For Fleetwood Mac, the flame still burns (Boston Herald)

[skcin]

Originally Posted by MacMan

Have you had a big hand in putting together the deluxe reissue of “Rumours” that’s due in May?

Not really. I’m not a huge fan of those repackagings anyway. But in light of the fact that there is no new album, it makes sense to have something out there to help the marketing of the tour. Certainly there are some curiosities on there, but I haven’t had much to do with it. I did put the kibosh on a few things that I didn’t think should make the cut. So I’ve had an editorial hand in it, but that’s it.

Uh-oh. Well, maybe not. At least he had some say about what gets put on the reissue. But who's calling the main shots - Mick? Please, not the recrod company alone.

Have any producers in mind?

We had a short a list, but I have no idea. We’ve talked about everyone form Daniel Lanois to Dave Stewart to Rick Rubin. That pretty much runs the gamut of approaches. We have to meet with a few people and see how it feels.

Holy ****.

I asked Lindsey if there was another rarity like “Silver Spring” waiting to be dug out and done live and he wasn’t sure. What do you think?

I suggested that we do “Storms” (from “Tusk”) on this tour. We have never done it onstage. The last tour we pulled “Beautiful Child” out and we’d never done that before and it went great. But what we do always comes down to is what sounds good. We’re just thrilled to play our body of work that we’ve worked so hard on over the last 30 years. We really shy away from the “Greatest Hits Tour” label because we think it sounds cheesy. It’s not just the greatest hits, it’s the familiar songs that everyone loves.

Stevie brought up the idea of doing Storms? Huh.

Also - I call bull**** on teh "whatever sounds good." Plenty of songs sound good & they drop them anyway.

And you’re ready to jump into the studio as soon as this tour is over?

This tour could go on for 135 shows, but when we come off the road we will be a finely tuned, well-rehearsed band, which is the best thing to be when you go into the studio because you’re already hot. Your chops are up, you’re singing great, you’ve been playing fantastic music for a year. And writing on the road is really fun. Not to mention that we already both have enough songs to do a record now. But it all depends on if we’re having fun and enjoying each other.

Both have enough songs? Great! But PLEASE don't let this tour drag on like SYW so that you hate eachother by the end & decide not to record, or until you're burned out & out of steam & creativity. Please. I beg of you. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII beg of yoooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu.

What do you think of the “Rumours” reissue?

It’s pretty awesome. It’s the songs before they came to fruition, almost like the five of us sitting in your living room playing for you. Listening to it, I could rise up above my body and go back there and remember what an amazing group of people we were in those years. As I was listening to it, I thought, “This could so be now. This sounds like a brand-new band just coming out.”

Interesting. Will these be different/rougher demos? I shouldn't get my hopes up - maybe she's talking about the first reissue.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by skcin

Both have enough songs? Great! But PLEASE don't let this tour drag on like SYW so that you hate eachother by the end & decide not to record, or until you're burned out & out of steam & creativity. Please. I beg of you. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII beg of yoooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu.

They probably would, but their backers won't. No money, no tour, so I don't think we'd get 135 for that reason alone. Michele

[michelej1]

There are some audio clips from Boston.com that you can hear. About 5 minutes combined:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/clips/fleetwoodmac/

Lindsey Buckingham explains how, in retrospect, having such different musicians made Fleetwood Mac work:

Lindsey Buckingham on how he feels hearing that he has been an influence or inspiration to younger bands of different genres like Little Big Town and Midlake:

Stevie Nicks on her influences during the early days of Buckingham Nicks in San Francisco and how she became an influence herself:

Stevie Nicks explains why she doesn't worry about whether an album can overcome the hurdles of the recording industry:

[wolfontherun]

Cool article. Thx for posting.

Now let the Stevie bashing begin.

[MacMan]

Originally Posted by michelej1

There are some audio clips from Boston.com that you can hear. About 5 minutes combined:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/clips/fleetwoodmac/

Lindsey Buckingham explains how, in retrospect, having such different musicians made Fleetwood Mac work:

Lindsey Buckingham on how he feels hearing that he has been an influence or inspiration to younger bands of different genres like Little Big Town and Midlake:

Stevie Nicks on her influences during the early days of Buckingham Nicks in San Francisco and how she became an influence herself:

Stevie Nicks explains why she doesn't worry about whether an album can overcome the hurdles of the recording industry:

Oh cool.. I'll grab that!

[StandbackStevie]

i am game for a new kickass fm record again I though Say You Will Rocked love that cd just wish stevie performed a few more of the songs on the cd instead of only 2 songs always welcome a new cd from fleetwood mac cant wait for the show

[SandyMac]

Holy ****! This is so exciting. Stevie is doing a 180 degree turn in her attitude towards the band and recording. I wonder if she feels unsure of herself recording new solo stuff, but she knows with a well known brand name of Fleetwood Mac, and the turmoil the industry is in, that there is a larger chance the CD would do better than just solo.

Also, Stevie saying Kickass, cheesy, and Rock On made me giggle for some reason. She actually sounds the intelligent woman we all know she is (well most of the time) and not so spacey.

I could go for a kickass Fleetwood Mac album.

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I think any producer would be honored to be under consideration, IMHO.

If FM met their price, maybe. "Elite" producers such as Rick Rubin are expensive.

[Enchanted_Stevi]

I dont know if anyone posted this yet. But heres some audio clips from the interview.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/clips/fleetwoodmac/

[shackin'up]

Originally Posted by LukeA

If FM met their price, maybe. "Elite" producers such as Rick Rubin are expensive.

Well, If Rick Rubin still produces bands like Howlin' Rain, FM will be able to pay him. It's something else with Rubin. You don't choose and then hire him, he chooses you.

I know that's hard to understand for Americans, but in his case it's true.

And anyone who call him "overrated" should listen to his work. He's special. And I mean REALLY special. And what's a red line in his work is PURITY.

I love this guy's work and approach.

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

Well, If Rick Rubin still produces bands like Howlin' Rain, FM will be able to pay him. It's something else with Rubin. You don't choose and then hire him, he chooses you.

Howlin' Rain is on his record label, American Recordings- that's why he produces them. Most of the artists he produces are on his label- he has a vested interest, in addition to his own personal interests & musical inclinations. He makes his $$ by working on the higher profile ones (Weezer, Neil Diamond, Metallica to name a few), which cost the artist/their respective labels big bucks.

Originally Posted by shackin'up

I know that's hard to understand for Americans, but in his case it's true.

Yes, our cognitive abilities are too limited to understand the likes of Rick Rubin and his motives (???)

Originally Posted by shackin'up

And anyone who call him "overrated" should listen to his work. He's special. And I mean REALLY special. And what's a red line in his work is PURITY.

I love this guy's work and approach.

He has a distinctive approach, sure, but there does come a point where one's credentials don't exactly live up to their reputation. He's been coasting off of the Johnny Cash albums for 5-6 years now.

[shackin'up]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Yes, our cognitive abilities are too limited to understand the likes of Rick Rubin and his motives (???)

See? you don't even understand what I mean. My experience on this board is that basicly 99% of the americans refuse to believe that someone can have artistic reasons as the base of their choices ABOVE financial reasons. ALSO AFTER commercial success.

I understand what you say about Rubin's label and Howlin' Rain. But the fact that he still signs and produces these small bands, doesn't give you any good reason to find agreement from me on the "Rubin is still resting on his Cash-laurels".

That's a very smallminded look on his work.

[BTFLCHLD]

botson herald (JED)/boston globe (SARAH).... makes my head spin...the audio provided earlier is from the interview SARAH conducted below...similarities to other interviews...there are some christine mentions...not sure if those have been previously posted...

NBTC...boston globe

All iconic rock records begin life as the dreaded "new stuff" fans don't want to hear.

Stevie Nicks vividly remembers a time when Fleetwood Mac fans weren't interested in the songs from the landmark album "Rumours." Granted, it didn't take long for the 1977 release to become a multiplatinum monster, but there was definitely an initial resistance to the charms of "Gold Dust Woman."

"The audience is always going to be like, 'We need to hear the songs we came here to hear,' " says the 60-year-old singer-songwriter. And at the start of the "Rumours" tour, the songs they came to hear were hits like "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me" from Fleetwood Mac's eponymous 1975 album, the first to feature Nicks and her then boyfriend, singer-songwriter-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

As the title of the current road show makes clear, Fleetwood Mac's "Unleashed: Hits Tour 2009," which comes to the TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday, will not feature any new stuff. "We've had incredibly good luck with successful radio songs, so if you start with that and make a list, it's not a short list," says Buckingham, 59.

But this is no farewell jaunt for the band, which also features the namesake rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood, 61, and bassist John McVie, 63. (Singer-songwriter-keyboardist Christine McVie retired from the group in 1998 but performed on the 2003 album, "Say You Will.") In separate back-to-back interviews, we talked to Buckingham and Nicks about the past, present, and future, and they made it clear that the British-American band that has withstood more than a half-dozen permutations will continue to make new music for the masses to disregard - at least at first.


Singing McVie's praises
This tour is the group's second go-round without McVie. The absence of her harmonies and keyboards was definitely felt on the "Say You Will" tour, as were her songwriting contributions, including the hits "Say You Love Me," "Over My Head," "Hold Me," "Everywhere," and "Little Lies." This time out, the group has decided to add some of her tunes to the set list.

Buckingham: "I think she would want us to do that. I think she's going to be flattered as well."

Nicks: "She's delighted. Chris is the greatest, she's not selfish and she's not conceited. She's just a wonderful, wonderful girl. She doesn't like to fly and you just have to. She was having panic attacks and she didn't tell us, so we were all very surprised when she said 'I can't do this' because we never knew she was having a hard time."


The Stevie/Lindsey dynamic
McVie's absence was also felt on a personal level, especially by Nicks, who felt adrift as the band's gender balance shifted. Buckingham was having a blast, however, digging into his songs and guitar playing. Onstage in Worcester in 2003, the former lovers could be seen shooting intense glares at each other.

Buckingham: "When we got off the road in 2004 with Fleetwood Mac, I know Stevie was not very happy with me. I think she maybe wasn't that comfortable onstage in a situation where, without Christine, I had half the material to do and I was just up there being a guy. I think her sense of herself, the context kind of got blurred for her without the female compadre. I had a great time; she didn't."

Nicks: "It went from being a band with two powerful women and a bunch of guys to a bunch of guys with one powerful woman. And Christine really was the powerhouse anyway, she really was the leader of the pack, our Mother Earth. So without Chris it definitely changed the dynamic. And I was lonely because I was obviously so used to having her there since 1975."

Buckingham: "That was one of the reasons we decided we would do a few more Christine McVie songs this time and that we would find ways to do them that are more about Stevie's and my dynamic. I've been talking to Stevie a lot and it's great, the chemistry, the history; I've known her since we were both in high school. And it's not only intriguing but it gives me a big smile that we're going to go out there as a band, the four of us, and particularly Stevie and myself, and be able to bridge all the crap that maybe we've never been able to completely bridge before. We're talking about a band whose sensibilities are so disparate that probably on some level we don't really have much business being in a band together. . . . It's the synergy of that, that makes it work, that makes it greater than the sum of its parts. I think it becomes important and timely to acknowledge that and to share it with each other."


New record on the horizon
The band members hope to keep that synergy going when they get off the road and into the studio.

Nicks: "There's nothing better than having a totally tight, rehearsed band go in and make a record because you're playing great and you've been hanging out for a long time. I'm excited about it because I think the world should have another Fleetwood Mac record. Even if it doesn't sell one record, what it is for us is the experience of making the record. It really is the journey of making 'Rumours,' of making [her first solo album] 'Bella Donna,' of making these really precious records in the long run that is almost more important than what they did when they left us."

Buckingham: "I think there are chapters yet to be written with this band, and there are chapters that need to be written for the people themselves. There have been some things left hanging out there, and this isn't just a band getting together to do it for the bucks . . . . I'm getting quite excited about it, I have to say."

[skcin]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

Well, If Rick Rubin still produces bands like Howlin' Rain, FM will be able to pay him. It's something else with Rubin. You don't choose and then hire him, he chooses you.

I know that's hard to understand for Americans, but in his case it's true.

And anyone who call him "overrated" should listen to his work. He's special. And I mean REALLY special. And what's a red line in his work is PURITY.

I love this guy's work and approach.

Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass if they approached him & he turned them down.

Now that you mention that, I wonder if Rubin would be interested - do you think mac is too pop-ish for his taste? With Neil Diamond & Johnny Cash, I would assume he was attracted to the singer/songwriter aspect.

[MacMan]

Originally Posted by skcin

Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass if they approached him & he turned them down.

Now that you mention that, I wonder if Rubin would be interested - do you think mac is too pop-ish for his taste? With Neil Diamond & Johnny Cash, I would assume he was attracted to the singer/songwriter aspect.

I don't know a lot about his work - but I thought the guy did a great job on the last Dixie Chicks album taking them into a more easy 70's rock kinda vibe mixed in with their country sensibilities.