"We WILL be working together again" - Mick

[Murrow]

Here's a quote from the fmlegacy.com website quoting an interview with Mick from the St Louis Dispatch.

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More Mac music may be on the horizon. Fleetwood won't go into detail about the band returning to the studio, or the road. But he does say that fans should stay tuned.

"Really, all I can tell you is, be very happy and hopeful that we will be working again. I can tell you everyone's going to be extremely excited about what's happening with Fleetwood Mac."

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Don't know about you but I'm curious already. It looked all washed up when Stevie said "I won't tour without Christine" but then hey it looked all washed up when Greenie left... and when Bob Weston was sacked... and the bogus fleetwood mac went out on tour... and when Stevie, Chris and Rick all quit in 1990... and when the Time line-up collapsed...

[wolfontherun]

This is Mick as PR spokesperson.

[DavidMn]

I'd be curious to know what the talk was like back in 2002 when SYW was being recorded. I wasnt on the Ledge back then and I'm wondering if there was a "Buzz" amongst the community as to what was going on.

[Murrow]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

This is Mick as PR spokesperson.

Does that mean you think it's wishful thinking/hot air on Mick's part?

I've heard rumour (!) of a potential reunion with Green and Spencer as Fleetwood Mac.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I'd be curious to know what the talk was like back in 2002 when SYW was being recorded. I wasnt on the Ledge back then and I'm wondering if there was a "Buzz" amongst the community as to what was going on.

I recall the excitement of it. I never thought they were going to do anything after "the Dance." But I remember being saddened that Christine wasn't doing it with them. I was also more under the impression that she would have more prominent vocals on some of the songs so it would feel like Christine was still on the record. I remember playing SYW for the first time the day the CD was released over the loudspeakers at the Best Buy location I was working at. I was blown away by "Running Thru the Garden" and I think at the time, Thrown Down was my favorite (still is I think).

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I'd be curious to know what the talk was like back in 2002 when SYW was being recorded. I wasnt on the Ledge back then and I'm wondering if there was a "Buzz" amongst the community as to what was going on.

I remember being knocked sideways, quite frankly. Not only was there another studio album, but it was getting done comparatively quickly. And then, a year later, once the absence of Christine finally sank in, there was buzz about HER new album, which was too good to be true. Ah, such is the life of a Mac fan: years of famine, then sudden, gluttonous feasts.

[michelej1]

I remember that I never believed that Chris wouldn't be on it and I always thought that something would be worked out at the last minute, but I was excited. I was just happy to have them getting along. Lindsey showing up at AHI was a BIG, tremendous deal.

Michele

[louielouie2000]

There certainly was a lot of buzz in the online Fleetwood Mac community leading up to Say You Will. We knew before Lindsey showed up at Stevie's Arizona Heart Institute concert that they were working on a studio album, and that Stevie would be joining the band when she was finished with her Trouble In Shangri-La tour. We all knew Christine wouldn't be joining the band, but there was a big faction of us that were really excited about that. We felt it was a completion of what Stevie and Lindsey had always set out to do... make their music their way, without having to comprimise. I for one was very excited about the prospect of hearing the kind of music the band would make without Christine's bubblegum pop influence. I think we all expected the band to take on a bit harder edged, more modern sound because of it.

In my opinion Say You will pointed out just how viable a member to Fleetwood Mac Christine McVie really was. It totally made me appreciate her contributions and look at her in a totally new light. Her harmonies were SORELY missed on Say You Will. Her moderating and blending presence was noticeably lacking... Say You Will sounds like two solo albums hacked together. Fleetwood Mac totally lacked the counterpoint it so desperately needs without Christine. I do think the one thing I can say I *DID* appreciate about Say You Will was the tour. The first dozen shows totally rocked out. I think with Stevie and Lindsey getting to do their own thing together for the first time in 30 years at that point, that they just unleashed some old energy. Towards the end of the tour it all kinda turned flat though. I think Christine's moderating presence was really lacking. You can tell Stevie and Lindsey were not on good terms, and that Stevie at least was NOT having fun.

So what do I think Mick has up his sleeves? Probably some sort of a reunion with Macs past (pre 1975 Mac). Honestly I couldn't give a flip about that. I'd love nothing more than a new album from the Rumours 5... but would appreciate anything with Stevie and Lindsey involved. I hope it's not just another tour. And I really couldn't give a flip about him trying to re-enact the Peter Green era. That died almost 40 years ago; and the blues, as cool as the are died about that long ago too. Pop/Rock is still viable though. Who knows... maybe Mick talked everyone into going over to Christine's castle in England to record a new album. I couldn't even care for another tour at this point... the album alone is my wish.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

...and the blues, as cool as the are died about that long ago too.

Uh, huh, yeah...sure. Tell that to Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, BB King, the Allman Bros Band, Derek Trucks Band, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Jimmie Vaughan, John Mayer, et al.

Talkin' out your south-end again, aren't ya Louie?

[louielouie2000]

For you Steve, I'll talk out my south-end any day . I know it upsets you that Fleetwood Mac's blues years aren't my favorite... but I really do enjoy the music from that era of the band. To me, the Rumours era will always define what Fleetwood Mac is to me, and for that I won't change my opinion or apologize . And I wouldn't expect you to change your opinion or apologize on your opinions and tastes either.

What I meant is Blues is long dead as a form of relevant popular music. Can you imagine a song like Green Manalishi charting on the Hot 100 today? Like Richard Dashut said at one point too, Blues is more of a live artform anyway. Of almost all the artists/bands you listed, as great as they are, most are has-beens. Of course that label undoubtedly applies to our beloved Fleetwood Mac too. They haven't had a mainstream hit on an album of new material since 1987. There are artists like John Mayer and Amy Winehouse who are still current and offer Blues tinged material... but in general true hard-core blues had their peak in the late 1960s in my humble opinion. I believe that's why Fleetwood Mac itself slowly moved away from the blues... not just because Peter Green, Danny Kirwen, and Jeremy Spencer all left the band. FM moved towards a more pop/rock sound because that's the shift that popular music was taking at the time. Led Zepplin and other bands of that era that started out in the blues had moved away from that genre of music by the mid/late 70s. It's simply all about cycles in the music industry and popular tastes at the time. During the mid 90s popular music took a huge swing towards rap, hip hop, and R&B. It seems like that trend too is phasing out, and is being replaced by country-pop fusion. Just wait a while and it'll all change again... we get bored as a music consuming public it seems. Pop music will never go out of style though... because it's what's POPular with the general public... and that's the kind of music that FM struck gold with Buckingham and Nicks.

[bucklind17]

I am sure many people would be excited to see a pre-1975 FM reunited in some shape or form. That music lives on for many people the same way the post-1975 does for others. And it's still very physically accessible, if someone were to walk into a music store today, walk up to the Fleetwood Mac section and grab a CD at random, it's just as likely it would be pre-1975 as post-.

That said, I hope if the plan is to reunite some version of past FMers, Mick makes it very clear what people are getting. I'd go see a Green/Spencer/whoever it may be show easily, but really, how many people would expect a lineup like that if just saw that "Fleetwood Mac" was on tour? It can't be denied that the majority of people who would go to a Fleetwood Mac concert are expecting the hits from 1975 on. The Time era is far behind us, we've since had two live albums and one studio album featuring at least four of the five Rumours era band. I think it would be fabulous if the next tour is an all-star collection of FM alums, I just think they'll have to be a little more specific with the branding if that's the route they choose to go.

Since I brought it up, how did they handle letting fans know of who was in the band at the time of the mid-90's tours?

[JbbyStew86]

Interesting idea about having an alum tour. Something I'd always though would be interesting was getting the alum guitarists up there on stage with Lindsey. Granted, I'd take the buckmaster over any of the rest in half a heartbeat, but talk about a great guitar show!

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I'd be curious to know what the talk was like back in 2002 when SYW was being recorded. I wasnt on the Ledge back then and I'm wondering if there was a "Buzz" amongst the community as to what was going on.

If by "buzz" you mean "bloodshed"... then yes, yes there was.

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I'd be curious to know what the talk was like back in 2002 when SYW was being recorded. I wasnt on the Ledge back then and I'm wondering if there was a "Buzz" amongst the community as to what was going on.

For me, my enthusiasm spiked once the "Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" enhanced 2-CD set was released in Fall '02, with the video clip preview (what ultimately turned into the Destiny Rules doc) of the band in the studio, complete with an album release time period. It was great to hear the makings of songs that clearly weren't of the already known "Gift of Screws" variety, or "Peacekeeper" (although that ended up being on the album anyways)

[David]

Originally Posted by bucklind17

That said, I hope if the plan is to reunite some version of past FMers, Mick makes it very clear what people are getting. I'd go see a Green/Spencer/whoever it may be show easily, but really, how many people would expect a lineup like that if just saw that "Fleetwood Mac" was on tour? It can't be denied that the majority of people who would go to a Fleetwood Mac concert are expecting the hits from 1975 on. The Time era is far behind us, we've since had two live albums and one studio album featuring at least four of the five Rumours era band. I think it would be fabulous if the next tour is an all-star collection of FM alums, I just think they'll have to be a little more specific with the branding if that's the route they choose to go.

Since I like the music from the group from the early 1970s, in a way I'd like to see that group reconvene. But I'm realistic in the sense that this was thirty-five or more years ago, & even if you bring back the same people, those people don't necessarily sound or play the way they sounded or played in 1973 -- any more than I or you do. It's very possible, at least in my case, that the elements that triggered pleasure in me in the band's sound in 1973 or 1974 are simply not recoverable, regardless of who's singing or playing. Case in point: I like the sound of the 1975 band in those years, but not any more. Voices are croakier, playing styles have flattened out & grown generic, the heady aroma of personal charisma has virtually all dissipated, & so forth. From my point of view -- what I see & what I hear -- John Stewart was right: You can't go back to Kansas/Because that was yesterday.

Since I brought it up, how did they handle letting fans know of who was in the band at the time of the mid-90's tours?

The usual ways: If the Dave Mason band played a gig & managed to wangle a newspaper review out of it, obviously the review would have made note of who was in & who was out. Also there were some profile-type articles in newspapers & magazines (like Scene, where the Time band was on the cover). A little TV coverage here & there (some of it in Europe, apparently), &c. Fans aren't "fans" in the market -- they're buyers, consumers. It's up to consumers to read the labels on the can, I suppose.