Underrated Fleetwood Mac

[SteveMacD]

I think their early reputation as a blues-rock boogie band outlasted them actually being one. After Bob joined, there was a disconnect that created an identity crisis for the band. Clifford was still promoting them based on the earlier blues-rock boogie legacy, putting them on tours with bands like Savoy Brown and Deep Purple and having Deep Purple’s producer record them, even though that had nothing to do with Bob’s Carlos Castaneda inspired jazz rock or Christine’s mainstream pop. I think Cliff felt adding Dave Walker would keep blues-rock boogie going in Fleetwood Mac after Danny was fired.

After they broke with Clifford and moved to LA, they went on tour with Jefferson Starship, maybe to play up having a woman in the band, but it put them on a tour relevant to the music they were making, and they finally cracked the Top 40.

Stevie and Lindsey brought in their mainstream pop songs, more complex harmonies, sex appeal, and a fierce belief in what they were doing. There were finally five people on the same page. It gave Fleetwood Mac a compelling, cohesive product that was easy to sell. There was a ceiling with Bob. His songs were generally not mainstream, his voice wasn’t mainstream, he didn’t have a lot of sex appeal, and he didn’t believe that the band could reach mainstream mega-success.