Fleetwood Mac on Ellen

[bombaysaffires]

People just don't get it do they?

It's not that Lindsey is gone.

It's that now we see, if there was ever doubt, that the band's integrity (or what was left of it) is totally gone.

It's bad enough to take to the road when the remaining original singers can no longer perform up to par vocally or, it appears with Chris, not even as musicians and they have to have a shadow band playing for them, but then to add two new members of the caliber of Mike Campbell and have them act as stand-ins makes them nothing but an oldies cover band. (Think about how it would be if the Heartbreakers had called in Lindsey to go on the road and sing Tom's songs......gag)

It's sad. It's embarrassing. It poops on whatever credibility they had left.

That's what is upsetting everyone. As mad as I am about the whole LB debacle, part of me would be impressed as hell if SN and CM were up there really knocking it out of the park. Far from it. It's one thing if they're all up there in the Rumours5 lineup sucking together. When they're up there sucking with replacement players, it's just sad.

The rule in showbiz is to go out on top, go out leaving the crowd wanting more. At this rate they'll go out with people saying the last tour should have been the last.

[button-lip]

Originally Posted by krrrby

What a bunch of cranky ass people who ate more than their share of Bitter Flakes this morning. You all need some therapy. The negativity towards these individuals is really a damn shame. WE GET IT. LINDSEY IS GONE. All you people can do is hurl negativity towards this whole situation? Really sad. These are musicians no matter what form they take on. It should be respected as such. Move on from this damn drama already. If you don't have anything nice to say about it then shut up!

Hmmm, thanks for your input? Instead of criticizing others posters because they’re criticizing the band why don’t you tell us how was it for you?

And no, you don’t get it. And you don’t tell people what to say/think.

[Miss Vicky]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

Think about how it would be if the Heartbreakers had called in Lindsey to go on the road and sing Tom's songs......gag).

I actually wouldn't fault The Heartbreakers if they had done this and I don't just say that as a Lindsey fan. Tom said once in an interview that at one point he tried to get Lindsey to join the band and share frontman duties.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

watching Gypsy again, the fact that MIKE is the one plonking out that line on a keyboard baffles and kinda really p&sses me off.

It’s the same part Lindsey played on guitar during shows. What Mike did was closer to the original recording.

I mean, Christine couldn't even plonk out those few notes?? Really??? WTF is she doing up there??

Christine typically plays chords on the organ during Gypsy. She never played that part.

A guitar player of his caliber? Really? And he can't twang that bit out on his guitar either??

He absolutely could. That’s a very, very easy part to play. He was just doing something different.

Their sound person needs to be b&tched out. Stevie was fiddling with her monitor pack throughout both songs and it was clear on The Chain she couldn't hear herself. I think that moment when she blurted out whatever incoherent sound she said was her testing out the mic to see if it was even on, because she couldn't hear.

That’s probably the show’s sound engineer.

[reebokandlace]

I have not posted in a while... I only have one thing to say:

“...the sea, it changes colors, but the sea does not change, now does it?...”

[bwboy]

After seeing them on Ellen, I'm so excited to see Fleetwood Mac live next month!

[Buster]

Originally Posted by krrrby

What a bunch of cranky ass people who ate more than their share of Bitter Flakes this morning. You all need some therapy. The negativity towards these individuals is really a damn shame. WE GET IT. LINDSEY IS GONE. All you people can do is hurl negativity towards this whole situation? Really sad. These are musicians no matter what form they take on. It should be respected as such. Move on from this damn drama already. If you don't have anything nice to say about it then shut up!

You don’t believe in freedom of speech?

Even though I don’t support this new band, I would be the first to admit if they surprised me and were good. They weren’t. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was being on tv stage, whatever. They didn’t totally suck but they weren’t Fleetwood Mac quality.

[jbrownsjr]

I tried to watch the videos a few times more. It just gets worse.

[bobwelchera]

I was very excited to see the performances today. Unfortunately, the mix was not very good. You barely could hear them sing. The musicianship was good, however, and I did like Mike's solo interpretation on The Chain. You could tell this was not an FM-centric crowd because they didn't respond to John's bass solo.

The vibe of the group is different, which is to be expected. Neil, as I also expected, sounds a lot like/closer to Lindsey on the studio version of The Chain. Neil's not a gravelly singer as Lindsey has been for some time. I think he was a bit nervous too.

I did like that they wanted to harmonize at different parts in Gypsy, but again, you couldn't hear them blend with the mix.

I have to wonder if Christine does anything about her arthritis/will be doing anything about her arthritis for the tour. I also wonder how Stevie would sound if she had surgery on her vocal nodes.

I think we really would understand their chemistry if they put together an album.

[button-lip]

Originally Posted by sleepless child

Very homogenized. NO chemistry. I enjoyed the Billy/Rick years better. Love Mike, but it just didn't work for me. Miss Lindsey very much. Not impressed at all. Neil is very bland. This isn't going to work.

Oh, I think they know that already! They're just trying to put their best faces for fans who want this to work, no matter what.

[Buster]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I tried to watch the videos a few times more. It just gets worse.

Same/ditto

[button-lip]

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

Glad the concert I'll be going to is a Lindsey Buckingham one.

Haha! Me too! Best choice ever!

[SmthngOfADreamr]

I haven't posted in a long time but felt watching the videos made me want to. Was it awful? Not at all. It was OK. I'd even say it was good despite the technical issues and too many extra musicians on stage. But I have to say watching it made me feel incredibly sad. I know the answer to my own question before I even ask it ($$$) but why are they doing this? Money isn't even a really acceptable answer because how much money could they really need? I'm even over the fact that they're touring without creating something new, because that's pretty much been status quo for well over a decade, but what I really don't understand is why they think it's OK to take something with such a strong legacy that was very good and now offer something that's mediocre with zero chemistry. It's frustrating to try to rationalize it, and watching them today just brought these feelings, which I've read many of us sharing here, straight to the forefront.

I listen to a lot of new music, almost exclusively, and primarily Alt-rock and Indie rock. I enjoy it very much but there's very little in these genres in the way of old school rock n roll like Fleetwood Mac. It's doubtlessly a dying genre. A few bands pop into my head, like The Growlers for example, but otherwise it's difficult to find music of their style being produced today at all because a lot of new rock relies on electronics and not guitar. Also pop music is now mostly hip-hop and rap. So it frustrates me even more that we have an exemplar of a genre, but they're coming across as if they're covering their own songs because there is no enthusiasm and a glaring missing piece of the puzzle. We certainly missed Christine but it was somehow different when her absense was by her choice. Here it feels like we've been robbed. I feel like they're just putting another nail in the coffin of a fading musical genre instead of putting a spark back into it and that really bothers me.

Maybe I'm being pessimistic but like I said, watching the videos primarily made me sad.

[StreetAngel86]

i just listened to the Chain ... couldn't bare to WATCH it

good lord it was awful.
i went in hoping to like it and then i would have shut up
but ... oh dear no.
terrible 'reimagination' of a song i once liked
couldn't hear much $tevie and didn't hear any CmV

couldnt bring myself to listen to gypsy
one of my most fave OLDschool FM songs
i don't want to hear that butchered

ETA: they're playing clips on the TV right now and just heard some of Gypsy
$tevie sounds ... screachy ... uuuuuuuuugh

[Sugar Mouse]

I had an idea today that could work well for the new Fleetwood Mac. The band would pick seven or more pre-Lindsey songs that would fit nicely with the new lineup.

For example, Oh Well, Dust, Come A Little Bit Closer, Why, For Your Love, Green Manalishi, Hypnotized, Man of The World, Spare Me A Little of Your Love, and The Way I Feel are some possibilities.

Then have the new lineup record new versions of these songs. Perhaps someone like Mitchell Froom could produce.

In addition, have Neil, Christine, and Stevie each bring in one new song. Could be completely new or simply an unrecorded old song. Record those three songs as well.

Now they'd have a fairly easily to finish new studio album of 10+ songs to release prior to the tour to add some excitement to the upcoming dates.