Fleetwood Mac Books

[tr1]

Anybody have any recommendations for good Mac books? Do they have any coffee table books by chance? If not, that would be a good one to have.

[macpai]

Originally Posted by tr1

Anybody have any recommendations for good Mac books? Do they have any coffee table books by chance? If not, that would be a good one to have.

I think the best Mac book is Mick's.
I'm wrapping up Peter Green's. I couldn't quite get through Carol Ann's about Lindsey (but might give that another go). Didn't even try Sandra's on Stevie.

[Moz]

The only ones I've read are Mick's books: My Twenty Five Years in Fleetwood Mac (lots of pictures, more of a coffee table type book. Comes with a cd with two songs and a narration) and Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac.

[chriskisn]

Actually the one on Peter Green (by Martin Celmins) and the one by Bob Brunning were probably the best two. Mick's 25 Years book was good for pictures, and the Life & Adventures was a bit of a laugh even if not very accurate in parts (maybe?).

Does anyone else remember the Edward Wincentsen books (think there were two of them - I've only got Rock's Mystical Lady). Surely the worst books ever written by anyone anywhere. Are they even still available?

[Ms Moose]

Originally Posted by tr1

Anybody have any recommendations for good Mac books? Do they have any coffee table books by chance? If not, that would be a good one to have.

The nearest to a coffee table book is Mick Fleetwoods My twenty-five Years with Fleetwood Mac. Another coffee table proportioned book is Christopher Hjorts book "STRANGE BREW - Eric Clapton and The British Blues Boom 1965-1970. This book is also about Fleeywood Mac in this period of time.

Ms Moose

[louielouie2000]

To me, Mick's book is the most biased and unbelievable of them all. He had his @ss to cover when he wrote it (because he was a current member of the band), and it's very evident. His constantly talking about how he was "victimized" by his self-coined "veal viper" just makes me roll my eyes and say puuuhhlllleaaaaaze!!!! Keep it in your pants dude!!! The whole thing is just a bit too biased for me. It's still an absolutely worthwhile read though.

I know there are a contingency of people who are opposed to this book because it doesn't always place bandmembers in the most flattering of light, but I think the definitive Mac book thus far is Carol Ann Harris's Autobio. It's like being a fly on the wall during the band's heyday. In my eyes, since she was NOT a band member, but still a part of the band's inner circle, she has a bit more of a neutral viewpoint. She had nothing to gain or lose by being honest (ie- she didn't have to worry about affecting album sales, etc). And before I get the groupies jumping on me about this, if CAH wanted simply to cash in she would have released her book in '87 following Tango, or in '97 following The Dance. Instead the book slipped out at a time when the band wasn't keeping a high profile, and their fame had diminished from points in the past. To me, that adds to it's "street cred" . Don't get me wrong, CAH also tends to paint herself as the victimized saint just like Mick. NOBODY was pure back then!

[tr1]

Good suggestions on the books. I'm gonna try Mick's 25 yrs in Fleetwood Mac. I recently got the Carol Ann Harris book. I was curious what others had thought of that one since it does seem to be brutally honest. I just started it but I hear it gets pretty bad in some parts. We shall see.

[macpai]

Originally Posted by tr1

Good suggestions on the books. I'm gonna try Mick's 25 yrs in Fleetwood Mac. I recently got the Carol Ann Harris book. I was curious what others had thought of that one since it does seem to be brutally honest. I just started it but I hear it gets pretty bad in some parts. We shall see.

The problem I have with her is her tone as a romance novel in the first few chapters. People don't talk and act the way she's painting them, so I find it hard to glean the truth out of that.

Having said that, I think I am going to go back to that book and finish it just because I'm interested in the events.

[tr1]

I just purchased Mick's "My 25 yrs..." on Barnes and Noble for $1.99. Seems like a pretty good price for a hardcover book. Look forward to getting it.

[Tango]

There's a bunch of them, but here's a few (some less helpful than others):

The Authorized History Of Fleetwood Mac by Samual Graham
Fleetwood Mac, The First Thirty Years, by Bob Brunning
Fleetwood Mac by Steve Clarke
Everything You Want To Know About . . . Stevie Nicks by Ethlie Ann Vare and Ed Ochs
Fleetwood Mac My Life and Adventures In Fleetwood Mac by Mick Fleetwood with Stephen Davis
My Twenty-Five Years in Fleetwood Mac by Mick Fleetwood (black "picture book")
Storms: My Life With Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac by Carol Ann Harris
Fleetwood Mac Rumours n' Fax by Roy Carr and Steve Clark
There's a good write up on Stevie and Christine in:
20th Century Rock and Roll: Women In Rock by Dale Sherman

Fleetwood Mac The Complete Recording Sessions (1967-1997) by Peter Lewry
Lady Of The Stars: Stevie Nicks by Edward Wincentsen
Stevie Nicks: Rock's Mystical Lady by Edward Wincentsen
Fleetwood Mac Through The Years by Edward Wincentsen

apart from books, The Penguin's (the mother of The Ledge) Blue Letter Archives has an exhausting list of periodicals you can read through:
http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/

[tr1]

This is great. Just the kind of list I was looking for. Everybody on this board ROCKS!!!!!

[David]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I know there are a contingency of people who are opposed to this book because it doesn't always place bandmembers in the most flattering of light, but I think the definitive Mac book thus far is Carol Ann Harris's Autobio. It's like being a fly on the wall during the band's heyday. In my eyes, since she was NOT a band member, but still a part of the band's inner circle, she has a bit more of a neutral viewpoint.

I can see that you've never been in a rock band. Band members' spouses & significant others often hang around & create all sorts of damage. The WORST politicking & plotting, in my experience (direct & observed), has NOT come from the members themselves but from their spouses, SOs & "best friends."

[David]

Originally Posted by Tango

The Authorized History Of Fleetwood Mac by Samual Graham

The problem with this one, apart from the fact that it was written & therefore ends in 1978, is that it's much too namby-pamby, owing to the fact that it was authorized. It's "authoritative," but there's no juice in it. Sam Graham cooked this roast right through.

Fleetwood Mac by Steve Clarke

This was just a shoddy, careless rewrite of the author's earlier book.

Everything You Want To Know About . . . Stevie Nicks by Ethlie Ann Vare and Ed Ochs

This is excellent trash, featuring lots of new quotes from Stevie's circle of friends & leeches. Good photos inside, too. The photo on the cover was shot during "How Still My Love" in Cleveland on July 22, 1983.

Fleetwood Mac Rumours n' Fax by Roy Carr and Steve Clark

Good book -- fun reading. It's intelligent, like reading the British music press. Doesn't provide history in much data, but has pretty keen insights into the music itself.

Fleetwood Mac The Complete Recording Sessions (1967-1997) by Peter Lewry

Great fun. Lewry doesn't really like much Mac music, especially from the Welch years to the present, but that's the fun!

Lady Of The Stars: Stevie Nicks by Edward Wincentsen
Stevie Nicks: Rock's Mystical Lady by Edward Wincentsen
Fleetwood Mac Through The Years by Edward Wincentsen

These are sub-trash. The author publishes himself because no other publisher would have touched these infantile -- indeed, moronic -- "manuscripts" with a 10-foot pole. The only worthwhile aspect to all three is the collection of photos -- some from nonprofessionals like Pete Haas & the great Jim Welander. The text doesn't even rise to the miserable level of Stevie Nicks fanzine: it's incoherent, boneheaded, scattershot, pointless, & illiterate.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

I can see that you've never been in a rock band. Band members' spouses & significant others often hang around & create all sorts of damage. The WORST politicking & plotting, in my experience (direct & observed), has NOT come from the members themselves but from their spouses, SOs & "best friends."

I know. People on the periphery spend so much time wishing they were on the inside, feeling resentful, and trying to pit people against each other to bolster their own positions and soothe their excluded egos that they are from from objective or neutral.

When I read your post, the first person I thought of was Latoya Jackson actually. In her book she talked about how her sisters-in-law, the brothers' wives ("the wives") were always starting trouble and trying to ruin the brothers' relationships (even though by doing so they were probably hurting their own livelihoods). Latoya said that Michael's song Wanna Be Startin' Something was about the sisters-in-law. Of course, for a stretch, Latoya herself was one of those outside instigators.

Michele

[Tango]

tri, a lot of these books are out of print, but you'll find them on eBay, used books stores, etc. David, I agree with your breakdown. Ed's books are the worst. There are a couple of good black and white pics in his books, but not enough to justify paying full price for any of them.