[David]

1. Would the "Rumours" band have made albums that were as good as the ones that were released if they had to do five albums in three and a half years?

The albums may not have been as carefully crafted, but the rush may have created a more headlong, breezy musicality. Things certainly would have sounded more "live"; Fleetwood Mac's art with Buckingham at the engineer's helm was the art of multitracking & mixing.

Would Lindsey have been able to work in a situation where an outside manager was dictating the band's recording and touring schedule?

In the early years (1975-76) only, because that was when Lindsey himself took a good many orders from the other members of the band, particularly the Brits. In later years, Lindsey would have seriously balked at an outsider pushing him to tour. I mean, look at the way he balked at band INSIDERS pushing him to tour.

2. Who in the industry did Lindsey and Stevie know? Who did Mick, John, and Christine know? And, by "know" I mean that they could actually call said person on the phone and hit up a conversation.

Lindsey & Stevie knew a few producers & engineers (like the people who worked on their first album) as well as some musicians (people they toured with, recorded with, lived with & slept with). Mick, John & Chris must have known the members of dozens of other acts, as well as producers & engineers who worked with Fleetwood Mac.

3. Who had been on television by 1975?

Fleetwood Mac. If LB & SN were on TV by then, it was probably like local news in Birmingham or the San Francisco Bay Area.

4. Who had the record contract in 1975?

Obviously, Fleetwood.

5. Who had a greatest hits package out in 1971?

FM

6. Who had songs that were actually played on the radio in 1974?

Certainly Fleetwood on a national scale, but possibly BN in scattered markets like parts of the South, although that was probably minimal.

7. Who had the road crew/touring machine and the contacts with major concert promoters to go with it?

FM had the bigger road crew/touring machine, but BN had been touring off & on, & were probably able if need be to call acquaintances for help. These differences you're getting at between FM & BN are more matters of degree than anything else.

8. Who had articles written about them in Rolling Stone prior to 1975?

FM, obviously. BN may have had a concert review or two (they were reviewed in Billboard once or twice).

9. Who had the steady following, which guaranteed people would go out to the shows?

FM, but BN had niche followers, so the legend goes, in Southern markets.

10. Who advocated on behalf of Fleetwood Mac with Warners?

WELL OBVIOUSLY IT WASN'T STEVIE NICKS (OR STEVI NICKS).

11. Who had the break-out single? Were the voices of Stevie and Lindsey even present on the song? Since this was THE break out song, couldn't it be argued that the band's big break COULD have happened without Stevie and Lindsey?

Are you talking about "Over My Head"? Didn't the Americanos sing on that? I thought they did. But that's beside the point because Americano voicings aren't what made it a hit (the catchy hooks in the song are what made it a hit). As far as the question of whether the band's big break could have happened without Stevie & Lindsey, sure. But the band's big break could have happened without Christine, too, if she had left, or without Mick, if he had left, or it might never have happened at all even with all five of them. The white album might have bombed -- history went a certain way, the way it always does. Events aren't inevitable just because Hegel said they were.

Also, I forgot to mention in that post that in all reality, the white Fleetwood Mac album was really the first time the band ever recorded on its own terms. Prior to that Cliff Davis was calling the shots, with the exception of "Heroes," which was an album they had to make for their own survival. I'm sure, given the choice, they would have done things differently. In the end, I think the band had been developing momentum for about three or so years in the USA and were ripe for success, and with the addition of Stevie and Lindsey, they had five people who believed the band could be a huge success.

I don't think the band had been developing momentum in the USA, & I don't think that BN had been developing momentum, either. FM was pretty stagnant commercially, & putting out albums that were either good or not-so-good seemingly at random, depending on whether things were good for the band personally at any given time. Buckingham Nicks was dead in the water commercially, & were still doing good music that no one heard because there was no record deal. All parties concerned were getting by, to varying degrees & none of it in a spectacular way.

I think their catchy songs on AM radio, along with their touring every part of the country -- where people could see their five very attractive personalities onstage -- are what made them break. Coincidentally, those are essentially the same qualities that break bands today!!