Quote:
Originally Posted by diamondsnake
I’m a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. I love them all. (...) I’m just trying to enjoy the music!
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If the Rumours iteration of the band had been more functional and prolific over the decades, we could focus more on the music as there would be less cause or room for focusing on the politics. I like to imagine an alternative history in which the five of them consistently released an album at least every second year since 1975, rather than the scattered and paltry mess of a handful of cohesive releases up to Tango and the random array of individualistic solo albums and bloated double albums. (Nothing against double albums and solo albums per se, as long as they're in addition to, not at the expense of, consistently releasing team albums.)
John, Christine, and Lindsey are by nature more introverted and music-oriented, making it easier in their case as a fan to focus on the music. Mick and Stevie are more extroverted; yes they create and augment the music, but they also amplify and broadcast the drama.
Take the MusiCares "walk-on music" debacle.
Organizer/Azoff's position: "Use
Rhiannon. It's iconic." (<-- Focus on marketing.)
Lindsey's position: "No! I don't want to define our band as a 70s jukebox." (<-- Focus on artistic perceptions.)
Stevie's position: "Fine then, I quit!" (<-- Focus on personal issues.)
The Rumours 5+Azoff are like an unstable molecule. There are few consistently defined roles and the power hierarchy is not functionally stable. Different individuals and camps at any given time are pulling in different directions.
Of the Rumours 5, Christine is the most senior songwriter/vocalist yet she shirks a directive role, gladly delegating it to anyone Mick can drag aboard.
John has a vision for the bass line but is too reticent and disengaged to take charge of the band as a whole. Lindsey took on the bandleader role but Stevie is older than him and was always the one pushing for them to be stars. And Lindsey and Stevie have been at each other's throats since before they even joined FM in 1974, let alone every moment since then.
In an alternate universe, a more functional and productive Rumours 5 might look like this.
- Christine is more assertive and wears a producer hat.
- Lindsey is older than Stevie and stands center stage.
- Stevie learns and plays acoustic guitar at one side of the stage. The time and effort involved in learning and performing the instrument forces her to spend less time on drama.
- Lindsey allows John more room to do his flowery bass lines.
- Lindsey, Christine, and John are the core music writing team.
- Stevie and Christine are the core lyricists. (At least until mid-90s. Lindsey's lyrics abilities developed late.)
- The need for interactions between Lindsey and Stevie are limited. In case of disagreements, Christine has musical veto in deference to her seniority in the band and keen hit-making sensibilities.