Fleetwood Mac had great stuff before S & B joined. But at the time of pre-White-album, they needed a guitar player. So what good would it have been if they didn't find a good guitar player? If they couldn't make another album, they would not have existed anymore. And they needed (for guitar) and furthermore *wanted* Lindsey, so why argue about it? Not only did they need and want him, I really doubt Mick and John and Christine has ever regretted S & B joining. And yes, Lindsey may have said it was he and Stevie, or nothing. But FWM did not have to agree with that if they didn't think Stevie would add to the group in a positive way. They could have just told S&B no thanks and then they could have gone on, looking for another guitarist. But they didn't.
Fleetwood Mac would still have gone one even without S&B most likely, finding a guitarist somewhere, but who knows how long they would have lasted. That bluesy style music was starting to wane and a new style of music was coming in.
Also, I don't think anyone can say Stevie Nicks didn't bring a major change in the band. I love Christine, with Mac and her old solo and new solo stuff. But she's not a show-stopping drama performer. I am not saying you have to be in music, but it helps to have a very vibrant, "leading lady" or "leading man" to "capture" people's attention. Some people are happy just to hear the music, while others want a "performance" too. Stevie sure gives a performance (think Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Maddona, - all who have great voices but don't "just sing', but *perform* and it drives the audience wild...etc). And Stevie and Lindsey together also added drama.
Christine has said in interviews she doesn't like that center attention. Which is fine. But it's usually a strong and dramatic personality that becomes super popular, and a "super star". Like Stevie (compared to the rest of Fleetwood Mac, past and present). Like Cher, Madonna, Brittney Spears, etc. I mean, surely there are much better songs out there than Brittney's, but you see Brittany everywhere. Only because she goes for the more dramatic, and she captures attention. Stevie has that energy to capture people. Even a lot of people that hate her still notice and talk about her (like Martha Stewart - heh!). So, she still is getting the attention and limelight. And when it comes to solo careers, we can all see how Stevie's skyrocketed for a while. Whether you like her solo stuff or not, she was a hot profit for a while. And still is not too shabby for the record people either.
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