An Official Fleetwood Mac Album Debate

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

He definately took his loss in the double-album case. You cannot state that it was his own idea or what he wanted to do. He wanted a double-album. There's no discussion possible.

Ultimately it was Lindsey's idea to release it as a single album. In the documentary he states that in order for them to release it as a double-album and for him to not lose a "f*** of a lot of money" in the process, the band would have had to tour for at least two years, record another album and then tour again. So he decided that the risk of things falling through, and the band not continuing to tour past the initial 40 dates, was too great to take.

It may not have been what he originally conceived for the album, but it was his decision to not release a double.

I think the smartest thing would have been to first release a more radio-friendly, "classic Fleetwood Mac" sounding album ("Thrown Down," "Bleed To Love Her," etc.) with about 13 tracks and tour to support it. Then take a few months off the road, release a second, edgier batch of 13 songs ("Murrow," "Illume," etc.), and then go out on the road again.
Fans would have had two Mac albums in the span of a year, the rest of FM and the record company would have had their more commercially viable album, and Lindsey would have had his "envelope-pushing" album.