Lindsey Buckingham Discusses Writing New Material with Fleetwood Mac

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by RockawayBlind

Hello, folks, I'm new here. I just wanted to throw my two cents in: I congratulate Lindsey on all his efforts to get new and live music out, but I am not sure how wise it is to keep pushing for another FM record. Stevie and Lindsey are so far apart musically now that any attempt at collaboration is sure to degenerate into a Say You Will-like situation, when she kept pushing for commercial music and he wanted to be all experimental.

Say You Will is very inconsistent from track to track as a result. Lindsey pulled off the experimental vs. commercial thing with Tusk but then he had Christine to add the layer that was missing with Say You Will. While Christine's Tusk songs, in my view, are the least interesting, the band was still able to make the whole thing work. At the time Stevie was still willing to take guidance from Lindsey on production and arrangement-- as did Christine, which is obvious on tracks like Never Forget -- but that no longer seems to be the case.

That is not to say Stevie should or shouldn't take direction from Lindsey, but the point is that the circumstances being what they are, it's highly unlikely a new album would sound much better, from a consistency point of view, than Say You Will. Already Lindsey has done eight songs with the other two guys. Chances are the tracks range from the Steal Your Heart Away/End of Time Variety to the Come mold to the Red Rover/Time Precious Time approach. Then what? Stevie comes in with her far less adventurous songs, demands all kinds of electronic effects a la Running Through the Garden and the IYD productions, and what happens? Another inconsistent piece of work.

I'd rather they keep doing their own thing separately. Lindsey seems to keep growing, though there are indications he is running out of ideas. He's bound to surprise us though. Stevie, for her part, put out her best album in decades with IYD. She might be able to repeat the feat. But working together, I don't think these two will ever meet the heights of Tusk or Rumours.

Welcome aboard.

I agree wholeheartedly with every single point you made. A few years back Lindsey said he wanted to bring in an outside producer for the next Fleetwood Mac album, and I certainly think that could bridge the chasm that has developed between Lindsey & Stevie musically. However, it sounds like this latest work is unfolding in exactly the same fashion as Say You Will did... Lindsey, Mick, and John recording Lindsey's songs while Stevie is out touring. I think all of us knew Lindsey would never, ever relinquish creative control of the band by bringing in an outside producer, though. Which is unfortunate, because I really do think there's still good Fleetwood Mac music to be made.