The New Album Thread

[louielouie2000]

When I read this article about Lady Gaga, it really made me think of Fleetwood Mac:

http://nypost.com/2013/12/14/what-ha...-to-lady-gaga/

Why? The parts where it mentions the typical star's rise & fall from fame. Bands don't just make it because of their talent- they make it because of their talent combined with the talent of their producers, engineers, managers, stylists, etc. The article states that the beginning of the end of musical artists is when they either lose or fire these vital behind the scenes people. Seems pretty apt in Fleetwood Mac's case- when they shoved the likes of Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Judy Wong, and John Courage out the door, they completely fell apart.

I bring this up in this particular thread because the Mac NEEDS Richard & Ken. Extended Play was simply awful- they need to stay far, far away from Mitchell Froom. Lindsey is a great producer, don't get me wrong, but the band can still benefit hugely from an outside producer who is a good fit for them.

[elle]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Seems pretty apt in Fleetwood Mac's case- when they shoved the likes of Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Judy Wong, and John Courage out the door, they completely fell apart.

i thought it was drugs and alcohol on top of fame, and intraband love-hate relationships.

did Lindsey really listen to KC and RD on Tusk? Ken complains all the time that he didn't.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by elle

i thought it was drugs and alcohol on top of fame, and intraband love-hate relationships.

did Lindsey really listen to KC and RD on Tusk? Ken complains all the time that he didn't.

That's just it- they started alienating themselves from their inner circle once they hit it big with Rumours. It was the addiction to fame, substances, and lust that fueled it for sure. Once they started eschewing the people who were their support team before their stratospheric fame hit- the people who knew them when they were nobodies & who weren't yes men zombies- their music suffered hugely. Tusk was their masterpiece because they were on the brink of being completely nuts, but hadn't fallen off the precipice just yet. That ended up happening during the Tusk tour, and it was all downhill from there.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

When I read this article about Lady Gaga, it really made me think of Fleetwood Mac:

http://nypost.com/2013/12/14/what-ha...-to-lady-gaga/

Why? The parts where it mentions the typical star's rise & fall from fame. Bands don't just make it because of their talent- they make it because of their talent combined with the talent of their producers, engineers, managers, stylists, etc. The article states that the beginning of the end of musical artists is when they either lose or fire these vital behind the scenes people. Seems pretty apt in Fleetwood Mac's case- when they shoved the likes of Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Judy Wong, and John Courage out the door, they completely fell apart.

I bring this up in this particular thread because the Mac NEEDS Richard & Ken. Extended Play was simply awful- they need to stay far, far away from Mitchell Froom. Lindsey is a great producer, don't get me wrong, but the band can still benefit hugely from an outside producer who is a good fit for them.

Extended play was absolutely awful, but that doesn't mean they need Richard or ken. They just Need to try a little effin harder. There was absolutely nothing wrong with SYW. If they turn in SYW level quality songs plus Christine ill be very satisfied. I don't want to hear about how un cohesive the album was. As individuals songs the album was a winner, especially if each writer trimmed their 3 worst songs. And id even go as far as to say it actually feels very cohesive in parts. Murrow feels right at home next to Illume. Peacekeeper come and smile at you all flow perfectly into each other.

And any faults actually left with SYW will be fixed this time around with the fact that Christine is back and they are all going into record at the same time.

[shackin'up]

Do you really think they would work with other producers than they did on EP and the rest of the 5 LB songs? That is most reasonable the input from LB, they are working on CM's and SN's material right now, I think. Or they are rerecording Lindsey's songs too? No. If they want to do it in a short amount of time, they have to fit it in the batch that is recorded in 2012.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Extended play was absolutely awful, but that doesn't mean they need Richard or ken. They just Need to try a little effin harder. There was absolutely nothing wrong with SYW. If they turn in SYW level quality songs plus Christine ill be very satisfied. I don't want to hear about how un cohesive the album was. As individuals songs the album was a winner, especially if each writer trimmed their 3 worst songs. And id even go as far as to say it actually feels very cohesive in parts. Murrow feels right at home next to Illume. Peacekeeper come and smile at you all flow perfectly into each other.

And any faults actually left with SYW will be fixed this time around with the fact that Christine is back and they are all going into record at the same time.

I agree: the game is completely different now that Christine is back. Say You Will could have been Tusk 2 if Christine were present. It was a big, epic album with lots of sonic experimentation & personal introspection. It had all the makings of a great album- the formula was just off because Christine wasn't there to bridge the manic Buckingham & Nicks. So if we end up with Lindsey producing, I'll be just fine with that. There will be an artistic edge from Lindsey's zaniness, but Christine will temper his experimentations with a solid foundation.

I still think if they find the proper producer, their music can be taken to another level, though. For instance, it seems Richard & Ken brought out a warmth of sound from the band that hasn't been present since their departure. As a comparison, Lindsey's production tends to be much sharper, and Froom's was just plain flat, in my opinion.

[Fannymac]

I see Lindsey doing the demos, then them bringing someone else (Mitchell Froom, Matt Serletec, Rick Rubin) in to fine tune it ~

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

The article states that the beginning of the end of musical artists is when they either lose or fire these vital behind the scenes people. Seems pretty apt in Fleetwood Mac's case- when they shoved the likes of Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Judy Wong, and John Courage out the door, they completely fell apart.

Interesting theory, however, I don’t agree with it. Fleetwood Mac’s downfall was when they started doing solo albums.


Judy Wong’s position was eliminated when Stevie’s new manager, Irving Azoff, shut down Seedy Management in 1980, long before their popularity declined. John Courage became Christine’s manager in 1984 and was with her until “The Dance” when she decided to retire. Richard Dashut stayed with Lindsey for “Out Of The Cradle” and came back into the Fleetwood Mac fold for “Time.” He even got a thanks on “Say You Will.” Ken Caillat was hired by Christine to produce “In The Meantime.” I don’t see it as them being shown the door so much as the band’s output dwindled to almost nothing, and out of sight, out of mind. Given the choice and opportunity, they’ve mostly stuck with their crew.

More than anything, Stevie’s changing voice (going from more throaty to more nasal), putting on more weight, and going on Klonopin, mixed with Lindsey Buckingham quitting the band, all around the same time, did more to hurt them than anything. I think “Rock A Little,” “Red Rocks,” the “Tango...” tour video, her contributions to “Tango,” and TOSOTM did more to hurt Fleetwood Mac than losing their support staff.

Said same staff, minus Courage, were NOT a part of “The Dance,” which was a huge hit for Fleetwood Mac, and there were some misses for the band (individually and as a whole) prior to that.

I bring this up in this particular thread because the Mac NEEDS Richard & Ken. Extended Play was simply awful- they need to stay far, far away from Mitchell Froom. Lindsey is a great producer, don't get me wrong, but the band can still benefit hugely from an outside producer who is a good fit for them.

Disagree. Froom's body of work shows that he wasn't necessarily the problem. "Daring Adventures" and "Rumor and Sigh" by Richard Thomspon, and even "Luka" by Susanne Vega suggest otherwise

ETA: However, if Ken and Richard want to record, and the band is happy with that, then go for those two. If not, then Froom would be my go to. It's hard to blame somebody when they weren't working in the same studio the band did during "Tusk."

[MacShadowsBall]

Two paths they could go - get a producer from the past or some current hot producer. Personally I'd go with the past.