The only advantage of not having Christine in the tour
 

First of all, I'm a big Christine McVie fan, I adore the complete Rumours lineup, and i really, really, reeeally miss her in the last album and tours.

But, thinking the other day, what is good about not having her in this (and the SYW) tour? if there is something good... Well, The only thing that came to my mind is that Stevie and Lindsey have more time to include more songs. So, maybe if Christine still were in Fleetwood Mac, we would never have seen Storms (or Beautiful Child) on the show. Or they wouldn't have included Monday Morning or I know I'm not wrong..

of course I'd choose to have Christine in the band and see again Songbird live, or Everywhere, As long as you follow or Isn't it midnight. But as Mick said in his book, during the Tusk recording the songwriters were very prolific so they released a double album. I guess it's hard for managers and members to play 4 hours each show. :laugh:

I guess you're right, but I wouldn't have minded.
I woulda hoped they'd mix up the setlist for their own sanity, but ... like Miss Scarlet says in "Clue," "Looks like we'll never know!"

You may be right, Villivic. But if Christine were playing, we might have gotten a Christine "Tusk" song, too.

Advantages of not having Christine in the tour:
Here is what we have been told:

#1-Christine is happy.*
2-Lindsey got to be "more of a guy."
3-There was "33 1/3% more room to maneuver."
4-They were able to "explore a more masculine sound."
5-"In the spirit of Fleetwood Mac reinventing itself, it was a challenge, but it was also an opportunity to flex our muscles in a different way."
6-It was "more guitar oriented."


Fleetwood Mac:
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_1...5818aXslD7.jpg
Never Break The Chain. FM is still working.

#1 is really the most important thing for Christine fans.

High def...
I can sacrifice me wanting to see her for her being happy!

Me? Not so much.

Michele

You mean besides not having to listen to her??? :shrug:

There are NO advantages for not having Christine in the band. I don't care about "Storms." I don't care about "I Know I'm not Wrong." In fact, they could perform "Dreams" 15 times during the set :eek: if it means Christine is back doing her thing. M I S S H E R !!!!!!! I think it would be awesome if Fleetwood Mac could do a residency like Michael Jackson at O2 Arena in London. This way Christine doesn't have to travel at all! I'm sure they could sell at least 10 shows there with Christine on the bill. :nod: Trust me... I'll be on that first flight to London...

As would I, If only it'd come to pass. That's a perfectly sensible, brilliant idea! :nod:

-Matt

I'm down! :blob2:

You should tell that to Mick tomorrow at B&N!

Christine brings keyborads, beautiful alto vocals that fill out the band. She filled out he sound and is talented. After seeing clips, she is missed. I do love Stevie and Lindsey.

Don't see or hear any advantages to not having Christine on this tour, or the last one. Her element of musicianship and vocals is greatly missed.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate both Lindsey and Stevie, but miss Christine a great deal.

Since she is not on this tour, it seems as though all the focus is strictly on LB and SN, with little (if any) mention of Mick and John at all. It's as if this is an overblown version of Buckingham/Nicks without their songs being played in favor of the FM catalog. How sad.

I would stand in line, camp out, whatever I needed to, and actually want to come the show in San Jose, if Christine were on this tour. I miss her terribly.

Always a good thing

Yet, somehow still more effeminate than Christine.

Not that they used it...

Yet, somehow still sounded more effeminate than when Christine was in the band.

Must have artritis in their elbows.

Hmmm...Somehow THAT was Christine's fault? She played on Fleetwood Mac albums when Peter Green was in the band, and had two other guitarists in the band on her first four albums as a member of Fleetwood Mac. Note to Lindsey: SHUT THE HELL UP!

I agree.. the only way to rationalize Christine not being there is to look at the bright side..:nod:

Yep i agree, no question that "the feeling that something is missing" is very strong with me too.

I would argue that Christine's songs are the better of the Mac songs and very missed.

In fact.....now that i think about it. That may very well be why I have spoken about the fact that i "personally" felt as if the band wasn't as tight as I thought they used to be.
Interesting......

test,

If anything, I think Christine's playing was rather loose- which is what I loved about her. It wasn't enough to just pound out the chords in rhythm- she would often throw in a bluesy lick or some kind of asynchronous arpeggio, e.g., the live piano breakdown during the "dreams unwind" part of "Rhiannon." Accordingly, if anything, the classic Mac live sound was a little sloppy and raw (of course the "marching powder" didn't help matters). She was very much an intuitive player than someone who just played the notes. Brett Tuggle is a capable musician, but his playing is robotic and bereft of feeling.

I think the band sounds fantastic on the Unleashed tour. I was watching John and Mick last night closely, and I just could not believe what they were doing at times. During the outro to GYOW, Mick was doing all kinds of crazy runs/fills, even more manic than the studio version, without missing a single beat. And they nail each and every "punctuation" mark in "Oh Well." It's just crazy at their age that they can be so tight and make it all look so effortless.

I think it would be the same with anyone missing. It was this unit for longer than it was any other and they had such defined roles.

Saw the Mac in '97 without Lindsey, that wasn't the same.

Didn't see them without Stevie, but that wouldn't have been the same.

And without Chris, not the same.

But I'm really glad they're all enjoying each other's company and playing so well, it still beats what the music industry is feeding us now!

When I say playing "tight" It only means that the whole band hits their vocals/notes/skins together in unison at the same time.
yes, you can be loose and still be "tight" with the rest of the band.

However as each show passes they are getting "tighter" and I'm really glad they are.

test,

that's a great idea, and I love London so.. I wouldn't mind to cross the atlantic!!

For 12 years now, they've hired Neale Haywood to be 2nd guitarist. Plus, he was in Lindsey's OotC touring band (1992) and Lindsey's current touring band. Brett Tuggle's been in Mick's Zoo since 1992, plus toured with both Lindsey & Stevie solo as well as being with Fleetwood Mac since 1997.

Why don't they just have these guys become full-fledged members and drop the pretense of "hired guns"...how long do you have to be "in a band" before you actually are "IN THE BAND"???

So, instead of getting somebody like Sheryl Crow to "fill Christine's shoes" (which she wouldn't be doing anyway), just get Neale & Brett on board as official members. Then we all can go from here saying that it took "Two GUYS to replace Christine".

Totally, Steve. Those guys have been touring with Mac longer than most of the former members were IN the band!! :cool: They should just hire Brett & Neale after all this time (especially if Mac isn't going to record).

And if they ever record again, let the "new" guys write a song or two. Big deal.

Probably the question Ian Stewart asked the Rolling Stones...although he was once in the band...

I agree Chili! I think it would be refreshing to let them be officially part of the Mac. I felt guilty when they were introduced and applauded but didn't really know who they are. The back up singers get more exposure then they do. (I think they are great also).......

Interesting, I wonder if general people would accept this. Anyway, I agree some musicians are not well known "members", but they deserve a recognition and a place in a band history, like Ray Lindsey and Stevie's girls.

Or Davey Johnstone, he's been for years part of the Elton John band, if not his whole career. Elton actually is not a single performer, but a band. In this case he is not so famous, but his photograph appears in some Elton CDs

Here's a curious photo of Elton with Stevie and Glenn Frey. Davey is at the left
http://www.glennfreyonline.com/images/GFreyStevie.jpg

http://www.pro-music-news.com/html/03/50920gib.jpg

No. As a general person, I would not accept it. Although I appreciate Neale and Brett's loyalty.

Michele

So you're saying Stevie has more of an opportunity be more "masculine"?:lol: (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Brett Tuggle is as good a "stand-in" as anyone could be, he's great! But I'd be on the first plane to London too if Christine was on the bill.

Christine is not Perfect!
 

Christine is great (super song writer and great keyboardist) but :sorry:I can't stand her voice :shrug: so I could care less if she's in the band or not. Brett does an awesome job covering her parts so I don't really miss her. She always sounds like she has a bad cold when she sings which I image is a result of smoking too much.:nod:

Carol Lynn
SoCalGalWithASmile

Wasted!
 

Villavic,

Love the pix. Glenn Frey looks totally wasted. :eek: Just another Tequila Sunset I guess.:laugh:

Carol Lynn
SoCalGalWithASmile

What do you mean by loose? I always thought her style was quite tight.

What is an asynchronous arpeggio?

I'm not sure I agree with your estimation of Chris, but the trouble I have with (what I can hear of) Tuggle's playing is that he has no strong personality.

Christine left the band 11 years ago. Get over it.

Christine is a vital part of Fleetwood Mac, in my opinion. The band doesnt NEED her, they are obviously doing just fine without her. They are still selling concert tickets galore, and people generally still want to see them.

My only problem with them is that after Say You Will (over 6 years ago now folks) we still don't have any new recordings. I would much rather them at least RECORD with Christine and then go out and tour. We all know they aren't going to put much new material into the set list. They've got a wealth of material to pick from. 20-23 songs per night isn't much compared to what they have to offer.

But, this is just my hope for the band and it's high. I don't think Christine will rejoin them now in any capacity. That being said, I'm ultimately glad to see them continue and do what they do. But the touring is going to get a bit stale for folks like me who would prefer some new material.

So often, it's looking at Lindsey and Stevie that makes me think of her most. I heard Lindsey doing The Chain with Little Big Town and I thought, "oh, there's the Christine harmony I've been missing since 1997." I'd almost forgotten what it was like.

Michele

I'm over it, in as much as, like Christine, I've moved on from Fleetwood Mac. I'll still go back and drag out the old records every so often, but I just can't get into the band anymore. I knew I was done when I realized that going to the shows now would be less about being excited to see this band and more out of a sense of obligation, and that's not why I go to concerts. To be fair, I gave this particular incarnation a shot, and actually saw three shows (the bookends and one date in between) on the SYW tour. Ultimately, it's just not fun for me anymore.

Charmingly put, I am sure, but some of us are unable to 'get over it' as hearing every version of every song on which she performed bvacking v - but leaving me - is quite disconcerting.

I do understand that Fleetwood Mac doesn't feel whole without Christine. Four out of five just isn't even close to the same, and there have definitely been big repercussions for the band.

HOWEVER, I am THRILLED that Stevie, Lindsey, Mick and John decided to continue without her. In retrospect, it's surprising. Not only have we gotten more tours, but also new material (albeit not as much as we'd all like).

So yes, we may not have Christine. Yes, it may suck. But I still find it incredible that Fleetwood Mac wasn't over forever after The Dance.

I know that steve, but you keep on picking on this incarnation of the band and their attitude for 11 years. That's a tad pathetic too.

And be fair: the only good thing of not having Christine in FM these days is that the risk of them playing Little Lies in concert is ziltch.

Oh, and I miss her too every now and then. Honestly.

Personally as I've said before I don't really miss Christine. The reason I think the band feels like it is lacking is because they didn't replace her. Over the 42 year history the band has always expanded and contracted, and after SYW, it was probably time to bring in a new person. I don't mean Sheryl Crow because that probably would have been a disaster. It would have been nice for them to have discovered a new female voice and brought them into the band.

After Peter left they brought in Christine, after Jeremy left they brought in Bob Welch, after Lindsey left they brought in Rick & Billy and so on. Why they chose not to do that after SYW I don't know.

Christine is history and though many of you love her, she is now in the past. Sadly the band hasn't moved forwards, they have turned into that retro act that the "Time" era band was accused of being.