Aren't We Being A Little Hard On The Band?

[skcin]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

But what nobody understands is why so many other artists, who have much smaller followings than Fleetwood Mac, and who likely never will sell as many records as Fleetwood Mac, apparently think it's a good business decision to release remastered albums and concert DVDs and whatever else, while Fleetwood Mac doesn't. Either all of these other bands are idiots who are losing money, or Fleetwood Mac is. I'm not inclined to give the Fleetwood Mac organization the benefit of the doubt here.

YES! That's what bugs me. Brian J. would be more knowledgable (sp - duh) than me about what's new with older metal bands, but I know for a fact that many of them are currently putting out DVDs of live shows & videos as well as remastering their old material - honestly, how many copies will Helloween sell? How about Cinderella? One would assume that Mac would be able to sell many more.

LIB is pretty cool, but what really pissed me off was that besides the new tunes, it's almost the same as The Dance. The casual fan will look at the tracks, think "what the hell is Say Goodbye? I've already see the rest of this ****" and put it back on the shelf. There's your less than stellar sales - put out the same material over & over and people won't care.

I'm a casual fan of Cyndi Lauper & I have a Cyndi Lauper DVD - if she puts out another one in 7 years but it's mostly the same songs, I ain't buyin'. One is plenty. Now, that being said, if she put out her older concerts onto DVD, I would definitely consider buying, esp. if there are different songs & bonus material.

People like to relive the past, look back fondly, reminisce. So why not release at least the stuff that was put out on VHS (Tusk Doc, Mirage concer, Stevie's WWD show.) It can't cost that much, plus we all know there's tons of extra crap to put on them - backstage footage, photo shoots, etc. WHY NOT?!?!

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by skcin

. . . plus we all know there's tons of extra crap to put on them - backstage footage, photo shoots, etc. WHY NOT?!?!

That is my beef too. I mean when La Nicks did the Enchanted Boxed Set, I was expecting tons of new photos, etc. While there were lots of new phots and some handwritten liner notes, it seemingly was not enough. Maybe that is my problem though in that I always want more.

AND - they missed a hige opportunity with the assinine website they put up for the SYW tour. They had the backstage footage, etc., but, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, who the hell wants to see Mick play golf?

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by Lala

Hi all,

I've been reading all of threads regarding disapointment over lack of new/remastered material. I understand you're all frustrated, trust me I am too. But aren't we being a little hard on these guys? There have been some more personal attacks on band members, calling them "idiots", etc. And it made me stop and think, aren't we all here because we love this band?

Sure, I'm disapointed over the lack of insight between management and the band in terms to releasing more matterial. But, I love this band. I love this band because they have touched me musically. I love this band because their words and music have helped me through some hard times. I love this band because, when I'm having a bad day, I can throw on one of their albums, crank it, and feel a little better.

I'm sure some of you have similar feelings.

I guess my point is, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I've certainly been guilty of saying things on this board that I wouldn't dare say to a band member's face. But, should we be a little more careful in posting as if they were reading? I just feel like, if Stevie on a whim checked out the board, and caught her fans calling her an idiot, she'd be less motivated to push for anything of hers to be remastered.

I don't know. Maybe I'm totally off base and shouldn't have posted this. Keep in mind I'm hopped up on cold medicine and kind of bored.

I Fleetwood Mac. I am grateful for what has been released, and will be grateful for whatever else is.

Lala, I absolutely agree with you! I feel the same way. I'm just grateful for whatever comes out, especially since I had to wait over 20 years of being a fan before I was able to see them live, although I will say I dont like everything theyve released.

[seeker007nmss]

Originally Posted by Sahara

Now come on. Let's have some more kittens.

Did someone say kittens?

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by chiliD

In a word...NO!!



"Idiot is as idiot does"



I love my family, too, but I call them idiots quite often as well.

Steve, where would we be without you to keep things honest.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by skcin

YES! That's what bugs me. Brian J. would be more knowledgable (sp - duh) than me about what's new with older metal bands, but I know for a fact that many of them are currently putting out DVDs of live shows & videos as well as remastering their old material - honestly, how many copies will Helloween sell? How about Cinderella? One would assume that Mac would be able to sell many more.

Absolutely. My stand-by example is always Elvis Costello. Rhino Records just completed a four-year project of reissuing all of his albums from 1977 to 1996. That's seventeen albums! I believe each one was remastered, but the real selling point was that each reissue had the original album on one disc, plus one disc of bonus material (demos, outtakes, collaborations, one-offs, live tracks, all kinds of stuff). They're not all that dissimilar from the Rumours and Tusk reissues, the main difference being that every one of EC's reissues was priced like a single CD at $17.99 or $18.99, as opposed to $22.99 or whatever the Mac reissues cost.

Now, only one of EC's albums (My Aim Is True) has ever gone platinum, and three others (This Year's Model, Armed Forces and Spike) have gone gold. Yet Rhino thought it was worthwhile to spend four years assembling these really nice packages for all seventeen of his albums, and then release them at a relatively bargain price. So nobody's convincing me that Mac reissues are finanically undesirable.

And presumably Rhino could have done the same with Fleetwood Mac, but somehow Warner jumped in and grabbed back the project, and now look where we are.

It can't cost that much, plus we all know there's tons of extra crap to put on them - backstage footage, photo shoots, etc. WHY NOT?!?!

No, it would cost next to nothing, actually. Even if they took the time to add bonus footage and stuff, the costs would still be minimal.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

. . . No, it would cost next to nothing, actually. Even if they took the time to add bonus footage and stuff, the costs would still be minimal.

This brings me to my earlier point, which was do you think they think the stuff they released is enough to satisfy that? I mean they have released backstage footage, rare stuff, demos, etc. I think they think they have done what we are saying they do not do?

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by David

you & chili bringing a breath of sanity to this particular topic of "if you love them why do you rag on them?" lunacy (which must have psychological underpinnings).

I think what it comes down to, is that some of the fans (most especially the younger ones) here get a lot of grief from those in their day-to-day lives, regarding their love for Fleetwood Mac/Stevie/etc., so they come here to express that appreciation in a safe-haven of like-minded individuals... only to sometimes find people seemingly saying even more disparaging things about the band, than what comes out of the mouths of their friends and family.

And while I agree that some people do take the complaining a tad too far (such as when a sense of entitlement creeps in), the thing that our younger brethren should try to realize, is that in the majority of cases the views expressed are merely those of devoted fans who can't help but see a lot of missed-opportunities, and to feel a little letdown when it seems that fans of other artists get thrown a bounty of new bones, while we're stuck with the same chewtoy we've had for years.
In those cases, the comments aren't made with disdain for the band, but for their decisions (or lack thereof).

It's like chili said... we loves our families, but there are still times when they frustrate us, too.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

This brings me to my earlier point, which was do you think they think the stuff they released is enough to satisfy that? I mean they have released backstage footage, rare stuff, demos, etc. I think they think they have done what we are saying they do not do?

I think I responded to this in another post somewhere in this thread, but short answer: no, personally I don't think it's enough. The three reissues were a good start - they're nice packages, with relatively decent bonus material - but that's exactly what they ought to be: a start of a more expansive project which would involve giving similar treatment to all of the Reprise albums. (And for god's sake, where is Buckingham Nicks?)

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

(And for god's sake, where is Buckingham Nicks?)

Here's a very interesting article on the remastered series, with a brief discussion of 'Buckingham Nicks.'

I'm sure most folks here have read it before, but it's interesting to revisit....

http://www.icemagazine.com/stories/204/fleetwoodmac.asp

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

I think I responded to this in another post somewhere in this thread, but short answer: no, personally I don't think it's enough. The three reissues were a good start - they're nice packages, with relatively decent bonus material - but that's exactly what they ought to be: a start of a more expansive project which would involve giving similar treatment to all of the Reprise albums. (And for god's sake, where is Buckingham Nicks?)

I know you do not, but the question was and is do they think it is. Who can say for sure, but I think on some level they do think so. I think they are wrong mind you. Interestingly, I wonder if at some point they do not think, okay, no more dwelling on the past, I need to concentrate on the tour, new material, etc. I probably would, esp. if the reissues require any significant amount of time, which the Rumors DVD-A did.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Here's a very interesting article on the remastered series, with a brief discussion of 'Buckingham Nicks.'

I'm sure most folks here have read it before, but it's interesting to revisit....

http://www.icemagazine.com/stories/204/fleetwoodmac.asp

From that article (emphasis supplied) :

While rumors have abounded recently of Buckingham Nicks finally reaching the CD format, McLees addresses the issue as follows: "There’s all kinds of rights issues that need to be worked out, and we hope at some point that we can get our greasy mitts on it. I would love to do it, and we’re certainly going to be pursuing it, but there’s no official deal in the works yet."

I often wonder what those issues are and if they exist between La Nicks and LB or between them and the players on the record (surely LB and La Nicks are not THAT cheap) - or if Polydor is digging in its heels.

I mean the CD certainly will not sell a million, I think maybe 250,000

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I often wonder what those issues are and if they exist between La Nicks and LB or between them and the players on the record (surely LB and La Nicks are not THAT cheap) - or if Polydor is digging in its heels.

I thought I had read years ago, that the hold up had something to do with the publishing rights. I could be wrong.

I've also read that they were having a difficult time finding the original master tapes, in order to do a true remastering.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

. . . I've also read that they were having a difficult time finding the original master tapes, in order to do a true remastering.

One of the Q&A sessions here stated that the original masters could not be found to bake - or something like that. But, La Nicks put a BN song on her box set, which to me means they could reissue all of it.

Maybe they are holding out for some reason like a tour with just them

[David]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Maybe they are holding out for some reason like a tour with just them

I guess they're both waiting until they're perfectly seasoned, trussed & baked to a golden brown.

either that or they don't care about Buckingham Nicks & have no intention of spending any of their time thinking about it