Mick Fleetwood Open to Reunion With Lindsey Buckingham - Rolling Stone

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by jmn3

I think there were a few red flags. They didn't tour behind Time, and the tour they did do in 1994-95 wasn't exactly a big success…

Just taking a quick look at a 1995 setlist (as far as setlist.fm is correct anyway) and they were playing SEVEN songs off Rumours and two off the White album. More than half of their set was made up of Lindsey/Chris/Stevie songs, and none of them were even in the band.

At the time, though, it’s not like there was an album of new material to promote, which made the gigs they were doing forgivable. I actually loved that they opened for CSN in 1994.

As for the songs, what else would they have played beyond something from Behind the Mask? And, I’m not sure Billy was considered a member initially on that tour. Dave Mason made it sound like Billy was an auxiliary player in a pre-tour interview.

It's not like if they actually toured after Time was released (again without Chris, Lindsey, or Stevie) that suddenly a new wave of fans would have discovered this new version of Fleetwood Mac and they would have continued.

It wouldn’t have been anything comparable in terms of album sales, but that’s also when No Depression/alt.country/Americana/Outlaw Country started coming into the fold. Swap out Dave Mason for Mick Taylor and it could have taken on a life of its own.

However...

The Eagles comparison is obvious - while they were touring the World with HFO, Mick and John were playing on double/triple bills on the county fair circuit. The money sitting on the table for a Rumours reunion was way too much.

Which was the only reason they ever reunited. They kind of sold their soul with that. That said, none of them were in positions to turn it down.

It was going to happen and there was no way that Bekka, Billy, and Dave were going to be preferred over a Chris/Stevie/Lindsey lineup.

It could have hypothetically been Peter/Welch/Bekka and that would be true. The Inauguration really cemented the Rumours lineup as the only legitimate Fleetwood Mac lineup.

Mick and Lindsey working together. Stevie and Lindsey doing Twisted. If anyone in that mid-90's Fleetwood Mac didn't see what was obviously going to happen, they were being purposefully clueless.

Twisted happened after Mick broke the band up.