Buckingham Nicks: Goodbye to the first eight year
 

I stumbled across this today. The best line, which gave me a good chuckle:

http://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/artic.../BNart001.html

"It's not exactly like we'll be a back up singer and a backup guitarist since nobody but Christine sings and she doesn't sing that much. They're hoping that I'll be able to bring Christine out more because she's very shy and very overshadowed." Stevie goes on to say, "She doesn't write a lot, but she writes a few really good songs."

:laugh:

:laugh:

Stevie has never lacked in confidence. A great quality to have when you're a waitress slash cleaning lady. ;)

From her perspective Christine did write very few songs, probably a twenty to one difference from what I can tell, and on stage Chris was usually to the side somewhat hidden behind the keyboards at that time (most English groups with keyboards were the same until maybe Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman and his capes and all that). Bob Welch and all the others who had left were all front men now that I think about it! They were looking for another guitarist front man and got a surprise bonus...

I loved this article. Stevie and Lindsey had planned to record an album with FM and then go back to their own band and continue with the Buckingham Nicks band. They had no idea they were going to explode!

Wow, that was an strange read.

The things that were proved right--but understatements.

The things that were proved wrong.

I guess: Destiny Rules

I also think underestimated what Mick, John, and Christine brought to the table, aside from a name, record contract, and solid following. They had no idea of how Mick, John, and Christine would elevate their material (“Rhiannon” being a prime example). I don’t think anybody could blame them.

And vice versa. FM had no idea what they were getting either. You can get chills thinking about it. Michele

"There's no better bassist and drummer than Tom and Hoppy."

I think Stevie changed her mind pretty quickly.

I think it's a fairly accurate assessment. What surprises me isn't Stevie's candor but that the group--and presumably Christine herself--already understood her reticence as a stage performer might be overcome with an extroverted female partner to help her.

Well,, not that confident in her very early days in the band. According to Mick's book:

Rolling Stone said that Stevie's singing was "callow," and many reviews said something like "...the raucous voice of Stevie Nicks and the golden-throated Christine McVie, who's the only good thing this band has left."

Stevie is extremely sensitive; she would go to pieces when she saw these things. She began to think we'd only hired her because she was with Lindsey, part of a package. And I'd say no, we love what you're doing, and the audience loves it too. This was true. I couldn't take my eyes off her when she was onstage. But she had a hard time believing it, and confided that she was beginning to think she wasn't that good. There were other factors as well. She was somewhat fragile to begin with, and the grind of the road four gigs in a row, one day off~egan to beat her down. Driving around, we were all cold all the time, and without any catering, decent meals were extremely rare. Young Stevie Nicks proceeded to lose weight she didn't have in the first place. She again alarmed her family when they saw her after we played Phoenix late in the year, and I know there were a few bad moments when she seriously considered leaving the tour and the band.

I'd say to her, "C'mon, Stevie, you've got to eat and stay fit. You're an important part of this band now. We need you."

"Mick," she'd say, "when I joined I hadn't a clue it would be like this. No one told me, and I didn't know Chris and I would be sleeping on amps in back of trucks. But I've decided that I'm going to make it through, and that no one's going to say, 'Oh, she can't cope, she should give it up.'"

No one ever did say that about Stevie Nicks.

Well, Mick said a lot of things in that book. Some were more true than others.

I think Stevie thought it was going to be one way, it became another, and another still by the end of her first 18 months or so in the band. Her role evolved over time.