In the Meantime....

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by cbBen

First, didn't they do just that for Time?

Technically, no. The only shows the band played after Time was released were a couple of corporate gigs. All of their touring had been prior to the album’s release.

That said, it would still be hard to equate the two situations. Christine was the only Rumours era singer/songwriter on Time and the only one not on SYW. Without Christine, Time wouldn’t have much continuity beyond Billy’s limited involvement.

And, it was a bit confusing for them to have to explain that she was still recording with them, but not touring, making the inevitable Brian Wilson comparison.

Second, if Lindsey was so keen to make Say You Will a double-CD, one would think he would see the need for all three songwriters.

Please, he wouldn’t have even needed Stevie for that.

Would the public have expressed more resistance to the four-piece lineup after her participation in the album than it would have had she not participated?

No, but the promoters would have. It would have been harder than not.

The Tango tour proved you could successfully tour an album without the songs of one of the three songwriters.

Christine not touring wasn’t going to be a one tour thing, though. Furthermore, given that Lindsey quitting and opening night were only 55 days apart, there was a little added drama to the TITN tour.

Fleetwood Mac was committed to going on as a recording and touring entity when they went into SYW. It was about going forward. In that sense, having someone who was only going to be on the albums but not the tours wasn’t practical. It would have only kicked the can down the road to 2009, when they weren’t a recording entity anymore.