Message from Wendy Welch (re: BW RRHOF induction)

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

I just don't get how fans of a line-up that came together seven years after the band formed could blast an album as not really being Fleetwood Mac when it still had the three core members it had had since 1970. They often use sales to justify that view, as if Buckingham and Nicks were setting the world on fire with their solo albums.

Nobody faults FM for continuing after S&L dropped out. However, just because one is a Fleetwood Mac fan does not mean he/she must blindly accept whatever dubious choices Mick Fleetwood makes in terms of band personnel and musical direction. I would have been intrigued by a drastically different sound ala the 1975 white album with a couple of charismatic, interesting singer/songwriters with an original point of view. Instead, what we ended up with is a lineup of extremely bland singers with mediocre, unoriginal songs + Christine, who singularly managed to salvage Time into a decent 5-song EP. The "new" sound being peddled on Time, a much watered-down version of Behind the Mask, lacked any sparkle as much as it lacked any grit. Although Christine had a couple of great moments, even her songs were not up to par.

In hindsight, I don't know who was more woefully miscast- Dave or Bekka. Indeed, the choice of Bekka was a pretty cynical/obvious move by Mick. Oh, sure, to this day he will attest on a stack of bibles that she was enlisted due to her exquisite voice and songwriting ability, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, she basically fit the bill as the hot chick singer with the sultry voice, i.e., Stevie's replacement. Mick had the opportunity to do something truly ballsy and go against type, but he didn't. I don't think "chiffonheads" would have been so up in arms about Bekka if Mick would have approached this role in the band in a fresh way that sidestepped the issue of whether or not Stevie was being replaced. For example, it would have been interesting if Mick had enlisted someone like Courtney Love, whose cover of "Gold Dust Woman" was so fiery and original, that one would tend not to draw parallels with Stevie. With Bekka and her tepid, over-sung, gutless version of GDW, they were practically begging to raise the dander of the chiffonhead masses.