Tensions run deep for Fleetwood Mac
Noel Mengel
The Courier-Mail (Australia)
February 20, 2004
Nothing like a bit of in-built tension to keep a band intriguing.
Fleetwood Mac have always had plenty of it, even long before before the romances, the bust-ups and the battles that followed their ascension to the top of the tree with the
Rumours album in 1977.
The tension might still be there. Last year's
Say You Will, the band's first studio album with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham in 16 years, is so long that it's as if no one could agree on just what to leave off.
Buckingham often gives the impression he was never too fussed with the soft-rock sound of
Rumours in the first place and aggrieved that the rest of the band and the public didn't agree with his more experimental streak, as found on the
Tusk album.
Still, he's back, and that's a good thing for the band and the millions of fans coming out to see the reunion on this world tour. As well as being the author of so many rock-radio staples, Buckingham is an inventive guitarist who provides plenty of fireworks to the band's live show.
But it's all those hits and Stevie Nicks's distinctive voice that really packs the stadiums, and the band's lengthy set has plenty of both, kicking off last night with "The Chain" and ensuring the near-capacity audience had their fill of memories with tunes like "Rhiannon," "Second Hand News" and "Dreams."
Chrissie McVie has now retired from the band but Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are still providing the rhythms 37 years on from their first gig under the name but now assisted with a cast of extra players and backup singers.
Seeing Fleetwood Mac in concert is a reminder: what an interesting bunch of bands they turned out to be. One minute the intense Buckingham is opening a vein onto the strings on his new song "Come," a raucus guitar explosion. The next Nicks is taking the lead on the gentle pop rock of "Gypsy."
One of the highlights of the set was the sight of Nicks and Birmingham playing "Landslide," pouring heart and soul into a song that's almost 30 years old. When the former lovers who spun
Heartbreak into platinum records hug at songs end it's a genuinely moving moment. Because we're all growing older too.
Fleetwood Mac play the Entertainment Centre again tonight.