Mick Fleetwood: Sunday Daily Express Columns

[michelej1]

http://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.u...reams-of-vinyl

Scottish Express, February 23, 2014 by Mick Fleetwood


Mick Fleetwood goes his own way: Dreams of vinyl

CALL me retro but I still love records. I have great memories of shopping for vinyl, playing amazing albums, listening to records with friends, trading music and discovering new sounds.

Records have always been a huge source of inspiration. To me there is nothing better than looking at the cover artwork, reading the liner notes and taking in the album’s entire experience.

The way they master music today, much of the integrity of the sound – the emotion and subtlety – is lost. Fleetwood Mac records have an organic sound that is more comfortable to the human ear. At least to mine!

I love listening. I am a great listener, although perhaps a few of my exes might not agree! But I repeat, I am a great listener. Being a drummer, I am well trained to listen. I am not playing a melody but listening to see where the beats come in, that is my skill. My hearing is sharp, acute, first rate.

When we were in the last phases of making the Rumours album, it dawned on the band that all that listening, playing, singing and writing, all that heartache and pain, time and poetry, was just sitting there on two reels of tape, totally vulnerable.

We realised that anything could happen to it. Of course, we never had a hard drive to back it up like you do now. It could all have been lost in an instant.

All kinds of what if? paranoia flooded our brains. What if there was an earthquake, a fire? What if a giant magnet came down from outer space and wiped out half of our reel? We made contingency plans and had copies made of the multi-tracks. Those we had locked up in a bank vault in Phoenix just to be safe.

We were like expectant parents with that album. We went so far as to accompany our “baby” to the “delivery room” and watched the first pressing of Rumours at the pressing plant. We stayed for hours, checking and rechecking to make sure the sound had kept its integrity.

We even hired an engineer whose only job was to watch over the quality of our sound. We were that protective.

My ears miss that analogue sound. Most people have no idea that what they are hearing on a daily basis is actually digital sound, or that digital sound has no sound waves, no high fidelity. All that compressing, in my opinion, takes a lot of the traditional dynamics out.

Fleetwood Mac released a full box set of vinyl recently and I know I am not alone in my fanatical audiophile ways. I just picked up a small, portable record player sold by Jack White’s Third Man Records. This record player actually has great sound.

I use it on the road so I can pacify my demanding ears and I have a lot of fun with it. At home I have a Thorens deck to play my beloved vinyl.

Did you know that you can actually play the gold ones, too? This, I discovered, after some hullaballoo in the late Seventies when people were complaining that their Rumours albums were not actually playing the album they had bought but a Frank Sinatra record instead.

I remember popping my gold record out of the frame to see what all the fuss was about. Sure enough, there was old Frankie Boy crooning away and my gold record spinning on the record player. Ironic after all the care we took at the pressing plant! I guess someone on the assembly line had gone to sleep on the job.

Of course Warner Brothers stopped the press but, hands down, I bet that Frank Sinatra/Fleetwood Mac album may be one of the most collectable we put out. Meet our precious baby, Frank. Isn’t he cute?

[sywlindseyfan]

Amazing read! This gives me hope that they will put their next album out on vinyl. How groundbreaking for Fleetwood Mac would that be? A new album on an album!!! For some reason I feel Stevie won't go along with this idea......

[SteveMacD]

I don't see why she would object. Vinyl has a loyal following. People go out of their way to get new music on vinyl, since it's usually done in limited quantities. It out-performs CD.

[shackin'up]

Still, the new batch of songs from the EP does NOT have that warmth he's talking about. Listen to your own latest work, you listener of listeners...

[BlueDenimLamp]

Originally Posted by sywlindseyfan

Amazing read! This gives me hope that they will put their next album out on vinyl. How groundbreaking for Fleetwood Mac would that be? A new album on an album!!! For some reason I feel Stevie won't go along with this idea.....

Dave Stewart recorded and put out a record on vinyl while in the middle of working on "In Your Dreams" with Stevie so I thought "IYD" would be on vinyl as well but no such luck...Stevie missed a great opportunity...

If Mick is feeling nostalgic and want's the bands next effort on vinyl then it should be an analog (No digital at all) project from start to finish like Vanessa Carlton did with her "Rabbits" album...With Dave and Vanessa both putting out vinyl on the "Razor & Tie" label (another reason for Stevie & FM to not stay with WB) in 2011 about the same time "IYD" came out you would have thought Stevie would have wanted to jump on the vinyl bandwagon...

[BlueDenimLamp]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

Still, the new batch of songs from the EP does NOT have that warmth he's talking about. Listen to your own latest work, you listener of listeners...

The "EP" lacks warmth because it was not recorded on 2" tape...You can't get that 70's album sound from Pro-tools...

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

The "EP" lacks warmth because it was not recorded on 2" tape...You can't get that 70's album sound from Pro-tools...

Completely agree. However, ProTools is the new industry standard. I mean, how many new songs on the radio sound like they were done on 2" tape? (Which is exactly why I don't listen to new music stations.)

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by BlueDenimLamp

The "EP" lacks warmth because it was not recorded on 2" tape...You can't get that 70's album sound from Pro-tools...

I'm not so sure it's a matter of Pro Tools, but instead a matter of production & mixing. I cite this example endlessly, but listen to the albums Ken Caillat produced for his daughter, Colbie. They have that classic warm, breezy, southern California sound the 70s Fleetwood Mac albums are known for. Fleetwood Mac's albums have suffered ever since they parted ways with Richard & Ken.

[kenzo]

As mentioned above, it's the recording engineering and production that really have the greatest effect on the "sound".

Vinyl and tape add imperfections and coloration. If that's what people enjoy, great... I like to salt my food, but I wouldn't want everything prepared with extra salt ahead of time.

[KarmaContestant]

A shame that Say You Will and In Your Dreams were not issued on vinyl. Maybe someday.

[michelej1]

[Ok, this is Mick's second column for the Scottish Daily Express. I am going to dress like Mick for the next FM column. I will get a big colorful scarf and a white hat and a vest.]

http://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.u...Custom-fashion

Mick Fleetwood Goes His Own Way: Custom fashion, March 2, 2014 by Mick Fleetwood

IT'S NOT exactly breaking news, my many dalliances with addiction in my life, but one hasn't been well-documented, and that's my absolute love of fashion.

Not so much fashion per se, rather my personal pursuit of theatrical self-expression through my clothes and what I present to the world.

Here's a riddle for you: What can a broke, 18-year-old, 6ft 6in beanpole find to wear in a ready-made shop? Answer? Absolutely nothing. I was left to scour the markets, usually ending up at the Army and Navy surplus store.

Then I met Rod Stewart and the incredible blues artist Long John Baldry who, incidentally, was 6ft 7in. Imagine my initial envy, seeing this tall man in garb I'd only dreamt of.

I played with Rod for two years and I attribute much of my fashion savvy to him and John. Not only were they renowned for their style, they shared their secrets, showing me the ways of bespoke tailoring on the cheap in London's East End.

I saved up for one thing that fit properly - a pair of trousers, a shirt - at a time. I was hooked. Finally, I had clothes that fit.

Then I acquired a bolt of Levi's denim (fallen off the back of a lorry) and had my first pair of jeans tailor-made. I thought I was in heaven. They were my prized possession until my poor mum washed them and then put them in the dryer.

She actually cried when she saw how distraught I was. I spent the entire day on the verge of tears, lying in the bath, trying to stretch them back to their original size, to no avail.

I still love having my jeans tailor-made (at The Stronghold in Venice, California) but trust me, I'm a stickler for pre-washed, pre-dried denim.

I really wanted a costume that stood out when I played gigs.

It had to be original, not too hot to play in and cheap.

I still had my school gym kit and fencing gear. I wore the knickerbockers, tore the sleeves off the jacket to make a waistcoat, put my gym shoes on.

That was the start of my stage costume, captured on the iconic Rumours cover, and I've worn some version of that ever since.

In the early days of Fleetwood Mac we liked to push the naughtiness envelope. At one gig I came back from a toilet break with the lavatory chains, a ball attached at each end, wrapped around my waist.

I did a solo, hitting the balls into the microphone, just to make the lads laugh. Talk about spontaneous expression! The funny part is, my balls never went away.

I began wearing wooden balls in everyday life, attached to my belt - quite the conversation starter. To this day I never play without them.

I was only one of the pioneers for diversity. Sir Mick Jagger, David Bowie and countless others who wanted to be outrageous and self-expressed, pushed the envelope of what was considered "masculine". We opened minds by blowing minds.

I say hats off to the Lady Gagas of today's world, those who challenge society's expectations and encourage people who are different from the mainstream to stay that way. Bravo.

There are a lot of minds that still need opening and blowing and much work to be done.

[singertobe]

I wanna see Mick walk on stage with Mickey mouse ears on his head. Just sayin'

[welcomechris]

By Mick Fleetwood

Mick Fleetwood: 50 years since the Marquee Club shaped and changed the course of my life.

IT WAS 50 years since The Beatles first played the Ed Sullivan Show, and 50 years since the Marquee Club shaped and changed the course of my life.
It was there I made life-long friends, saved sweethearts and survived fights. It was there I went from complete obscurity to learning the tools of my trade from the musical masters of our time.

The Marquee was the jewel of the London clubs. All the musicians wanted to play there. It was a jazz club until the brilliant, groundbreaking management of John Gee, who guided its metamorphosis into the seminal rock and roll/rhythm and blues club whose influence is still relevant today.

I have a first, stomach-turning memory of playing the Marquee with my band The Cheynes. We had no following and it was a miracle to have been asked to back the legendary blues star Sonny Boy Williamson. This giant of a man played a tiny harmonica and dressed in the coolest suits, all mismatched fabrics in wild designs. We had studied his albums and learned his every note by heart to prepare for this honour.

On the night Sonny Boy went totally off book, dropping into the middle eight at different places. We just didn’t get it and kept trying to play the song the way we had learned it. We even tried to correct him by corralling him back to the way the song was supposed to go.

This did not go over well. He stopped playing in mid-song and bawled us out in front of the audience for not following his lead, not listening or watching for his signals.

The Marquee Club relocated to Wardour Street, where I saw the greats: Zoot Money and Cyril Davies, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, the Stones, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Mick Taylor, The Yardbirds, The Moody Blues, John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers just to name a few. So many screaming fans, crammed into that tiny sweatbox!

Early Fleetwood Mac was actually banned for a time from playing the Marquee. We were opening for John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers. Jeremy Spencer and I had a running joke at every gig involving a sex toy (that we had named Harold) which would be ceremoniously hung on the top of my bass drum for the duration of the show.

People loved Harold but one night, Jeremy appeared on stage with Harold dangling out of his trousers! Suffice it to say that we were severely reprimanded and Harold would never again make an appearance at the Marquee. (Harold’s showbiz life came to a crashing end at an American Southern Baptist college, where we were very nearly arrested for his performance. Poor Harold was too much for them and, much to my wife’s chagrin, he ended his days on show, sitting on our pine corner cabinet).

It’s a funny thing, going back to an iconic place to commemorate the fact that something great happened there.

I remember walking into the Marquee on a rainy day in the early 1980s like a ghost, wandering through a unique moment in time. I was there at the club’s inception and became a part of its history. This was where I came up the ranks, this was where I met John McVie, this was where the rhythm section of Fleetwood Mac was born. I hold it in my heart with utmost gratitude.

[welcomechris]

Here is the page

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvbQKWAySh...rch+9+2014.jpg

[michelej1]

The Scottish Daily Express has been doing a series of columns by Mick and here is the link to the Marquee Club entry dated March 9, 2014:

http://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.u...e-Marquee-Club