Unpopular FM Opinions

[SteveMacD]

1. Stevie hasn't given a collection of consistently good songs for an album -Mac or solo- since "The Wild Heart."

2. Christine coming back was a brilliant move for her legacy, because her "Time" songs were no way to sign off (most were unnecessarily long).

3. Lindsey's songs, with some exceptions, are kind of wimpy. Good, but wimpy.

4. It was great that Peter Green made a "comeback" in 1996, but he's nowhere near the player he once was. (That said, I'd need a change of pants if he ever joined them on stage for a rousing rendition of "Oh Well.")

5. Most of Bob Welch's solo albums kinda suck. The moments of brilliance are often buried in predictable, cliche shlock that sound like they were forced on him by labels or management.

6. The most interesting (not necessarily the best) solo album by any of the Mac was "The Visitor."

7. "Out Of The Cradle" proved that Lindsey needed Mick and John as much as they needed him.

8. The band should have tried to keep going with Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette. They were on the verge of something good. All they needed to do was part ways with Dave Mason.

9. "Future Games" is the most underrated Fleetwood Mac album.

10. Danny Kirwan was the most important member of Fleetwood Mac because he was able to move them from being a blues-rock band to being a pop-rock band.

[johnnystorms]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

I have no issues with Chris's tunes but I'm still burned up over why "Hold Me" was left out of this tour setlist.

Does anybody have the reasons why she axed the great hit tune from the setlist.

I think the chorus is impossibly high-pitched for the three of them to even attempt!

[johnnystorms]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

1. Stevie hasn't given a collection of consistently good songs for an album -Mac or solo- since "The Wild Heart."

2. Christine coming back was a brilliant move for her legacy, because her "Time" songs were no way to sign off (most were unnecessarily long).

3. Lindsey's songs, with some exceptions, are kind of wimpy. Good, but wimpy.

4. It was great that Peter Green made a "comeback" in 1996, but he's nowhere near the player he once was. (That said, I'd need a change of pants if he ever joined them on stage for a rousing rendition of "Oh Well.")

5. Most of Bob Welch's solo albums kinda suck. The moments of brilliance are often buried in predictable, cliche shlock that sound like they were forced on him by labels or management.

6. The most interesting (not necessarily the best) solo album by any of the Mac was "The Visitor."

7. "Out Of The Cradle" proved that Lindsey needed Mick and John as much as they needed him.

8. The band should have tried to keep going with Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette. They were on the verge of something good. All they needed to do was part ways with Dave Mason.

9. "Future Games" is the most underrated Fleetwood Mac album.

10. Danny Kirwan was the most important member of Fleetwood Mac because he was able to move them from being a blues-rock band to being a pop-rock band.

1. NONE of them have written a consistently good set of songs ever!

[MikeVielhaber]

Originally Posted by johnnystorms

1. NONE of them have written a consistently good set of songs ever!

Yes, I suppose that WOULD be an unpopular opinion on a FM forum.

[MikeVielhaber]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

7. "Out Of The Cradle" proved that Lindsey needed Mick and John as much as they needed him.

I think in the sense that Lindsey is a songwriter and Mick and John are not, they need him more than he needs them.

[johnnystorms]

Originally Posted by MikeVielhaber

Yes, I suppose that WOULD be an unpopular opinion on a FM forum.

I think the closest would be Stevie's 5 songs on Tusk

[David]

Originally Posted by bsavi4

4. 'The Derelict' is a great track, especially in its gritty, unfinished form

I've loved that one for years, and still like it. During a TV commercial, I sometimes run across the room to my digital piano to play and sing "Derelict." It comes out of me unbidden, like a little burp. What unfinished form? Is there a demo of it floating around?

1. Last month of 1980 tour—best month of the band's stage career since B&N joined.
2. When Stevie lyricizes in her typically vague, vapid way—stealing phrases from various oddball sources (including pop-cultural references) and adding her common stock of pseudomystic catchwords ("dreams," "moon," "candles," "wind," "cried," "shadow," "heartache," "sorrow," "silence," "mirror")—she's banal and trite, a poetaster. On the other hand, when she writes straightforwardly, she's more honest and thus more believable and finally a better wordsmith.
3. Even before B&N, Fleetwood Mac benefited from its youthfulness. On the back cover of Rumours, the band is at its most hip. The hipness waned within a few years, despite the big sales later on with "Tusk" and "Mirage."
4. Mick was the greatest shuffle player among every drummer in rock. I still can't figure out how he did it. I think it had something to do with his lanky height. I use the past tense here because he can't do it anymore.
5. "The Chain" has been an old log bobbing around in the water since the 1980 and 1982 tours. It lacks its old pantherish momentum, its stalking power. It used to build anxiously and inexorably and then explode. These days, it's just a turd.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by David

2. When Stevie lyricizes in her typically vague, vapid way—stealing phrases from various oddball sources (including pop-cultural references) and adding her common stock of pseudomystic catchwords ("dreams," "moon," "candles," "wind," "cried," "shadow," "heartache," "sorrow," "silence," "mirror")—she's banal and trite, a poetaster. On the other hand, when she writes straightforwardly, she's more honest and thus more believable and finally a better wordsmith.

which songs would you classify as the latter rather than the former? I don't necessarily disagree with you, but am curious where the line is for you.

[sanders8323]

Most of us here would say Stevie's performances of "Rhiannon" in the 70s were powerful, but IMO, once the latter half of the Rumours tour rolled around she started dodging the high notes and just sort of rambled all over the place non-sensically during the climax. In other words, she hasn't given a great performance of the song since about '78.

"Love Shines" is a pretty lackluster song, and "Heart of Stone" beats it in every aspect by miles.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by johnnystorms

I think the chorus is impossibly high-pitched for the three of them to even attempt!

Interestingly, this is not a fault of the song as it was originally written. The "Hold Me" demo with Christine on the piano features a straightforward, mid-range, catchy chorus that was replaced in arrangements for the record.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

I've loved that one for years, and still like it. During a TV commercial, I sometimes run across the room to my digital piano to play and sing "Derelict." It comes out of me unbidden, like a little burp. What unfinished form? Is there a demo of it floating around?

1. Last month of 1980 tour—best month of the band's stage career since B&N joined.
2. When Stevie lyricizes in her typically vague, vapid way—stealing phrases from various oddball sources (including pop-cultural references) and adding her common stock of pseudomystic catchwords ("dreams," "moon," "candles," "wind," "cried," "shadow," "heartache," "sorrow," "silence," "mirror")—she's banal and trite, a poetaster. On the other hand, when she writes straightforwardly, she's more honest and thus more believable and finally a better wordsmith.
3. Even before B&N, Fleetwood Mac benefited from its youthfulness. On the back cover of Rumours, the band is at its most hip. The hipness waned within a few years, despite the big sales later on with "Tusk" and "Mirage."
4. Mick was the greatest shuffle player among every drummer in rock. I still can't figure out how he did it. I think it had something to do with his lanky height. I use the past tense here because he can't do it anymore.
5. "The Chain" has been an old log bobbing around in the water since the 1980 and 1982 tours. It lacks its old pantherish momentum, its stalking power. It used to build anxiously and inexorably and then explode. These days, it's just a turd.

#2 is right on! "I Don't Want to Know," "Landslide," "That's Alright," "Leather and Lace," "Silver Springs," "After the Glitter Fades," and "Frozen Love" are all (notably early) examples of her very effective, direct, reflective lyrical style. She is writing songs for this earth and for everyday people. And all of them are emotionally powerful.

Later examples of a straightforward, cliche-free Stevie are "Blue Denim," "Destiny Rules," "Everybody Finds Out," and (to a lesser extent) "I Sing for the Things." These songs actually MEAN something and are powerful in part because they do not embrace an incoherent, pseudo-mystical mythology...

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by MikeVielhaber

I think in the sense that Lindsey is a songwriter and Mick and John are not, they need him more than he needs them.

Yet, he didn't make a very compelling record without them. Lindsey's talent only go so far. He needs a great rhythm section behind him, and they have the name for which he'll always be affiliated.

[He's So Unusual]

Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer

5) I love "Temporary One."

Me too. I think it's better than Over My Head, You Make Loving Fun, Hold Me and Everywhere. The best song Christine has recorded with Fleetwood Mac is Isn't It Midnight. Brown Eyes and Honey Hi are better than anything she recorded for Fleetwood Mac '75 and Rumours.

[Kubrick2788]

The demo with the original (I guess?) chorus is so good. That version could be performed tomorrow and it would still be fun. The arrangement for the record wrecked it. It lost a little bit of that funk. Unpopular opinion...I blame Lindsey for it all! Hahaha

[haleyd]

Rumours would have been completely flawless had Silver Springs been on it instead of that horrendous snoozefest Oh Daddy. (this may or may not have already been said. I haven't read through all the posts yet! But it can always bare repeating!!)