What will be your Christine celebration?
 

I haven’t played any of her music or Mac since I heard about her passing. I’m still in a bit of shock. I have watched all the great TV tributes from the networks and read a lot of beautiful words from her many admirers.

My daughters(also big fans) will be over for dinner this Sunday. I plan on playing my 5.1 DVD SS discs of Fleetwood Mac/Rumours/Tusk/Mirage and the Tango remaster cd back to back at a very high volume…….and then The Dance DVD.

I've been playing songs from In the Meantime and I also played Love in Store about 12 times today

Wednesday night I watched her 1984 concert, Landover 75 and Young Music Show. I cried a few times.

This is such a good idea, to get in the mindset of celebrating her rather than wallowing in the pain. Thanks for this.

So many things. Tonight I’ll probably listen to the Songbird compilation on vinyl and watch her 1983 solo concert on YouTube. Next week, I’m hoping to get my first ever tattoo, one of the birds from the Kiln House cover, in honor of her. I’d also been learning Got A Hold On Me on the piano and I’m now determined to finish and be able to play it in full.

In the long term, my husband and I are going to be in Europe this summer and I’d love to spend a few days in England visiting important places in Christine/FM history - like the town where she was born, her home in Kent which is now a yoga retreat place, venues where early FM and Chicken Shack used to play, etc.

I've also been stuck on Warm Ways.

Everywhere has been stuck in my head. It was even before her passing. The Chevrolet commercials have made me sing/hum to this song continuously. There must be like four different versions of the AD. I LOVE THiS SONG!

Even though I have teared up on several occasions I have been dedicated my time posting comments here on the Ledge and other places in celebration of Christine’s extraordinary life. We are so lucky to enjoy the fruits of what she loved to do. I have listened to her In the Meantime album and some stuff from her 1984 album. I have watched some of my own videos of Fleetwood Mac when she came back. I don’t think I’m ready to play “Over my Head” because that is is the first time I’ve ever heard her. With that I’m thinking of starting a thread were everyone can comment on when the first time they ever heard Christine ever sing. I remember that vividly but I think it is not time yet at least for me. Long live our Songbird.

The first time I remember seeing Chris was watching the Little Lies music video on TV as a kid. At the time, something about her hat viscerally bothered me. :laugh: (Now I think it may have been the awkward way she was sat at the piano in part of that footage, which is something I analyzed in detail in another thread recently.:o)

This week I've been playing her on the piano--Songbird, Over & Over, SYLM, Don't Stop, Hold Me, the keyboards on Rhiannon, and of course Why.

Also listening to a pretty little cover of Why that sodascouts and I made back in the day.:woohoo:

But for me it started with Little Lies, and those lyrics are taking on unexpected new layers of significance at this time.

If I could turn the page in time
Then I'd rearrange just a day or two
Close my, close my,
Close my eyes

I haven't listened to anything yet, I can't. When I watched the tributes on YouTube and Songbird was played I clicked to the next video. It's so unreal that she's not with us anymore. I'm still in some sort of shock and disbelief. Maybe I will listen to her over the weekend. One of my favorites is Never Forget. I will never forget how kind and sweet she always was whenever we met. And so patient when I couldn't find the right words (my native tongue is Dutch). She was a real classy Lady and I will miss her so much.

As for the band, I think Fleetwood Mac is no more. John is selling most of his bass guitars and even the flight cases are up for sale or so I've heard. Chris was selling pieces of clothing and jewelry. And I don't want them to go on. Someone on here, I don't remember who, said it best: it's over, it's time to let go.

Watching The Making Of Rumours now. Bawling after watching her sing Songbird.

I listened to the alternate version of Only Over You on the Mirage deluxe and couldn’t finish it. It was too stressful.

I’ve been humming The Way That I Feel (1973, not 2017) for the past two days.

I'm going to take some time to really listen to her 84 solo album.

Lucky for many of us, she has never been off our playlist anyway, especially with the collection having been released so recently. So, I cannot say that I have done anything to celebrate her really, because those people are on regular rotation. In fact, it is irritating, because my Apple Music and Alexa are always prompting me to play one mad Macster or another, even when I am trying to listen to something else.

But I had BuckVie on in the car today when going to the market and in the fade Chris is faintly repeating “yes, I’m too far gone. Too far gone. Yes, I’m too far gone” and that just made me cry. Obviously, she is still as close to me as she always was. It is not like I was accustomed to passing her on the stairs or running into her at the mall. We did not exchange birthday cards. I knew her through audio and video and I still have as much of that as I want. But somehow just knowing that she is not on the earth anymore makes a difference and feels so sad.

And I do not feel she was 79 and it was to be expected. It feels premature. I have thought about them all dying. But I suppose I pegged John as the first. With Christine, I guess I thought there would be one more thing. Something I could mark as a farewell. I knew the end was coming, but this feels abrupt. In her actual life, she may well have prepared for death, but for my imagined Christine, there is an awful lack of completion.

It genuinely has not registered properly with me. I haven’t cried properly for her (and her family), but I know I will.

I played All Over Again last night and I was so frazzled from my work day that I just listened, stunned.

What I will do, right now, is put on You Make Loving Fun from The Dance. That song kicks the living daylights out of everything. The Dance was my reintroduction to the Mac as an adult. It never sounded better (to me) and I just love the reaction it gets. I want to remember Christine like that. And I will.

My 1969-1974 Box set arrived late last night. This weekend I get to dive into it. I cant wait to hear all the extras. I used to have the 1974 concert on cassette in the mid 80s. I am excited to hear it on Bose CD. Although I may cry during Why.
Just looking at what this box set offers is incredible let alone hearing it. What a great gift idea to any Mac fan. The price was insane. I paid about $6 per CD. Some of these really early albums I never owned. I think my original collection started with Bare Trees. I also think its about time I get Behind The Mask on CD. That album Christine shines. But then again she shined on any album. We say this all the time but she never recorded a bad song. Songs like Ricky or One More Lonely Night are here weakest and they are still great songs. I dont think there is another artist besides maybe Bruce or Billy Joel or Rolling Stones or Led Zepplin can you say that.
I cant even being to imagine how Come A Little Bit Closer is going to sound on my Bose system. OMG

There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t pop one of these discs in rotation. All of her pre 1975 songs are masterpieces!

The 69-74 boxset is a superb remastering and sounds you never thought were there, pop out at you. The rocking live Homeward Bound is Christine at her hardest rocking best and vocally she is spot on. Everything on there is a treat and I agree, all of her songs from the period are masterpieces that were overshadowed by her equally great later work.

I've been listening and humming along to the acoustic version of "Friend", "Everywhere", and "Love Shines". The ITMT version of "Friend" never really grew on me, but the acoustic version? Perfect.

I've been playing my Christine playlist dayly (solo+Mac) while doing things at home, but tonight (as usual on weekends) I'll dinner (+wine) with my partner and watch a selection of the best Christine songs, specially live. I'll try not to cry :o

Currently listening to this chestnut that just became available. From Christine’s solo tour Columbus OH 5.8.84. A couple audio glitches but sounds so good. Scroll down to ChristineMcVieBand to download or listen to mp3.

http://tela.sugarmegs.org/latestadditions.aspx

It’s currently #9 on new additions list and can be found doing a search for Christine McVie thereafter.

I made a big old playlist and put it on my iPod (yes I still have one of those) - 14 hours of nothing but Christine from Chicken Shack all the way to Buckingham McVie. Live stuff too. (DownOnRodeo, I listened to our version of Why as well!)

I also wore a Fleetwood Mac shirt to work on Thursday under my blazer. An older colleague spotted it and asked me if I'd "earned" it, presumably wondering if I was like those kids who wear Nirvana T-shirts but don't actually listen to the band. I assured her I was indeed a fan (little does she know), then realized that this colleague wasn't aware that Christine had passed away... I broke the news. It was a rather awkward moment.

At any rate, I'll be listening to the playlist for a while, I imagine. For me, it helps.

I thought about her by tuning in to the auction of her stuff just to see how it was going.... stuff is flying! Anyone win anything?

Wow. They got some great prices. I was going to bid on an item that said it was worth about $50. I was going to bid $105 a few weeks ago. That item sold for $2237!!!!!!!

Although some people got some good deals on some chairs and furniture. But boy they are making a killing.

That sounds so cool. I didn't know her home was a yoga retreat place now. what's it called? Wickhambreau or something? The Quaives?

I’m there right now. Blew a good chunk of my savings on one of the accordions and some other things, but I’ve always been the kind of person who gets really attached to the sentimental value of objects - I figured this is a once in a lifetime kind of thing (literally - I can’t imagine myself ever bidding in an auction again in my life) and I’d regret it if I didn’t. I hope that a good amount of the items have been going to other true fans. But some of these hammer prices are wildly high compared to the estimates - hopefully Musicares at least gets a decent percentage of it.

Yes, it’s The Quaives. https://www.thequaives.com/ You can rent out and stay in the “Songbird Cottage” which is apparently where Christine kept her instruments and awards when she lived there.

Yes... I may have bid on some items myself...:eek:

I loved that one of her pianos that sold came with a cover that said "Christing F*****g McVie" LOL

Was QUITE surprised, given the way everything has been flying out the door and for higher than estimated prices, that her Yamaha baby grand that she used on the road to play "Songbird" from 1977-1997 per the auction notes, did NOT meet its minimum. They had it estimated from $50-70k and the bids stalled out at like $40/45k and they pulled it.:eek:

I've got some Tusk and Mirage shirts that are practically DUST. They haven't been worn in 30 years, but just years of sitting in boxes has taken it's toll, I guess.

I took her Time and Behind The Mask songs, specially All Over Again, one of the first songs that came to my mind after I knew what happened... Then I listened to some of her solo songs, but I'll go from the TITN works to the Future Games ones, just to go to the starting of everything.
RIP Christine

I've been listening to that while watching the sunset. Even though, she's waiting for the sun, "to come up"

I playing my early 70s box set. OMG I never had Heroes on CD. The bass thumping on Angel and the incredible keyboard work. Forgot how psychedelic Coming Home was. I heard things on the remaster that I had not before. The 1974 concert is so psychedelic too. But it was the early 70s and many rock bands had that sound.
These albums are absolutely incredible.

I live near Coral Gables FL and I would love to know about the story Bob tells in the live version of Bermuda Triangle about the guy from Coral Gables. The bass and drums and keyboards are so good together. What an incredible rhythm section.
I am like I am 14 again rediscovering these masterpieces. John is on fire.

You have the bootleg of the Heroes rehearsal disk, no?

They have the keyboard solo on that one.

Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone."

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...


Henry Van Dyke

^ That is very beautiful and we know that Christine believed this quite matter-if-factly, raised by a mother who was the neighborhood witch and healer and could channel things we cannot see. Chris said that her brother John had even more of their mother’s spiritual talent than she did. She definitely expected to reunite with her loved ones beyond this life.

Good for you, Joe! In fact, I had basically stopped playing my piano about three years ago. I gave it to a friend and that was that. But last week I kept reaching for a piano that wasn’t there because I wanted to toss around all these songs we’re all working through our sadness with. I was getting frustrated, you know? So I went over to Sam Ash on Saturday and bought a little keyboard called the Casio Privia, which has hundreds of lovely patches on it. When it’s delivered, it will be my Christine-centric piano once again and I’ll have great fun with it. I don’t think I would have bothered if Christine hadn’t inspired me last week.

Let’s hear it, kids!

Nice!

I imagine it was a difficult choice between the Casio Privia from Sam Ash and Christine's Songbird grand piano from the Julien's auction?

Word is that sodascouts recently sold her catalog for a cool million to an music equity fund, and I no longer own the master tape.

It's rather taken me by surprise, but the song I've been playing most since we heard the news about Christine is 'Love Shines'. It's such a gorgeous, upbeat song, Christine doing what she does best - a lovely melody, beautifully sung, with emotional, optimistic lyrics.

I love the rooftop video too. There's something pure about it, even though it came at the very end of her first tenure with the band; I think it's do with the simple band of Christine, Mick, John and Billy, still making wonderful music, but without all that distracting drama and noisy egomania that came with Lindsey and Stevie. Here she's properly centre stage, where she belonged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dreb...3rgpQc&index=1

It's such a gorgeous song! And the opening lyrics:

Never can you be replaced... (That's you Christine)

This is one of my favorite songs, and I can’t remember ever having seen this video before. They all look so happy and like they’re having a great time together. That moment when Chris hugs Mick’s face is so sweet. Also I used to live across the street from the building they were on the roof of, so that was really trippy to watch.

Yesterday, I listened to every Christine song in a row (that had a lead vocal by her or at least shared vocal) from her 1970 Christine Perfect album through In The Meantime and a couple of previously unreased tracks from the new Songbird solo collection. It was a bit of a revelation, since I never really listened to Time or her 1984 solo album or In The Meantime before. Some great songs I've never heard before. Listening to (almost) everything really showed how she was the most consistent songwriter in Fleetwood Mac. It occurred to me how well 'All Over Again' works as a farewell to everyone, even though at the time, she only meant it to mark the end of her tenure in Fleetwood Mac. Such a lovely song.