Fleetwood Mac - happy at the top (Rolling Stone 1982)

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

So you're referring to 1983 or 2020? Or every single second between the two?

I remember being mad about the Wild Heart reviews. And I was mad when it didn't go to #1. I love that album. However, her live act was all over the place. Her solo stuff (live) was a bit honky for me.

I secretly loved Christine being smaller because I literally sat near her grand piano and she gave me quite a few smiles.

[On Ice]

I remember reading the Rolling Stone review of the Wild Heart and can almost recite it even to this day. Revealing of the depth of my obsession for the Queen . Anyway, it praised her voice, which was stellar through this period but (in retrospect) rightly went after her lyrics which were "inchoate ramblings" and far from her stellar writing in Edge of Seventeen or the sadly overlooked gem I Don't Want to Know.

I remember going through a period of slight embarrassment in my fandom when I was trying to sell such songs as I will Run to You and Nothing Ever Changes to my friends and their response was nothing short of boredom.

That truly was only the foreshadow of the disaster that was the Rock a Little and Tango in the Night disastrous studio and live performance stretch. Although she did redeem voice wise and tour wise later, I will now admit, it has never been quite the same. Patchy, inconsistent, not able to write great songs. No vocal range.

Time to retire is now and leave it be.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by On Ice

I remember reading the Rolling Stone review of the Wild Heart and can almost recite it even to this day. Revealing of the depth of my obsession for the Queen . Anyway, it praised her voice, which was stellar through this period but (in retrospect) rightly went after her lyrics which were "inchoate ramblings" and far from her stellar writing in Edge of Seventeen or the sadly overlooked gem I Don't Want to Know.

I remember going through a period of slight embarrassment in my fandom when I was trying to sell such songs as I will Run to You and Nothing Ever Changes to my friends and their response was nothing short of boredom.

That truly was only the foreshadow of the disaster that was the Rock a Little and Tango in the Night disastrous studio and live performance stretch. Although she did redeem voice wise and tour wise later, I will now admit, it has never been quite the same. Patchy, inconsistent, not able to write great songs. No vocal range.

Time to retire is now and leave it be.

I like the Wild Heart album. It had more potential and is no Bella Donna but its good. But I saw a very odd Wild Heart show which was a sign of things to come. I think if Joe who was the biggest drunk and coke addict in rock at the time was not touring with her, her 1983 show would have been better. But when you are up all night and day with your drug addict bf, the performance at night will show some of that insanity. But unlike RAL, Stevie was a MTV vamp and she still had huge sex appeal.

[aleuzzi]

I remember that RS article the first time around--and I remember thinking the title of it (Fleetwood Mac: Happy at the Top) was sarcastic. They do NOT seem terribly at ease or happy here. All of their notorious artistic tensions are on full display, even in the absence of Stevie.

Take this excerpt:

Calculated or not, Mirage worked: in a few weeks, it hit Number One, a position Tusk never reached. Christine said she expected the showing and was surprised only by how fast the record hit the top slot. John McVie agreed, adding that he always expects to sell millions of copies. And if not? “I think we’d disband,” said Christine.

To most of this band, chart position and sales figures mean a lot. “The only yardsticks you have are Billboard, Cashbox and Radio & Records,” said John McVie firmly.

“You also have what’s in here as a yardstick,” said Buckingham, slapping his chest. “You can’t let that other stuff be your motivation for making albums.” He was adamant; just because Mirage hit Number One doesn’t make it any more of a success in his book: “No, no, no. Not to me. You’ve got reviews, you’ve got other things.”

Here we see the three Brits (Mick echoes the McVies later on) unapologetically embracing capitalism. They measure their artistic success in terms of album sales. Meanwhile, Buckingham defends what he deems is artistic integrity. Stevie may have beeen only one of the four greedmongers but her role in the band was necessary to achieve and maintain that #1 spot. This kind of thinking paved the way for Stevie's coup in 2018. None of us should have been surprised.

Buckingham even makes a passive aggressive joke to Fleetwood in the beginning of the article where, in response to the rumor of a new lead singer he turns to the drummer and says: "Is this your way of saying I'm fired?"

The sad thing is both sides are right and both sides are wrong. What we might easily dismiss as the crass commercialism of Fleetwood, Nicks, and the McVies was an essential drive in crafting the often irresistible music on MIRAGE and TANGO. No one questions Buckingham's genius and his ability to take demos and turn them into musical triumphs. His own penchant for strangeness and provocation balanced the pop song craft. Great. But some of his songs seem, in their own way, as self-indulgent and narcissistic as Stevie's.

The article shows five musicians who enjoy and are trapped by their celebrity. They don't necessarily enjoy each other's company but they stay together because they are at their most commercially AND artistically appealing when they work together. This is a dream. It is also a nightmare.

[On Ice]

I agree MacMan, I still like the Wild Heart despite its flaws- heck you and I agree on the anti-masterpiece Gate and Garden- not a well written song but performed and sung to perfection making it the best of her solo career, in our assessments.

Joe and her were a match made in hell and it could have ended really bad if the street drugs of today were available back in '83.

[michelej1]

It’s kind of hilarious because even reflecting back on the success of the White album, Stevie suggested that even if they hated each other none of them was about to leave. They knew they were good together. So they’ve hated each other before Rumours. And not just the bitter lovers. Mick, John vs. Lindsey too.

Of course, when I say “hate” I don’t mean that completely. I believe they feel something else strongly too.

As for Stevie, even when I was a Stevie fan I was never blind to her flightiness and narcissism. I just thought it was part of her charm. Some of the most stabbing things she said also made me laugh heartily. I found her enchanting and you don’t have to wear a shawl to appreciate the way she could mesmerize on stage, in her heyday. I thought she preened and pouted prettily. But what works at 30 loses luster at 60.

The problem is, when the charm, physical prowess (no, I did not swoon on every spin, but I found her energy contagious) and vocal talent dissipated, there is nothing left but an unpleasant shell. Find a molded wedding cake and call her Miss Haversham.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I secretly loved Christine being smaller because I literally sat near her grand piano and she gave me quite a few smiles.

I HATE it when my secret underground artists make it big. I love it when I'm(and a handful of others) the only one who gets it. $tevie fans love and push her numbers. I'd rather see my favorites in a club with 500(or 2) people.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

I HATE it when my secret underground artists make it big. I love it when I'm(and a handful of others) the only one who gets it. $tevie fans love and push her numbers. I'd rather see my favorites in a club with 500(or 2) people.

Seeing her in that club was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. They blew the roof off the place. It was called the AGORA in Downtown Cleveland. I was pretending I wasn't 15 years old. I was so young I'm sure she noticed it. She kept running back and forth between grand piano and keys.

She looked amazing and kept sayin, "Thanks for coming despite our venue change, I love Cleveland! Todd Sharp is from here!"

Hold Me was way better than Mirage live version. She did, Too Much Is Not Enough, This Smile, Ask Anybody, Spare Me, Just Crazy Love..

May 9, 1984 was a day I will never forget. Thank you mom and dad for feeding my music obsession. Plus, I think my dad fell in love with Christine that night. She did look hot in her long leg stove pipe pants, and shining blonde hair.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Seeing her in that club was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. They blew the roof off the place. It was called the AGORA in Downtown Cleveland. I was pretending I wasn't 15 years old. I was so young I'm sure she noticed it. She kept running back and forth between grand piano and keys.

She looked amazing and kept sayin, "Thanks for coming despite our venue change, I love Cleveland! Todd Sharp is from here!"

Hold Me was way better than Mirage live version. She did, Too Much Is Not Enough, This Smile, Ask Anybody, Spare Me, Just Crazy Love..

May 9, 1984 was a day I will never forget. Thank you mom and dad for feeding my music obsession. Plus, I think my dad fell in love with Christine that night. She did look hot in her long leg stove pipe pants, and shining blonde hair.

So jealous that you got to see her in 84.

Hold Me - I always loved Lindsey screaming, "why don't you come on and a". Is there YouTube of Chris's solo band doing it?

Mirage tour was my all time favorite show. Being that age, and absolutely in love with the band. It was perfekt!

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

So jealous that you got to see her in 84.

Hold Me - I always loved Lindsey screaming, "why don't you come on and a". Is there YouTube of Chris's solo band doing it?

Mirage tour was my all time favorite show. Being that age, and absolutely in love with the band. It was perfekt!

There are bootlegs floating out there.

[Steviegirl]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Seeing her in that club was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. They blew the roof off the place. It was called the AGORA in Downtown Cleveland. I was pretending I wasn't 15 years old. I was so young I'm sure she noticed it. She kept running back and forth between grand piano and keys.

She looked amazing and kept sayin, "Thanks for coming despite our venue change, I love Cleveland! Todd Sharp is from here!"

Hold Me was way better than Mirage live version. She did, Too Much Is Not Enough, This Smile, Ask Anybody, Spare Me, Just Crazy Love..

May 9, 1984 was a day I will never forget. Thank you mom and dad for feeding my music obsession. Plus, I think my dad fell in love with Christine that night. She did look hot in her long leg stove pipe pants, and shining blonde hair.

Awww! This might be the sweetest thing I've ever read. I really miss having these lovely pure feelings for them.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Steviegirl

Awww! This might be the sweetest thing I've ever read. I really miss having these lovely pure feelings for them.

Its in my brain and heart like it was yesterday.