Buckingham CARRIES Fleetwood Mac
 

The Fleetwood Mac set list Thursday at the Allstate Arena was straight out of the '70's, but Lindsey Buckingham was very much in the present tense on the quartet's latest reunion tour.

The leather-jacketed guitarist played as if his graying hair were on fire most of the night, throwing himself into the songs with a gusto that frequently erupted into manic howls and fleet-fingered, shrapnel-tossing solos. Buckingham pulled the 23 creaky songs out of the long-lost "Rumours" era into the the now, with enthusiastic assistance from drummer Mick Fleetwood.

With the stalwart bassist John McVie at his side, Fleetwood looked as if he had just popped out of a Dickens novel, a towering, ponytailed Fagin in knickers. For all the mugging and preening, he pounded the drums with maniacal glee, blending bluesy firepower with orchestral flair. The inventively propulsive drum parts on songs such as "Rhiannon", "Go Your Own Way" and "World Turning" colored the arrnagements with authority and matched Buckingham's passion.

Stevie Nicks was the only member of this revived version of the band's classic '70's lineup (minus singer-songwriter Christine McVie, who retired from the business years ago) who wasn't quite up to speed as the show began. Her voice has not only deepened, it has lost much of it's flexibility,
and her performances of "Gypsy" and "Rhiannon" fell flat. She reaccesssorized continually with boots, dresses, shawls, scarves, tambourines and even a top hat as the show progressed over two-plus hours. Halfway through the set, she finally shook off the doldrums and audibly rose to the occasion on "Landslide", accompanied only by Buckingham's guitar.

"I'm getting older, too", Nicks sang with soaring, if melancholy, conviction. By the time she trotted out her solo hit "Standback", she felt frisky enough to revive one of her trademark twirls.

But it would have been little more than a quaint rehash of a bunch of golden oldies were it not for Buckingham. He started strong, pushing his voice hard on "Monday Morning", and by the end of the set was finger-picking shrieking, gale-force solos from his instrument, reanimating Peter Green's early Mac classic "Oh Well" and investing "I'm So Afraid" with scarifying intensity. Wired and still wiry, Buckingham looked as if he could have raved all night with this rhythm section at his back.

Chicago Tribune, by Greg Kot.
March 7, 2009

After seeing the GOS-tour, it was impossible for me that it would be different. The man is totally ON. If there ever was a good word for what he has shown the last couple of years I would say: "unleashed".

*waits for the arguments to break out again*

I think Stevie sounds great on Storms and Silver Springs but I think it's evident that she's finding it hard to work up the emotion to sing certain songs she's sung a million times before. She's definitely still got it but at the very least they should make her drop Gypsy and even sing something from her solo back catalogue.

Lindsey seems rejuvenated by the whole solo experience. It's great to see.

Lindsey does seem rejuvenated these last few years. His recent tours
have been amazing.

On the "arguments" part, remember I also wrote the Great Expectations
Thread. Don't kill the messenger you all!

naturally, performances are subjective. I just posted a silver springs from opening night that gave me some chills...seems to me stevie neither sux or is lax in her performance, opening night or otherwise...twirl or no twirl, I just haven't seen/heard that yet :shrug:

and IMO Lindsey is always at his KICKASS best! :]

It takes a compassionate, secure and strong person to let another take the spotlight.

We all know that Stevie could command the audience with one look or twirl or phrase. She is allowing Lindsey to shine, good for them both.

But that's exactly why people shouldn't get upset at the few criticisms posted here. It is all subjective and getting mad about it or calling Lindsey names isn't going to make that person change their mind it that's how they really feel.
Personally, despite some of the set list looking a bit stale, I think the band are sounding really great on the whole. Stevie does sound less enthusiastic on a couple of the songs, to my ears, but she also sounds great on others. I'm assuming it's because she's bored but wolfontherun makes a good point, maybe she's holding back so she doesn't hog the spotlight.

Yes, Lindsey's on fire, but I think he was like that for the SYW tour as well, not to mention his 2 solo junctures.

This suggests that Stevie is somehow holding back and I'm not sure why this excuse has to be made for her. She has been employing her twirls, looks and phrases, people still notice Lindsey. Certainly she can keep up with him and enthrall audiences any time she pleases. But the suggestion that, if she had half a mind to do it, she could completely steal the spotlight from him, so that critics and fans would forget he was there is ludicrous.

They're both magnetic performers. Good for them. I reject the notion that one is "allowing" the other to shine. That's her light right there for all to see. She's not hiding it under a barrel. Is she more animated on her solo tours? Maybe. But you could put Lindsey's solo performance smack up against one of hers and I think he would hold his own. I don't think that either of them in full glory eclipses the other.


Michele

I agree with this, Sharon. :nod:

I never believed for one second that Stevie "allowed" Lindsey to shine and deliberately decided to take a back seat to him while sharing the stage in Fleetwood Mac. If anything, Lindsey's electrifying performances reveal the weaknesses in her own performances these days and he tends to completely overshadow her. It's a sharp contrast indeed. The fact that Lindsey has kept up that same intensity since the SYW tour just makes Stevie's decline all the more revealing, in my opinion.

I think Lindsey's recent solo touring has paid off as well---its like his chops and stage antics are well-oiled and I think he is much happier than he was on the SYW tour.

He's just in a really good place on all fronts. It's very reflective in his music.
He scorched during his solo tour and he just shows no signs of stopping.

I'm happy to enjoy the ride. My b/f is such a guitar guy and he's just been knocked sideways by LB. A good thing for me!

Well, could it be that Lindsey is compensating for his lack of voice with more stagecraft? As Stevie once said, "less voice, more flair." I know I'm going to take a lot of crap by saying what a lot of people have been thinking: Lindsey's voice sounds terrible so far on this tour :sorry: . All I hear is a lot of growling and off-key barking from him. And let's face it- the songs that are now done in a lower key ("Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way," "Say You Love Me," etc.) are probably because of Lindsey's greater limitations as a vocalist this time around. Sure, everyone gets old, and people change... and one could argue that it's better to be rough 'n' ragged as long as you are still rockin'; by contrast, Mama has gone all cabaret-style with her mannered phrasing and projection. But to my ears, Lindsey's lead vocals are a little hard to take. :shrug: Maybe there is a way he could take lessons to learn proper technique, yet maintain his edge...

I won't give ya crap.
I think his voice sounds good. He gets a rasp into it occasionally... I think it's hot. :]

I think Lindsey sounds better this tour than he did for the SYW tour. Yes, a voice coach could probably help him, but I don't think that he's interested in the discipline and he probably thinks it distracts and detracts. I do believe he subscribes to the rough, ragged and rocking philosophy that you mentioned. And I welcome that live. I regret his vocals on UTS because when I tried to turn people onto the album that alienated them. But in concert, I don't have any regrets.

Michele

We used to laugh on the Legacy that the reason Stevie stopped singing Gyspy last tour was because she was horrified by the way Lindsey screamed, "Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice" and she was forced to switch to Sara just to put an end to it.

Michele

:lol: :lol: this is funny.

absolutely. Stevie knows her own power and to keep the peace, she lets Lindsey have his time in the spotlight. If you really think about it, this makes sense. The major source of conflict between the two of them during the majority of their career with FM (aside from their ugly breakup) was the fact that Stevie garnered all the attention on stage. Lindsey said himself he didn't realize Stevie was going to become the star of the band. He did all the behind the scenes work and she got all the attention. Was this fair? Probably not. But it's still a viable source of contention between the two, even to this day. If Stevie is really serious about the two of them getting along better, she would have to recogonize this and take whatever steps necessary to prevent it from becoming an ongoing problem again between the two of them.

Yes i agree, if I or anyone suggested that her amping it up would cause fans to "forget he was there" would absolutly be "ludicrous".

I do not think that anyone is suggesting that.

His whisper techniques on UTS didn't work out so well. But these
same songs came to life on stage. He closed with "Shut Us Down"
the night I saw him. I couldn't get that song out of my head on the
way home from the concert.

There's really no song on which she is un-amped. At least not any of her songs. She is pulling out all the stops on her parts of the show. Not holding back to let him shine. Of course, she's deliberately singing softly and not trying to upstage him on Lindsey's own songs like NGBA or ISA, but by the same token, he is sitting back in the shadows and playing the guitar unobtrusively on SB, Rhiannon, etc. and not crowding her spotlight.

He's not trying to steal the spotlight from her during her songs like he may have done in the past (i.e. Rhiannon) and she is not trying to steal the spotlight from him on his songs, like she used to do back then, particularly during GYOW which, as recently as 1990 she was still trying to do (BTM cameo).

They are both respecting each other. That's all. She's not holding back so he can shine any more than he is holding back on her show stoppers. I really don't see any martyr moment where she could break out and put him to shame, but refrains from doing so to soothe his ego.

I see her shows and I see Fleetwood Mac shows and there's nothing she has done during a solo show that would steal the spotlight from Lindsey if she decided to unleash her amped up fury during a Fleetwood Mac show.


Michele

Um, I really don't agree with this. Sorry. But I'll respect your opinion...just really don't include me in the "we all know" summation because, personally, I've heard people say this many times before whenever Stevie receives slack for her live performances. And I just don't think that someone who has enough respect for her fans, her music, her art would compromise what she does just to allow "Lindsey to shine."

And, pfft, Lindsey shines no matter who he is standing next to. Sorry. He's just that good.:nod:

No worries. But I will add life is full of compromises. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just naive.

From all the youtube videos I have seen Stevie has been great

(you have to take into consideration the sound quality of most of the videos also)

I think what people see is Lindsey being a spazz and Stevie being laid back.

I think Lindsey goes overboard sometimes, for example, the Tusk theatrics and the doggy paddle guitar playing.

Stevie does seem more outgoing solo than with the Mac for whatever reason, but if the voice sounds good and her personality is there that is fine with me.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and toss out my opinion on this subject.

In my humble opinion, if anyone can be said to "carry" this band, it would have to be Mick Fleetwood and John McVie (in any order you like). Both of these guys provide the base onto which Lindsey and Stevie perform. Without that rhythm section, there would not be a Fleetwood Mac. John and Mick give both Stevie and Lindsey the opportunity to shine, both vocally and instrumentally in Lindsey's case. While Mick is certainly "out front" more than John is, both form the solid base that allows Lindsey and Stevie to "wow" us fans. John is a more reserved personality anyway, so he is not one that wants to be out front, while Mick is a wildman and likes the attention his solos and antics get. Neither of them is out to upstage Lindsey or Stevie.

The idea that Lindsey "carries" FM is hilarious and the idea that Stevie is somehow holding back so as not to upset Lindsey is equally so.

If anybody wants to know who really carries FM, it's John and Mick. Full stop.

I totally agree with you. Lindsey is unbelievable wherever he is. I can't believe the whole 'Stevie is holding back' excuse. That's utter bull. No superstar of bygone days would just sit back and take the back seat, especially once they'd have seen those reviews..... Lindsey has always been overlooked in the past, now suddenly that he's getting all the attention it's only because Stevie is letting him. I'm sorry, but no amount of lack of twirling etc could possibly earn LB his dues, his manic performances are doing that for himself.

This is just chiffonheads at their most blind :rolleyes:

John's playing is extraordinary. It sends shivers up and down my spine! His playing "rings like a bell thorough the night".:angel:

Well I think all fans have the ability to be somewhat blind at times, Lindsey's fans included. Lindsey is an amazing performer, no matter what Stevie is doing next to him. That's not in question. I think the only point people are trying to make is that Stevie perhaps tones her own performance down a bit when in FM. That's it. It has nothing to do with letting LB get his dues. He'd be receiving the same fantastic reviews if Stevie were doing cartwheels during the show.

Nope just calling a spade a spade. I have had my share of negative comments regarding her career.

I must say that Lindsey sounds horrible. I think the guy is a musical genius but his voice is shot.

Great post.

I don't think he sounds any worse than SYW or his solo tours. But in general, I've never considered LB a great vocalist really. :shrug: Amazing musician, producer & songwriter, yes. But he's not on my list of best singers of all time. I don't think HE considers himself agreat vocalist.

True.

But you have to admit that it's rather jarring to hear one of his songs from the Rumours era and then hearing one of his songs from the last few years back-to-back. :eek: I would dare say it's even more jarring than hearing Stevie then vs. now. Yes, Lindsey never had a spectacular voice, but it used to have such a pleasing tenor-ish tone to it- almost androgynous in some ways. And it's one thing to have more limited range and a raspy/whispery delivery, but it's another thing to be completely off-key, which Lindsey is a lot these days. By contrast I think Stevie's pitch today is much better than it used to be, especially compared to those who-gives-two-fig-newtons vocals from the Kloponin era...

And he mostly goes off key when he is trying to ad lib or change the melody with his crazy howling.... And it seems like he does this because he's afraid he's not going to hit the right notes....

Just my observation from watching the Youtubes.... and I agree SN and LB are really below par in the vocal category... It's not pleasing to my ears at all... and for those prices, I want to hear good singing along with great playing...

ITA.

I do not think for one second that Stevie is "letting Lindsey shine". He is shining and happy and she isn't. It is just more obvious because Linds is soo exuberant and kick ass. Lindsey has admitted when talking about UTS that Stevie was going through some stuff during the SYW tour......perhaps she still is. I believe Stevie still has a huge ego and resented the testosterone flowing on the SYW tour because it took the spotlight away from her. Blast away. ;)

On, no! Linds is kicking Stevie on stage again? :p
(No, wait, never mind -- these days, he has The Ledge to do it for him....;))

I agree with you on this 500%! You summed it up with great wording, and I can't agree more! :xoxo:

He actually got a lot of great reviews in the old days. In fact, I just posted one from Rolling Stone in 1977 in another thread somewheres. In the major magazines & papers, I would say he got better performance reviews than Nicks did by a factor of about 3 to 1.

Before she became pop's Esteemed Elder, Stevie's best reviews generally came from her fan base.

Yes, from my research and reading... critics have often talked about McVie and Buckingham as the gems of the show... where Nicks would get less than rave reviews... However, rave reviews for Nicks would come from the fans...

Divas do not allow anyone to take the spotlight away from them, they only give it up willingly.

Critics need to bash someone it is part of the game. Stevie is an easy target. Going after an easy target is kinda spineless if you ask me. Especially when one considers the fact that 99.9 % of the critics are male.
R&R is a man's world as Stevie has lamented many times.

I remember remarking to my girlfriend on opening night how his voice actually sounds improved on this tour as opposed to his last few outings. I dont really think its gotten worse, just different. Obviously he doesn't have the high end range he did decades ago, but a lot can be said that of the remaining members, Buckingham's voice has suffered the least over time. I thought he sounded much better this time around, especially on Tusk and Go Insane. Even his higher range has made a slight improvement.