Neil Finn: New video interview for Variety

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by secondhandchain

The fact that they are going to make new music is such a slap in the face to Lindsey. F all of them!

“It feels like they're up for it. They're really hungry to make new music, they're hungry to be as good a band as they can possibly be and above all, they're hungry to have fun."

The fact is making music with Lindsey wasn’t fun for Stevie and by agreeing to release a Fleetwood Mac album as LBCM and play along with the whole duet album thing last year, Lindsey accepted on some level that any project credited to Fleetwood Mac would have to have Stevie’s participation, and Stevie’s made it clear that she won’t make a new album with him.

[secondhandchain]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

“It feels like they're up for it. They're really hungry to make new music, they're hungry to be as good a band as they can possibly be and above all, they're hungry to have fun."

The fact is making music with Lindsey wasn’t fun for Stevie and by agreeing to release a Fleetwood Mac album as LBCM and play along with the whole duet album thing last year, Lindsey accepted on some level that any project credited to Fleetwood Mac would have to have Stevie’s participation, and Stevie’s made it clear that she won’t make a new album with him.

With who? The man who wouldn't join FM unless she was included? The man who produced songs like Gypsy? That man? Can't stand that OLD GOAT.

[dreamsunwind]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

“It feels like they're up for it. They're really hungry to make new music, they're hungry to be as good a band as they can possibly be and above all, they're hungry to have fun."

The fact is making music with Lindsey wasn’t fun for Stevie and by agreeing to release a Fleetwood Mac album as LBCM and play along with the whole duet album thing last year, Lindsey accepted on some level that any project credited to Fleetwood Mac would have to have Stevie’s participation, and Stevie’s made it clear that she won’t make a new album with him.

Except for Dave Stewart with IYD (and who knows how that's changed since she hasn't said a word about him since 24KG and it seems as if their working relationship is dunzo), Stevie practically never has fun making music with anyone. She's clashed/fallen out with almost all of her producers and has complained about other people she's worked with. Jimmy Iovine, Rick Nowels, Keith Olsen, whatever went down with Rupert Hine, Glyn Johns etc etc. She called Kenny Loggins a slave driver, Lindsey an ayatollah, she even complained about Don Henley. I even heard an old Lindsey interview where he was talking about working with Stevie on her IYD album and he talked about how she was happy during that record and she hadn't been happy on her last solo records, which means she probably wasn't even too thrilled with her bestie Sheryl! But the thing about all of those people is that Stevie could choose to work with Don or Kenny and she had the power to fire her producers/they had the ability to walk away from the project (both of which happened). But she could never do that with Lindsey since he was a member of the band too-- and he was the member who got most of the work done-- so she had to stay working with him for years because she didn't have the power/ability to fire him. Until now it seems.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by secondhandchain

With who? The man who wouldn't join FM unless she was included? The man who produced songs like Gypsy? That man? Can't stand that OLD GOAT.

Again, look at my signature. THAT should be the current lineup.

It’s not.

Lindsey even gave up on it and ultimately made a Fleetwood Mac album that wasn’t credited to Fleetwood Mac.

Stevie should have been gone a while ago. It didn’t happen, it won’t happen, and the band is playing on with her, without Lindsey, and with good artists. That’s the reality, and it could be worse, at least from the perspective of the band ‘67 to today.

Originally Posted by dreamsunwind

Stevie practically never has fun making music with anyone. She's clashed/fallen out with almost all of her producers and has complained about other people she's worked with.

I’ve certainly never credited her with being a professional. She’s a brilliant backing vocalist, but I don’t think she works well with anyone who sees her less than a legend on par with, let’s say Bob Dylan.

But she could never do that with Lindsey since he was a member of the band too-- and he was the member who got most of the work done-- so she had to stay working with him for years because she didn't have the power/ability to fire him. Until now it seems.

And, by calling it LBCM instead of Fleetwood Mac and saying it just felt like a duet album, he gave her that power.

[dreamsunwind]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

And, by calling it LBCM instead of Fleetwood Mac and saying it just felt like a duet album, he gave her that power.

Lol Lindsey wasn't the one that gave her that power. Stevie earned it herself through her popularity and had it sealed in the post-Dance era. After that point in time, there's no record company/promoter/manager/anything that would support a 'Fleetwood Mac' anything if Stevie was choosing to sit it out. I'm pretty sure that if Lindsey was able to call it Fleetwood Mac he would have. But that just was never going to happen and anyone who genuinely thought that was possible is delusional. Mick crying to the press about his band being totally dead because Stevie was obsessed with her solo career and didn't want to tour in 2012 should've made that very clear. You can make a case for Lindsey going along with the 'this was never supposed to be a FM album' thing in the press but by then it was already done anyways and that was just probably so they wouldn't get too many questions that would leave them on tricky territory. If you listen to the full audio of the Rolling Stone interview, at the end of it the interviewers are talking to each other, one of them very directly says that the last time he talked to Lindsey, Lindsey had said he wants to do a Fleetwood Mac album but Stevie is holding it up because she doesn't.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by dreamsunwind

Lol Lindsey wasn't the one that gave her that power. Stevie earned it herself through her popularity and had it sealed in the post-Dance era.

Yes, she completely earned being a successful artist outside of Fleetwood Mac all on her own. It’s not like she sang on a hugely successful duet with Kenny Loggins. And, apparently we’re supposed to forget that her first “solo” hit was a TPATH song she overdubed herself on, followed up with a duet with Don Henley. But, it’s all Stevie.

And, it’s not like Christine wasn’t retired for the better part of a generation, but we’re not supposed to talk about that, either, right? We’re totally supposed to forget that the 2014-15 tour was bigger than the 2013 tour, right?

Christine and Lindsey didn’t focus so much on being seen as entities outside of Fleetwood Mac. Why would they? Christine had the lion’s share of hit singles.

After that point in time, there's no record company/promoter/manager/anything that would support a 'Fleetwood Mac' anything if Stevie was choosing to sit it out.

Yes, Atlantic would much rather have released LBCM than a Fleetwood Mac album that featured 4/5 of the classic lineup, including the band’s primary hit writer.

I'm pretty sure that if Lindsey was able to call it Fleetwood Mac he would have.

I don’t disagree. But if we’re being puritanical, he should have just quit and gone his own way if it wasn’t going to be credited to Fleetwood Mac. Really, he isn’t any further along right now.

lMick crying to the press about his band being totally dead because Stevie was obsessed with her solo career and didn't want to tour in 2012 should've made that very clear.

Except that Christine, who had half of Fleetwood Mac’s top 40 hits, and 3/5 of their top 5, was still retired at that point. When she came back, all bets should have been off.

You can make a case for Lindsey going along with the 'this was never supposed to be a FM album' thing in the press but by then it was already done anyways and that was just probably so they wouldn't get too many questions that would leave them on tricky territory.

Completely agree. Doesn’t make it right, or ultimately beneficial to him. What did he gain by not simply being honest? LBCM suffered by not being credited to (rightfully) Fleetwood Mac, and Lindsey still got fired though he never called out Stevie during the pressers. Someone, ultimately Mick, but probably with the input of lawyers and industry types, discouraged it, and Lindsey lost a little credibility as a result.

If you listen to the full audio of the Rolling Stone interview, at the end of it the interviewers are talking to each other, one of them very directly says that the last time he talked to Lindsey, Lindsey had said he wants to do a Fleetwood Mac album but Stevie is holding it up because she doesn't.

He said something about grabbing the bag of money and running, too.

[dreamsunwind]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Yes, she completely earned being a successful artist outside of Fleetwood Mac all on her own. It’s not like she sang on a hugely successful duet with Kenny Loggins. And, apparently we’re supposed to forget that her first “solo” hit was a TPATH song she overdubed herself on, followed up with a duet with Don Henley. But, it’s all Stevie.

And, it’s not like Christine wasn’t retired for the better part of a generation, but we’re not supposed to talk about that, either, right? We’re totally supposed to forget that the 2014-15 tour was bigger than the 2013 tour, right?

Christine and Lindsey didn’t focus so much on being seen as entities outside of Fleetwood Mac. Why would they? Christine had the lion’s share of hit singles.



Yes, Atlantic would much rather have released LBCM than a Fleetwood Mac album that featured 4/5 of the classic lineup, including the band’s primary hit writer.



I don’t disagree. But if we’re being puritanical, he should have just quit and gone his own way if it wasn’t going to be credited to Fleetwood Mac. Really, he isn’t any further along right now.



Except that Christine, who had half of Fleetwood Mac’s top 40 hits, and 3/5 of their top 5, was still retired at that point. When she came back, all bets should have been off.



Completely agree. Doesn’t make it right, or ultimately beneficial to him. What did he gain by not simply being honest? LBCM suffered by not being credited to (rightfully) Fleetwood Mac, and Lindsey still got fired though he never called out Stevie during the pressers. Someone, ultimately Mick, but probably with the input of lawyers and industry types, discouraged it, and Lindsey lost a little credibility as a result.



He said something about grabbing the bag of money and running, too.

I dont know how to quote all of this separately and I'm really tired of posts like this but anyways:
First of all I wasn't making a statement about how Stevie became so popular. Just that she did become that popular, more so than the other members and she is. She by far had the most successful solo career and to most people, she's the main 'recognizable' person that represents Fleetwood Mac. I'm not even saying that I think that's how it should be, but it is and that's why she has power. Because she puts butts in seats more than any other member. Christine coming back obviously was a great thing for lots of people which helped make the last tour such a hit. But the tours without her also did very well. A FM tour without Stevie would not sell that way. That's why promoters were willing to axe Lindsey if it meant making Stevie stay. Because they can do okay with another member gone again and they did in the past, but they won't sell they way they want without Stevie.

And yes they absolutely would lol. All a record company will think about when they imagine an FM album without Stevie is the people who won't buy it and the people who would if it did have Stevie. Because for all those casual fans, when they see an album titled under 'Fleetwood Mac' and they don't see Stevie, they're going to be confused because to them Stevie is like the Mick Jagger of FM. They wouldn't buy a Rolling Stones album without Mick and so they won't buy a FM album without Stevie. But an LB/Chris duet isn't called Fleetwood Mac. It doesn't have that problem. It's going to have a very similar buying group and probably sell less yes, but in the end, they don't have to worry about 'This Fleetwood Mac album would've sold way better had Stevie been on it', because they didn't call it Fleetwood Mac and didn't market it as FM either-- probably a big part of why they kept repeating over and over the 'this was never supposed to be a FM album' line.

And I totally disagree that Lindsey should've just quit the band lol. He's given so much of his life to that band, while he was no doubt frustrated about how things were going, he's like 70 years old and to have left at the point would've just 'tarnished the legacy' as he said. But maybe had he known that he'd get kicked out and it would be tarnished in a much worse way anyways, he might have. Who knows. That's a big 'what if'.

And Lindsey was talking about the Classics shows when he said that. I'm not sure what that has to do with any of this. There's a pretty big difference between those shows and an album. Those shows got a lot of bad reviews all of which basically said 'this feels like an oldies cash grab' so it's really not a surprise Lindsey wasn't happy during them. I was actually surprised when I saw how many negative reviews the whole thing got. But it's not like he's gonna quit his damn band over two shows. Hence why he just said, referring to that situation, take the money and go. But that comment from the RS interviewers shows he wasn't exactly hiding the fact that he did want an album and Stevie was blocking it.

[aleuzzi]

If you type "Fleetwood Mac" into Google and then do a "news" search, the only new information that comes up is Neil-Finn based. Little bits of him saying the same thing over and over about the surprise of getting the call. These micro-stories are trickling in alongside news of HIS upcoming album.

Ironically, FM appears to be on complete hiatus until Finn has worked out his solo commitments, etc. So, no touring, no new music, no stories, no clarifications, no side collaborations (ie: LBCM 2)--instead, these aging people are languishing through yet another year without much momentum or new work.

The most disappointing part of all this for me is Christine's silence. When she reemerged from retirement, she claimed to have "dozens" of songs, a claim backed also by Fleetwood and Nicks. Well, the first LBCM was delightful. But, ultimately, I'd really like to hear 10-12 new Christine songs on a single album before, well, she gets too old to record or dies. How else could I say this politely?

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by dreamsunwind

Stevie...by far had the most successful solo career and to most people, she's the main 'recognizable' person that represents Fleetwood Mac.

BECAUSE SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO SOUGHT A VIABLE SOLO CAREER!!! Why would Christine invest energy on a solo CAREER when she already had seven top 40 singles with Fleetwood Mac, an entity she was much more invested in and much more successful in as a songwriter than was Stevie?

Christine coming back obviously was a great thing for lots of people which helped make the last tour such a hit. But the tours without her also did very well.

But not as well with the tours WITH her. Ticket prices and butts in seats say otherwise. I remember hearing how a tour WITH Christine so soon after a tour without Christine would completely bomb. Didn’t happen, and was quite the opposite.

A FM tour without Stevie would not sell that way.

Not suggesting otherwise. It WOULD have done better than LBCM, though.

That's why promoters were willing to axe Lindsey if it meant making Stevie stay. Because they can do okay with another member gone again and they did in the past, but they won't sell they way they want without Stevie.

Yes. Who do promoters want, the big name or the guy who only had three hits with the band? Duh.

And yes they absolutely would lol. All a record company will think about when they imagine an FM album without Stevie is the people who won't buy it and the people who would if it did have Stevie.

You clearly know nothing about branding. Fleetwood Mac is a brand. The most recognizable voice with most of that brand’s best known songs is Christine McVie. She had half of their top-40, and three of their top-5, two being actual duets with Lindsey and the other “Little Lies,” so this notion that Atlantic world rather release LBCM over FM is completely laughable. Eighty percent of the band and eighty percent of the voices of eighty percent of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits did an album together. Sure, let’s call it something else. Because people are willing to give something new a try. And, if Stevie’s right and people don’t buy albums anymore, why would it really matter?

Stevie is like the Mick Jagger of FM. They wouldn't buy a Rolling Stones album without Mick and so they won't buy a FM album without Stevie.

LOL!!! Mick sang like all but a few RS songs. Stevie didn’t even have the most hit singles with Fleetwood Mac, not by a long shot. That analogy is a complete fail. If anything, she’s the Neil Young of CSNY. Now, CSN is still a viable entity without Neil, just not AS viable.

but in the end, they don't have to worry about 'This Fleetwood Mac album would've sold way better had Stevie been on it', because they didn't call it Fleetwood Mac and didn't market it as FM either-- probably a big part of why they kept repeating over and over the 'this was never supposed to be a FM album' line.

Sure. Because Fleetwood Mac never released an album without an active, principle member of the band before. Let’s just jam out to Jeremy’s songs on “Then Play On.” Oh, wait…

And I totally disagree that Lindsey should've just quit the band lol. He's given so much of his life to that band, while he was no doubt frustrated about how things were going, he's like 70 years old and to have left at the point would've just 'tarnished the legacy' as he said.

Not his legacy. He could have just said he refused to compromise. If it wasn’t going to be Fleetwood Mac, ESPECIALLY after all he had done, he was done. EFF a bunch of that!

And Lindsey was talking about the Classics shows when he said that. I'm not sure what that has to do with any of this.

Really? Promoters (including his now ex-manager) are trying to sell overpriced tickets for a crappy knock-off festival and one of the artists kind of takes a verbal dump on it, saying it’s only about the money, and then plays the show accordingly (per reviews), and you don’t get it?

By agreeing to settle for calling a Fleetwood Mac album something other than Fleetwood Mac, by talking down upcoming Fleetwood Mac shows, by giving less than stellar performance at what had to be Fleetwood Mac’s biggest paydays of the year, and by suggesting a concurrent solo tour, Lindsey had already given up on Fleetwood Mac.