Why I like Fleetwood Mac

[fleetfootmike]

I wasn't going to post this here as well as the Legacy, but then I noticed it would be my 100th post, and it seemed somehow appropriate.

I am, very definitely, a '75-'82 era Fleetwood Mac fan. This is pretty much reflected in my bootleg collection (one from '74, one from '03, about 20 from '75-'82), as well as in the band I play in. Why?

Some of it is, as it always is with likes and dislikes, down to what you first were exposed to. I bought Rumours almost on a whim at 17, shortly after Tusk came out, and - I have to be honest - I didn't like all of it. My next exposure was the Sam Graham biography, followed by 'Live'. 'Live' changed my world. Quite literally, because I spent a heck of a lot of time playing along to it on guitar, and it shaped the guitar style I now have. To the extent that when, for the first time in ages, I played the live "Rhiannon" to my wife (about 6 years ago) she commented on the fact that she could hear a lot of my lead playing in it.

A lot of it is because I'm a musician. I always have had a soft spot for live music of any kind on TV or record, over and above studio performances. There's something visceral about seeing and hearing music being made as opposed to simply being reproduced that grabs me. I don't actually play the studio albums much - not that I don't like them, but the raw energy of a live performance (even a lacklustre one) holds my attention so much more. This liking for live music even extends to the point where I will actively watch stuff I don't like, if it's live. And it saddens me that there are people out there whose only exposure to 'live' music is someone singing (or worse, miming) to a backing track.

But, I hear you say, the Mac's success is as a studio band, isn't it?

I'm not going to argue with the fact that Rumours sold stupid numbers, or that Lindsey's gift is to a large extent in the studio. But bands, proper bands, to my mind, exist on stage. Yes, the Mac as a studio entity is something special - but Fleetwood Mac the band exists, lives, in those moments between 'Ladies and gentlemen, will you please give a warm welcome to Fleetwood Mac' and the houselights coming back on at the end.

There's more than that, though: I don't know that everyone will understand this, because it's impossible to explain unless you've been a part of it. But playing in a band, a really good band that's firing on all cylinders, with the bass drum and bass guitar kicking you in the chest, everything else locked in tight, voices in perfect harmony, and a guitar under your hands, is...

Heck. It is better than sex. There's that monent in "Rhiannon", where the fourth time they sing 'Rhiannon' the harmony changes underneath. Every time I hear the Mac do that, I get chills. I know what it must feel like to be there on stage, in that moment where you stop being five people, and become a band.

Not only is the whole greater than the sum of the parts, you couldn't take ANY of the parts away without it becoming less that a whole. There are no passengers in the Mac, not even Stevie. Sure, she sits out for some songs. But that's in the nature of a band with three lead singers, and sometimes, the art is in knowing when not to play. All the members of that line up of the Mac are unique, disparate individuals - you can't replace or remove any one without it being a different band.

Sure, that is, or should be, true of any band. But the Mac appeals to a number of things in me. We said when we put our band together, there are four essential ingredients to reproducing the Mac's live sound: the rhythm section, Lindsey's unique guitar style, Christine's piano and organ, and the harmonies. Mick and John are beyond compare as a rhythm section; Lindsey's tone, approach to solos and live rhythm playing are a superb example of how to be the one guitarist in a band; the one true test of a keyboards player, for me, is to work with just a piano and a Hammond; and... God. The harmonies. To get it all in one band, and one band that, at its best, leaves you just breathless...

None of them are technical virtuosos: I could come up with any number of professional musicians for a band that could play things blindfold the Mac couldn't even start (in fact, they already exist: Dream Theater). But it isn't about being technically good - it's about intangibles like soul, passion, feel, and that magical synergy I alluded to earlier.

And that's why I can't answer the 'favourite member poll'. Because my favourite member of Fleetwood Mac is the band - that magical fusion of all five of them on stage.

Sure, some of the magic is there in later lineups and tours. But the energy gets syphoned away as more musicians get added in an attempt to make it sound 'more like the record'. If all you've heard of Fleetwood Mac live is The Dance, or Live In Boston, or been to a SYW or Dance concert... or even "Live" - you owe it to yourself to find a good early '77 bootleg (Oklahoma or Nashville, say), and really listen to it. Not as 'Rumours in Concert'. These aren't 'versions' of what's on the album. Listen to it as five people making music together. Live. Without a safety net.

And then go out and find anywhere in your area that puts on real live bands. And support them.

[HomerMcvie]

Mike, I agree with every word you said.
It's kind of weird. If it hadn't been for Rumours, I might be an accountant! I became OBSESSED with Rumours, and FM, when I was in 7th grade. A guitar, which had been given up on, was pulled from the closet. Learning every note became my raison d'etre! Keyboards were to follow. I'm sure I drove my family crazy, playing all this stuff over and over.
Anyway, long story short, because of FM, I found a passion which completely changed my life. I play live nearly every weekend, and do live sound production, too. And music is the only job I've had since graduating college....
Thanks to Fleetwood Mac.

[face of glass]

An excellent post, Mike.

Originally Posted by fleetfootmike

I'm not going to argue with the fact that Rumours sold stupid numbers, or that Lindsey's gift is to a large extent in the studio.

What I think has been particularly important in Lindsey's studiowork is the realization that albums should always differ from the live versions. That he can use the studio as the 5th/6th bandmember and achieve things that are not possible on stage. Of course it differs now; I agree with your observation of there being too much of an attempt to sound like the studio albums these days.

In essence, while it is true that the band members are older now and like taking less risks with their playing onstage, one could easily blame Rumours for getting the band to such a point.
The various members were going different ways after that, with offers coming in from everywhere, and their schedules were too busy. A lot of time was spent in things other than pure band playing. It was eventually bound to affect their playing relationship as well. The band itself did go away into the background at one point. The connection may still be there somewhere but the reliance that the musicians have to each other is a lot less.
But then again that's something that can be said for a lot of bands who once hit it big and went through the same process.

So rock on. Banality to the extreme!

[David]

Originally Posted by fleetfootmike

I wasn't going to post this here as well as the Legacy, but then I noticed it would be my 100th post, and it seemed somehow appropriate. [snip]

Fantastic post, Mike. Despite the fact that we're on different continents, we're on the same wavelength.