Uncut mag review of Say You Will

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #1 04-03-2003, 07:44 AM

Return of the Mac
Tasty box of All-Sorts from mainstream monsters of yesteryear

Fleetwood Mac
Say You Will
* * * *

More than most bands, FLEETWOOD MAC evince
complex, unresolved feelings. On the one hand
they're the ultimate mainstream soft rock dinosaur,
past masters of glossy emotions and overcooked
arrangements. On the other hand......
On the other hand what, exactly? It's not like
Fleetwood Mac are Abba - So Uncool They're Cool.
But nor have Fleetwood Mac ever been So Cool They're
Uncool...if you know what I mean. So what are they,
and why does a goodly percentage of their music stand
up after decades? I guess because a) witchy woman
Stevie Nicks has the voice of a petulant siren: b) studio
geek Lindsey Buckingham still wants to be Brian
Wilson: and c) Fleetwood Mac were and are truly a
band for boys and girls. Good things all.
So here they come again, in a post-post-punk, hip
hop-dominated universe, keen to make meaningful
music. And there's a historical parallel here: just as
1979's 'brave, of-the-wall' double album Tusk
followed 1977's stratosphere-busting Rumours, so the
almost-double cd Say You Will follows the play-safe
'live greatest hits' thing that was 1997's The Dance.
The funny thing is that Tusk, when you revisit it,
doesn't sound off the wall at all. Which makes Say You Will
all the more out-there as mainstream rock product. Next
to Tusk, indeed, this 18-track opus is a box of All-Sorts
replete with countless different colours and moods.
As one would expect, there's a slew of those Stevie
Nicks songs that are essentially narcissistic hymns to,
well, Stevie Nicks. One of them is called "Silver Girl", no
less. Another "Illume", is a bongo-driven meditation on
life post 9/11 and boasts the priceless line, "I am a cliff
dweller from the old school". Gotta love the woman: on
the closing "Goodbye Baby" she sounds like Kate Bush
spliced with Victoria Williams
Then there are Lindsey's songs, some of which date
back to the solo 'project' that should have come out
after his 1992 opus Out Of The Cradle. What makes Say
You Will really great are Lindsey tracks like "Red Rover",
"Come" and "Say Goodbye". The heady melodicism and
hyper-syncopation of "Rover" are intoxicating. The
shimmering "Say Goodbye" - all dappled guitars and
whispered vocals - suggests Lindsey has been listening
to modern-day troubadours like Elliot Smith.
The album peaks somewhere in the middle, with
"Rover" followed by the effortlessly shiny Steviepop of
the title track and then by first single "Peacekeeper", a
true Buck/Nicks joint effort. Both pack killer choruses,
as insidiously sweet-sad as vintage Mac classics from
"Silver Springs" to "Gypsy". Nicks "Running Through
The Garden" is early-80's hippie power pop, with a
layered keyboard hook and chugging noo wave guitar.
For the obvious reasons the only flavour missing on Say
You Will is the departed Christine's perfect Tango in The
Night bop-pop, making the album more Buckingham-
Nicks Redux than anything else. (You can hear Chrissie,
though, on the moody, thumping "Murrow".) That's OK,
because there's so much here to get one's teeth into.
Tusk this isn't, but Tusk it doesn't need to be. In an
age of off-the-shelf Linda Perry pop, the Mac keep the
mainstream interesting. Say you'll give it a spin.

strandinthewind · #2 04-03-2003, 08:02 AM

"Gotta love the woman: on the closing "Goodbye Baby" she sounds like Kate Bush spliced with Victoria Williams."

Will April 15, 2003 EVER get here!!!!!!!!!!!

shackin'up · #3 04-03-2003, 08:11 AM

this is fantastic feedback for a band that has not been ïnto"the perspectives" of the musicindustry for such a long time!

Thanks, pip!

gerald

Gazza · #4 04-03-2003, 08:13 AM

So, 2 thumbs up so far. That's a really good review. What I like about this album is that it will perhaps give the Mac the credit they deserve, and sometimes don't get. I think a lot of people remember them for "Rumours" obviously, and in this country "Everywhere" and "Little Lies" were both big hits (I love them both btw), but they've never even heard of "Tusk", which I think proved them to be something a little more important than The Eagles, and other 70s rock bands they are grouped with.

Not to mention them also being one of the best live acts. I've seen footage of them in the late 70s/early 80s - Lindsey was f'n awesome.

Keith · #5 04-03-2003, 08:37 AM

I want to hear "Illume" - the bongo driven mediation on life post 9/11.

Great review.. I wonder when the U.S. critics will start reviewing the record. will Rolliing Stone be as kind?

thanks, Pip!! I'm going to go look for the Uncut magazine. There is an international newstand in D.C. - so I hope I will be able to pick up a copy of Uncut on my way home.

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #6 04-03-2003, 08:39 AM

It is easy to spot.... look for Mick and Stevie (rumours pose) on the front and a yellow background!

Pip

DownOnRodeo · #7 04-03-2003, 08:56 AM

Christine on Murrow??!!

I'm assuming that this reviwer (who otherwise has done a stand-out job) has mistaken Lindsey's eerie panned singing for Christine. Otherwise - that would be interesting!!

And thanks heaps Pip for posting that for those of us who can't get the mag.

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #8 04-03-2003, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DownOnRodeo
Christine on Murrow??!!

I'm assuming that this reviwer (who otherwise has done a stand-out job) has mistaken Lindsey's eerie panned singing for Christine. Otherwise - that would be interesting!!

And thanks heaps Pip for posting that for those of us who can't get the mag.

You're welcome. You might want to try to track it down if you can. Well worth it. If I can I will transcribe the main article but it is pretty huge

Pip

tgee · #9 04-03-2003, 09:24 AM

Thanks for posting it, Pip. I'm glad it was a positive review, but I wish the reviewer would have talked a more specifically about the songs on the album...like for instance, give us some lyrics from Goodbye Baby so we know if that's the Tower. I need to know, baby! And since when has Stevie ever sounded like Kate or Victoria!?!

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #10 04-03-2003, 09:27 AM

Who the heck is Victoria Williams anyway??

Pip

Phil · #11 04-03-2003, 09:31 AM

I always suspected the groans on "Murrow" were provided by Christine so if this pans out, that makes at least three appearances by the ol' girl (the others being "Steal" and "Bleed").

FiercestCalmSea · #12 04-03-2003, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Who the heck is Victoria Williams anyway??

She's the singer that beat Stevie out for the Grammy last year,lol... oh NO wait..that is Lucinda Williams...damn..ok.,I am confused..so i will shut up,lol..

btw,THANK YOU, Pip, for posting this...you rock

tgee · #13 04-03-2003, 10:02 AM

Hey Pip, are there pics we haven't seen in the magazine? (Please say yes.)

Here is Victoria Williams site:

http://www.victoriawilliamsonline.com/

I'm not familiar with her, either.

CarneVaca · #14 04-03-2003, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DownOnRodeo
Christine on Murrow??!!

I'm assuming that this reviwer (who otherwise has done a stand-out job) has mistaken Lindsey's eerie panned singing for Christine. Otherwise - that would be interesting!!

Dude, I suspect the reviewer got that from the album credits. Of course, this reviewer is right on, I suspect:

What makes Say You Will really great are Lindsey tracks like "Red Rover", "Come" and "Say Goodbye".

Vindication is on the way, methinks.

Gypsy-Rhiannon · #15 04-03-2003, 10:20 AM

There is a brand new picture of the four of them but my scanner has decided to stop working!! I have asked on my UK list if someone can scan it... failing that I will go and scan it at my friends house later. The other pictures I have seen before with the exception of one oldie.... I'm sure you have all seen it but I will post it as soon as I can

Pip