Quote:
|
Originally Posted by David
The differences are:
1. That the players on the albums are Christine McVie, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham & Mick Fleetwood, rather than (insert numerous names of hired sessionists here). The aforementioned four have a lot more personality & the stamp of personal style in their playing than do the sessionists, who are self-trained & paid to supply a mainstream instrumental cushion that rocks no boats rather than to express highly individual & idiosyncratic sonic textures.
2. That the neobaroque splendor & the dainty miniaturism of the Mac's production style find a complementary haven in the cleanly controlled environment of the studio & the dynamically sensitive medium of the CD--& not in the cavernous sports arenas & amphitheaters of the live show, where such details are almost always lost amid greatly diminished dynamics & reverberative sludge.
I think, for both these reasons, the band's earlier approach--clean & detailed in the studio but jagged & aggressive onstage--made far better aesthetic & physical sense.
Well, yeah, I do, too. But five on stage is exactly what happens to sound better!
|
David, Amen! You hit the nail on the head. Perhaps it's a generation gap, but I don't go to concert expecting a polished note-for-note Vegas act.
In the Fleetwood Mac of old, I loved hearing how they would transform studio polished songs into raw, live honest rock and roll, with all its spontaneous rough edges.
I lament the fact that Fleetwood Mac, as a live act, is now so generic in sound and approach. Still, I can understand that, with age, old rockers would be inclined to add support players.
The Mirage video rocks! The Tango video is tepid!