They have no choice but to do a greatest hits tour...here's why..
 

If you go back and watch the destiny rules dvd stevie mentions that because of what
the music business is today they need to attract a much younger audinece. And the
young people today are not into classic rock like they once were. Fleetwood Mac tried
putting out a new album with say you will back in 03 but eventhough half of the songs on it were older ones written in the 70's it still didn't sell well enough in today's world.

Older groups sold well back in the day because radio played their songs. Today older groups
can't get their music played because people like carrie underwood,taylor swift.and the rap
stars are all trying to capture the top spot. I honestly think fleetwood mac knows that
with the way it is today,christine not being there,the ages they are,and the lack of
good songwriting this is the only way to keep their name out there.

So i really don't buy it when lindsey says that they are touring for the first time without a new cd because it's a good way to reconnect with the fans. Truth is this tour is only
about if this band can survive much longer.

If you look at the 2 songwriters in the band now..can you really say the song writing is as good as it once was?

Lindsey will never sell out a 20,000 seat arena on his own
And Stevie, If you look at the songs she has written since she came off of coke in 1986
Anything that was written post 1986 has not been too great. The songs of stevie's that
people love within the last 10 years have been songs that were written by her in the 70's
and have been put on newer albums.

So I think this tour is MUCH more then just a greatest hits tour. Time will tell.

I disagree with about everything you wrote. First of all they older artists can't sell anymore is bull****. The Eagles and ACDC just sold millions of albums. Fleetwood Mac sucks at marketing.

Lindsey's not gonna sell out a 20,000 seat arena? well neither is Stevie or even Fleetwood Mac

My biggest disagreement is in that neither songwriter can write good songs anymore. Lindsey's output the last decade is the best batch of songs of his career (the songs scattered throughout GOS, UTS and SYW) outside of his 9 Tusk songs. And Stevie not having any good songs that aren't from the 70's. The title track from TISL maybe my favorite Stevie song of all time. And then there's FAll From Grace, Destiny Rules, Illume, Everybody Finds Out and a few others. Her danm problem isn't lack of good material, it's laziness.

Hello Mike, Unfortunately, sad as it is, you've hit the nail on the head. I think Mick realizes it, too. The "Mick's Blues Band" is his musical future. Sure hope it works out! Best always, Madelow.

I think Lindsey's are just as good as anything he did in the 70's. I actually listen to his newest stuff (OoTC, SYW, UTS and GOS) more than I listen to his FM stuff from the 70s, perhaps with the exception of Tusk which gets equal listens. Sure, he'll not sell out a 20,000 arena on his own but he doesn't expect to and neither does anyone else. It doesn't mean his songs aren't as good as they once were.

As for Stevie... well, I don't have any of her solo albums but I think her songs on SYW are great. I can only compare to her FM stuff but it's certainly the best group of songs she's had since Tusk so I'm not ready to write her off as a songwriter just yet.

ok i'll admit that some of stevie's newer songs are ok but as far as the songs on tisl goes i think it could have been a much stronger album if sheryl crow didn't have as much control as she did. She produced half the album and i think thats where stevie's confoidence
started to suffer. She gave sheryl half the album,brought her out on tour,did tv with her,
and tried to get her as a member of fleetwood mac. If thats not a crutch then i have no clue what is. It kinda makes you wonder if stevie's songwriting ''magic'' was the drugs?

I disagree too. Fleetwood Mac's marketing is terrible. They can still sell a million copies. Look at the Eagles album they put out in Walmart a year ago. It's possible. Fleetwood Mac, I daresay, is as popular if not MORE popular than the Eagles.

I think the problem with Fleetwood Mac is...The appeal of the band is that "core" group that was broken after The Dance. So, to fix the problem they need to make another album with Christine McVie. It needs to be a more cohesive CD...not like Say You Will. I love that album though. The band is fully aware that the money to be made is, of course, in touring. BIG money isn't to be made off making the record itself anymore.

I think if anything, Say You Will was made out of some form of integrity the band is trying to uphold. Especially Lindsey. He probably didn't want to tour without making an album...& it ended up being the mish mash that it is of his and Stevies tunes. To go out and tour with no album? It is just as a nostalgia fest. That's what this current tour feels like to me to some degree. And that's ok too.

Don't confuse a great/good song with popular success. Yes, new songs won't be as popular as their 70s (and even 80s) song.

Seen as a pop band, there's only a certain time when you have the eyes and the ears and the minds of the young people (let's face it, they are the mass market). And one shouldn't try to push it, because it'll become wrong and the whole thing could collapse.

So I think what they are doing is ok. But if they want to release a new album, that's fine if we judge their work as the artists they are, not as commercial hits, cause probably they won't have a Rumours or Tango again.

And I say probably because you never know.. sometimes the rule is broken, like Cher did he heee

[QUOTE=mike_nh;800679]ok i'll admit that some of stevie's newer songs are ok but as far as the songs on tisl goes i think it could have been a much stronger album if sheryl crow didn't have as much control as she did. She produced half the album and i think thats where stevie's confoidence
started to suffer. She gave sheryl half the album,brought her out on tour,did tv with her,
and tried to get her as a member of fleetwood mac. If thats not a crutch then i have no clue what is. It kinda makes you wonder if stevie's songwriting ''magic'' was the drugs?[/QUOTE]


Excuse me? What about the Buckingham Nicks songs? I don't believe Stevie was on drugs then. Her voice was much too pure. Unless I'm totally wrong, I think you need to back up your opinions a little more.

~~~

The only thing that really matters is that FM does have fans. I am going to love Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks's songs forever, no matter what happens to them. They also have a large obcessed fanbase. Why else would we all be here? Though I'm questioning your loyalty right now. :shrug:

As far as song writing goes, I think Lindsey has only improved with age. His recent songs, starting with SYW and including his 2 recent solo works, are some of the best he's ever written IMO. Stevie's contibutions to SYW are also excellent but that's all she's released since then so it's hard to gauge her current songwriting talents. I think so many people relate to the FM songs of the 70's that it's difficult for them to embrace their current music. I do think that SYW was not properly marketed and was just too damn long for it's own good. With some editing, it could have been a great success. The fact that the Eagles sold 7 million copies of their latest CD from just one retailer shows that people are still interested in new music from older bands. Whatever their motivation behind this tour, I'm just glad they're hitting the road again!

It seems to me that not touring behind a new album takes away the pressure that comes with it. And maybe that's what Stevie and Lindsey need right now in order to see if the band has a future without Christine. Meaning, they need to simply work on having a better relationship and just have some fun together for a bit. We all know their ability to get along determines whether or not the band implodes at this point. And they obviously know that. They sat in a fragile position after Christine left, and with the "magical mediator" being gone, maybe they should have done what they're doing now first. It's a major mental, emotional and musical adjustment that perhaps should have been worked through more slowly. I love SYW, but I do wonder how it may have been different had things been done this way. But, of course, then I suppose they would have risked people saying that all they were capable of post-Christine was a Greatest Hits Tour. So I understand there was a need to "prove themselves" as well. You can't win.

I don't mind the tour sans new album. Tom Petty does it all the time, and no one complains because his show is great, and they still effin' rock. On this note, I will be disappointed if the band don't make the show something special. My biggest complaint is that they didn't give fans first stab at the front seats.

Thrown Down was a new song and just about as good as anything she has ever written.

No new music I believe has more to do with the internet and sharing. There is not enough money in new albums anymore for many many bands to motivate them.

Yes. If Thrown Down were released in the late 70s, it could have been in the top ten charts. But Fleetwood Mac is not a "hot" band anymore, though is a legendary one.

Totally agree :nod: Everybody Finds Out is another great one. And Lindsey's songs on SYW are some of his best song writing. Say Goodbye is beautiful. His Under the Skin and Gift of Screws albums are his best writting to date. IMO. There is definately no shortage of good writting between these two.

THEY NEED TO WAKE THE #%#$ UP AND REALIZE THAT THEY COULD MAKE MONEY WITH THE INTERNET. YA, MAYBE SOME MIGHT BE "SHARED" OR WHATEVER, BUT WITH ITUNES,AMAZON,WALMART.COM,RAPSODY, ECT. THERE ARE PLENTY OF FOLKS WHO ARE STILL BUYING MUSIC TOO. NO MORE LAZYASS EXCUSES.:rolleyes::mad: they could sell the album or songs on the official web site too.

ALSO! Thrown Down would have been a MUCH bigger song if it had been the lead single. not freekin peacekeeper.

No new album and bad marketing, it's true :shrug:

But SN & LB have written good songs after '86 :rolleyes:

Um, actually they don't HAVE to do anything as they are all rich and famous and successful enough as it is.

They're doing it because they want to, and let's face it - they're gonna make some money. Why wouldn't they want to make money? Why wouldn't that be at least part of the motivation for doing it? Let's be real here..mmkay?

As a fan of Fleetwood Mac, I'm happy with any current activity coming from them.

I think that they're writing has been excellent over the last few years. I loved all of Say You Will and I agree that SYW and Lindsey's last two solo albums are among his best writing ever and although Stevie hasn't released any new songs since then, I'm confident she will in one form or another, solo or with Fleetwood Mac. At this point, I'm really interested to hear more Fleetwood Mac music.

Let's not forget the endless archives of songs and demos Stevie has, the ones we DO and DO NOT know about. I personally don't care if it was written now or 40 years ago.. if she wrote it, she wrote it..

So... I'm..excited.

Oh, and furthermore.

This band will have an audience for years and years to come. Isn't that obvious?



"They have no choice but to do a greatest hits tour...here's why.."

I know that's just your fact-sounding-opinion but... really it sounds so terribly naive.

I agree with you....it seems its excuses all of the time......they could use the Net to there advantage the facts are 'they' chose not too. To me thats speaks volumes of there music or lack there of 'new' music. They are puting the nail in there own coffens so to speak......IMO anyway......Yes there out there but effort or love of it probably not. Heck Lindsey stated its for the $$ which isn't a shock period. At least he spoke the truth. I know they can do much better but they don't want to.....which is there right. Same with Stevie. She could do better with her solo career but she chose this path. She has to live with that choice now. She could release those outtakes/masters/alternates/demos/extended versions etc...and never have to release anything 'new' ever again (ex: like Bob Dylan's sets) but she won't but I'm sure someone will someday (her brother??)....its sad she does have options/than theres all the outtake photos etc. She could have a web site just for rare things like that or rare autographed outtakes. Posters/rare shirts or jackets....endless things. Of course I'm dreaming all of this cause she can't even update her web site....or get someone quailified to do that. Its sad that the artists web site is the same it was in like 2001 since TISL....the whole thing should be totally different. Talk about behind the times.....heck fan web sites have always been better than the Nicksfix....always. IMO .........just some thoughts.....:shrug:

I hate peacekeeper and SYW. I mean really hated them. I usually don't really hate anything they do but those 2 songs were crap. SYW reminded me on Everyday which i also hated with a passion. Ok enough hate! :-)

I don't like Peacekeeper either but I think it was released as the first single because of the recent invasion of Iraq :shrug: Thrown Down would have been an awesome first single though.

While I agree with your theory I would guess that the record company figured they would have a hit from Stevie so perhaps they should release a Lindsey track first to see if a song of his would still be viable.

OMG you don't have ANY of her solo albums? I didn't think it was possible for a FM fan to say this.

Oh I could see that for sure, not owning one of Stevie's solo albums. On the other hand, I'd have a very hard time believing any FM fan (of the '75-'87, '97-now version anyway) doesn't know some key SN solo songs...Edge of 17, Stand Back, Leather and Lace, Stop Dragging My Heart Around....if someone was on here saying they hadn't heard of at least some of her solo work well, I would be 100% dumbfounded.

Say You Will and Peacekeeper may have been two of the worst songs on the album that could have been released as singles. Thrown Down and Steal Your Heart Away in my opinion would have done a LOT better (not great, but better). I could see Peacekeeper as a third single and in the unlikely event of a fourth single, Everybody Finds Out. Say You Will (the song) was crap and I couldn't agree with you more on that comment, it was like Everyday's equally boring and dull cousin.

It appeared to me to be an attempt to fill the radio-friendly, poppy void left by not having Christine in the album. Unfortunately, it came off like garbage. Chris does write simple little poppy love songs but well, Chris does that and does it well. It just sounds odd when Stevie tries for the same thing.

Yup. And to anyone who does not have a SN album you need to get BD now. That is her one work that most resembles her FM stuff but spared down. If you like her work on Tusk then you will like BD as well.

i think Fm has to embrace their fans and actually try. I think the Eagles and even Heart do a better job. I mean The Eagles released Long Road to Eden at Walmart and it became one of their highest selling cds. They went out and made real videos for How Long and Too Busy Being Fabulous. They didn't do just a stage shot video. They actually promoted the **** out of the cd. Releasing special editions playing a few specials. When's the last time FM did a tv special that wasn't just them like a performance on the Grammy's, People Choice...any of those shows. Radio interviews but they are short and not consistent enough. Lindsey did a lot of them for UTS and GOS and i think it helped.

Heart tours constantly since I think 1998 every year, new album or not. They do a great show they are always packed. They just know how to mix it up do some covers on stage, Led Zepplin, Elton John, Joni Mitchell. You can tell they are enjoying the interaction. I think they even did a vote on their website a couple years for what song do you want them play the hear most. And before Jupiter's Darling was released they tested the new songs live and more. They always do new promo shots every year.

Fm should kick their stupid management company and get whoever either of these bands have and they'd at least get new fans by the boat loads.

Heart did not do new promo shots in 2006 and their show in 2007 at Turning Stone Event Center in Verona, NY (5,000 capacity), had 2,000 people there.

What Joni Mitchell song(s) did Heart cover??

The problem with that was that no-one ACTUALLY listend to the other lyrics of "PEACEkeeper" and were put off by the title. Back then if anyone mentioned the word "PEACE" they were blacklisted (the dixie chicks) as bieng against the war and being "un-american" it wasn't socially acceptable to be against "operation "IRAQUI Freedom" It was ridiculous. (at first i thought it was just that i was surounded by a bunch of Bush-loving Republicans, but I remember reading peoples comments on AOL when they did a premire for Peace keeper, and people were like "dont you preach peace you hippies" and all kinds of ridiculous stuff. All that got paid attention to was that Fleetwood Mac had a song called "PEACE-KEEPER". And no one was in the mood for a song seemingly about peace and patience. "Peace keeper take your time" Nevermind that the lyrics say "take no prisoners only kill":rolleyes:
I just hate the song though. the annoying ba ba ba ba bwwaa waaamp in the back is dumb. Thrown Down had SOOOOOO much potential, but was released when the types of stations who would play it were switching to freekin Christmass music. IT should have been the lead single. It is my theory that it was released first as (YET MORE) appeasement to Mr. Buckingham.:cool:

Nope, not a single one. I know a couple of her solo songs (EO17, Stand Back and I have maybe once heard Rooms On Fire) and none of them made me excited enough to buy her solo stuff or even seek out more singles to listen to on Youtube. I have been meaning to get Bella Donna but it's just not near the top of my list so I've not got round to it yet.

I know two of those and I've only ever heard the live FM versions of Stand Back.

I guess I'll have to pick something up soon...

Please buy Rock-A-Little first. Well I think you will like Sister Honey, she will make you change up your mind...

dude, no. that's like telling someone who's interested in fleetwood mac to start with behind the mask. it's gotta be bella donna.

You're right and it's been like dying. Ooh no love's that hard to find, and I'm tired of trying...

Yeah, if I get one I'll be getting Bella Donna and I'll maybe move on from there.

as much as i dis her these days, bella donna is great, and so is much of TISL. those are good starting points.

^ just not Candlebright and Too Far From Texas.

country dork that i am, i love too far from texas :laugh:

"it's only love" is one of her best vocals ever. and i can't believe it happened that late in her career.

You know how I feel about Natalie Maines, lol. That's pretty much the only reason.

Love Is is good. I like Planets, but it pales in comparison to the demo.

i worship natalie. :lol:

the demo of love is blows the official cut out of the water too. f*cking sarah mclachlan :mad:

The I wasn't going for an exact fact, I was just saying if you look at the activity level of Ann and Nancy. It's also the venues too, I live near Providence RI, and when heart comes they sometimes play smaller venues. I know a guy that works at the Old Boston Garden and FM is stuck in the bigger is better. I'd rather see them play a couple of smaller venues not a club or theater, but there are conventions that hold a large crowd.

I know they've done a few covers, might have been thinking of Nancy's solo cover of "a case of you" excellent version it's on her acoustic solo album.