Rehearsal Setlist Thoughts

[mpoday]

Some thoughts on the setlist. I'll be going to the Worcester show, and I know I'll have a great time, but this setlist is rather disappointing.

Of the new songs, where are Red Rover, Steal your Heart and Thrown Down? These are among the strongest of the new songs, while Come and Running Through the Garden are among the worst.

Of the old songs, so many of these are way overplayed. Honestly, has rhiannon been sung good since '77? It should have been retired long ago. Similarly, I don't need the 7 minute GYoW "encore" version. If it has to be played (and it probably does), why not just stick to the cd version, and cut out the overextended solo? This would also allow another song to be put in. I realize that they have to cater to the masses to some extent, but why has this line-up largely ignored so many of their great underplayed songs? However, Never Going Back Again and Beautiful Child are welcome additions.

I will contrast what this tour is likely to be with another that I am familiar with: Springsteen. He and the Mac have followed a similar path, reunion tour in '99, new album in '02. I've seen 3 shows on these two tours (plus tix to Foxborro this summer) and each show had a varied setlist, with numerous rarities. Over these two tours I would guess that at least 100 different songs were played by Bruce. I simply do not understand why FM refuses do this. I have yet to see anyone disappointed at the Bruce shows I went to.

My suggestions (I'm aware they will never happen):

Cut Rhiannon for Seven Wonders

Cut Come for Red Rover

Cut Stand Back for I Miss You (TISL, Buckingham was a guest on this song)...if Stevie MUST do a solo song

Cut I’m So Afraid for Tango in the Night (similar songs, yet Tango is never played)

Do Big Love full band, or drop completely. Impressive yes, but we’ve all seen it and have the DVD.

Cut Eyes of the World for Second Hand News (yes this substitution was made on the reunion tour, but SHN is the far better song)

Cut Silver Springs (again, great song, but been there, done that) for Twisted (soundtrack version, Stevie’s solo version is weak)

Cut Don’t Stop. Honestly, the worst song on Rumours, should have been dropped long ago, certainly has no place without Chris. Replace with rotation of Frozen Love, Races are Run.

Alternate GyoW with Blue Letter.

Cut anything to play Storms EVERYNIGHT.

Cut Running through... for Thrown Down

Cut Come for Steal your heart

Finally, if you aren’t part of FM, get off the stage. I would rather have Stevie and Lindsey’s vocals (as raw and limited as they may be), than have them lost in the background vocals. Same with instruments, is a second percussionist really necessary? I understand that there has to be a second guitar player, and without Chris someone else has to do keyboards, but excluding those two everyone else should be gone.

Mike

[Tusk57]

I agree with some of your suggestions, but others are way off base in my humble opinion. To me, Red Rover is weak. I'm glad they aren't doing that song. I'm thrilled they are doing Come and Running Through the Garden! Those songs really get into it. Why not keep I'm so Afraid and toss in Tango in the Night along with it? Murrow would be fantastic live. And as far as GYOW is concerned, the longer the guitar solo, the better! I want Lindsey to tear it up one side, and down the other. Bill

[PenguinHead]

It's been interesting to see how people -- fans and critics -- have been reacting to the new songs. One will absolutely love a particular song...another will absolutely hate it! This tells me that Fleetwood Mac has succeeded in making a very strong album. If it pleased the masses immediately...it would be considered as fluff in a few years. The fact that is has inspired polarized opinions is a good indicator that it has an edge, substance and longevity.

I relate with the utter frustration over such restricted set lists. Unlike Springsteen, REM, U2...who are much more adventurous with their sets, I don't think Fleetwood Mac has ever had the confidence that those bands have.

Funny how Stevie mentions that they "have" to play lots of old stuff to please fans "from long ago." Little does she know how contridictory that statement is. Fans from long ago are still fans today....and we are bored as hell to hear the same songs over and over and over and over...

Yet, then there are the angry, demanding "fans" who get pissed off if they don't hear a certain song! That, to me is inexplicable! What about going to a show and enjoying for what it is, as opposed to what you want it to be??? A band is not a f-ing juke box!

I certainly share some of your feelings about the back-up band. As much as I loved The Dance despite its corporate professional slickness, I much prefered the raw, minimal rock and roll approach that ended with the Mirage tour. Yes, they were, at times, sloppy, loose, and out of tune...but it was real and organic. Nothing cookie-cutter about it. (I was at their 1982 show at the Centrum in Worcester...and it was amazing!! It holds a permanent place in my memory.)

I understand why bands, as they age, add back-up players. It takes a lot of pressure off them...and smoothes out the rough edges that, indeed, get rougher with time. But yes, I'd love to hear Stevie and Lindsey harmonize without the back-up singers.

If I have one gripe with Lindsey's studio production, it's what he does with the vocals, usually on the choruses. Instead of letting the imperfect (and soulful) nuanses of their voices shine through, his perfectionist approach gets the best of him, and the voices end up sounding extremely generic, wiping out any personality or distinction.

Wow...this was going to be a short post! What happened???

[Eric]

I have to say, having read the setlist, that it is actually pretty good...

Red Rover, I think, is amazing - one of the best songs Lindsey has ever cut, but it also is virtually impossible to pull off live with the intricate orchestra of guitars. I could see Come being wild live - the Not So Funny of the new tour - but at the same time I was sure Steal Your Heart Away would make the set. I think Stevie's choices were more conservative - probably keeping her vocal strength in mind. Truth is we can nit-pick all we want and we probably will never find a set EVERYONE could agree on as everyone has their own favorites.

As far as shifting up the set - those are what live acts do - REM, DMB and of course Springsteen. U2 generally keeps the same core set night after night and only substitute 1 or 2 songs here or there, mainly because their show is so tightly choreographed - they used to change all the time in the early days. That said, FM isn't really a live act - more of a studio unit - so the adjustment to a live setting is more difficult. They find a set that they are happy with and stick to it. Most bands do that now, and while its more rigid, I don't think it's necesarily a bad thing.

[chiliD]

Originally posted by PenguinHead
Funny how Stevie mentions that they "have" to play lots of old stuff to please fans "from long ago." Little does she know how contridictory that statement is. Fans from long ago are still fans today....and we are bored as hell to hear the same songs over and over and over and over...!

RIGHT! For the most part, it is the NEW fans, who HAVEN'T gone to a show before, who clamor to hear the "old hits". The old fans want to hear a decent mix of the new AND the "oldies" (the OBSCURE "oldies" moreso than the "hits").

Originally posted by PenguinHead
Yet, then there are the angry, demanding "fans" who get pissed off if they don't hear a certain song! That, to me is inexplicable! What about going to a show and enjoying for what it is, as opposed to what you want it to be??? A band is not a f-ing juke box!

Well, I confess...I was MORE than pissed off that nothing older than 1975 was performed on "The Dance" tour, and supposedly, this tour will be just the same. There ARE some CLASSIC "Fleetwood Mac" songs that were from prior to Lindsey & Stevie's arrival...songs that TO THIS DAY get significant airplay (specifically, "Oh Well" & "Hypnotized").

And, then again, there are specific TOURS that have disclaimers, like when Clapton did his "all blues" tour, people STILL were calling out for "Layla"...wassupwitdat???

[PenguinHead]

Hi ChiliD! Thanks for concurring with "some" of my statements. Early on, when Stevie and Lindsey joined the band, it was understandable why they would play pre-1975 songs. In fact, I love hearing tapes of Lindsey and Stevie interpreting those songs. They did them justice, and often improved them. Yet, those songs represent a legacy that really has nothing to do with the Rumours line-up. Lindsey never really enjoyed singing other people's songs. Can you blame him?

As soon as they had enough of their own material, those pre-Lindsey/Stevie songs started dissappearing, and rightfully so. Still, it would have been nice if Christine played some of her old songs occasionally. She has so many great ones from that middle, transitionally period of the band.

With her gone now, that connection to the band, prior to 1975 is pretty much gone too. They are a completely different band now, with a seperate legacy/body of work. "Once in a million years" will one of those songs rise! lol A slim possibility? Oh Well!

[CarneVaca]

All right, I'm not even going to a show, but here's what they should play:

Eyes of the World
Thrown Down
Gypsy
Peacekeeper
Oh Well
Sara
Steal Your Heart Away
Say You Will
Dreams
Landslide
Say Goodbye
Big Love
That's All Right
What's the World Coming To
Tusk
Don't Stop
Beautiful Child
Everybody Finds Out
Rhiannon

Go Your Own Way
Never Going Back Again

Save Me a Place
Goodbye Baby

[gypsysara]

They could play Michael Jackson tunes for all I care ~ Im just happy to see them!

[Gazza]

God, quit moaning and coming up with your own set lists... Miserable bastards.

As for Springsteen and U2... I got both of their recent live DVDs and wasn't really all that happy. U2 in Boston doesn't even have "One"... Terrible. I'm moaning now.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
All right, I'm not even going to a show, but here's what they should play:

Eyes of the World
Thrown Down
Gypsy
Peacekeeper
Oh Well
Sara
Steal Your Heart Away
Say You Will
Dreams
Landslide
Say Goodbye
Big Love
That's All Right
What's the World Coming To
Tusk
Don't Stop
Beautiful Child
Everybody Finds Out
Rhiannon

Go Your Own Way
Never Going Back Again

Save Me a Place
Goodbye Baby

I dig this setlist...that would be a good show...

[gypsysara]

Im laughing, after reading her post I have "Angel" going through my mind but with my newly-created alt lyrics:

Im talking about the setlist, of my dreams!

[CarneVaca]

Originally posted by GardenStateGirlie
I dig this setlist...that would be a good show...

Ah, bless ye, ye of the good taste in songs.

[chiliD]

Originally posted by PenguinHead
Yet, those songs represent a legacy that really has nothing to do with the Rumours line-up. Lindsey never really enjoyed singing other people's songs. Can you blame him?

Well...actually...YES!!!! So what if they weren't originally recorded by the Rumours line-up...they're just as legitimate of "Fleetwood Mac" songs as anything HE brought to the band...whether it is NOW or THEN. As far as "doing other people's songs", I think his recording 4 (or more) Rolling Stones tunes, at least one Dylan tune, a Donovan tune and whoknowselse during the GOS sessions, his excuse of "not doing other peoples' songs" is invalid. He could just as easily to this day make a Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, or Bob Welch tune fit him as he could "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" or "Gotta Get Away" or "She Smiled Sweetly". So what if he "makes the song his own" and completely rearranges one of the older tunes like he did "Big Love" for the OotC tour, or "Sentimental Lady" for Welch in 1978, he should respect the history of the band a helluva lot more than he has shown. Can you imagine what he could do with "Oh Well, Part 2" or "Dust" or Welch's "Angel"?? He's already proven, albeit nearly 30 years ago, that he's MORE than able to play the older stuff...time for him to show some respect for those tunes, too.

[wondergirl9847]

I think when he made that statement of playing "other people's songs", he really meant "past FM members' songs". He has already said playing blues wasn't his thing and Bob Welchs' style wasn't his thing either...so that's probably what he meant. I don't think he meant playing other artists' songs, just FM members. JMHO.

Although, I think he really did love playing Oh Well...since he played it during the Tusk tour...after they MOST CERTAINLY had enough backlog for the setlist.

OHHHHH, don't forget Lindsey's tribute to George Harrison on NYE 2000. He made that song HIS OWN, fo sho. I think Lindsey is the kind of artist that can pretty much do ANYBODY'S song and make it at least interesting!! I cannot STAND The Beatles, Bob Dylan OR the Rolling Stones...but Lindsey covering their songs....GREATNESS!!!

[jmn3]

Everyone has been bitch, bitch, bitching about the setlist that was played at the rehearsal. For one, it is a rehearsal, so it's bound to be tweaked a little bit for the tour. Second, they played something like EIGHT new songs in one show! The Mac hasn't played that many new songs in one set in YEAARRRRRRRRRRS!

I do agree though with some of your comments. Rhiannon has been poor for years. It's not just as recent as 1997 either, except for brief moments during Stevie's 1994 tour, Rhiannon has not been what Rhiannon once was for at least twenty years. I can understand Stevie not ripping her voice apart anymore, but I can't understand how they turned a song that Mick Fleetwood compared to "an exorcism on stage" into the trudging, boring ass version that it has become. The music is so uninspired and boring, it's really a shame that Lindsey doesn't tear it up anymore at the end. The Mirage Tour version of Rhiannon isn't vocal-shredding, but it still rocked out! As for GYOW, I definitley need a 7 minute plus version!!! That's Lindsey's chance to really rock the joint! The Melbourne 1980 version is classic...it just goes on and on and on...and it sounds as if John and Mick just aren't sure when Lindsey will ever end it!

Springsteen is amazing, but comparing the Mac to him is futile. They will NEVER do what Springsteen does in his sets. He truly is one of a kind. Someone else said it, the Boss is a live act...he shines on stage, whereas the Mac shines in the studio and has to really think about the stage show.

I understand that some backup musicians are necessary, someone to play the acoustic guitar, a keyboardist...but really, I can't stand the girls in the back singing. It bugs me to no end. It reminds me of Destiny's Child or something similar where the backup singers really sing the song, and then the lead singer just wails something out whenever he or she feels like it. It's like, what the hell is THAT? They're your songs, sing the damn things! There's times they come in usefu (Everywhere on the Dance tour comes to mind), but really...they have no place singing during Go Your Own Way, Rhiannon, or The Chain. Pfft!
And what the hell is with another drummer? C'mon Mick!