Stevie & Christine in Nashville

[Phil]

I suspect Dave Stewart will end up co-producing the Mac album with Lindsey, including Lindsey's own songs. Lindsey has previously conceded that an outside producer would be appropriate for the next band recording and even touted Dave as a contender at one point. He attempted this approach with Mitchell Froom's involvement in 2012, but it wasn't enough to entice Stevie. It's obvious she wants Dave and seemingly, Christine is on board with that decision, at least in respect of Stevie's tracks.
We need to remember that Dave has already produced Lindsey, when he contributed to the recording of "Soldier's Angel" in late 2010. Lindsey apparently was also present for other periods of the In Your Dreams album sessions so would have some insight into Dave as a person and his approach to record making. By all accounts, Dave is a charming man, capable of disarming just about everyone he encounters and this could be the secret to restoring cohesion within the band, or at least between you know who... That said, none of the band members are fools so ultimately, acceptance or non-acceptance of Dave will come down to his musical attributes and production skills.
Say what you will about Dave, he gets things done and if it had not been for him, I doubt In Your Dreams would have even come to fruition (we'd still be waiting for the follow-up to Trouble In Shangri-La!). His encouragement of Stevie will no doubt galvanise her into action and hopefully he will elicit strong work from the petulant one. I honestly think Dave was behind Stevie's superior vocals on IYD, which were a vast improvement upon her work on the TISL and Say You Will albums.
We must remember that Lindsey is keen for this upcoming album to be made so in the absence of being able to cajole Stevie himself, I imagine he's relieved Dave is in the picture. I am confident these two mature men could work well together, without the clashing of egos. Dave could just turn out to be this band’s secret weapon – let’s wait and see…