John is unequaled. When you throw Lindsey, the true visionary in the band setting, into the mix, the resulting chemistry is red hot. If you really think about it, these three guys should ditch the others and tour as a trio. That would be rocking!

[bjk3047]

Well yes, the post BN lineups weren't as that successful, but the public can be blamed for a lot of that. In my opinion, both the BTM and Time bands were QUITE talented and put on a great live show. However, they weren't praised because they didn't have the "Fleetwood Mac" sound. Well DUH! It's a completely different set of people! I think Mick did a hell of a job recruiting.
-Brian
P.S. If you listen to Tusk and Mirage shows, Mick handles Tusk just fine. What was I missing?

[jmn3]

Originally posted by bjk3047

P.S. If you listen to Tusk and Mirage shows, Mick handles Tusk just fine. What was I missing?

I don't know Brian, I thought the same thing. I've always thought that one thing that remained constant in the band was the rhythm section. And I've never heard a Mick-screwed-up version of Tusk from any tour.

[chiliD]

I'm not a mind-reader, but from all the things I've read over the years, I think what CarneVaca was getting at was that Mick had to actually sit down, listen to what was on tape and really WORK to relearn both the cowbell break on "Oh Well" and the basic beat of "Tusk" before they could even begin to rehearse the songs. Of COURSE, by the time they got to the public stage, Mick had a firm grasp on both tunes again.

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by chiliD
I think what CarneVaca was getting at was that Mick had to actually sit down, listen to what was on tape and really WORK to relearn both the cowbell break on "Oh Well" and the basic beat of "Tusk" before they could even begin to rehearse the songs. Of COURSE, by the time they got to the public stage, Mick had a firm grasp on both tunes again.

Exactly right. I just got a huge kick out of those stories. Being a bit of a hack on the guitar, I just know how frustrating it is when you play something and then can't replicate it. I record some of my own stuff just for kicks, and talk about getting frustrated when you lay down a lick, screw up the last note and then can't do any of it again no matter how hard you try.

So knowing that even very accomplished musicians go through this struck me as funny. Of course, Mick is as close to flawless on stage as you can be. So I'm sure he works very hard at it.

[Skylark]

All Men want to Be Lindsey...all Women want to be With Lindsey!
ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME !!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Great Thread! How wonderfull to feel passion for a favorite artist!

My choices are:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

My choice---most talented---Christine a college trained musician!
My choice--- a very talented lay-musician I admire---Liddy Buck!!!!
My choice--- a cute little twirling Gypsy Singer---Stevie Nicks!!!
My choice--- a grand rythm section---Mick and John fer' sure!!!
My choice---a great old Come-back Band---The Mac over & over!

As has been said--- This band is made up of --- CHEMISTRY!!!
It is the sum of all its parts !!!{ loosley quoting here!} Luv, Sky

[tuigirl]

...I was reading the posts, but just found it funny how All you guys get your knickers in a twist over a woman!!!! how come your'e not debating the talent difference between Mick and John, or say Christine and Stevie???? Each member has their own unique talent, all of which makes up our fav group (and YES, us woman do like things to be simple and uncomplicated... )

[Keith]

what a loaded question, but I'll keep my answers simple.

1. Lindsey because of the masterpiece, Tusk!

2. My favorite member - Stevie. I was given the white album for Christmas in 1976 - I only knew of FM due to the fact that they had a slot in the record bin at Wal-Mart. I remember looking at their covers and thinking they probably sounded like Uriah Heep. Money was tight in my family back then, so I couldn't afford to buy it. But my little sister Kelly gave it to me for Christmas, and I stayed up all night, listening to the vinyl record with my headphones, and falling in love with this band. It's wasn't about Stevie's persona or anything, because I actually confused her and Christine in the bathroom photo. It was her voice and those 3 songs - Rhiannon, Crystal, and Landslide.

3. Christine - Her voice is silk and her songs are beautiful. Christine would be the one member that I would love to hang out at a pub with. Drinking beer and shooting the breeze. She seems real.

4. Mick Fleetwood - I loved his book! And he kept the rhythm grooving. My cousin, who is a drummer, always called Mick's drumming as off-beat. Not for sure what he meant, but he said it was a compliment.

5. John McVie - because he's John.

Musically, Peter Green, Bob Welch, and Danny Kirwan maybe be more talented - but it's really the incarnation above that I fell in love with and so I have to give them the kudos. I'm not much into knowing who is better - but loved reading this thread... and wanted to give my thoughts.

p.s. Johnny Stew - love reading your posts! Thanks.

[jwd]

Posted by CarneVaca: If you really think about it, these three guys should ditch the others and tour as a trio.

Then you and a FEW thousand of your closest friends can go see them!


Joe

[WhiteWingedOne]

Originally posted by chiliD


Equally obnoxious are those who claim heresy upon those who don't fall to our knees and worship "all things Nicks".

Oh I agree wholeheartedly! Stevie Nicks CANNOT play a piano and whoever wrote that first needs to see some interviews and/or watch her Storytellers to clear up any ideas she CAN. She was never trained and can only bang out chords. Not many of them, either! Take the oven mitts off before you sit down Stevie! And I hate to admit this, but if you watch her real good on that tamburine, she can't stay in beat with that either. Best wishes, <>

[bjk3047]

Originally posted by tuigirl
...I was reading the posts, but just found it funny how All you guys get your knickers in a twist over a woman!!!! how come your'e not debating the talent difference between Mick and John, or say Christine and Stevie???? Each member has their own unique talent, all of which makes up our fav group (and YES, us woman do like things to be simple and uncomplicated... )

The reason we're not debating about them has nothing to do with their gender (or else we WOULD be talking about Christine). You're making this into a sex issue when it has absolutely nothing to do with it. The simple truth is that "all of us" were arguing about Stevie's talent because it's debatable as to whether she *has* talent anymore. She doesn't play an instrument (and don't give me "the piano", she fools around on the piano) and her voice is not what it used to be. Since none of us felt the need to question the others' talent, we stuck with Stevie.
This reminds me of a situation where there are 4 white guys and one black guy in an office. The black guy slacks off and doesn't do his job so he's fired. Then he turns around and sues for discrimination. Hey buddy, this has nothing to do with discrimination, you weren't doing your job!!
-Brian