timing is right to put out 4/5 FM album and tour it!

[jkmaletic]

Originally Posted by elle

that's a really interesting question, Jamie. i'll try to unpack some of it, and i'm sure you and others can probably add some complementary thoughts.

i think that LB is, however unbelievable that may sound for a person with his level of [recognized] talent and success, in fact insecure. i'm not really sure that examples people bring up as his ego are legit. for example, people keep claiming how he does long guitar solos live, to show off. yet for a recognized great guitarist, he barely does any solos. maybe 1 and 3/4 per show. you go to any rock concert, and you will hear multiple solos from multiple guitarists and other instrumentalists per concert. compared to most other bands, and especially other known guitarists, LB barely does a guitar solo live.

as far as being a perfectionist in the studio and thinking he is right, that may show a level of intolerance or incapability to be open to discussions, but i don't think he insists on his way in the studio because of some ego trip or power play; he just thinks his way is right. i suspect Christine may be the only one (and probably in recent decades Johnny Mac) who were able to make him go their way in the FM context - but i might be completely wrong. and in the context of other bands, LB certainly fills in whatever kind music they do anyway, and adds a bit of his unique twist. NIN vs EOTS vs Delta Rae music is completely incomparable, yet he found ways to fit into what they were doing (and you can be happy or unhappy with that, LB fans certainly have the whole spectrum of very extreme views on that EOTS Tango-era sounding song!).

in relation to one another though SN and LB still have a weird and somewhat childish level of competitiveness.

as you know i don't know that much about Stevie. one thing that does strike me from some of her statements throughout the years, starting from "i wanna be a star!" is that - well - that was her main purpose then, and some of her behavior and statements now signal she is still thinking that way. she is the person who wants to be upfront in the limelight, known and praised. but in relations to Lindsey, she definitely seems to have some unresolved power struggle issues. maybe not just in relation to him, but also Christine, or others, otherwise she would not insist David Stewart has "no ego" - which i thought was a crappy thing to say and somehow i don't think Dave Stewart liked it that much.

When you say "she is the person who wants to be upfront in the limelight, known and praised" I have to disagree, at least in the last 20 or so years when shes been touring with Fleetwood Mac. As I've said before, Stevie is definitely more subdued during Fleetwood Mac shows, and she is very aware that she is part of a "team". She has said this, and it shows. I can't speak for how she might have acted in shows during the seventies and eighties, as I was not old enough to have attended those shows. I do remember hearing a story about her doing something on stage back then that Lindsay was irritated with and he showed it in so many ways. And that since then, she has subdued her actions on stage when she performs with Fleetwood Mac. Not sure if that's true, but that's what I remember reading somewhere.
Bottom line, I believe both of them are egotistical. It just seemed that you were kind of alluding in your post that it was just one person in the band that was egotistical. (Stevie)

Jamie