[bethelblues]

Elle, thanks for responding to some of my comments.

To clarify for people in other countries: since the American music industry is the largest in the world, the band directly refers to Dreams as their only number one. It's the Billboard Chart that is most important, for not only acclaim but also for industry respect. That being said, I'm sure Lindsey and Christine were thrilled that their songs went number one in other places. And in the long-run, as I said before, it doesn't really matter if you had a number-one hit or not, but that the song endures. That is certainly the case for this band, as they are packing the concert arenas (unlike other acts who had significantly more number ones). I'm glad that Fleetwood Mac did get one though.

Originally Posted by elle

exactly - depends on where you make the cut. there was a recent article (RS?) listing FM top 10 hits and people here seemed surprised and miffed because it broke down as 4 Christine, 2 Stevie and 3 Lindsey (guess Lindsey with FM either has a huge hit or he goes down in flames ).
(btw thanks for the list, i was lazy to go look for it. )

I think when bolding the top 10, and I can see including all top 20 songs might be too large a sample size for hits, I would definitely include Stevie's Rhiannon (#11) and Gypsy (#12). They were both huge hits for the band. And I would argue that Rhiannon is probably one of the most important songs put out by Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac. So that would bring Stevie's total to four with the band, not including her solo success or Landslide and Silver Springs, which became hits over time and were finally released as singles in 1997.

Originally Posted by elle

these "perceived hits" are still different from the "must played" songs. so if we are already dissecting this, we should separate those 2 categories also. ISA is a must played song, but not a perceived hit.

i agree with you on Landslide, GDW, The Chain, SHN and NGBA being "perceived hits". these songs are instantly recognized by anybody, and Landslide, GDW and NGBA were extensively covered by other artists and those covers are or have been in rotation on various stations (didn't someone tweet when NGBA started that FM is covering that song? ).

i disagree with you on Silver Springs. i never hear that one on the radio and don't see it listed on any "greatest songs" list, and in concert general audience doesn't seem to be that familiar with it. it does seem to be iconic among shippers but those people are not your general audience.

although, maybe we just listen to different radio stations. you may be listening to adult contemporary while i'm referring to classic rock.

That's a good point. You can divide up further, and I agree with your point on I'm So Afraid. I hear Silver Springs on once in a while. I don't listen to the radio, but I know it's been played on the Adult Contemporary station in the NY area. It is also the Grammy-nominated Silver Springs. Weird that so few of Fleetwood Mac's songs were ever singled out with nominations, especially for the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories.

Originally Posted by elle

i think it's hard to argue against your first 2 points (Christine and Lindsey) because that's backed up by some facts like a number of Christine's top 10 or top 20 hits, and Lindsey's credits for production. the 3rd one - that Stevie is the most talented songwriter is an opinion, not a fact . so while you may believe that, and majority on these boards who are SN-fans first may support you in that, that's hardly a fact .

it's probably a pretty easy argument to make that of all FM songwriters, over different incarnations, by far the most talented one (and i mean no competition whatsoever how far ahead he is!) is Peter Green. the number of iconic, amazing, lasting songs that man wrote in the short amount of time he was really active is astounding. if nothing else, is there anybody who hasn't heard Black Magic Woman?

Peter Green certainly has some great songs. But for the Rumours era, I do think Stevie's songs are the most unique and set up Fleetwood Mac as very different from their contemporary bands. Also gave the band serious rock credit that Christine's songs never did. Definitely my opinion, but I think without Stevie's songs the band might not have seen the same success. I'd argue that they are probably the most unique and singular of Fleetwood Mac's output.