What Should A New Fleetwood Mac Album Sound Like?
 

In an interview Christine gave earlier in the year she said the songs she'd done with Lindsey, Mick & John were a mixed bag. Can't recall exactly but I think she said one was really funky, one was bluesy and one was country inspired.

Glad to hear Lindsey say in his recent interview that he took the songs Christine presented to him and 'took a lot of liberties with them'. That's what is needed with her songs. I love In The Meantime but he is able to play around with them and elevate otherwise nice, simple songs to another level of greatness.

I'd love to have an amalgamation of all the styles of everything they've done over the past 40 years.

I love the way John and Chris are sitting in the chair. Arms, denim legs. I can't tell when one's body begins and the other ends.

Michele

I think they should play it safe, a la Mirage, and go for the sound that "brought em".

I think a mirage sound would be great considering there are quite a few "indie" bands really getting into the Mirage-Tango era sounds. I think they could definitely put a modern sheen on things and pull it off.

Something like this would be PERFECT (sonically anyway)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edWnWhZKM-I

I think a song that sounds like this would be a good sound for Lindsey as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWmQNeGQb7w

I think it would be wise for them to really play up the ethereal/esoteric side of them for this last swan song of an album

I'd love a "safe," Mirage type of sound as well. But anything would be great, really. I just hope they don't attempt anything "danceable," that one new Christine track notwithstanding.

I hope they sound like Fleetwood Mac..LOL...................................

Which they will.

I hope they let it rip for once. Stop being commercial, conservative, or safe. Blast away with total creativity. Lets get them in raw form. I would love to hear some hard rock from them or some kind of things they do live.
I know Chris will bring some beautiful ballads but she can rock too. Maybe she has another Isnt it Midnight in her ;)

Amen to that. We don't need to hear anything "safe" from this band at this point in their career. The new project should be one of the most artistic, experimental and sublime albums of their catalog. They need to bring in an outside producer like Mitchell Froom or T-Bone Burnett. I always recall when Johnny Cash made an album with Rick Rubin called "The Man Comes Around".

Froom gets my vote for a few reasons, such as his past works with the likes of Richard Thompson and Susanna Hoffs, but mostly because he's already produced Lindsey's songs that I assume are going on the new album.

What SHOULD it sound like? LOL.

Fresh. Innovative. Familiar. Haunting. Bitter. Sweet. Catchy. All at the same time.

What WILL it sound like? Lindsey will be idiosyncratic, neurotic, and annoying. As he has been since Tango. Or he might be just bland. A la Peacekeeper. He may be tamed by forces around him to take all the edges off. Maybe a bad thing. Maybe not.

Chris will be catchy. Warm. Bouncy. With any kind of luck, she may even be sexy like Isn't It Midnight. I am sure the studio can resurrect those honey coated tones. And she has a way with a melody. She will crank out some nice songs with Lindsey to pull her out of her shell. If there is a song that gets airplay (unlikely), it will be hers.

Stevie will probably drag out two tired old 70's demos, scrapping the original melodies that were interesting, because her range doesn't allow her to sing them that way anymore. But she will sing them anyway, and render them shadows of their previous almost greatness. She will toss in one co-write song with music by Sanwertcambellwhatever that she sings three notes over and proclaims her anthem of the ages. It will be ignored in droves and not performed live. Everyone will screech when she twirls twice during a dragging trudging boring Rhiannon on the final tour. And the band will gross over 150 million in farewell tour show receipts.

End. Scene.

Harsh but hilarious! :lol:

Sparky.is.spot.on. :thumbsup:

It still bugs the sh@& out of me that we only got 5 studio albums out of this line up in 40 years. I'm sure this will be another classic collection with a current sound like the MAC has always stayed true to. We will get at least a handful of new radio type friendly songs like...... Say You Love Me, Second Hand News,Think About Me, Sara, Hold Me and Little Lies...........I'm sure of it and I can't wait.I have always treasured their solo work but this album can't come soon enough.

I've always felt the Buckingham/McVie collaborations were far superior to anything else. They have a such a superb chemistry within this band. Can't wait to hear what they came up with. I understand they wrote some stuff together in the studio as well. It must be nice for Lindsey to work with her again as she is an accomplished musician.

I agree with that! World Turning, Dont Stop, Think About Me, Hold Me, Mystfied and Isn't Midnight are stand out tracks....just to name a few.

It's astonishingly sad how meager their output has been. After a very productive roll between 1975-1979, progress began to sputter. When Mirage was released three years later, it was actually hailed as a reunion. After that, priorities shifted, and all expectations went out the window. We'd certainly have a larger body of work if they reunited every three years!

I suppose we can try to assuage ourselves with a quality over quantity mindset, and with all of the solo albums that filled the gaps in the ensuing years.

What should a new Fleetwood Mac album sound like? Dispensing assumptions and expectations, a new album with just Lindsey at the helm might sound somewhat similar to his more recent solo records (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). On the other hand, if he co-produces with some one like T Bone Burnett, the results might be less idiosyncratic and more dynamic and satisfying. (I'm a big fan of Sam Phillips, T Bone's ex-wife, whose albums he used to produce.)

With the exception of Fleetwood Mac/Rumors, their proceeding albums all have an distinct, individual sound. I hope the new album stands out in that manner.

That's part of the problem with having such early success (insane, incredible success) with the Rumours Generation. They had extraordinary money in their pockets and weren't hungry like so many other bands are. They have said it themselves--money in their pockets, money in the washing machine, etc. Even today, they are bloated--except for Mick. He can't hold on to a buck for nothing! Were it not for Mick, this band would be totally broken up. SO: thank you Mick for being a poor financial steward!

I LOVE LOVE Richard Thompson! His Froom produced work is brilliant. I also like Froom's work on Suzanne Vega's "99.9F Degrees".

I've just listened to Mystified about ten times over.

I think it must rank as Fleetwood Mac's must underrated song (or at least top 3).
The vocals of both Christine and Lindsey are like smooth chocolate together. This features some of Lindsey's finest guitar playing...just played straight, not trying to be clever (remember this Lindsey?).
Christine's lyrics aren't exactly deep- in fact, they are perhaps even simpler than most of her songs (which is saying something). However, they lend themselves well to what is a tender, laid back, chilled piece of music. It also reminds me of Warm Ways in its simplicity.

I'd be a very happy man if Lindsey has done something like this to Christine's recent material. A couple of Mystified-esque songs on a new album would be very welcome as far as I'm concerned.

I love Mystified. Their collaborations are always so genuine and profound. I remember when I bought the 45 single for Big Love and I would listen to the back side. (You And I part 1). It was such a departure from the normal sound of Fleetwood Mac. You can most certainly hear Lindsey and Christine's relationship in their music. I believe their muse is the strongest in the band, and it's so refreshing to see them so friendly on stage. The three shows at the Forum they looked at each other so much it was comical. I love when he buries his head in Christine's stomach. He did it three times in LA. lol

They looked at each other a lot during The Dance as well. He would basically stare at her, when he was not as his mic singing. When he's at his mic and turns right, he usually looks at Stevie, but if he's not singing, he's looking at Christine.

Michele

friendship? respect? muse? what are these things you are talking about? looking at someone other than Nicks? are you dreaming?? every shipper will tell you he only does these things to make Stevie jealous. :p :lol:

LOL... Christine and Lindsey are in love dammit!!! And he's going to break up with Kristen after the tour and she will scream Hold Me and he will say Don't Stop because you make lovin fun! I know you don't get it, but I see it!!:lol:

I'm a shipper
I have never said that and I don't believe it at all

I would say 90% or more of 'shippers' have absolutely no problem with him looking at others, with him respecting and being a friend to Chris, with their co-writes, etc. It only get frustrating when the media/fans push HARD (occasionally with digs at S/L or their fans) or when it's accompianed by a decrease in interaction with Stevie. That's my experience, anyway.

I mean, I'd welcome a first single off this album being a Christine song, or a Christine/Lindsey co-write with good harmonies. Nice and hooky.

Now Lindsey will have to issue a clarification (or Mick will do it) saying that he didn't mean it would be the last, the swansong, exactly, he just meant it would be near the last, the pentultimate or something.

Michele

I highly doubt they'll return to it, but my favorite FM (or close to it) sound since Tango was on "Twisted." I can't really describe that sound in technical detail, or how Lindsey achieved it, but it just sounds less over-produced and sterile than most of his recent efforts. More "Never Going Back Again" than "Red Rover"…more "I Don't Want to Know" than "Everybody Finds Out." Something more rootsy/warm and less glossy.

I agree 100% with you. I feel Lindsey is at his absolute best when he works with Christine. Working with her pulls out his musical genius and her natural talent benefits greatly from his production values..

I would love to hear a new album that has the warmth of the songs on the Tusk album. I love Save Me a Place, Honey Hi, Over and Over, and Beautiful Child. Basically songs that are simply produced that bring out the vocal strengths of the songwriters.

Having Christine back in the studio will bring Lindsey back to what he has always done to create that classic Fleetwood Mac sound. Say You Will had sprinkles of it on some of the tracks but also had a solo feels to it ( I'm sure because we had the GOS songs) and Stevie came in after most of the music was recorded. The same thing will happen with this album with Stevie but having Christine there early on will not make it sound like solo albums meshed together.

Agreeing with cascade13
 

"Twisted" was a great piece of work from Lindsey and Stevie. That would've been great on a post-Dance 5 member album. And if we could get songs from Christine like "Over and Over" on the possibly coming album I'd be glad. She really shines on Tusk.

Yes Stevie was so happy with LB's work on "Twisted" that she re-recorded it and put it on "24 Karat Gold".

Wonder what LB thinks of that? She might be sending him a message.

:lol: a message that she doesn't want to work on any new music with him? i think he got that one, repeatedly. ;)

so in your opinion, why doesn't she have the courage to actually make a clean break and leave the band you obviously think she so loathes to be a part of?

I think that any new album from Fleetwood Mac will sound a lot like Tango in the Night

I say this because it will have a stack of excellent Lindsey/Christine collaborations, some ground-breaking Christine songs, some esoteric guitar-oriented songs from Lindsey and three short, sweet songs from Stevie which will be love it or hate it songs.

It should either sound like Tusk or like a Bryan Ferry album.

I don't understand the assumption that Stevie recorded a new version of Twisted as a signal that she didn't like Lindsey's arrangement.

Lindsey and Stevie recorded it as a duet, featured on a sound track album. Soundtrack albums usually have a short shelf-life fall into obscurity. Even between that version, the demo version on her Enchanted box set, the song still remains rather obscure. I think Stevie's intentions were entirely benevolent; she wanted give the song more exposure by featuring it on her album as a solo number, and not as a slight/message to Lindsey. It was a similar situation when she re-recorded Crystal as a solo song. I can't imagine Lindsey seeing it as some sort of protest against him. That seems silly and juvenile.

I support a little bit of both! Bryan Ferry? I would have never thought of him.

Tango in the Night is great for what it is, but I hope they go a little more organic, warm and earthy. Lindsey, take your hands off the sound effects buttons!

I agree with this so much! They don't need so many added effects to sound incredible. Going a bit stripped back would be a nice change.

It should sound like Fleetwood Mac.

Easier to believe Stevie is stuck in a playground mentality apparently... There's the slightest hint of 'I like the demo better' in this comment below she made on iHeart Radio but I do think the primary reason for re-recording was to finally have a version on a proper album of hers so it would gain more exposure and be heard more. She was very stuck on the idea that people had missed the song (and particularly the MEANING) when she wrote about it for Enchanted.

"‘Twisted’ was written in 1995 for a movie called ‘Twister’ and I was actually approached to write it for this movie. So I kinda, uh, I went and saw the movie without any music in it and really, uh, you know, got the gist of what these crazy people do when they follow these tornadoes around in cars and, um, are almost killed, and why they do it is to protect us and to be able, you know, warn the, uh, American public or wherever that there’s a tornado coming. And, um, so, it was pretty, you know, pretty violent and scary and so I went and I wrote this song called ‘Twisted’ and, um, uh, I recorded it with Lindsey for the movie and, uh, we did a, uh, you know, we did a movie version of this song. And, um, years and years later - like a couple of months ago - I was listening to, uh, some demos and the ‘Twister’ demo that I had originally made in my house in Phoenix, um, came on and at first I didn’t recognize it because it’s very, very different than the version that went in the movie. And I just went like, I just love this song and I think song deserves another chance because I think any song that goes into a movie - unless it’s a huge, you know, unless it’s like a, you know, Terminator movie or something - is gonna be heard, seen for a second and never thought of again. So I thought this song deserves to be re—recorded and re-done and so I just decided that it should be on this record. So I took it with me to Nashville and, of course, they did it exactly like my demo which I loved because that’s the way I really always wanted it to be, anyway. And it’s, you know, it’s not just a song about tornadoes; it’s a song about when a man or a woman comes into your life and they are a tornado and they almost just wipe you out and, uh, so it’s, it is a love song. And it’s kind of a crazy love song and, um, I’m very proud of it because it is so much what I always wanted it to be and I hope everybody, you know, everybody has their ‘She Loves Him Still’ and everybody has their tornado. So, this is for all the tornadoes in peoples’ lives that are actually human."