Survivors

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by chiliD

If anyone thinks it's MORE than that, they're fooling themselves.

Mick & John are the only ones who PROBABLY go beyond that, since they've been through hell & back together. (other than the occasional session, like Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London" or the more recent ZZ Top tribute album creation of "The M.O.B" with Jonny Lang & Steven Tyler, I'm surprised they haven't done more together outside of Fleetwood Mac...which probably boils down to "money", once again).

If they weren't making millions, does anyone (who DOESN'T qualify as a "shipper") REALLY think that Lindsey & Stevie would work together? Sure, they're "ex-lovers", but at this point, they're "co-workers" when Fleetwood Mac is active (or the guarantee of a large payday exists) and that's it. How many of YOUR "co-workers" would you really hang with outside of work, or would stay in touch with if you DIDN'T work together? Uh-huh, I thought so.

Why does being in a band together automatically mean that you also have to be bosom buddies? That seems to be a rather rare occurrence in rock music. More typically, the greatest bands in history seemed to be full of very different people and full of bickering and tension. But beyond the money, what ultimately holds them together is the chemistry that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. One doesn't necessarily have to love a musician in order to play with them; it's more about the love for the music than the personalities involved. And when the chemistry is good, ones playing gets better, and it challenges you to be take things to the next level.

Specifically with regard to Fleetwood Mac, I think there is a deep level of mutual musical respect, particularly between Stevie and Lindsey. Stevie is in awe of Lindsey as a guitarist and an arranger. Lindsey admires Stevie's ability to render brilliant songs using her rather rudimentary musical skills. She allows Lindsey to take liberties with the production side of her songs, but she also keeps him in check, which results in something that retains Stevie's simplicity while taking on Lindsey's semi-eccentric flourishes. This is the kind of give/take chemistry that he could never get in his own solo work, and he realizes this. He understands that taking input from others (even those he may perceive to be less skilled) enhances his own skills as a musician and producer. If he truly did not believe his participation in Fleetwood Mac was personally beneficial in any way, he would definitely have stayed away. I would venture to guess that Lindsey's own evolution as a musician/songwriter probably slowed after he left Fleetwood Mac in 1987, which could help explain why he never got around to releasing a solo album throughout the ten years of his absence.