Buckingham CARRIES Fleetwood Mac

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by skcin

I don't think he sounds any worse than SYW or his solo tours. But in general, I've never considered LB a great vocalist really. Amazing musician, producer & songwriter, yes. But he's not on my list of best singers of all time. I don't think HE considers himself agreat vocalist.

But you have to admit that it's rather jarring to hear one of his songs from the Rumours era and then hearing one of his songs from the last few years back-to-back. I would dare say it's even more jarring than hearing Stevie then vs. now. Yes, Lindsey never had a spectacular voice, but it used to have such a pleasing tenor-ish tone to it- almost androgynous in some ways. And it's one thing to have more limited range and a raspy/whispery delivery, but it's another thing to be completely off-key, which Lindsey is a lot these days. By contrast I think Stevie's pitch today is much better than it used to be, especially compared to those who-gives-two-fig-newtons vocals from the Kloponin era...

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

But you have to admit that it's rather jarring to hear one of his songs from the Rumours era and then hearing one of his songs from the last few years back-to-back. I would dare say it's even more jarring than hearing Stevie then vs. now. Yes, Lindsey never had a spectacular voice, but it used to have such a pleasing tenor-ish tone to it- almost androgynous in some ways. And it's one thing to have more limited range and a raspy/whispery delivery, but it's another thing to be completely off-key, which Lindsey is a lot these days. By contrast I think Stevie's pitch today is much better than it used to be, especially compared to those who-gives-two-fig-newtons vocals from the Kloponin era...

And he mostly goes off key when he is trying to ad lib or change the melody with his crazy howling.... And it seems like he does this because he's afraid he's not going to hit the right notes....

Just my observation from watching the Youtubes.... and I agree SN and LB are really below par in the vocal category... It's not pleasing to my ears at all... and for those prices, I want to hear good singing along with great playing...

[Kelly]

Originally Posted by TheScoop

I never believed for one second that Stevie "allowed" Lindsey to shine and deliberately decided to take a back seat to him while sharing the stage in Fleetwood Mac. If anything, Lindsey's electrifying performances reveal the weaknesses in her own performances these days and he tends to completely overshadow her. It's a sharp contrast indeed. The fact that Lindsey has kept up that same intensity since the SYW tour just makes Stevie's decline all the more revealing, in my opinion.

ITA.

I do not think for one second that Stevie is "letting Lindsey shine". He is shining and happy and she isn't. It is just more obvious because Linds is soo exuberant and kick ass. Lindsey has admitted when talking about UTS that Stevie was going through some stuff during the SYW tour......perhaps she still is. I believe Stevie still has a huge ego and resented the testosterone flowing on the SYW tour because it took the spotlight away from her. Blast away.

[OldTimer]

Originally Posted by Kelly

Linds is soo exuberant and kick ass

On, no! Linds is kicking Stevie on stage again?
(No, wait, never mind -- these days, he has The Ledge to do it for him....)

[Steviefan49]

Originally Posted by wheart

absolutely. Stevie knows her own power and to keep the peace, she lets Lindsey have his time in the spotlight. If you really think about it, this makes sense. The major source of conflict between the two of them during the majority of their career with FM (aside from their ugly breakup) was the fact that Stevie garnered all the attention on stage. Lindsey said himself he didn't realize Stevie was going to become the star of the band. He did all the behind the scenes work and she got all the attention. Was this fair? Probably not. But it's still a viable source of contention between the two, even to this day. If Stevie is really serious about the two of them getting along better, she would have to recogonize this and take whatever steps necessary to prevent it from becoming an ongoing problem again between the two of them.

I agree with you on this 500%! You summed it up with great wording, and I can't agree more!

[David]

Originally Posted by D.W-Suite

Lindsey has always been overlooked in the past,

He actually got a lot of great reviews in the old days. In fact, I just posted one from Rolling Stone in 1977 in another thread somewheres. In the major magazines & papers, I would say he got better performance reviews than Nicks did by a factor of about 3 to 1.

Before she became pop's Esteemed Elder, Stevie's best reviews generally came from her fan base.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by David

He actually got a lot of great reviews in the old days. In fact, I just posted one from Rolling Stone in 1977 in another thread somewheres. In the major magazines & papers, I would say he got better performance reviews than Nicks did by a factor of about 3 to 1.

Before she became pop's Esteemed Elder, Stevie's best reviews generally came from her fan base.

Yes, from my research and reading... critics have often talked about McVie and Buckingham as the gems of the show... where Nicks would get less than rave reviews... However, rave reviews for Nicks would come from the fans...

[wolfontherun]

Originally Posted by Kelly

ITA.

I do not think for one second that Stevie is "letting Lindsey shine". He is shining and happy and she isn't. It is just more obvious because Linds is soo exuberant and kick ass. Lindsey has admitted when talking about UTS that Stevie was going through some stuff during the SYW tour......perhaps she still is. I believe Stevie still has a huge ego and resented the testosterone flowing on the SYW tour because it took the spotlight away from her. Blast away.

Divas do not allow anyone to take the spotlight away from them, they only give it up willingly.

[wolfontherun]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Yes, from my research and reading... critics have often talked about McVie and Buckingham as the gems of the show... where Nicks would get less than rave reviews... However, rave reviews for Nicks would come from the fans...

Critics need to bash someone it is part of the game. Stevie is an easy target. Going after an easy target is kinda spineless if you ask me. Especially when one considers the fact that 99.9 % of the critics are male.
R&R is a man's world as Stevie has lamented many times.

[JbbyStew86]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Well, could it be that Lindsey is compensating for his lack of voice with more stagecraft? As Stevie once said, "less voice, more flair." I know I'm going to take a lot of crap by saying what a lot of people have been thinking: Lindsey's voice sounds terrible so far on this tour . All I hear is a lot of growling and off-key barking from him. And let's face it- the songs that are now done in a lower key ("Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way," "Say You Love Me," etc.) are probably because of Lindsey's greater limitations as a vocalist this time around. Sure, everyone gets old, and people change... and one could argue that it's better to be rough 'n' ragged as long as you are still rockin'; by contrast, Mama has gone all cabaret-style with her mannered phrasing and projection. But to my ears, Lindsey's lead vocals are a little hard to take. Maybe there is a way he could take lessons to learn proper technique, yet maintain his edge...

I remember remarking to my girlfriend on opening night how his voice actually sounds improved on this tour as opposed to his last few outings. I dont really think its gotten worse, just different. Obviously he doesn't have the high end range he did decades ago, but a lot can be said that of the remaining members, Buckingham's voice has suffered the least over time. I thought he sounded much better this time around, especially on Tusk and Go Insane. Even his higher range has made a slight improvement.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Critics need to bash someone it is part of the game. Stevie is an easy target. Going after an easy target is kinda spineless if you ask me. Especially when one considers the fact that 99.9 % of the critics are male.
R&R is a man's world as Stevie has lamented many times.

Christine is a woman and she rarely got bashed in the press.

Michele

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by JbbyStew86

I remember remarking to my girlfriend on opening night how his voice actually sounds improved on this tour as opposed to his last few outings. I dont really think its gotten worse, just different. Obviously he doesn't have the high end range he did decades ago, but a lot can be said that of the remaining members, Buckingham's voice has suffered the least over time. I thought he sounded much better this time around, especially on Tusk and Go Insane. Even his higher range has made a slight improvement.

Wow... I would beg to differ on that! Say what you will about Mama's voice (and we all realize she does not display as much range on stage as before). But at least she is singing her songs in their original keys. On the other hand, many (if not most) of the songs featuring Lindsey on lead has been taken down a step or two. If that isn't a symptom of "suffering" I don't know what is.

[D.W-Suite]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Divas do not allow anyone to take the spotlight away from them, they only give it up willingly.

Please, please stop feeding us this bull.

[Kelly]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Divas do not allow anyone to take the spotlight away from them, they only give it up willingly.

Exactly. I do not think she is giving it up for LB, though. I don't think SHE feels good, for whatever reason, and she is just more mellow and subdued. I do not think it has a thing to do with wanting to let LB shine. Personally, I think she felt like **** at the beginning of the SYW tour and it showed. Second leg, she was a different Stevie. She may be feeling the same way again. Who knows? To assume it has to do with Lindsey, is assuming alot, IMO. She could be hurt, ill, depressed, high , pissed at her Mom....sad about her dad, sad about some guy she met at Walter Reed....there could be a slew of reasons she is coming off the way she is. Personally, I thought she acted like she was going through the motions on the GD tour as well. She has no choice but to carry a solo show, but in FM, if she feels like piss, she can sit back and let others do the work. I think her demeanor now is exactly the same as it was at the beginning of the GD tour. In Hershey, she was completely blah. I love her to death, but that is what I saw...and that had nothing to do with holding back for LIndsey. Just MO, of course.

[Nico]

Originally Posted by Kelly

Exactly. I do not think she is giving it up for LB, though. I don't think SHE feels good, for whatever reason, and she is just more mellow and subdued. I do not think it has a thing to do with wanting to let LB shine. Personally, I think she felt like **** at the beginning of the SYW tour and it showed. Second leg, she was a different Stevie. She may be feeling the same way again. Who knows? To assume it has to do with Lindsey, is assuming alot, IMO. She could be hurt, ill, depressed, high , pissed at her Mom....sad about her dad, sad about some guy she met at Walter Reed....there could be a slew of reasons she is coming off the way she is. Personally, I thought she acted like she was going through the motions on the GD tour as well. She has no choice but to carry a solo show, but in FM, if she feels like piss, she can sit back and let others do the work. I think her demeanor now is exactly the same as it was at the beginning of the GD tour. In Hershey, she was completely blah. I love her to death, but that is what I saw...and that had nothing to do with holding back for LIndsey. Just MO, of course.

My consensus is that no one has to "hold back" for Lindsey. Whether one does or gives their all, he will still shine. Lindsey is an amazing performer. Yes, he can ham it up on occasion (I loved the Tusk dance but whatever...), but these days he isn't quite. And he didn't on his solo tour. He's just an exceptional performer and has a great amount of stage presence and his playing abilities just soar. As for his voice, it's not what it was but I love it. I like Stevie's as well, but of the two I'd probably prefer Lindsey's because hers is a lot more flat and monotone to me. I am certainly not a technical expert in terms of what "key" someone is in or whether they are in this range or that...I just know what sounds good to me. No, Lindsey's voice is not what it was, but I believe it has preserved well. And I think Stevie sounds better now than she did on the SYW tour, which I honestly didn't think was a great moment for her.

I'm enjoying BOTH of them right now. Why must it always be this-one-or-that-one? I mean, yeah, Lindsey's my boy but I will totally give Stevie her deserved props. So many people come to FM shows to see her, she is a star, beautiful, and very talented. I like so many of her songs, love everything she did on Tusk and I think she's on a bit of an upswing lately so that's wonderful. I hope it continues and they really do embark on another album, with an outside producer. I can't write them off, and they deserve to have one more great album (though I did love SYW).