New Mick interview with Alec Baldwin

[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

There was never a scenario where Lindsey joins Fleetwood Mac without Stevie while he and Stevie were still a couple that doesnÂ’t end with her still joining the band.

I don't know why you're insisting so vehemently on that while rejecting any other scenario as an Easter Bunny scenario. Between 1971 and 1975, Lindsey and Stevie weren't quite as tied at the hip as you imagine. He had done session work without Stevie and he had been on tour with an outfit without Stevie (she later said that he left her in Aspen at the time). For her part, in either 1972 or 1973, she went back up to the Bay Area without Lindsey, and in fact fell in love with someone else, seriously considering staying with this dude and to hell with Buckingham Nicks (and wrote the song "Destiny" about the little interlude). Stevie told Denny Somach in 1980 that she and Lindsey were breaking up already even before they decided to join Mac. So the perfectly plausible scenario is that Lindsey might have decided to take the band's offer to join, even temporarily, just to make some money. You can reject the scenario out of hand, but it's perfectly plausible. He of course still wanted the Buckingham Nicks thing to work, but had already demonstrated that he'd take a time-bounded job to tide him over. Stevie has indicated many times that, certainly by late 1974, she was sick of trying to push the Buckingham Nicks project (which for her meant holding down a crappy day job). She always gave me the sense that, by late 1974, she thought the project was a failure and should be abandoned (but she had nothing else to do except go home to mom and dad).

Because, hate to break it to you, it wasnÂ’t his guitar playing.

That flies in the face of everything Mick has ever said about hearing all the guitar work on the BN album.

SheÂ’d already played with Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. LindseyÂ’s a great guitarist, but heÂ’s not at that level as a lead guitarist (which is why he didnÂ’t want to join).

Well, of course LB, especially at that point, was no Peter Green -- as a guitarist OR a songwriter. But I doubt the Green legacy was driving the band's decisions during those chaotic years. Green was long gone, as was Kirwan. Welch, Weston, and Walker, and all their respective strengths and weaknesses, were undoubtedly much fresher in the minds of the McVies and Fleetwood. When Welch finally split, the band was nothing but a rhythm section and a singer-songwriter who preferred hanging back musically. Fleetwood Mac could have gone no further without hiring someone.

No, the game changer for Christine was the harmonies. Plural.

Oh, now you are completely making that up out of thin air, or at least out of your own conjecture. Christine has NEVER said that she wanted Buckingham Nicks in the band BECAUSE of their harmonies on the BN album. For all you know, she never even listened to the BN album. She has only said that when Buckingham Nicks added live harmonies to HER songs in rehearsal, she loved it. By that time, they were already in the band. There is no evidence anywhere that she wanted anything but a lead guitarist.

Same for John, BTW.

If you have any reliable evidence that John listened to the BN album BEFORE those two joined his band, spill it.

So, letÂ’s just dispel this glorified fan fiction that St. Lindsey, Lord of the Overdubs, high upon his horse, demanded that Stevie be included once and for all. She would have been in the band eventually anyway. It was really less Lindsey wouldnÂ’t join without Stevie as it was you buy one, you buy both because thatÂ’s just how the Buckingham Nicks equation was.

You contradict yourself in your fanatical craze to push your own glorified fiction. The scenario of "You buy one, you get both" -- which you say you accept -- probably came from Lindsey (or, by extension, from Keith).

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by David

If you have any reliable evidence that John listened to the BN album BEFORE those two joined his band, spill it.

You contradict yourself in your fanatical craze to push your own glorified fiction.


The scenario of "You buy one, you get both" -- which you say you accept -- probably came from Lindsey (or, by extension, from Keith).

I'd wager big time that he had NO CLUE who they were.

You do have a way with words, David.

Except they still ended up paying for both. In the end, Lindsey really paid.
----------------------------
I hope everything is okay between us, David. I noticed that you unfriended me on Facebook. I hope I did nothing to offend you. How long have we known each other online? 25 years or so...

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by David

Between 1971 and 1975, Lindsey and Stevie weren't quite as tied at the hip as you imagine...

So the perfectly plausible scenario is that Lindsey might have decided to take the band's offer to join, even temporarily, just to make some money. You can reject the scenario out of hand, but it's perfectly plausible.

Lindsey was beyond apprehensive about joining Fleetwood Mac and really didn’t want to join the band. Read what Keith Olsen has said. Read what Stevie Nicks has said. Read what Waddy Wachtel has said. Furthermore, Lindsey didn’t enjoy being in the band once he joined. He was moody and could be outright acrimonious towards them. He resented everything he had been working on with Buckingham Nicks getting lost within Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey even had to get a pep talk from Bob Welch of all people when they were making that first album. So, no, I don’t see Lindsey taking their offer on his own.

That flies in the face of everything Mick has ever said about hearing all the guitar work on the BN album.

Except, I was talking about Christine’s hypothetical reaction to hearing the album if the band had somehow hired Lindsey without Stevie. Lindsey’s playing was good, but not something that would have caught her attention. Not after having played with Green and Kirwan. However, the harmonies would have caught her attention at some point.

When they went through “Say You Love Me” for the first time, that changed everything for Christine, and even John. They realized they had something special.

Well, of course LB, especially at that point, was no Peter Green -- as a guitarist OR a songwriter... When Welch finally split, the band was nothing but a rhythm section and a singer-songwriter who preferred hanging back musically. Fleetwood Mac could have gone no further without hiring someone.

This strengthens the case that they would have added Stevie after becoming aware of what Lindsey was coming from. They needed songwriting. Bob Welch had 2/3 of the last two albums.

Green was long gone, as was Kirwan. Welch, Weston, and Walker, and all their respective strengths and weaknesses, were undoubtedly much fresher in the minds of the McVies and Fleetwood.

Peter Green is always fresh in the mind of Mick Fleetwood.

Christine has NEVER said that she wanted Buckingham Nicks in the band BECAUSE of their harmonies on the BN album.

And, I never said she did. I was saying that, at some point after Lindsey hypothetically joined without Stevie, Christine would have listened to the album and that the harmonies, not the guitar playing, would have caught her attention. She was a songwriter who heavily used harmonies, so obviously she would have heard the potential.

You contradict yourself in your fanatical craze to push your own glorified fiction. The scenario of "You buy one, you get both" -- which you say you accept -- probably came from Lindsey (or, by extension, from Keith).

Not at all. It was just the reality. Have you ever been around a band where one of the guys has a girlfriend with ambitious musical aspirations? In this case, that girlfriend made an album with the band’s new guitarist, there’s a woman in the band he joined, and the two groups were stylistically similar. Do you really believe Stevie wouldn’t have been a factor if Lindsey had joined without her? She would have been hanging around the studio and traveling with them on tour…There was no getting just Lindsey.

[elle]

Originally Posted by David

I don't know why you're insisting so vehemently on that while rejecting any other scenario as an Easter Bunny scenario. Between 1971 and 1975, Lindsey and Stevie weren't quite as tied at the hip as you imagine. He had done session work without Stevie and he had been on tour with an outfit without Stevie (she later said that he left her in Aspen at the time). For her part, in either 1972 or 1973, she went back up to the Bay Area without Lindsey, and in fact fell in love with someone else, seriously considering staying with this dude and to hell with Buckingham Nicks (and wrote the song "Destiny" about the little interlude). Stevie told Denny Somach in 1980 that she and Lindsey were breaking up already even before they decided to join Mac. So the perfectly plausible scenario is that Lindsey might have decided to take the band's offer to join, even temporarily, just to make some money. You can reject the scenario out of hand, but it's perfectly plausible.

yup, you'd have to imagine FM offer was better than Everly Brothers. and maybe if he joined alone, they would have had one final breakup at the time, which would be healthier for both of them long run, while most probably neither of them would be as successful as they ended up being.

Mick told the story many times which agreed with the stage / Lindsey's usual version, including apparently in this most recent interview. and he told a different version once.

Stevie told Lindsey's / stage version many times over decades, except recently since she forced Lindsey outta FM, when she started all of the sudden saying that Mick asked her and Lindsey.

so i guess everyone can pick and chose a version they like and be happy in their little bubble.

while i'm happy for Lindsey that he and Mick seemed to have rekindled their decades long friendship, i really am not crazy about Lindsey once again re-hooking with the name Fleetwood. he's been finally starting to build a separate cred away from anything Fleetwood, as Lindsey Buckingham - Caution / The Killers is a great step in that direction and he should continue in that vein in a little time he has left, if he wants to cement his own legacy apart form the already cemented FM legacy he has.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by elle

while i'm happy for Lindsey that he and Mick seemed to have rekindled their decades long friendship, i really am not crazy about Lindsey once again re-hooking with the name Fleetwood. he's been finally starting to build a separate cred away from anything Fleetwood, as Lindsey Buckingham - Caution / The Killers is a great step in that direction and he should continue in that vein in a little time he has left, if he wants to cement his own legacy apart form the already cemented FM legacy he has.

How could he go back? WHY TF would he go back? It's inconceivable to me that he'd even consider it.

I mean, maybe recording with Mick and John would be one thing, but to go back and bow down to her highness? Maybe they could hold hands on stage again, and he could kiss her wrinkled old knuckles, pretending to be in love, for all the idiots who lap up that drivel. F*CK THAT SH*T!!!!

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by homermcvie

how could he go back? Why tf would he go back?

Close. Eyes. Take. The. Money.

(It was funnier in all caps...)

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Close. Eyes. Take. The. Money.

(It was funnier in all caps...)

Looks like a p*ssy. No class. No backbone. Lets a talentless hag order him around, with his tail between his legs. Pathetic.

WHAT A WAY TO BE REMEMBERED!!!

[elle]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

How could he go back? WHY TF would he go back? It's inconceivable to me that he'd even consider it.

i was referring to someone in the thread talking about Mick and Lindsey touring together joining Buckingham Fleetwood names, not Lindsey ever returning to FM. my stance is that Lindsey's name as a guitar legend has resurfaced in all his glory last year thanks to The Killers, and it would be great to see him following that up with similar projects, including his own album - for which btw he should really start releasing singles!

it's a long circular thread so it's hard to keep it all straight.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by elle

i was referring to someone in the thread talking about Mick and Lindsey touring together joining Buckingham Fleetwood names, not Lindsey ever returning to FM. my stance is that Lindsey's name as a guitar legend has resurfaced in all his glory last year thanks to The Killers, and it would be great to see him following that up with similar projects, including his own album - for which btw he should really start releasing singles!

it's a long circular thread so it's hard to keep it all straight.

I can live with anything, as long as he never returns to being ruled by the goat.

And I agree, The Killers was a good move for him.

But god, please don't let him ever return to FM. That bridge was incinerated.

[elle]

completely agree with everyone saying that BN versions of the same songs were much more raw (and now in a good way!) and unfinished. that includes not just instrumentation and arrangements but also harmonies. Crystal and Rhiannon are clear examples, while the song that stayed unchanged was Landslide.

i know most people here hold BN album in high regard, as do both Lindsey and Stevie, but for me a lot of their songs and harmonies contained unlistenable screeching and holes in instrumentation before their joining to FM.

[aleuzzi]

So, yeah, Alec Baldwin LOVES Christine’s voice and speaks of her the way he speaks of no other FM member during the interview.

And I totally dug Mick’s dyslexia story and his memory of playing leather footstools in Norway.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by elle

completely agree with everyone saying that BN versions of the same songs were much more raw (and now in a good way!) and unfinished. that includes not just instrumentation and arrangements but also harmonies. Crystal and Rhiannon are clear examples, while the song that stayed unchanged was Landslide.

i know most people here hold BN album in high regard, as do both Lindsey and Stevie, but for me a lot of their songs and harmonies contained unlistenable screeching and holes in instrumentation before their joining to FM.

Crystal is my least favorite song on B/N. It's my favorite song on FM White album. And I adore the B/N album.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by elle

my stance is that Lindsey's name as a guitar legend has resurfaced in all his glory last year thanks to The Killers

Please. Lindsey’s legacy being enhanced by working with The Killers is even less true than Stevie’s was by working with Kenny Loggins or Destiny’s Child.

[sue]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Please. Lindsey’s legacy being enhanced by working with The Killers is even less true than Stevie’s was by working with Kenny Loggins or Destiny’s Child.

Over here in the UK, after the first week, and even not then sometimes..it was never announced (on the Radio) that Lindsey Buckingham was playing on Caution.
So listeners may have liked the guitar work at the end of Caution, but never knew who it was....
I used to shout at the Radio....”with Lindsey Buckingham” it used to annoy me so much.. “don’t forget, Lindsey Buckingham”....
May have been different in the USA.
FMac fans may have known, but not your ordinary punter..

[Macfan4life]

If you go back to the threads when Lindsey was fired a few years ago. Many predicted this. Its not a shocker Mick's revisionist history. Its no surprise Mick wants to play with Lindsey again. It will not be a surprise that Lindsey joins again to tour again.

Its all way too predictable