2011 Pre-Release Album Poll: Jeremy vs. Stevie vs. Lindsey

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Nico

I'm so sick of this "Lindsey ruined Stevie SYW songs." Was she not present during the time? If she truly felt the results were below standards why didn't she speak up and tell him so? I don't get how this lady who tells Lindsey frankly she will not record an album with the band unless her particular producer is in command can not speak up and tell him just as well that what he did smelled like **** and he needs to step it up. Obviously, she didn't have a problem if the results went so far as the completed and released album. Complaining afterward is always easier.

I definitely agree with all of this. Stevie should have fought harder if she didn't like what she was hearing. However, I think simply blaming either Stevie OR Lindsey for the problems SYW encountered is also a bit out of line. After all, there are 4 people within Fleetwood Mac these days. And countless assistants, managers, attorneys, etc.

That being said, I still place the sound of SYW pretty much squarely on Lindsey's shoulders. If you watch Destiny Rules, Lindsey is the producer, musical director, architect, and driving force behind the album. It seems the band collectively spent much of their time fighting Lindsey against his insistence on SYW being a double album, his relentless push for SYW to be edgy vs familiar, Lindsey's insistence on using his personal mixer for all the songs, etc... and all the while, Lindsey kept threatening to pull all of his songs if he didn't get his way. I'd have to imagine Stevie just felt she had to make tremendous compromises on her songs just so she could keep the wheels moving and get the album finished. Stevie is fairly practical these days... she realizes how many people were relying on Fleetwood Mac for their income. I'm sure she just kinda gave up at one point and stopped fighting Lindsey so the album could just get finished and so they could get out on the road and make some real dough.