Prolific band

[Mr Scarrott]

I suppose 12 albums from 1967 to 1979 (13 if we count the Chess jam album) was pretty good going. But oh, what could have been...what did someone say once-
"Rumours was the sound of Fleetwood Mac exploding; Tusk was the pieces of the band falling back to earth" Something like that, anyway.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Mr Scarrott

I suppose 12 albums from 1967 to 1979 (13 if we count the Chess jam album) was pretty good going. But oh, what could have been...what did someone say once-
"Rumours was the sound of Fleetwood Mac exploding; Tusk was the pieces of the band falling back to earth" Something like that, anyway.

In 50 years, there probably should be more albums.

[tango87]

It certainly is tragic. The Stones have never really stopped, despite a 4-year sulk in the 80s. Even if the albums have slowed down compared with their glory days, they've carried on touring, and have released a huge amount of classic live shows, on CD and DVD. Stones forums still find plenty to gripe about though - but nothing compared to us... The Stones are a going concern; Fleetwood Mac is a defunct pop group.

The frustrating thing is that some members of FM have always wanted to work. Chaotic as Mick may be, he's certainly been driven to keep the band going. And Lindsey pushed for new music since his return in 97.

The problem is, what made them so beguiling and work so beautifully as a band is what drove them apart - that unique, wonderful chemistry.

We all dreamt of a perfect ending for them, but perhaps what we got was always inevitable.

[David]

Originally Posted by tango87

The problem is, what made them so beguiling and work so beautifully as a band is what drove them apart - that unique, wonderful chemistry.

We all dreamt of a perfect ending for them, but perhaps what we got was always inevitable.

Well said. I agree with this post.

[BLY]

If Stevie didn’t go solo…we would have had a Fleetwood Mac album in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1989. It is what it is but Stevie going solo in 1981 kind of changed everything.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by BLY

If Stevie didn’t go solo…we would have had a Fleetwood Mac album in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1989. It is what it is but Stevie going solo in 1981 kind of changed everything.

That would mean that Lindsey left the band because of Stevie's presence? I don't think that was the only reason.

August 7, 1987 Lindsey apologised. "Look, I'm sorry. I just can't do any more. I've given twelve years of my life to this band! I've done it all arranged, produced, played guitar, sang. I just can't . . . hack it . . . and do it all anymore."
Christine spoke now. "What do you mean, Lindsey, do it all?" Her tone was withering. (Mick's first book)

Even if these words are not completely accurate, I do think Lindsey just wanted to go solo, and Tango was a favor to his friend Mick.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Villavic

That would mean that Lindsey left the band because of Stevie's presence? I don't think that was the only reason.

August 7, 1987
Christine spoke now. "What do you mean, Lindsey, do it all?" Her tone was withering. [/FONT] (Mick's first book)

.

That's my tone too when he or any other folks try and paint it like he was the only one crafting, writing, singing, arranging etc. The more I listen to the complete FM works, (not just the B/N period), the more I understand that he had some killer raw material and amazing support in the other members and crew. Look at what they did for Rhiannon, Monday Morning and Crystal.

[BLY]

Originally Posted by Villavic

That would mean that Lindsey left the band because of Stevie's presence? I don't think that was the only reason.

August 7, 1987 Lindsey apologised. "Look, I'm sorry. I just can't do any more. I've given twelve years of my life to this band! I've done it all arranged, produced, played guitar, sang. I just can't . . . hack it . . . and do it all anymore."
Christine spoke now. "What do you mean, Lindsey, do it all?" Her tone was withering. (Mick's first book)

Even if these words are not completely accurate, I do think Lindsey just wanted to go solo, and Tango was a favor to his friend Mick.

If Stevie didn’t go solo and the rest of the band followed Lindsey’s “Vision “ after Tusk, I think we would’ve had more Fleetwood Mac alums and No need for all the solo carriers.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by BLY

If Stevie didn’t go solo…we would have had a Fleetwood Mac album in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1989. It is what it is but Stevie going solo in 1981 kind of changed everything.

All of the members were frustrated with the recording of Tusk because of Lindsey, including the crew, according to Richard, Ken, Mick, and Stevie. Read any interviews, articles, or books about that period for more info. Add on to that that the album barely went platinum and led to a year long tour that somehow didn’t make the band the money they were expecting, and it’s easy to see that THAT is what led to FM taking a break. They even agreed to take a year long break, which is when Stevie made her first album. Frankly, I’m surprised they ever bothered to record Mirage, it’s clear no one’s heart was in it and it shows. Not a disaster but you simply can’t compare Mirage to the first three albums and say it’s as good. Some good songs, but as an album, it doesn’t hold a candle. Same thing with Tango, except every song by Christine is killer with the exception of Mystified. Again, Tango as an album cannot hold a candle to the first three.

I say Tusk is what changed everything, not anyone’s solo work, including Christine’s or Lindsey’s.

[BLY]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I say Tusk is what changed everything, not anyone’s solo work, including Christine’s or Lindsey’s.

I agree Tusk did change everything. If they took the year off and then went back in the studio without all the baggage things could have been very different. Tusk worked as a double album and had a solo feel to it because of Lindsey’s experiments. The next release should’ve been a Fleetwood Mac not 2 solo albums. IMO.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by bwboy

All of the members were frustrated with the recording of Tusk because of Lindsey, including the crew, according to Richard, Ken, Mick, and Stevie. Read any interviews, articles, or books about that period for more info. Add on to that that the album barely went platinum and led to a year long tour that somehow didn’t make the band the money they were expecting, and it’s easy to see that THAT is what led to FM taking a break. They even agreed to take a year long break, which is when Stevie made her first album. Frankly, I’m surprised they ever bothered to record Mirage, it’s clear no one’s heart was in it and it shows. Not a disaster but you simply can’t compare Mirage to the first three albums and say it’s as good. Some good songs, but as an album, it doesn’t hold a candle. Same thing with Tango, except every song by Christine is killer with the exception of Mystified. Again, Tango as an album cannot hold a candle to the first three.

I say Tusk is what changed everything, not anyone’s solo work, including Christine’s or Lindsey’s.

I absolutely LOVE Mirage. White thru Mirage are all GOLD to me.

Opinions are like something. Maybe you should go check yourself.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by bwboy

All of the members were frustrated with the recording of Tusk because of Lindsey, including the crew, according to Richard, Ken, Mick, and Stevie. Read any interviews, articles, or books about that period for more info. Add on to that that the album barely went platinum and led to a year long tour that somehow didn’t make the band the money they were expecting, and it’s easy to see that THAT is what led to FM taking a break. They even agreed to take a year long break, which is when Stevie made her first album.

Probably the members were frustrated with Lindsey because they felt he went too far, making Tusk too different from Rumours, but I'd blame on all 5 members about accepting Mick as manager of the Tusk tour. Who chooses someone with no experience as a manager? And to top it off an addict.

Less man a month after the end of the Tusk tour, I realized I was in trouble with the rest of the band. By this time, other managers began to enter the picture. John, Chris, and I were still with Mickey Shapiro, but Stevie had signed with the tough industry mogul Irving Azoff, who managed the Eagles at the time, to represent her with regard to her looming solo career. Lindsey was with somebody else.

The sh** hit the fan at a business meeting held to overview the Tusk tour with reference to the European leg. This turned into a vitriolic review of my behavior and management skills. The basic complaint, of course, was that we'd been on the road for eight months and hadn't made much money.

I explained that we'd undertaken this tour in order to sell a difficult record, which by that time was up to five million in sales. Yes, we'd grossed some big numbers, but our overhead was murderous. We spent a fortune on the road, running a fat ship. We decided to be comfortable, and we lost control. If Stevie wanted a hotel suite painted pink with a white piano in it, what are you gonna do? Say no? You can't do that in a Holiday Inn! Pink rooms and pianos cost real money. These were my decisions, because they had to be. There was no management company as a buffer between me and the band. To complain about anything, as musicians love to do, they had to address a band member me. People were honest with their feelings under this system, but they didn't like complaining about money. Even so, early in the tour I tried to change to cheaper hotels. All the others complained and I said the hell with it.
From then on we went first-notch. We had everything.

Irving Azoff: "You should've made more money. Why isn't there more money after a year on the road?"

The accountant, meanwhile, was looking over the books and frowning. Impressive amounts of cash were missing, having been spent on various extravagances. The accountants and lawyers were not used to this. They didn't understand how to run a rock band. They said to me, "How can you consider yourself a manager when you let this kind of thing happen?" But had they ever tried to say no to friends who also happened to be members of the world's biggest band? But that didn't matter.

John Courage was fired by the band's lawyers right after this meeting.

My turn came a bit later. It was a very shifty scenario. The lawyers didn't say we had done anything wrong, but it was bordering on that. There was an unspoken implication that money was missing. We felt unjustly accused by ignorant laymen. It was most unpleasant. John Courage had been working for Fleetwood Mac for almost ten years, and is one of the most honest people I've ever known. And my end had consisted of taking 10 percent of the band's net, not the gross like most managers. I got paid after expenses and had no publishing, and got to work my brains out.

Granted, some kind of split was inevitable, but it was real ugly the way it was done. It was a big meeting. Everybody was there, and all the recriminations of the past eighteen months were played out. We had been pilloried for making the most expensive record in history. Tusk had only gone to number three, where Rumours had been number one. We made no money on tour. Some money was unaccounted for. It was like an Indian Council, everyone seated in a circle, five musicians and the lawyers with their wretched files in their laps.

I didn't say anything.

Irving Azoff made it plain that he was there to clean up the mess and take care of business. "I represent Stevie, and she ain't doing nothing unless . . ."

His basic message was this: "Hey, Mick, it's over. From this point forward, we ain't paying no management commission, no office overhead, legal fees, accounting fees, nothing. We're out for now, goodbye."

....

The end result was that I was off the throne. It was the democratisation of Fleetwood Mac. Ever since, we've had review by committee managers, lawyers, business managers. The Gang of Four.

I was very hurt by all this. I walked outside into my garden and just sat for a long time. Chris, John, Stevie, and Lindsey tried to make it clear that they weren't mad at me, that they considered me to have acted like an over-indulgent father. But I felt humiliated and flogged in front of my community. It was horrible. If that's what they want to do, I thought, Duck it. At that point there wasn't going to be much to manage anyway, since we were all about to devolve into solo projects for a few years.

If I have to choose who pilots the plane I will fly on, I choose the best professional, not the most frequen flyer. This failur was responsiblity of the whole band.