Just Skimmed Through STORMS

[David]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Well, I wish you'd read the whole book so you could point out some of the discrepancies that others have overlooked. We all know that some things couldn't have happened chronologically like she said -- which doesn't just mean that she got dates wrong, but also means that she got motives for certain conduct wrong in her descriptions.

I'd love to read the whole book, but the kid that was going to send me his copy from my mail list never did so.

To me, that section I quoted in Carol's introduction is a ripoff of this section in Rolling Stone:

Then, without a word, Fleetwood takes up the slow, steady drumbeat to "Chain." One by one, without stopping to think about it, the rest of the band falls into place: Buckingham on guitar, then John McVie, then Christine, then Stevie, all with such a sense of purpose that suddenly everyone else in the room has stopped talking. "Chain," more than any other song, is the story of Fleetwood Mac. Their only five-way collaboration, finished long before the wounds of the celebrated breakups had a chance to heal. And watching them play it now, I realize how powerful it is. Never break the chain. For a while, I have been trying to summon the nerve to ask these people one question: what are you still doing here? The song ends, leaving a scary, charged silence in the hall. Right now, there seems to be no reason to ask.

Now here's Carol's impression:

"All along the years, if tempers reached flash point during rehearsals, Mick would start to beat insistently & rhythmically on the bass drum, Lindsey would riff, & the band would move as one toward the mikes. ... Everyone in the drafty rehearsal hall would be chilled into silence, even Stevie's constantly giggling band of girl fans. And after the last shudder had died away, someone would ask, as the band members gave each other knowing smiles & got back on course, 'What was that all about?' I'd shrug & say, 'It's our anthem.' "

Daisann McLane also mentions Stevie's giggly girlfriends, the "drafty rehearsal hall," & the tempers & edginess, but they're in different parts of the article. Carol has collated, or concatenated.

Sharon, you raise good points, too. I don't care about the quality of writing in these books because I don't expect good writing. I, like you, love the trash when it's published. I agree with you that Carol undoubtedly saw many interesting things with the band during those years. But when you get these flashbacks to old articles worded in similar ways & making the same thematic points, don't you balk? I want to hear about all those interesting things Carol saw; I don't want to read her rewrites of old stories that were already published by magazine & newspaper staffers. How often does she do this in her book? If I can get that person on my mail list to send me a copy, I can read it for myself.

[michelej1]

The thing that I feel about it is that Carol really is not all that passive. It's just how she chooses to create herself for those pages.

The incident about Lindsey coming back from Stevie's room "relaxed" for instance . . . whatever Lindsey and Stevie did that night, the only reason that Carol told Lindsey was to have him rage against Stevie. She set Stevie up. If Stevie grabbed her, why not tell her off. I know Carol is capable of it. Why run to your "violent" boyfriend and tattle on her, hoping he'll somehow abuse Stevie?

My feeling is that Carol is only telling part of the story and if she ever gave us the other half, she'd probably come off as a lot less sweet and a lot more interesting.

Originally Posted by David

Sharon, you raise good points, too. I don't care about the quality of writing in these books because I don't expect good writing. I, like you, love the trash when it's published. I agree with you that Carol undoubtedly saw many interesting things with the band during those years. But when you get these flashbacks to old articles worded in similar ways & making the same thematic points, don't you balk? I want to hear about all those interesting things Carol saw; I don't want to read her rewrites of old stories that were already published by magazine & newspaper staffers. How often does she do this in her book?

She doesn't do it often, only when she's trying to philosophize. When she's actually describing events (as opposed to ideas and concepts) the content is more original.

David, I'll send you the book. Just shoot me your address.

Michele

[trackaghost]

Originally Posted by David

Sharon, you raise good points, too. I don't care about the quality of writing in these books because I don't expect good writing. I, like you, love the trash when it's published. I agree with you that Carol undoubtedly saw many interesting things with the band during those years. But when you get these flashbacks to old articles worded in similar ways & making the same thematic points, don't you balk? I want to hear about all those interesting things Carol saw; I don't want to read her rewrites of old stories that were already published by magazine & newspaper staffers. How often does she do this in her book? If I can get that person on my mail list to send me a copy, I can read it for myself.

Well, there's other things in the book too that will make you balk, but like Michele says, it's only when she's attempting to be a "proper" writer that it sounds like the content may be less than original.

Originally Posted by michelej1

My feeling is that Carol is only telling part of the story and if she ever gave us the other half, she'd probably come off as a lot less sweet and a lot more interesting.

Oh absolutely! There's definitely a lot she's leaving out, you have to read between the lines, as Stevie says. Lindsey was supposedly a monster at times, and I'm sure he probably could be a difficult man to live with (whether he actually ever resorted to physical abuse I really don't know) but it can't have been much fun living with a drug addict either, and Carol Ann was a pretty much your cliché junkie by the end of it. There's one story in particular about the tapes she made with Sara Recor that Lindsey went mad at. To me it's pretty clear Lindsey found out that she cheated on him through those tapes but she makes out they were all girly innocence. But there's other things, like the fact that Mick cheated on Stevie and then left her for Sara Recor and how upset Stevie was about it, well I had never read that before CAH's book, and I have no doubt that's probably true.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

But there's other things, like the fact that Mick cheated on Stevie and then left her for Sara Recor and how upset Stevie was about it, well I had never read that before CAH's book, and I have no doubt that's probably true.

The funniest part to me was when she said she told Stevie that John Wayne had their birthday too, which shot down Stevie's implication.

The second loudest laugh I got was when she said that Stevie was trying to tell Sara how to dress in a manner that would be less attractive to Mick.

Yes, as you say, Carol described many things we'd never read before. Years ago, Tom Moncrieff did mention how he and Stevie kiind of consoled each other when Mick and Sara got together, but I hadn't read any more about that until Storms.

Michele

[kak125]

didnt mick mention it in his book about stevie finding out he cheated on her and she locked herself in the bathroom or something like that? i could get the book and look it up but am too lazy right now, LOL!

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by trackaghost

There's one story in particular about the tapes she made with Sara Recor that Lindsey went mad at. To me it's pretty clear Lindsey found out that she cheated on him through those tapes but she makes out they were all girly innocence.

Yes, I agree she definately is STILL in denial about her role in this (supposedly) violent dynamic.

Which leads to different interpretations on the readers' parts. Example: the way I interpreted it was that he was upset by the fact that 1) she was recklessly recording inner-circle information and 2) she was probably high as a kite while doing it. I also think that explains the car-reverse-hair-pull (that she was so obviously getting f'd up with Christine all night). Even the first incident, which she claims she doesn't understand why he got upset, I always read as him being mad at her for laughing at Elvis freaking Costello. She deserved it that time.

[njova]

I read somewhere also that Carol Ann caught Lindsey cheating on her with Stevie and that she was going to originally include it in the book but didn't. I guess it would've detracted from the whole Lindsey was way over Stevie and so in love with her.

[DigYourGrave]

This book really really needs to be taken with quite a large pinch of salt.

To be honest my alarm bells starting ringing when CAH found it necessary to get the reader on her side very early in the book. Let me explain: Describing Stevie (who for the majority of the readers of this book is, realistically, a heroin in her own right) as "an exquisite firebrand".. "she was a star.. her light was blinding">. etc was such a clever clever move by Harris. She knew that if she allowed the reader to think she was against Stevie from the get go and was jealous of her (which she probably was..), a lot of people would have been wearing their defenseive Stevie coloured glasses for the rest of the reading of the book. I almost felt like the main message at the start of the book was "Pity me, Lindsey and FM fans, I've had an awful life with a forced abortion, terrible husband, miserable lifestyle etc.. oh and I love Stevie aswell just so you're all aware. And I'm sweet and innocent.." Did anyone else think this, or was I the only one?

It was interesting to read the parts about our "tortured genius" (she really really exhausted that image) like the price he paid for his finger-picking guitar playing, but I found myself losing interest when she started going on about petty, trivial, girlie incidents with Stevie and her girl-fans.

The book would have been way way waaaay more enjoyable if there was more grit, more pensive reflection and less re-hashing of what were probably very foggy and often very boring memories.

Still though.. I could not for the life of me put it down till I had done cover to cover!

[trackaghost]

^^ I think you've summed the book up very well actually. You have to take it with a pinch of salt, but then I think you can say that about a lot of autobiographies: people are rarely objective about their own lives, of course she is going to view herself as the victim and Stevie as the unreasonable one, especially someone as narcissistic as CAH. (And even Stevie is guilty of this).
As I say, there's lots you can criticise the book for (and I've found a lot of people who dismiss it outright haven't even read it), but like you I found it hard to put down. It's an enjoyable, guilty read.

Edit: btw this is Bob Welch's post from earlier in this thread where he says "I was around Carol Harris a lot. Let me say that , for me, everything she portrays rings true."
http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showpo...&postcount=250

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by njova

I read somewhere also that Carol Ann caught Lindsey cheating on her with Stevie and that she was going to originally include it in the book but didn't. I guess it would've detracted from the whole Lindsey was way over Stevie and so in love with her.

If she left THAT out... then there was no point to the book at all.

[whitewingdove73]

I wonder what carol Ann looked like in actual person so I tried looking her up on youtube and found nothing. I would really like to see the backstage stuff from Rumours. There are a few clips on yiutube but again no Carol Ann.

[Nico]

Originally Posted by whitewingdove73

I wonder what carol Ann looked like in actual person so I tried looking her up on youtube and found nothing. I would really like to see the backstage stuff from Rumours. There are a few clips on yiutube but again no Carol Ann.

Gee, I have the DVD. I would so post some screen caps but it's a bit of a process...she was blonde, waif-like, and looked very stoned out. She stays by Lindsey's side throughout all the parts she is in and, from what I could decipher, she speaks in a very quiet little voice. That's about all I can remember- aside from Lindsey making out with her/dry-humping her against a wall. All quite demonstratively in front of the camera.

[whitewingdove73]

Originally Posted by Nico

Gee, I have the DVD. I would so post some screen caps but it's a bit of a process...she was blonde, waif-like, and looked very stoned out. She stays by Lindsey's side throughout all the parts she is in and, from what I could decipher, she speaks in a very quiet little voice. That's about all I can remember- aside from Lindsey making out with her/dry-humping her against a wall. All quite demonstratively in front of the camera.

There's actually a DVD of the Rumours tour? Didn't even know that. Unofficial I'm guessing

[michelej1]

You can see her a little on the "It was I" video. Of course, WB has probably pulled that off of Youtube.

Michele

[Nico]

Originally Posted by michelej1

You can see her a little on the "It was I" video. Of course, WB has probably pulled that off of Youtube.

Michele

The It Was I video is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. Was he serious when he did that? How did he stand there, hand-on-hips, switching, with a straight face?

He needs to have another Q & A because I think I need to ask WTF he was thinking when he created this hot mess. There isn't anything wrong with the concept of doing a few light moves, but the outfit, the hair, the make-up...at some point did any of the people involved actually provide some assistance? I mean, honestly.

I have to admit I LOVE the song!!