Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN), November 15, 1997
Section: Appeal
JADED VIEW JUST CAN'T TARNISH FLEETWOOD MAC'S GEMS
Jody Callahan The Commercial Appeal
It would be very easy to be cynical. After all, the Fleetwood Mac concert at The Pyramid Friday night - before a sold-out crowd of 17,457 - was one show in a tour designed, at least in part, to pad bank accounts. (Or, as one wag dubbed it, the ``401(k) Tour.'')
The band is only nominally touring in support of its latest release, ``The Dance,'' which primarily features minimal reworkings of very familiar songs. This incarnation of Fleetwood Mac - on its first tour in 10 years - is playing live for the first time since the 1993 presidential inauguration, when it shamelessly shilled for a political party.
But no matter how easy it might be to take the jaded approach, to wonder again why musical nostalgia commands such respect, let's not, for a simple reason: the music - that instantly recognizable blend of folk, pop, rock and a hint of the blues.
Listen to the beautiful harmonies of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks - former lovers and the creative touchstones of the dysfunctional Fleetwood Mac family since they joined in 1974 - on the opening song, The Chain.
Or listen to Christine McVie's vocals and her natural gift for melody, particularly on songs like Everywhere and Temporary One, a new song from ``The Dance.'' Or listen to the mesmerizing playing from Buckingham - long an underrated guitar god - on songs Go Insane and Big Love.
Listen to Nicks's sultry voice on songs like Rhiannon and Landslide, proving that her '70s blend of fiery defiance and empathic vulnerability spawned dozens of today's female rockers.
Listen to all of that, and it's easy to understand why this band still commands such a following, 10 years since its most popular incarnation last recorded music together and 30 years since founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie first played together.
Eight or 10 of the band's songs can easily be heard on the radio most any day, spanning a variety of formats. That helps explain why a number of those in the crowd weren't even born when ``Rumours,'' the band's defining record, was released in 1977.
That said, the show still had rough spots. Feedback peppered Buckingham's Bleed To Love Her. Despite his cleanly frenetic but rhythmic playing, Buckingham has a tendency to be overdramatic, particularly with his endless chatter. And drummer Mick Fleetwood's inane ``vest of drum pads'' could've easily been missed.
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