[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

My truly unpopular opinions:


I greatly prefer Lindsey’s singing voice before he hit about age 35. So many people say they prefer his deeper middle-age voice, but not me, bucko.

The band hasn’t been terribly interesting (to me) or innovative as a live act since the 1980 shows. Up till that time, they had the same funky energy as the Talking Heads and were a truly great live act. After that, I was more interested in their studio work than their concerts.

Fleetwood Mac has this reputation for great harmonizing, but after Rumours, did they even harmonize that much? Or well?

Individually, the instrumentalists in the band from 1975 to 1997 (or 2015) were never virtuosos. Their individual technique on their respective instruments was hampered by being less than technically gifted. (Even Lindsey’s Travis picking is usually sloppy and stumbling.) Their style, however, is what made them fascinating. They were all such batsh*t, idiosyncratic players that the tension between their technical shortcomings and their personal voice is what made them legendary and what made them more enduring than the conventional hotshots in music. Think of Dylan: terrible singer in conventional terms but a vocal personality that is so “right” it’s legendary. Sometimes the oddballs feel up the yin and the yang of the music a million times better than the Eddie Van Halens and Keith Emersons.

Despite his songs — many of which are quite cool — onstage Bob Welch was charmless — sort of pushy and geeky. (Offstage, however, he was a good conversationalist in interviews.)

I’m not sure any of these are unpopular opinions. They seem spot on to me. The only thing I’d argue is that the band’s 1982 version of Not That Funny is among their best live work...