For the Blue Letter Archives: FM Live Review #3

[David]

A Rock 'n' Roll Soap Opera Continues (?)
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Dec. 18, 1980

Now that Christine & John have admitted irreconcilable differences as husband & wife, can they continue performing together? Will Mick's divorce & remarriage from & to the same woman impede his work? And what of Stephanie & Lindsey--once a team at home & on stage, can they still play together now that they've split?

So it goes with rock's longest-running soap opera, otherwise known as Fleetwood Mac. Despite an offstage history that smacks of "The Young & the Restless," Fleetwood Mac continues to reign as one of the top draws in popular music, as well as one of its most accomplished recording groups.

Yet, though the group has sold literally millions of records, the rumors persist about their personal lives. Leader/drummer Mick Fleetwood divorced his wife, then remarried her. Bassist John McVie & keyboardist Christine McVie, once married, are now divorced. Singer Stevie Nicks & guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who joined the band together in 1975, split up as a couple but continued working together in the group. The latest rumor is that Fleetwood Mac is calling it quits.

If that's the case, they're going out in fine style, with the album "Fleetwood Mac Live," a work which documents the group's live performance in all of its energetic, yet carefully wrought splendor.

The rumors of the group's breakup started at the final show of the band's recent tour, at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 1. Word leaked out that the audience was seeing Fleetwood Mac's last show & the band members refused to confirm or deny the hypothesis.

If anything, the album cover hints at that decision, with its cover photo of the band in a hail-&-farewell pose at a curtain call. It would be unfortunate because, in the past five years, Fleetwood Mac has become a mature, craftsmanlike rock group that has set a standard for recorded quality for other bands. They are also a major drawing card; a listing of the stops of their "Tusk" tour reveals full house after full house, standing room only.

Some groups--such as the Eagles--are content to release a live album that features near-perfect copies of their recorded hits. But Fleetwood Mac once again has risen to the challenge of the project, just as they did with "Tusk," the monumental follow-up to "Rumours," the group's best-selling album. This two-record set offers expanded, rethought versions of some of its biggest songs.

The focus of this group has shifted in the past five years, from the stolid, solid combination of Fleetwood & John & Christine McVie to newcomers Nicks & Buckingham. Buckingham in particular has asserted himself as a musical voice in the group, dominating the sound of "Tusk" with his raw, vital production & performance.

So it is on the live album. The highlights are all Buckingham, whether he is virtually screaming a manic version of "Not That Funny" or ripping through an electrifying rendition of "Go Your Own Way." His voice is compelling & urgent, his guitar-playing slashing & forceful. yet he twists a tune like "Never Going Back Again" into an acoustic gem, replacing power with poignancy.

Nicks also has the chance to shine, with extended outings on her best-known songs, "Rhiannon," "Dreams" & "Sara," as well as a new song, "Fireflies." Nicks' stage presence has been described as ghostly & mysterious, qualities she communicates in her bewitching vocals.

Christine McVie, always a soothing, inviting voice in the group, gets her chance to show off, in her own tasteful way, on hits like "Say You Love Me," "Over My Head" & "Don't Stop," giving them an upbeat reading that reinforces their bright, punchy feel.

All of the songs are from the group's last three albums, with the exception of three new songs & a nod to the group's checkered past in "Oh Well," a chestnut that finds new strength in Buckingham's surly vocal.

This is an exceptional live album, one which truly gives a feeling for the band's stage show & its in-person musical acumen. If Fleetwood Mac truly is breaking up, they have written a masterful final chapter for their career.