Band Interview, December 1988

[michelej1]

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, December 25, 1988


Section: TEMPO \

REGROUPED AGAIN
FLEETWOOD MAC MAKES CHANGE A ROUTINE

David Silverman, Entertainment writer.

Signing on with Fleetwood Mac has become rock music`s equivalent of being named manager of the New York Yankees: It`s a great job, but stability isn`t
among the perks.

During the 20 years since British drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarists
Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer formed the group, there have been nine
guitarists, four bassists, a half-dozen assorted musicians and vocalists, two failed marriages, one failed love affair and more reunions than in the King
Family.

One would think that success, to the tune of 40 million albums, would
settle things down a bit.

Think again.

The faces of Fleetwood Mac are changing, and one of rock`s most
successful groups finds itself in another transition.

``We`ve sometimes thought about installing a revolving door in the
studio,`` Fleetwood said, laughing off the turbulence that has plagued the
band for the last year.

``For this week, I think we`ve got everybody signed. I mean, I haven`t
heard today, but I`m guessing we`re all still in this. I don`t want to have to go through another year like 1987.``

Fleetwood Mac was only a couple of weeks into its 1987 North American
tour when guitarist Lindsey Buckingham met with the band at a hastily called
conference. During the brief encounter, Buckingham, a band member for a dozen years, announced that he was quitting the tour and the group.

Buckingham`s disputes within the band, especially with his former lover,
vocalist-songwriter Stevie Nicks, were well known. But no one believed he
would skip out in the middle of the tour.

``His heart wasn`t into it,`` Fleetwood said. ``But we thought he would
stick it out. There are easier ways to start a tour than to have your
guitarist walk out.

``But I give full credit to Lindsey for having the guts to be realistic
about it. He was very much a part of Fleetwood Mac. But I wouldn`t say his
talents are missed.

``He didn`t know how to make up his mind. The rest of the group had had
enough of waiting around when we finally went out on the road. We wanted a
decision; unfortunately, it came just after we started the tour.``

After auditioning a short list of available musicians, longtime studio
guitarist Rick Vito and Billy Burnette, a guitarist with Fleetwood`s side
group, the Zoo, were added and the tour continued.

A year later, the dust has settled and Fleetwood Mac is preparing to
shake off the past by saluting it. Its recently released greatest-hits
compilation (the group`s first) is a sampling of its most popular hits as well as two new tracks featuring Vito and Burnette-a tribute to the old, a segue
for the new.

``This album is a kind of purging for us,`` said Christine McVie. ``We
look at it as kind of cleaning the slate. It was also a good way to introduce people to the new band members while bidding a fond farewell to the music of
the past.

``If there is a message at all, it`s the fact the band is still going and we didn`t give up. It`s part of what we do and what we love.

``That`s what made it more difficult to lose a member of the group,
especially when he has been around for 12 years.

``We had two choices: Disband or go on without him. I think we`ve made
the right choice.``

And no one could have been happier with that choice than Rick Vito.
Vito, 39, had been bouncing around the music scene for about 20 years.
Although he had shared stages and studios with John Mayall, Bob Seeger,
Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, Vito never found a permanent home for his
music.

``I`ve moved around a lot, so I never thought much in terms of joining an established group,`` Vito said. ``But after I got off the phone with Mick, it seemed like there was some destiny stepping in. I just thought, `I`m going to be in Fleetwood Mac.` Not a bad job.``

With a new look, and two new voices, Fleetwood Mac is slowly getting back to work. McVie and ex-husband John McVie, Fleetwood, Nicks, Vito and Burnette are working on music and arrangements for a new album. Fleetwood said the
group will begin recording the LP in January for a late summer release.

``For the first time in a long while there is a real uncertainty about
Fleetwood Mac,`` Christine McVie said. ``The changes have been substantial, so we`re really unsure of what to expect from the new material.``

Fleetwood was as unsure about the future as Christine McVie but was
optimistic that the changes have breathed renewed life into the group.

``To be honest, we`re not sure how things are going to turn out. Who
knows, this new project could be a flop, and that would be the end of us. But we`ve been on that edge for years.

``As long as we can stay together long enough to finish the album, I
think we`ll be all right.``