Do You Think It's Over?
 

I love the Mac and Stevie especially even though i'm still new to the "Penquinhead" culture (aren't Mac fans Penguinheads? or MacHeads? If not would be a good fan name!). But how many times can you release a greatest hits or very best of album?! And on top of that when was the last time any of them released any original material? It was Lindsey right with Gift of Screws? (2008?) I hate to say it, but maybe it's time they went their own ways and just continued with solo careers or maybe managed other up and coming bands? I mean they still perform good, but it's nothing new. I hate to say all this but i've been thinking about it.

What do you guys think?

It's not like they're a "new"/"current" band - they've been around for over 40 years.

I certainly don't expect them to crank out a new studio album every year or every two years -- it's a ridiculous expectation.

I agree that there's only so many greatest hits albums we can handle, but I'd rather a new greatest hits album come out (with two or so new songs, like they usually do) than not have anything come out at all.

Let them take their time regarding new material... they're gettin' old.

No, No, No, No, No, No, No, and NO! They HAVE to release something else...or I'm going to be reallllllllllly sad! I don't even want to imagine a world where FM is over and done with. I know that the day is going to come when the realization will be that there won't be any new material...but they can't end it yet and they can't end it with the Unleased tour...they just can't! It has to be bigger than that. I know that there are those who have been around a lot longer who remember FM in their heyday and feel that they won't ever reach those heights again and may have the opinion that they should move on but I'm not one of them...I missed out on so much and I HATE that...so my perspective is a lot different...I'm not ready for FM to be a thing of the past. I think they've still got it :nod:

They're just looking for the right place to fade...:wavey:

Like a ghost throught the fog?

Fleetwood Mac at some point down the line . . . .

I personally think it's over. Stevie seems disinterested in recording new material because she and Fleetwood Mac are no longer a platinum selling artists. She also has chronicled how miserable she was during the making of Say You Will, and how she didn't like the end product of the album. She seems perpetually angry with Lindsey too. I see more touring to come, but no more new albums. I just don't think Stevie and Lindsey can find any middle ground or reason to record with Christine the moderator and voice of reason being gone. I don't know that I see more solo albums from Stevie either... and it'll probably be a decade before we see anything from Lindsey again.

Well this thread sure is making me depressed guys -- come on, where's the optimistic outlook? :(

I'd be more optimistic, but with the death of Mary Travers and the subsequent end of Peter Paul & Mary (a very similar sounding group to the "Rumours" Fleetwood Mac, IMO, only with significantly more substance), the writing is kind of on the wall for Fleetwood Mac. Nothing lasts forever.

I agree with every single word of this.

I put the over/under of forthcoming Fleetwood Mac concerts (including dates that are already scheduled) at 200. Its all about money/rehearsed false in-concert sincerity at this point.

I think they'll do it. I do however think that it'll be a while.

To quote the poet:
 

This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

—T.S. Eliot, "The Hollow Men" (1925)

Eliot is perfect. Great quote by one of my favorite poets ever.

HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!:] No seriously, I lurked here from 2002 and joined in 2005, and We have this conversation like every ten minutes. ITS DONE! ITS OVER! NEVER AGAIN! Stevie too! Blah,BLah,BLAH. AND it never is. It of course is not as much as i would like, (new studio albums cranked out every couple of years or so), but there is ALWAYS *SOMETHING that surprises me. For example, Since stevies TISL, There was "touched by an angel", "your NOT the one" w/Cheryl crow, "THE one" w/ venessa Carlton, the stand back remixes, the remastered tusk w/demos, white album with single versions, and rumors w/demos AND single versions, the Dreams REMIXes, Mr. Buckingham s soundstage and albums and tour,the Tom Petty Tour (featuring "INSIDER" live) which by the way was one of the "NEVER"s also. Other "NEVERS" include Beautiful child live, and STORMS live which people always said "I could die happy if stevie would ONLY just actually sing INSIDER, BEAUTIFUL CHILD, or STORMS, Live". Crystal visions ( I LIKED having all the videos, and a Good quality version of Rock and roll and edge w/the orchestra ect., the Say you will album, the tour, The DESTINY RULES Documentary, Stevies couple of solo tours and Her SOUNDSTAGE which i think is one of the BEST things shes ever done. and then the CD with Circle Dance and Crash and my FAVORITE version of how still my love. AND then this New tour, where there going to Europe and NZ. It really isnt as bleak as it sometimes made out to be, so keep the faith. they/she are not yet done.:thumbsup:

Thanks for summarizing everyone's solo careers under the guise of prophesizing the group's future. Like we didn't already know all of this ourselves- even in the context of this conversation.

No offense, seriously, but no one is talking about the creative vitality of any one member. We're talking about the group. If you can come up with anything the band has done since 2004 that could possibly suggest that there is a creative future afoot, please go right ahead.

I think it's over, yes. Their fortune is in the touring, and that's where they are focused. Sadly, I also think they aren't wanted by Warner, Reprise, or any label. They're in their 60s. At most, I think they'd only get a generous offer to once again re-record their best known songs (Carly Simon's soon to be released project) a "genre" type album (like when Rod Stewart did those standards albums) or cover songs that would guarantee the label a good publishing cut- I may not be phrasing correctly-
What I mean is that a new cd of new material wouldn't have any guaranteed money for anyone except possibly Fleetwood Mac, and due to everything- age, the Internet, lack of radio interest, even Fleetwood Mac wouldn't make much money, likely. I think its why we also don't see new cds from Aerosmith, Heart, or anyone in the 60ish age bracket unless they do a 'songs of the 70s' kind of project. Good old Cher has a deal now she's doing her best to sound enthusiastic about, a songs of the 60s cd, paraphrasing "there were so many great songs from that era and I want to do songs I loved hearing on my transister radio or on the AM radio in my '65 Ford Mustang'-- so, the label makes money if 'Warner (Brothers) Publishing' just happens to be among the hits she'll re-record. I think LB has too much artistic integrity to play that game, when it comes to recording. Yet, as a father of 3 with a young wife to support, and being a gifted performer, he can make a fortune playing live with Mac (not solo, most definitely) and it's wise for him to do so.
I think Stevie would do the cover types of project, or play the game, more than LB will. I give him a lot of credit for his 2 recent solo cds and dvd, because he stuck to his guns and got the projects released on his own terms and likely, for not much money. I mean, of all people, both Donny Osmond and Barry Manilow have had recent releases giving the labels what they wanted- remakes of old hits. I just don't think any label wants a new Fleetwood Mac cd enough to pay the band what I think they expect, and haven't, apparantly, been offered.

Indeed. The problem with most of the stuff Phoenix listed too is almost none of it included new studio albums. In this decade we've seen 4 new studio albums between Fleetwood Mac, Stevie, and Lindsey. For comparison, the Mac, Stevie, and Lindsey put out 8 studio albums in the 1980s, 3 in the 1970s, and 4 in the 1990s. I'm kind of stretching my definition of studio albums around the Rumours crew, and am including Time against my will just so I don't get yelled at :laugh:. So if you look at it that way, the kids aren't being as lazy as we think they are. But even this is flawed logic. Fleetwood Mac put out 3 studio albums in the '70s, but the Rumours band only existed for the second half of that decade. Also, in the 80s, between Lindsey and Stevie combined recorded 3 times the amount of albums that Fleetwood Mac itself put out. Then in the 90s, S&L only recorded 1 album each. My point with all this confusing soup is that you can spin numbers any way you want.

I think Blemelin put it more succinctly than any of us have been able to. I think we're all waiting for that last, sublime album. The album to trump all others, the mythical Swan Song. Instead, the band is aging exactly like a person: getting fat, slowing down, working less, suffering hip injuries, having memory issues, until it finally wheezes it's last breath and dies. How much of this have we already seen with our own eyes??? :laugh::p

If Fleetwood Mac wanted to record/release an album in 2010, they'd have no problem doing so. They might not get the advance they've been accustomed to (or what they got in 2002 for SYW), but they would get more than enough. Its just that they don't want to- its not worth the effort to Stevie, and Lindsey has finally realized that there's an outlet for his material when presented solo.

If we're ever going to get new material from them, I bet it'll probably come in the form as a song or two available as downloads- presented as a lark of sorts (where Lindsey will get to tell everyone how this is their new "single" with his mock pride). Stevie's content in cashing her ~$200K checks every night (as long as she doesn't have to sing SS *every* *night*!!), and Lindsey's just along for the ride.

I think this is just one of those dooms day rants...
"The day Fleetwood mac finally decides to die..."
But instead of saying it's over and going home and crying about it, why not just suck it up and admire all the amazing work they have created in the last 40 years...
Sure it's sad that it's coming to an end, but it doesn't have to if we all take out our albums and LISTEN!!!
It's not like there isn't anymore that you can absorb from a band like this...
And if you've had your fill, then find another band to get obsessed over and stop making this forum a negative/ one foot in the grave scenario....

Well everythings been a " been there done that" with them after 30 years....the only thing left I'd like to see happen is a Buckingham Nicks reunion...a strictly Lindsey and Stevie effort...a focus on their original sound ..maybe a new album that brings that back...call it Buckingham Nicks 2 or something and a tour....Frozen Love Live...I'm waiting! Now that would be the way to to go out...the same way they came in...a beautiful Love Story.

Stevie did just recently say she's not retiring...I think she still has a spark and will do some fun things... I truly believe this..I don't think after seeing them in 2009 that I got any sense that they just wanted to quit.

I think this could be the main problem. Lindsey still seems to want to be creative with Fleetwood Mac and he's still writing and recording as much now or more than he was 30 years ago, but if FM aren't on the same page as him he'll just get frustrated and go off and do his solo thing again because he still feels he has something to say. I think the future holds a few more Lindsey solo albums and tours, along with maybe one or two more big Fleetwood Mac tours. I would love to see a new Fleetwood Mac album but if Stevie isn't 100% into it then I would rather we just got more Lindsey solo because then, in two years, we won't have to listen to "I wasn't happy with this, that and the other thing".

I honestly think it was a good idea to do this tour for everyone involved. I also think that stevie hasnt sounded this upbeat in a LONG time....when the tour is done they are gonna hit the studio...i feel it!

I agree but I think the minute Lindsey said yes to this greatest hits tour it was the end of them as a recording band. He was always against doing tours like that before and becoming a nostalgia act, and adamant about having new material in the set. I think Stevie enticed him into doing this tour with the possibility of recording again but once it got underway and was somewhat successful I think all that flew out of the window. I think Lindsey just accepted it as a cash-in, something he needed to do money-wise in order to do his solo projects, which let's face it is where his heart and creativity lies these days.

I agree, other then maybe Lindsay, I think the others, especially Stevie are turned off by the logistics, money and time it would take to do another studio album.....why bother making another album when you can tour, much easier, and make loads of $$ without having to work too hard....

Where does it say that Fleetwood Mac MUST have Stevie Nicks as a member? There was a Fleetwood Mac before she arrived, there was a Fleetwood Mac when she didn't want to be involved.

I'd WELCOME a new Fleetwood Mac album without her. Let them carry on with just Lindsey, Mick & John and add Brett & Neale as full-fledged members. back to an all-male Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood Mac is dead....long live Fleetwood Mac.

Nobody here is giving Mick Fleetwood any credit for all the recording he's done. Whether he calls it the Zoo or the Blues Band or something else, he keeps recording every so often.

A few people want a Buckingham Nicks project of some sort or other, but what? An album? A tour? How would that actually differ from the last Mac album or tour?

Others say Fleetwood Mac has another huge tour or two in the future. At what? Age 65? 70?

I think the best thing for Stevie Nicks to do is to park herself at Caesar's Palace or Wynn in Las Vegas for six weeks & do three or four shows a week there. Maybe Mick Fleetwood will drum for her.

I'd like that even more than a Lindsey solo album and it could just be perfect - it could end up being like the original GOS sessions - but at this stage I don't think it would even occur to Mick, John and Lindsey to do an album without Stevie under the banner of Fleetwood Mac unless, maybe, they got Christine to come back. Maybe they maybe feel that if it's just one of the three Rumours songwriters then it's not Fleetwood Mac. :shrug:

That's their problem...they've banked their entire 40 year history on one album. And, not even their BEST album (musically speaking) at that.

After all, that is the main reason WHY Peter Green named the band that way. The guitarists, keyboardists, songwriters, singers may come & go, but if Mick's behind the drums and John's anchored next to the drum riser on bass, it's Fleetwood Mac.

I like Rumours but I think I prefer SYW to be honest, I am still at the listening to all the albums stage and so far i pick and chose when it comes to the other albums, but I don't have all of them so I have to go with what I have downloaded which for two of the albums isn't all the songs.

Hmmm...
 

As much as I have loved Fleetwood Mac over the years, the magic is gone. This last tour was like the Lindsey show which is so not what I want to see when I go. I do miss Christine but we all know she is not returning. However, I will be perfectly happy to have Stevie continue solo. Lindsey's music just doesnt do it for me and if I never have to hear one more hour of guitar solos in a FM show again, I will die a happy camper. JMO...I know it isnt the same for Lindsey fans.

From the Destiny Rules DVD which sorry Lindsey fans, it seems like it is definitely about the money for him. I do like his playing i love his song I'm So Afraid, and Murrow Turning Over in his Grave.

Apparently you saw a very different documentary than I did. Lindsey was willing to make Say You Will a double album and eat the extra costs. His two recent solo tours certainly didn't make him any money either. I'm not saying he doesn't want to get paid, but he's no more greedy than the rest of the band, in fact strikes me as less so than certain other members, cough...Mick...cough.

Because they tried that in 1994 and it flopped miserably. At this point in the game, after 35+ years of history, Stevie is cemented as the face of Fleetwood Mac. If you ask a random person on the street to name the members of Fleetwood Mac, I guarantee you Stevie Nicks is the only one most people can name. Whether it's good for the Fleetwood Mac moniker or not, whether it's to anyone's personal preferences or not, we're stuck with a Fleetwood Mac that includes Stevie at this point.

That's because Heroes are Hard to Find.... :woohoo:

I think that if they put another album out, they'll be able to continue touring at the bigger venues (even if its debatably a bad business decision). If they try to do the greatest hits tour thing again (and again, and again...), I think we'll end up seeing a lot smaller venues, including wineries, and no more international shows. It'll be like what Heart and Lynyrd Skynyrd are doing these days although I'm not sure they even feel the need to put out greatest hits albums to correlate with their tours, unlike those two bands...... I donno. I hope they make a new album but if they do solo works, I'm fine with that, too-- just as long as we get another Mac tour out of it.

Fleetwood Mac would sooner call it a day if they aren't able to play large capacity/big money venues- after all, that's the whole point of why the group still exists as we head into 2010.

I'm hoping for one more mac album.
I know there'll be another stevie album.

But I wanna say I was a fan when a fleetwood album was released.
I didnt know anything about them back in 03

Its very interesting to read everyones thoughts......I don't mind if there different at all.....we don't have to agree on anything.....Personally, I think Mac are 'done'.....the magic isn't there & many other things bother me......I don't even think they like there own music much(same for Stevie solo too)......sorry the set list thing still bothers me.....(same for Stevie solo).....plus the high ticket prices....thats one reason I didn't buy any for this tour & won't again /same for Stevie solo as well.....its not worth it to me......I've paid there way over the yrs through all that I've purchased......Personally, its sad with as much history as Mac has (as well as each solo artist in the band) that they couldn't make the most of what 'they' have. Put out the rest of the re-issues even if it's in limited quanities....(from like 'live' on....with extras) release all your video's/give us some rare live material....which we know exsists. Stevie could do the same as well. Use the Net to your advantage instead of dis-advantage. But no they will keep giving us GHits packages over & over again......thats lame and boring......yes maybe the 'have' to? I have no clue but 'if' they want to do something they can & will find a way but I don't think many of them are really interested in recording anything 'new' at all.......esp Stevie.....we all know what she's stated in the press these last couple of yrs.......not that she'd recall it probably.....anyway, no offence but well it ...is what it is........and there's no going back........:shrug::nod: