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Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
I don't think there's anything wrong with disagreeing with your point that Fleetwood Mac was "forced" to go on without her. She didn't hold a gun to their heads.
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Nobody said she did
However, Stevie's decision forced Mick, John, and Christine to do one of two things: break up or go on without her. If they were going to continue to be a band, which made complete sense after what happened in 1992/1993, it was going to have to be without Stevie, by Stevie's own choice. Just as they were forced to be Fleetwood Mac without Peter, Bob, and Lindsey.
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Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
Lindsey had already left, Rick quit, Billy quit (though he eventually came back), Christine didn't want to tour anymore.... to pin any damage to Fleetwood Mac's career on Stevie and her decision to leave, seems a bit near-sighted.
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This is where I disagree. We can't really bring Lindsey into the discussion, as he had been out of Fleetwood Mac for five or six years at that point. Rick would probably have come back into the fold if Stevie were there, and Billy would have likely stayed knowing that there was going to be some stability within the group. Sure, Christine wouldn't have been on the road, but she would have been there in the studio. So, I think a lot of the damage can be attributed to Stevie's departure.
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Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
By the way, if you go back a few more years to Lindsey's departure, it would seem that his defection set in motion the chain of events that lead to Fleetwood Mac eventually being regarded as, in your words, "a souped-up covers band."
Put that kind of blame on him in the company of LB fans, and, trust me, you won't get any better of a reaction than you get from Stevie's fans. |
Big difference, though. When Lindsey left, the band was still a hit machine with a hit album and even a hit single. Christine and Stevie were still in the band, and they're the two who had all but three of the big hits. With the "Time" band, NONE of the folks fronting the Big Mac were in the band in the shows. Plus, it's not like Billy and Rick were doing a ton of Lindsey's material. I think they did all of two songs from Lindsey and four from Peter. By their second tour, they were only doing ONE Lindsey tune and three Peter tunes. Hell, Bob Welch did like four Peter Green tunes on his last tour with Fleetwood Mac.
Some could even blame Christine. The reason I don't is that, save for a short tour for "The Dance," Christine has stayed off the road. It wasn't Fleetwood Mac she was leaving, it was the road. Christine said that she wouldn't tour anymore, but would continue recording with Fleetwood Mac, which is exactly what she did. Now, if Stevie had stayed off the road, I'm sure we wouldn't be having this discussion. I'd totally understand her decision. But, let's face it, Stevie very well couldn't tour as a solo artist if she was still a part of the band, but not touring with the band.
When "As Long As You Followed" and OSOTM weren't hits, it should have been obvious that the big hit days were over for Stevie and the Mac and that they'd do better as a band than as solo artists. Let's face it, BTM was the most successful album any of them, including Lindsey, were involved with between 1987 and 1997. And, their tours were very successful. Fleetwood Mac may not have been a huge hit, but it was viable, which is more than can be said about Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks after she quit the band.