Fleetwood Mac Solo Or With The Backing Band

Nicks Fan · #1 11-13-2004, 02:09 PM

I was watching the Live in Boston DVD and I gotta say that while the muscians that backed them on the tour are all very talented I wish the band would leave them behind on the next toour as we are paying to see FM and not Fm plus how ever many back up singers /musicians they have. It just doesn't work for me. I like music and the concert I saw was good but I wish they would go back to the days when it was just the band and not all of this grand production.

Matt

sodascouts · #2 11-13-2004, 02:32 PM

I agree, Matt. It's one thing when it's Stevie solo but having all those backup singers on a Mac tour is unnecessary and excessive.

HomerMcvie · #3 11-13-2004, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicks Fan

I was watching the Live in Boston DVD and I gotta say that while the muscians that backed them on the tour are all very talented I wish the band would leave them behind on the next toour as we are paying to see FM and not Fm plus how ever many back up singers /musicians they have. It just doesn't work for me. I like music and the concert I saw was good but I wish they would go back to the days when it was just the band and not all of this grand production.

Matt

I agree 100% Matt. I've asked before, and of course no one can answer- "WHO decided that bands can no longer go out as a 4 or 5 piece?" Around 1990, ALL these backing musicians somehow slipped their collective arses onto the stages.
I think the blame started with MTV. But now, with all the lipsyncing, etc, I think it's what the public has come to expect. A live performance that sounds 98% like the record. Warts not allowed.......bull****, IMO. I frequently do sound for COVER BANDS that have up to four backing tracks! The last one I did had a guitar track; a keys track; a percussion track; and a BIG vocal track(all the high notes, and high harmonies were on it).
Welcome to perfection, friends....

sodascouts · #4 11-13-2004, 03:26 PM

Oh, and while I at first only replied regarding backup singers, it's true of the other musicans too, as Matt pointed out. Ray's always been around for songs like GYOW, but when I see Lindsey not even playing on Stand Back, I wonder if they've gone too far in that direction, too.

dissention · #5 11-13-2004, 04:29 PM

If they insist on going back out on the road, leave the kit and caboodle at home. The back-up singers are cloying and fill-in for the lead singers too much, while the back-up musicians spoil the songs. Too many cooks spoil the soup. They totally butchered I Know I'm Not Wrong.

AliP · #6 11-15-2004, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

They totally butchered I Know I'm Not Wrong.

uh no. You didn't just say that

That song made the show for me, totally rocked! Loved it to no end! Now, I always thought that Sharon and Jana sang way too high on SYW. Totally drowned out Stevie and Lindsey.

dissention · #7 11-15-2004, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AliP

uh no. You didn't just say that

That song made the show for me, totally rocked! Loved it to no end! Now, I always thought that Sharon and Jana sang way too high on SYW. Totally drowned out Stevie and Lindsey.

That's because Stevie sings way too low on SYW.

I enjoyed IKINW live, but it just didn't have any spark to it. It's a very simple song that they turned into a theatrical slap-dash and it just ruined it, IMO.

David · #8 11-15-2004, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AliP

uh no. You didn't just say that

That song made the show for me, totally rocked! Loved it to no end! Now, I always thought that Sharon and Jana sang way too high on SYW. Totally drowned out Stevie and Lindsey.

That's a problem with the live mix, not the women singing. It's almost impossible to adjust what you're doing onstage -- whether it's singing or playing -- to create a blend for the FOH (front of hall). It's all in the mixer's hands.

David · #9 11-13-2004, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sodascouts

Oh, and while I at first only replied regarding backup singers, it's true of the other musicans too, as Matt pointed out. Ray's always been around for songs like GYOW, but when I see Lindsey not even playing on Stand Back, I wonder if they've gone too far in that direction, too.

Yeah, Ray & Jeff & Tony used to play with the band, too, but it was a piddling minority of songs, in the first place, & in the second, it in no way shape or form affected the quintessential sound of just the four members of the band. It's not even worth comparing the techies who played in the old days with what happens nowadays -- there's just no comparison at all.

I guess ever since the '87 tour, Fleetwood Mac went digital. Not only did the extra musicians & singers troupe out for the entire show, but the hardware backstage increased exponentially. All of it en masse changed the whole dynamic (for the better or for the worse, depending on your own take), & the sound of the bandmembers themselves, dumped into a big sonic goulash, took on a completely different flavor.

ontheEdgeof17 · #10 11-13-2004, 04:37 PM

It's pretty sad that Brett and Taku get more air time in LIB than McVie.

Doesn't make sense to me.....

Serrart · #11 11-13-2004, 04:59 PM

All those back-up musicians create a surreal effect to me, it's like to see two bands play at the same time. I'd like to hear the real Fleetwood Mac's sound live today without them. But if you could choose, would you eliminate all the non FM components or just some? What about the keyboards? I'd vote to keep Brett and the singers.

Romy