80% FM is 100% Lacking (Delaware on CM)

[michelej1]

See, this is an example of the reviews I referred to:

Buy.com
http://www.buy.com/articles/loc/6423...e/3/64843.html

"Vintage Clothes" and "That Was Me" are thematic cousins to "Ever Present Past." The piano intro to "Vintage Clothes" is a dead ringer for "Say You Love Me" by Fleetwood Mac.

Pitchfork

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/...y-almost-full/
For a more honest portrait of Macca '07, look to Memory's best (and loopiest) song, the self-effacing retro-culture commentary "Vintage Clothes". The sprightly piano intro initially suggests a rewrite of Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Love Me", but its West Coast idyll is soon pushed askew by a skittering dub break and subliminal synth/bass frequencies;

Charleston Post and Carrier

http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/21/sound/?print

Another one of the better songs on the CD, 'Vintage Clothes,' is classic McCartney, except for the opening piano riff, which is so close to Fleetwood Mac's 'Say You Love Me' that Christine McVie should consider legal action.

[DavidMn]

You know, I'm always amused at how these "critics" love to tell us how we're all idiots if we dont think exactly as they do, because they OBVIOUSLY know more than any of us what part of Fleetwood Mac we should all like more than another. I stopped giving a **** a LONG TIME AGO what these douchebags have to say. The only thing I care about is how I feel about the music and what I'm seeing each night. I couldnt give a **** less about the rest.

[louielouie2000]

You know, back in 2003 I was totally excited about the prospect of it being just Lindsey and Stevie. I thought it was a full circle Buckingham Nicks thing. I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of chemistry and music they could make with it being pure, and just them. I've been a Mac fan for almost 2 decades, and it took me a LONG time to really appreciate what Christine added to the band. It actually took me buying all the pre 1975 Mac albums 8-9 years ago to really get into Chris. Say You Will was proof positive that the magic formula for the Mac really was that Rumours 5. Then In The Meantime came out, and I was more hooked on Chris. I walk around saying all the time now "I really miss Christine!!" She just added a much needed counterbalance to the seriousness of Lindsey and Stevie, without her there aren't those magical harmonies, etc. I'm still glad the Mac is around, but I kinda do agree with this reviewer... it's just not the same without her.

[Nico]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I don't like Vintage Clothes. I just know that when it came out, many critics compared it to Say You Love Me, which is what I think made that writer think that Paul wants to do Chris. I don't think that, myself. Actually, I never wondered if Paul admired Christine's work. I . . . except for the Playboy interviews that John and Paul did, which gave me a lot of pleasure looking at what each of them said on a song-by-song basis, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the Beatles.

I don't think much of anything compares with SYLM myself. In fact, I'm pretty happy with Lindsey's version of Here Comes the Sun and, you know, George better be happy with it too -- wherever he is. I'm not one to spend a lot of time comparing Beatles to Macsters.

Michele

lol! I take it you're not the biggest Beatles fan, which is perfectly fine. I've always found Paul McCartney solo overrated. I think so many of his songs are pure crap yet people herald him as this great pop songwriter. I find that to be true with many of his Beatles and some of his solo work. The early stuff. And then Chaos and Creation in the Backyard are impressive, but everything in the middle- and even more recently- have been albums filled with some wonderful songs and a LOT of filler. Hey, that's jmo.

Thanks for the interviews. I understand the comparison...

And I'm fairly certain George Harrison would love LB's tribute. He adored cutting edge stuff and said point-blank that edgy, creative, revolutionary sounds were what he missed most about John Lennon. Yep. It's in the Anthology. I'd say he'd probably LOVE that LB cover.

[Ulpian]

While the tone of the article is a bit distasteful, I cannot help but agree with the main thrust of the argument.

Yes, Christine has been gone since 1998, but in my opinion the band has been lop-sided ever since. No amount of spin can change that. It's fine if you just love FM because you love Lindsey and Stevie -- and I see more people on this board all the time who see the band just for them -- but for others it was about more than their music.

[D.W-Suite]

I was kinda pissed when I read the start of the article, but afterwards I pretty much laughed at it. This person clearly has never seen the current shows, or even read a ****ing setlist. If I recall, isn't Don't Stop in there? And in the line of "classic rock anthems", I always thought GYOW and Rhiannon would be well ahead of Don't Stop? Oh how I love a review when people don't back up their argument at all, it's kinda like the work you'd get murdered for when you have to write an English assignment. Schoolboy error

[wheart]

wow, that was pretty harsh. BUT, even though I am going to see them on Wednesday, the writer of this article is absolutely right. Fleetwood Mac is not the same and never will be the same without Christine.

[Spikey]

My main annoyance is the title of the album- which implies without Christine the band is "100% lacking", implying there's nothing there at all, which is an excellent reason not to read the article.

Oh, and.. "Ooh. Ahh. Oh. Ah. Ooh. Ahh." BIG

- Spike

[David]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I don't like Vintage Clothes. I just know that when it came out, many critics compared it to Say You Love Me, which is what I think made that writer think that Paul wants to do Chris.

Didn't Rolling Stone draw the comparison about forty years ago? One of its critics wrote that McVie is the "best writer of silly love songs since Paul McCartney." And certainly the Fleetwood Mac <--> Beatles analogies have been drawn in Rolling Stone over & over.

There is a sort of link between the two writers in terms of pop song construction & subjects (love, love, & love), set to a major-key, "compartmentalized" style.

Years ago, Christine talked about having met McCartney at some industry thing or something or other, & she was awestruck. She was also pleased when he addressed her as Christine Perfect.

[JbbyStew86]

Originally Posted by SortaSavageLike

I for one will not be truly pleased until Mick, John, Stevie, Christine, Lindsey, all three Bobs, Peter, Jeremy, Danny, Rick, Billy, Dave, that guy who did two songs on Penguin whose name I can't recall, and Bekka all appear on one stage to perform a 90-minute long improvised jam of Thoughts On A Grey Day.

Better try for the Four Horsemen to be there too. Because that kind of face meltage would only be possible in the apocolypse haha!

[Lee]

Originally Posted by D.W-Suite

I was kinda pissed when I read the start of the article, but afterwards I pretty much laughed at it. This person clearly has never seen the current shows, or even read a ****ing setlist. If I recall, isn't Don't Stop in there? And in the line of "classic rock anthems", I always thought GYOW and Rhiannon would be well ahead of Don't Stop? Oh how I love a review when people don't back up their argument at all, it's kinda like the work you'd get murdered for when you have to write an English assignment. Schoolboy error

I read this in the paper last night (The News Journal out of Wilmington, DE) & I just rolled my eyes & said Oh, boy! I did not want to be be the first one to post this. ITA with the above statement & as I e-mailed my dad, who quoted what this man said & asked how much I paid for the tickets, this guy is obviously not a Fleetwood Mac fan, & he obviously has not seen them since Christine has left the band. Yeah, of course it's not the same without Christine, but what are the other band members, chopped liver? Each of them have their own special talent, & they each bring it into the band which still makes them special to this day.

Lee

[gldstwmn]

Jesus. It's not like they took Christine out on John's boat and threw her overboard. She retired. Dude, SHE DOESN'T WANT TO TOUR ANYMORE. If this guy (or gal) did their history they would see that FM has an ever changing personnel landscape. It's part of the band.

[michelej1]

I would say that without Christine's 1/5, there is about 60% left. But that 60% is pretty dynamic and I still enjoy it immensely.

Without Lindsey's 1/5, well . . . I am still in counseling for that 10 year loss.

Michele

[shackin'up]

The most irritating piece of argumentation from these kind of pressdildo's is the fact that they use other examples to underline their case. That SOUNDS convincing, but at second view it's total bull.

For some reason, Genesis thought it could succeed without Phil Collins in the 1990s, and Journey continues to dilute itself by thinking it has a reason to exist without Steve Perry.

They could easily have said: For some reason, Genesis thought it could succeed without Peter Gabriel ....and ehhh...at least commercially....THEY DID! -with Phil Collins.

And Journey stopped to "dilute itself by thinking it could replace Steve Perry", so they decided that they could only survive with an EXACT copy of Steve's voice. And YES! They found him!

Well whatever, Bands are bands because of groupdynamic. That means also the occasional changes.

That guy just wants Christine. Who's gonna kick him in the face screaming that Christine doesn't want HIM anymore?

I volunteer.

[gold_dust]

You know, I think that if Stevie, Lindsey, John and Mick were all replaced, then maybe the guy could say, 'Yeah - time to give up'. But, as it goes, only one member from the '75 lineup has left, and her spirit is still there. Christine can't ever be replaced - as can none of them - but I'd much rather see Lindsey or Stevie singing her stuff than some random musician. At least they were there when she wrote her songs, at least they know the core essence of them. And not seeing Christine tour with them isn't gonna make me stop listening to their stuff.

And, if he thinks it's time to give up without Christine - since they're just on the bandwagon, now - he may as well have used that rule after Peter Green left.

He doesn't like Big Love? He's already an idiot...