So I just listened to Why for the first time.

[Macfan4life]

Why live during 1976 is a deeply powerful song. The harmonies are the best ever.
I wish they would have time to play it live on this tour. But look at some of the comments on this board bashing the Mac for playing "I know Im not wrong." and say people walk out and just because people don't recognize it, it should not be played.
I suspect many would feel the same way and want the hits.
I would prefer to hear Why than Songbird at the end.

[Mr Scarrott]

When I met Mick at a book-signing recently I asked him about Why and if they might perform it again. I'll never forget his incredulous reaction when I told him there was a video on youtube of them doing it in 1976. A studio re-working would be great, too.

It's just a sublime track. The crazy thing about the studio verstion is that only about a minute and a half of it is taken up by vocals, but somehow you don't notice this.

It's all too late now, and the music industry has moved on, but I so wish there had been a compilation album in the 80s and 90s of the best of the Bob Welch years. It might have opened the doors to this era for so many people. It's always annoyed me that this period has either been ignored (the Very Best of Fleetwood Mac) or under-represnented (the Chain-25 years) on official compilations. I suppose we can only blame the label and Stevie, Lindsey and Chris for this (unless Clifford Davis has some kind of unseen legal influence).

Induct Bob! Play Why!

[FuzzyPlum]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

When I met Mick at a book-signing recently I asked him about Why and if they might perform it again. I'll never forget his incredulous reaction when I told him there was a video on youtube of them doing it in 1976. A studio re-working would be great, too.

It's just a sublime track. The crazy thing about the studio verstion is that only about a minute and a half of it is taken up by vocals, but somehow you don't notice this.

It's all too late now, and the music industry has moved on, but I so wish there had been a compilation album in the 80s and 90s of the best of the Bob Welch years. It might have opened the doors to this era for so many people. It's always annoyed me that this period has either been ignored (the Very Best of Fleetwood Mac) or under-represnented (the Chain-25 years) on official compilations. I suppose we can only blame the label and Stevie, Lindsey and Chris for this (unless Clifford Davis has some kind of unseen legal influence).

Induct Bob! Play Why!

I just checked out that 1976 performance and I have to say (though its still great) it actually suffers from Lindsey's intro. Its too short and what Lindsey plays sounds a lot like Never Going Back Again. Its great to see all three singing together though.

[bethelblues]

^^^ Agreed completely! You can hear so much of Never Going Back Again throughout the song...in that recording and in the bootlegs from 75-76.

[jbrownsjr]

It's such a beautiful song. Like many songs before Lindsey and Stevie joined, Christine wrote some really amazing tunes.

I like the studio version the best. It's simply majestic.
I don't like the live version with SN and LB very much. This tune definitely calls for a Welch touch!

Great post.

[Dreamz19]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

When I met Mick at a book-signing recently I asked him about Why and if they might perform it again. I'll never forget his incredulous reaction when I told him there was a video on youtube of them doing it in 1976. A studio re-working would be great, too.

It's just a sublime track. The crazy thing about the studio verstion is that only about a minute and a half of it is taken up by vocals, but somehow you don't notice this.

It's all too late now, and the music industry has moved on, but I so wish there had been a compilation album in the 80s and 90s of the best of the Bob Welch years. It might have opened the doors to this era for so many people. It's always annoyed me that this period has either been ignored (the Very Best of Fleetwood Mac) or under-represnented (the Chain-25 years) on official compilations. I suppose we can only blame the label and Stevie, Lindsey and Chris for this (unless Clifford Davis has some kind of unseen legal influence).

Induct Bob! Play Why!

I agree. This period of the band is so criminally underrated, but its one of my favorite eras of FM. Such a shame that Bob Welch did not get the credit he deserved. His one of my favorite members of FM.

[chiliD]

I think Bob Weston's bluesy slide guitar intro is essential to the song...when they played it in '75 & '76 without that, the song just didn't have the impact of the studio version (for me, anyway)...the vocal harmonies, while much improved over the studio version, were chilling, they didn't make up for the missing intro.

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

But look at some of the comments on this board bashing the Mac for playing "I know Im not wrong." and say people walk out and just because people don't recognize it, it should not be played.

It was my experience (Forum, 11/28) that there were people walking in & out throughout the concert. About 3 or 4 just in my row alone. JEEEZ, people...do you have THAT bad of bladder control? Do you really need TWO MORE beers before the next song? Sit your a$$es down, watch & listen...is it really THAT much to ask? After all, you paid through the nose for your tickets.

[ViscountViktor]

I love Mystery to Me. Favourite Mac album.

[Dreamz19]

Originally Posted by chiliD

It was my experience (Forum, 11/28) that there were people walking in & out throughout the concert. About 3 or 4 just in my row alone. JEEEZ, people...do you have THAT bad of bladder control? Do you really need TWO MORE beers before the next song? Sit your a$$es down, watch & listen...is it really THAT much to ask? After all, you paid through the nose for your tickets.

I saw the same in D.C. Constantly seeing people getting up and leaving for drinks and whatever else. A group behind me sent someone to get beers during every song it seemed. They got so hammered and then almost got into a fist fight with a guy behind them.

[gssmith]

People getting up and down, up and down is so much worse at sport games then concerts. I never really noticed it too much at concerts maybe because I'm always so focused on the live show.

Christine is the reason why I explored the pre Rumours era and that is some of the best music nobody has ever heard. Too bad classic rock radio only plays the same old hits over and over.

[aleuzzi]

The Sausalito version of Why from the 1974 soundboard/radio show is incredible, not least of all because of Welch's incredible electric guitar work throughout. He really understood the song and maneuvered very well through it. Obviously the album version will always be associated with Weston, who did a great job with it, but Welch's version shows him to be a very deft guitar player with considerable range. He could go from the Peter Green-influenced solos on the cover songs to some really incredible jazz chording and atmospherics on his own tunes. But then you hear him ripping away through Why and Believe Me and you realize he possesed many sounds and had an enormous, criminally-underrated talent. John McVie in particular was fond of his playing, and even spoke highly of it in an interview in 77 or 78.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Why live during 1976 is a deeply powerful song. The harmonies are the best ever.
I wish they would have time to play it live on this tour. But look at some of the comments on this board bashing the Mac for playing "I know Im not wrong." and say people walk out and just because people don't recognize it, it should not be played.
I suspect many would feel the same way and want the hits.
I would prefer to hear Why than Songbird at the end.

Let reason prevail. No one typically walks out of a show just because the they don't recognize a song! If they feel such overwrought offense and righteous indignation they are more of a dickhead than a fan of Fleetwood Mac and music in general.

A concert is a show; it's entertainment. Do people walk out of a movie or play because it's not familiar? Is it possible to go to a show and see a band you don't know playing songs you never heard before, yet still enjoy the show?

Just like Fleetwood Mac, massive bands/artists like Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan etc...all have signature songs among huge back catalog of songs. Some artists, more than others, take liberties with their ever-changing set lists, performing deep album tracks, b-sides, and covers among a gathering of hits. Some big hit songs are performed; some are not. A show shouldn't just be judged by that.

Fleetwood Mac has always been tight and conservative with their set lists, more than not. Rumours's songs dominate, along with a number of songs from Fleetwood Mac and Tusk, a few from Mirage and Tango. Newer songs generally come and then go away.

I Know I'm Not Wrong is a great, upbeat song from their classic era. Just because it wasn't a hit song doesn't detract from the how because some light-weight fans aren't familiar with it; it actually adds depth to the show. A great band can play anything and be entertaining.

If Fleetwood Mac announced they were going to tour and perform only cover songs of sixties bands, I'd be there, as I would if Stevie wanted to tour solo, and decided to sing the phone book in place of her lyrics! But why Fleetwood Mac doesn't spare me a little love and perform a few of the great songs just prior to 1975 is a mystery to me. Believe me, they sounded great and got me hypnotized when they performed them early on. Oh Well. I guess they'll never get like they used to be.

[bethelblues]

Oh, I want to play too!! It's the big Albatross in the room isn't it? Why they don't [Rattlesnake] Shake up their setlist. Fleetwood Mac, "don't turn your back on me baby," "stop messin' around with your tricks."

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

Let reason prevail. No one typically walks out of a show just because the they don't recognize a song!

People do it all of the time. In the middle of the show, they run for the bathroom or drinks when an unfamiliar song comes on and at the end, if the song isn't one they know, they had to the parking lot. I think it's stupid, but that's how some are.

Michele

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by michelej1

People do it all of the time. In the middle of the show, they run for the bathroom or drinks when an unfamiliar song comes on and at the end, if the song isn't one they know, they head to the parking lot. I think it's stupid, but that's how some are.

Michele

Just wish they'd do that earlier in the set so I'm not constantly distracted by them...or, if they'd offer to switch seats (since 98% of the time, I have an aisle seat), I'd gladly switch, since I'm velcro'd to my seat throughout the show (except to stand for an ovation)...unless I have floor seats, then I'm standing through most of the show.