I've always been a fan of Fleetwood Mac, first and foremost. The individual solo output by the band's members have never been as good as what the band put out, generally. I've always found Lindsey's solo work to be too weird and difficult to find enjoyment out of and Christine's to be too repetitive and boring. That said, I think Stevie has released one incredible album (Bella Donna) and several great songs over the years afterward. But generally, especially after Wild Heart, her albums as a whole get lost in bad 80's production and terrible vocals...for me.
What I could never stand about this band was the forced soap opera aspect and constant fawning of fans over a relationship that lasted a few years and ended before many of them were even born. I could never understand people who dressed up like Stevie or gave her, or any other celebrity for that matter, some God-like level of adoration. Back to the relationship, there was some genuine affection with The Dance between Lindsey and Stevie but it became glaringly obvious starting with Say You Will that they were putting on a show. When grown ass adults would be saying things like "THEY BELONG TOGETTTTHHHERRRRR!!!!" and obsessing at a relationship that had ended over 30 years prior, it just always made me cringe. Love the music, love the fact that their interpersonal drama led to it's creation, but both the band and the fans just at times were grossly over the top about hanging on to something that wasn't there. I guess I enjoy the natural soap opera elements, but hate the engineered fake soap elements that they kept manufacturing over the last 20 years.
I think they're all hypocritical to some degree and they seem to go out of their way to make being a fan of them difficult and exhausting. That said, one of them forcing another out, at this stage of the game, was repulsive and totally off-putting. Then they got on TV and uncomfortably lied about the reasons and the details. The story has so many holes in it that swiss cheese wasn't an apt enough comparison. The timeline between MusicCares and Mike Campbell's phone call alone has never aligned well enough to satisfy any thought I might have that this was engineered over a longer duration and leveraged the death of Tom Petty (and for that matter, Glenn Frey - because if Azoff hadn't already seen that Eagles was a viable entity without Frey he would have never gone along with a Buckingham-less Mac at this stage of the game) to make it happen. In my opinion, Stevie's behavior has become increasingly intolerable over the last decade. She has flexed her star power over a band and called the shots whilst maintaining some image as the delicate flower who big bad Lindsey kicks around and makes sad. She went from being a lovable airhead to being a cold and calculating jerk.
I would not go and see the 2018 Fleetwood Mac tour. I know it was well attended and well received by the general public. And of course, per Azoff, the highest grossing tour (funny how he neglected to factor in time value of money in his statement to make it a true comparison). As a dedicated fan of Fleetwood Mac for my entire adult life, I am not John Q. Public and have a higher expectation for what I am going to pay a lot of money to see. When the reviews all called out "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Free Fallin'" as highlights, I knew I made the right call. For that matter, I have zero interest in seeing Stevie sing "Black Magic Woman" when so many of her own Fleetwood Mac songs go unheard.
So, I guess my answer is I've taken a side. I don't think it's really as easy a Lindsey or the rest though. Lindsey's new album is decent and his show a few weeks ago was so much fun. That said, I'm still not a fan of much of his production style and I sit there and think how much better some of the songs would be within the context of Fleetwood Mac. To me it's just disappointing to see senior citizens still acting in a way that demonstrates immaturity and a real lack of appreciation for their fanbase. I'd rather they just amicably called it a day and thanked the fans and moved on.
I still love the Mac and like David said, love all these old live releases that we've been getting. I rock out to that expanded Live album release all the time and many of the live songs they put out on the Deluxe Tusk album blew my mind.
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