Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveMacD
In hindsight, I think adding Kirwan was an odd (though brilliant) decision. Christine would have, IMO, been the most obvious choice. Of course, if that HAD happened, I doubt the band would have made it to 1975.
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Totally agree, but that's to Peter and Mick's credit - and foresight. Pete was looking for support and additional bounce, and he found it in spades with Danny. Kirwan brought the best out in Green, just as PG elevated DK to new heights with his mentoring. It was a great duo, no way around it.
This isn't to shortchange Christine, as really she, John and Mick form the continuum throughout. A big part of the "consistency factor" is due to them always being there, on all the projects. But circa 1969 ~ 1970, Christie could not bring to the table what Danny could. He was the
full package, a fuse fully lit and ready to take off (in more ways than one).
Danny also introduced
harmony to Fleetwood Mac, which furthered heightened their shift from their purer blues-rock roots. Beyond his melodic lead vocals, listen closely to his voice pairings with Jeremy, with Christie, with Bob. It's all good. And on the guitar, his improvisational gifts and slick string bends aside, his sense of rhythm was second to none. As I see it, Green begat Kirwan, and Kirwan set the tone for the rest of Fleetwood Mac history, right up to the present. I see all the other players as adding to this ongoing evolution, substantially for sure, but he was the genesis of it all (and chops to Peter for letting that happen).
PS. There's a reason Danny got the FM HOF nod when Welch, Weston, Walker, Burnette, Vito, Mason and Bramlett didn't (but of course that's another story, as they ALL should have been included).