Fleetwood Mac live box set 1980

[BLY]

Listening and loving it. What a great collection of songs. The third disc is amazing.

[David]

Listening and loving it. What a great collection of songs. The third disc is amazing.

I’m in love with it, although I haven’t played it for months. It’s the sort of stuff that I’ve wanted since the year those songs were performed. If I put the band’s best albums against their best concerts, with a slight edge I prefer their best concerts to their best albums. Most of all, I love the extreme contrast in discipline between the best albums and the best concerts. You have to be a very special band to give listeners the same aural experience onstage that you do on record and still make a new statement. But Fleetwood benefited from stretching out and loosening up, from 1967 to about 2003. There are performances and jams from the late 1960s and the early 1980s that put you in another place.

It’s unusual that Lindsey used to say that staying fresh on the road was difficult, compared with the studio. I think he and Mick forced the band to go crazy musically during their heyday. The others probably would have been content to reproduce the feel of the albums.

[vivfox]

It’s unusual that Lindsey used to say that staying fresh on the road was difficult, compared with the studio. I think he and Mick forced the band to go crazy musically during their heyday. The others probably would have been content to reproduce the feel of the albums.

The one thing I truly loved about the FM live performances from 1975-1982 was that every song sounded nothing like their records onstage. And to this day NOTHING will ever be greater or more enjoyable than the live Rhiannon's from that time period.

[BLY]

The one thing I truly loved about the FM live performances from 1975-1982 was that every song sounded nothing like their records onstage. And to this day NOTHING will ever be greater or more enjoyable than the live Rhiannon's from that time period.


Yes, their live performances were like listening to a completely different band. I was blown away when I saw them on the second leg of the Rumours tour. It’s also nice to replace “official releases” for some not so great bootleg shows.

[Macfan4life]

The one thing I truly loved about the FM live performances from 1975-1982 was that every song sounded nothing like their records onstage. And to this day NOTHING will ever be greater or more enjoyable than the live Rhiannon's from that time period.
YES, YES, and YES!
OMG YES
This is why I felt so guilty about not loving The Dance. I was of course caught up in the excitement of the 5 back together again but I was like: who neutered Fleetwood Mac?
This is why I cherish the 1980 Live album. By the time the mid to late 1990s came around technology in live sound really helped bands sound more like the studio which is what we got from the Dance and beyond.
One night with OWTS the band started Say You Love Me and Chris stopped the song. She said something like "I still have not grasped this technology yet" I interpreted that to mean she was not playing all the opening parts (that she did for decades) and it confused her.

[jbrownsjr]

The one thing I truly loved about the FM live performances from 1975-1982 was that every song sounded nothing like their records onstage. And to this day NOTHING will ever be greater or more enjoyable than the live Rhiannon's from that time period.

They were fresh, inspired, intense, improv'd, and erratic and even erotic (sometimes).

Fleetwood Mac was one of the most amazing institutions that I have ever witnessed.

Watching the versions of them now is like eating a popsicle that's been in the freezer way too long. It's still has some flavor, but it's also really stale. But sales are still great because it's all that's left.

[AnthonyMI]

YES, YES, and YES!
OMG YES
This is why I felt so guilty about not loving The Dance. I was of course caught up in the excitement of the 5 back together again but I was like: who neutered Fleetwood Mac?
This is why I cherish the 1980 Live album. By the time the mid to late 1990s came around technology in live sound really helped bands sound more like the studio which is what we got from the Dance and beyond.
One night with OWTS the band started Say You Love Me and Chris stopped the song. She said something like "I still have not grasped this technology yet" I interpreted that to mean she was not playing all the opening parts (that she did for decades) and it confused her.
That was Chicago 2014. She missed something or started the automatic replay of something she was only pretending to play. It was weird. She stopped and turned around and sort of pretended to fiddle with some kind of speaker monitor and then carried on. It was odd.

[Macfan4life]

That was Chicago 2014. She missed something or started the automatic replay of something she was only pretending to play. It was weird. She stopped and turned around and sort of pretended to fiddle with some kind of speaker monitor and then carried on. It was odd.
The same thing happened in Pittsburgh. I never saw Chicago.

[jbrownsjr]

I never saw Chicago.

It's a big beautiful city in Illinois. You should visit sometime.

[Macfan4life]

It's a big beautiful city in Illinois. You should visit sometime.
I've been there and it is a great city. Mid-western hospitality. Good pizza too.
The most efficient McDonalds I've ever experienced in my life. Right next to the Sears tower. 6 long lines and it worked like an assembly line. It was something to see.

[Steviegirl]

YES, YES, and YES!
OMG YES
This is why I felt so guilty about not loving The Dance. I was of course caught up in the excitement of the 5 back together again but I was like: who neutered Fleetwood Mac?
This is why I cherish the 1980 Live album. By the time the mid to late 1990s came around technology in live sound really helped bands sound more like the studio which is what we got from the Dance and beyond.
One night with OWTS the band started Say You Love Me and Chris stopped the song. She said something like "I still have not grasped this technology yet" I interpreted that to mean she was not playing all the opening parts (that she did for decades) and it confused her.

THIS... should receive a Peabody Award.

[jbrownsjr]

I've been there and it is a great city. Mid-western hospitality. Good pizza too.
The most efficient McDonalds I've ever experienced in my life. Right next to the Sears tower. 6 long lines and it worked like an assembly line. It was something to see.

It was efficient like Christine playin the organ, switchin to fender, then goin across stage to the piano for Not that Funny.

[Villavic]

Haven't been to Chicago yet. I've always wanted to visit Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island. Though I know it's like 6 hours from Chicago, but it would be a good opportunity to tour that entire lake area.

[HomerMcvie]

Haven't been to Chicago yet. I've always wanted to visit Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island. Though I know it's like 6 hours from Chicago, but it would be a good opportunity to tour that entire lake area.

I have THREE different friends who have witnessed murders at gas stations in Chicago.

Good luck!

[vivfox]

Let's see if my memory serves me right. By the time the FM Live 1980 album was released I had already heard and seen several live Rhiannon's between 1978 & 1980. There was the 1976 Midnight Special version. Sin City (Las Vegas August 1977). Cotton Bowl (Dallas 1978). I feel like I'm forgetting some but the point I wanted to make is the released version completely sucked compared to the ones I mentioned. THAT Rhiannon was a real let down for me. To this day I never listen to it. Fast forward to present day and I have heard a lot of live Rhiannon's. But not enough that I will ever be fully satisfied because you know there are so many more out there I have not heard yet. My top 3 faves are Rotterdam June 1980, Chicago May 1980 and the version we got from an actual released box set that featured Rhiannon in Tucson in August 1980.The Tucson version is phenomenal and I could hear it every day and never get sick of it.

[Macfan4life]

Let's see if my memory serves me right. By the time the FM Live 1980 album was released I had already heard and seen several live Rhiannon's between 1978 & 1980. There was the 1976 Midnight Special version. Sin City (Las Vegas August 1977). Cotton Bowl (Dallas 1978). I feel like I'm forgetting some but the point I wanted to make is the released version completely sucked compared to the ones I mentioned. THAT Rhiannon was a real let down for me. To this day I never listen to it. Fast forward to present day and I have heard a lot of live Rhiannon's. But not enough that I will ever be fully satisfied because you know there are so many more out there I have not heard yet. My top 3 faves are Rotterdam June 1980, Chicago May 1980 and the version we got from an actual released box set that featured Rhiannon in Tucson in August 1980.The Tucson version is phenomenal and I could hear it every day and never get sick of it.
The Rumours version of Rhiannon is impossible to top. Its a well oiled machine and a total beast compared to the 1975/1976 tour and any tour since. Tusk era version is really good but I see why the band chose the Rumours version on the 1980 live album.
I love everything about the Mirage era shows except Rhiannon. The song struggles IMHO and has a different effect.
**Throw food alert***
I love the Timespace/Whole Lotta Trouble tour Rhiannon. It kicks ass with Les and the "will you take me with yous." I loved the full rock version without any piano intro too. That got old after awhile.

[Villavic]

The FM Live 1980 was the first album I ever got (1982). In parallel I recorded some Mirage songs from a friend's album. That started my Fleetwood Mac fandom. The interesting thing was that the first time I heard some White and Tusk songs were from the Live album, and when I got the studio albums I realized how different were played live. That increased my interest for that band.

[vivfox]

OK I just remembered another bootleg album I had in 1978 and it was titled: Albatross: But Not Around My Neck Please and this was a 1975 recording with Hypnotized and such. This Rhiannon was very enjoyable also and the recording was crystal clear. The Sin City bootleg was perfect quality also. The Cotton Bowl was also a clear recording but you could tell the taper was farther away from the speakers than one would have hoped.

[UnwindedDreams]

I have THREE different friends who have witnessed murders at gas stations in Chicago.

Good luck!
That is frightening and I'm sure traumatic for your friends.

I've always had awesome visits to Chicago where I never felt in danger. Went to Comiskey, United Center, Soldier Field, and the U of C.

I heard New Orleans, St Louis, Detroit, and Washington DC had the highest murder rates in the US.

[HomerMcvie]

That is frightening and I'm sure traumatic for your friends.

I've always had awesome visits to Chicago where I never felt in danger. Went to Comiskey, United Center, Soldier Field, and the U of C.

I heard New Orleans, St Louis, Detroit, and Washington DC had the highest murder rates in the US.

I think every city is bad anymore. Seems like in Nashville we have about 3 murders a day. Even honking your car horn will get you shot, these days.

[UnwindedDreams]

^Nashville?! People flock there for bachelorette/bachelor parties, honeymoons, conferences and conventions. But then again they do to New Orleans too!
Nashville just seems like the happiest place on Earth whenever I see it on the news.

[HomerMcvie]

^Nashville?! People flock there for bachelorette/bachelor parties, honeymoons, conferences and conventions. But then again they do to New Orleans too!
Nashville just seems like the happiest place on Earth whenever I see it on the news.

It is a very happy place, and I love living here. But there's plenty of ghetto neighborhoods, too. I had four hoods follow me home a couple of years ago. I lost them in my parking lot for a few seconds. Enough for me to get out of my car and hide behind a van. They kept passing through my parking lot, saying "come on out MF.... we know you here". I finally ran up to the second floor(where my condo is). I felt safe up there, not realizing that one of them had gotten out of the car. He walked right by me(they didn't know what I looked like). I was having a heart attack on the inside, but pretended I was out there to smoke(I don't smoke). He passed by me after making eye contact. I went inside and sat with a 9mm on the coffee table the rest of the night. City living....

[ViscountViktor]

The Rumours version of Rhiannon is impossible to top. Its a well oiled machine and a total beast compared to the 1975/1976 tour and any tour since. Tusk era version is really good but I see why the band chose the Rumours version on the 1980 live album.
I love everything about the Mirage era shows except Rhiannon. The song struggles IMHO and has a different effect.
**Throw food alert***
I love the Timespace/Whole Lotta Trouble tour Rhiannon. It kicks ass with Les and the "will you take me with yous." I loved the full rock version without any piano intro too. That got old after awhile.


Why did they pretend (lie) that the Rhiannon on Live was from 1980 when it clearly wasn't?

[Macfan4life]

Why did they pretend (lie) that the Rhiannon on Live was from 1980 when it clearly wasn't?
It's anyone's guess why they chose not to document the real dated recordings. It could be laziness or complete human error. The same thing happened on the Tusk live CD when they put the date of the Chain from the Tusk tour and it clearly was from the Mirage tour.
Rhiannon, Over My Head, Don't Let Me Down, Dreams, and others were not recorded on the Tusk tour. Its also possible they never saw the future of the internet and people not knowing or caring when the song was recorded.

[Villavic]

Its also possible they never saw the future of the internet and people not knowing

Definitely. I wonder also why they chose to do a collage of songs from different dates. Logic tells me they did it that way to choose the best of the best, but to release a record from a unique (entire if possible) show sounds more genuine to me.

[jbrownsjr]

Why did they pretend (lie) that the Rhiannon on Live was from 1980 when it clearly wasn't?

Sloppy messy and sloppy

[jmn3]

Definitely. I wonder also why they chose to do a collage of songs from different dates. Logic tells me they did it that way to choose the best of the best, but to release a record from a unique (entire if possible) show sounds more genuine to me.

I think David has mentioned many times that the original intent was to release one of the Hollywood Bowl shows from the end of the tour. My guess - their voices were pretty gassed by that point and songs like Rhiannon didn’t have the same edge (vocally) that they had on the earlier tours. That said, some of the choices for the Live album and some of the omissions have always been baffling.

[Macfan4life]

I think David has mentioned many times that the original intent was to release one of the Hollywood Bowl shows from the end of the tour. My guess - their voices were pretty gassed by that point and songs like Rhiannon didn’t have the same edge (vocally) that they had on the earlier tours. That said, some of the choices for the Live album and some of the omissions have always been baffling.
I would have loved half a Tusk show on that double album. I wonder if they actually knew at the time those Rumours live tracks were just too damn good to never see the light of day and put them on the album for that reason. The band was great on the Tusk tour but the Rumours tour was extremely tight. Why they were misprinted could have been on purpose to mislead everyone or sloppy work. Imagine if some Warner intern was to blame. Go get me the live tracks to Say You Love Me, Dreams, Rhiannon, and they grabbed the wrong ones. That would be an incredible accident and was meant to be.

(Gosh do I dare quote Mick's book)
Mick stated Stevie's voice was shot during Rhiannon and Landslide at the Hollywood Bowl on the last nights of the Tusk Tour.

[Villavic]

Mick stated Stevie's voice was shot during Rhiannon and Landslide at the Hollywood Bowl on the last nights of the Tusk Tour.

In his first book he said Rhiannon was from the London gig. I don't remember if this coincide with the cd book, and don't know if he mentioned in his second book.

Besides, we had great material to work with, recorded all over the world: "Monday Morning" from Tokyo, "Say You Love Me" from Wichita, ''Dreams" from the Paris sound check, a psychedelic "Oh Well" from St. Louis, "Rhiannon" from London, and so on. We also set up our gear and played three new songs "live" for an audience of crew and friends at the Santa Monica Civic Center Stevie's "Fireflies," Chris's "One More Night," and a Fleetwood Mac harmony orgy in homage to Brian Wilson's "The Farmer's Daughter."

[HomerMcvie]

In his first book he said Rhiannon was from the London gig. I don't remember if this coincide with the cd book, and don't know if he mentioned in his second book.

Besides, we had great material to work with, recorded all over the world: "Monday Morning" from Tokyo, "Say You Love Me" from Wichita, ''Dreams" from the Paris sound check, a psychedelic "Oh Well" from St. Louis, "Rhiannon" from London, and so on. We also set up our gear and played three new songs "live" for an audience of crew and friends at the Santa Monica Civic Center Stevie's "Fireflies," Chris's "One More Night," and a Fleetwood Mac harmony orgy in homage to Brian Wilson's "The Farmer's Daughter."

Now bend over and say "ah"...

[Villavic]

Watching the versions of them now is like eating a popsicle that's been in the freezer way too long. It's still has some flavor, but it's also really stale. But sales are still great because it's all that's left.

Watching them in 2014 was great, specially because of Christine's return. But their voices, were not the same anymore; Especially Lindsey's, I don't know if it was that night or a permanent condition, but it was much lower that when I saw them in 2009. That's when I said This is the last time to me. Even if Lindsey had continued in the band, I chose to keep those good memories.

[David]

In his first book he said Rhiannon was from the London gig. I don't remember if this coincide with the cd book, and don't know if he mentioned in his second book.

Besides, we had great material to work with, recorded all over the world: "Monday Morning" from Tokyo, "Say You Love Me" from Wichita, ''Dreams" from the Paris sound check, a psychedelic "Oh Well" from St. Louis, "Rhiannon" from London, and so on. We also set up our gear and played three new songs "live" for an audience of crew and friends at the Santa Monica Civic Center Stevie's "Fireflies," Chris's "One More Night," and a Fleetwood Mac harmony orgy in homage to Brian Wilson's "The Farmer's Daughter."

It actually does not say anywhere on the 1980 live album that the tracks were recorded in 1980, so it isn’t wrong in that sense. The vinyl sleeve only gives cities. But writers and fans assumed that everything was taken from the Tusk tour. We have to blame the writers and fans for that one, at least initially. (In later years, Warner Bros. also made the same mistake in publicity about the album.) When I was a teenager in 1980 and I heard “Rhiannon” on the live album, I certainly noticed it was older than the “Rhiannon” I heard that year on the stage. But I saw that it was supposed to be from London (no year given), so I think I may have assumed it was the way the band played it in June in London. It wasn’t until I saw and heard more and more 1980 concerts and 1977 concerts that I realized 1980 couldn’t be right. The whole arrangement is 1977, obvious to an untrained ear.

Now the 1980 deluxe set does print dates, and several of them are wrong, as we know now. But that was the result of an assumption in 1980 acquiring the power of solid fact by 2021. It’s too bad, but nobody from Rhino is listening to us anyway.

What’s sort of even more bothersome than the incorrect year is the possibility of an incorrect venue or city. We can all tell that “Rhiannon” on the album is not 1980, it’s 1977, but how do we know that London (Rainbow Theatre) is correct? We don’t because we don’t have an audience recording of Rainbow Theatre from April 1977. The general time frame is correct but the venue and city may be all wrong. How do you like them apples?

[HomerMcvie]

When I was a teenager in 1980

I think it's so cool that you ran that Obie's lighting company as a teenager! How prodigious!

[Villavic]

It actually does not say anywhere on the 1980 live album that the tracks were recorded in 1980, so it isn’t wrong in that sense. The vinyl sleeve only gives cities. But writers and fans assumed that everything was taken from the Tusk tour.

Yes, me included. I still have the CD book (I gave the away the album long ago). It lists the songs with cities, but it has another list: the tour dates, each date with city, place and amount of people (or capacity?). That led us to deduce that all tracks were from Tusk tour.

[David]

Yes, me included. I still have the CD book (I gave the away the album long ago). It lists the songs with cities, but it has another list: the tour dates, each date with city, place and amount of people (or capacity?). That led us to deduce that all tracks were from Tusk tour.

The complete tour itinerary was included with the original release. But the individual tracks were never officially linked with dates. Perhaps it was confusing to get the 1980 itinerary in the package but not the 1977 itinerary. We all jumped to a reasonable conclusion and only changed our minds once we heard more and more.

[HomerMcvie]

Yes, me included. I still have the CD book (I gave the away the album long ago). It lists the songs with cities, but it has another list: the tour dates, each date with city, place and amount of people (or capacity?). That led us to deduce that all tracks were from Tusk tour.

But was Don't Let Me Down Again done during the Tusk tour? I don't think so. A THOUSAND years ago, I could recite the set list in order. Those brain cells have long since said goodbye, baby.

[David]

I think it's so cool that you ran that Obie's lighting company as a teenager! How prodigious!

That’s our little secret, Dave. Don’t tell anyone.

[HomerMcvie]

That’s our little secret, Dave. Don’t tell anyone.

We'll keep it as quiet as Stevie's backroom things.:p

[Macfan4life]

David brought up such a pivotal point about the Live album. Because the album lists the city each song was recorded in and another list of cities played during the Tusk tour, it was a logical assumption all songs were recorded during the Tusk tour. Why did they list the city the song was recorded in but not the date. Even more confusing is how rare it is for a band to release a live album freshly off a world tour and include a sprinkling of other tours and concerts. Are we fans the dumb ones to assume this? Or was the band purposely misleading fans to make everyone think they were all freshly recorded off the Tusk tour. Did the band or Warner not think some of the Tusk recordings were not as good as the Rumours ones? Had the album not included Tusk dates I dont think many of us would have lept to that conclusion. Many live albums include the date the song was recorded. To only mention the city is a bit odd which makes me think maybe it was to make everyone believe it was all freshly recorded. But who knows for sure. Everyone was stoned back then.

[HomerMcvie]

I think that everyone is forgetting how CLUELESS the entire world was before the internets. They could write ANYTHING on those, and people couldn't fact check everything like they can, now.

[BigAl84]

David brought up such a pivotal point about the Live album. Because the album lists the city each song was recorded in and another list of cities played during the Tusk tour, it was a logical assumption all songs were recorded during the Tusk tour. Why did they list the city the song was recorded in but not the date. Even more confusing is how rare it is for a band to release a live album freshly off a world tour and include a sprinkling of other tours and concerts. Are we fans the dumb ones to assume this? Or was the band purposely misleading fans to make everyone think they were all freshly recorded off the Tusk tour. Did the band or Warner not think some of the Tusk recordings were not as good as the Rumours ones? Had the album not included Tusk dates I dont think many of us would have lept to that conclusion. Many live albums include the date the song was recorded. To only mention the city is a bit odd which makes me think maybe it was to make everyone believe it was all freshly recorded. But who knows for sure. Everyone was stoned back then.

This was most likely, largely cobbled together by studio and record company folks. If my memory is correct, nobody in the band speaks to being heavily involved in this project. These folks had just spent a year on the road and would rather do almost anything else but sit in a studio compiling a live album.

As David has mentioned before, the original plan was to release a live album compiled from the Hollywood Bowl tapes. That idea was kicked aside, opening the door for a tusk tour compilation.

An intern along with Richard/Ken were probably tasked with mulling through all of the tapes they had and they put together their first pass at a track list/sequence.

A record exec asks for something new - anything - so they include Fireflies etc. This immediately destroys the concept of having an authentic live album of only the Tusk Tour.

Maybe Stevie didn't like the version of Dreams they chose from the Tusk tour when going through the approval process, they swapped in the '77 live version.

Somebody says "well, if we're already including '77 tracks, we have this killer version of Monday Morning.."

I think for various reasons it became a hodge podge. When it comes to the tour dates and artwork, I think that was what they had "in the can" and never bothered to re-work it. It was pre-internet, very few people were going to know any difference.

[BigAl84]

The other scenario is that all of the live tracks from the previous three years (77-80) were organized so poorly, they were pulling up ‘77 tracks that they didn’t realize were ‘77 tracks. They may have been on the tail end of a ‘79 tape for whatever reason.

The lack of clarity on the next Mirage Tour release makes me wonder if there are a lot of poorly labeled tapes.

[ViscountViktor]

I am working purely off the Spotify album which gives incorrect dates and locations, so very interesting to hear those dates weren't on the original album!

[David]

I am working purely off the Spotify album which gives incorrect dates and locations, so very interesting to hear those dates weren't on the original album!

The biggest tip-off to a problem in December 1980, when many of us bought the album, was the fact that “Don’t Let Me Down Again” was listed as Passaic, New Jersey — but the associated tour itinerary had no Passaic on it, and in fact had no New Jersey date at all!

Only a few people at the time seemed to be paying attention to the sloppy data or to be able to recognize the difference in sound between a Gibson Les Paul and a Turner Model 1 or between a Hohner Combo Pianet and a Yamaha CP30.

With time, the fans were aware that something was wrong. “Say You Love Me” was supposed to have been recorded in Wichita, but Wichita was on Aug. 23, 1980, and the band was no longer playing the song in the set.