Mike Campbell talks about FM in New interview

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by BigAl84

Regarding the whole debate about the eb and flow of Stevie's solo career...one thing is for sure.

As said in her own behind the music episode, her solo career was tanked by 1996.

The only reason she bounced back was due to The Dance tour, end of story.

The Enchanted Box set and tour NEVER would of happened without that tour happening first.

It would be interesting to think about where her career would be now if the 1997 reunion hadn't happened.

Considering Smashing Pumpkins had a minor alternative hit with “Landslide” in 1994 and Hole had a hit with “Gold Dust Woman” in 1996, all Stevie really needed was to quit smoking, drop some weight, get a makeover, and start working with younger, relevant musicians like Dave Grohl. She could still have assumed the godmotherly rock survivor with the scars to prove it persona that she took on in 1997. Maybe have a Stevie Nicks comeback special on MTV and Clear Channel. I doubt it would have had the same impact, but she could have been brought back to viability without Fleetwood Mac.

[johnnystorms]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Considering Smashing Pumpkins had a minor alternative hit with “Landslide” in 1994 and Hole had a hit with “Gold Dust Woman” in 1996, all Stevie really needed was to quit smoking, drop some weight, get a makeover, and start working with younger, relevant musicians like Dave Grohl. She could still have assumed the godmotherly rock survivor with the scars to prove it persona that she took on in 1997. Maybe have a Stevie Nicks comeback special on MTV and Clear Channel. I doubt it would have had the same impact, but she could have been brought back to viability without Fleetwood Mac.

Thank you. And the other 4 would have been far LESS viable

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by johnnystorms

Thank you. And the other 4 would have been far LESS viable

They would have been less viable without Stevie, but they would have been way more viable compared to what Fleetwood Mac had become. Christine and Lindsey had enough songs between them that they could have still had a viable, credible set without Stevie. However, none would have had anything close to The Dance.

[BigAl84]

Originally Posted by johnnystorms

Thank you. And the other 4 would have been far LESS viable

It's a two way street. She wasn't exactly viable at the time of the dance reunion. People somehow forget that. She was playing on a stage that was a converted semi truck bed in st pete beach the year before. Not exactly killing it at the local amphitheatre.

[elle]

Originally Posted by BigAl84

It's a two way street. She wasn't exactly viable at the time of the dance reunion. People somehow forget that. She was playing on a stage that was a converted semi truck bed in st pete beach the year before. Not exactly killing it at the local amphitheatre.

and that was after Smashing Pumpkins and Hole covers.

btw i still think Hole cover of GDW is the best version of that song. (sorry LB and glass breaking, still not as good as Hole!)

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by elle

and that was after Smashing Pumpkins and Hole covers.

She only did three shows in 1996. One was a private show and the other two were festivals, which often pay more than concerts. It’s not like those were tour dates.

[BigAl84]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

She only did three shows in 1996. One was a private show and the other two were festivals, which often pay more than concerts. It’s not like those were tour dates.

Yeah exactly. She wasn’t even able to book a full tour in 1996. Bingo.

[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

She only did three shows in 1996. One was a private show and the other two were festivals, which often pay more than concerts.

Has my memory let me down? In 1996 she played AHI (private show), St. Petersburg, Columbus, and Boston.

[David]

Here’s my 1995–96 recollection. There was a lot happening in Stevieland. The internet was driving a Stevie revival in the fan base. The music mags were starting to talk about her in more positive terms — just a year or two before, rock writers were lampooning her as an embarrassing child-woman who never grew up (with comparisons to literary characters in Dickens), but their tone changed and you saw more articles about Stevie being an influence to a new generation. You see these articles begin to appear in 1994–95. Lifetime cable channel started negotiations with the Stevie camp to film a documentary and concert. She booked appearances in 1996 in public, and her fans went nuts, videotaping all of them and circulating them on the net. Fanzines about Stevie kicked up (one of the dozens of them was called “Mirror Mirror,” created by Mike Bise). Trading in Goldmine ramped up, too, for concert tapes and pictures and tourbooks and other Stevie items. The modern fan base for her was regrouping and adding more and more to its ranks, again thanks largely to the internet. In the immediate years following her unhappy 1994 tour, the air was electrified, and Stevieness was accumulating power and speed, like a tsunami made of meat and chiffon!

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by David

Has my memory let me down? In 1996 she played AHI (private show), St. Petersburg, Columbus, and Boston.

I didn’t see Columbus listed on setlists.fm, but yes to the other three.

[BigAl84]

Ok...I was a kid at the time and I remember both Hole and Smashing Pumpkins being a really big deal. However, I don’t ever recall hearing about their Fleetwood Mac covers AT ALL until well into the dance era.

Is it possible we’re over inflating the impact of those two covers as some sort of spark that began an inevitable comeback?

I call bullsh*t. That’s just my opinion lol.

[BigAl84]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

Considering Smashing Pumpkins had a minor alternative hit with “Landslide” in 1994 and Hole had a hit with “Gold Dust Woman” in 1996, all Stevie really needed was to quit smoking, drop some weight, get a makeover, and start working with younger, relevant musicians like Dave Grohl. She could still have assumed the godmotherly rock survivor with the scars to prove it persona that she took on in 1997. Maybe have a Stevie Nicks comeback special on MTV and Clear Channel. I doubt it would have had the same impact, but she could have been brought back to viability without Fleetwood Mac.

I never said she wasn't capable of some kind of comeback on her own.

My point was, the immediate bounce that she got from the Dance Tour most likely wouldn't of happened in the same way if she had to do it on her own.

And quite frankly, she had already been trying to quit smoking, drop some weight, get a makeover on and off between 1990-1994...and the comeback still hadn't happened.

Just an observation.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by BigAl84

My point was, the immediate bounce that she got from the Dance Tour most likely wouldn't of happened in the same way if she had to do it on her own.

And I agree with that point.

And quite frankly, she had already been trying to quit smoking, drop some weight, get a makeover on and off between 1990-1994...and the comeback still hadn't happened.

She only got off Klonopin in 1993 or so and she was still pretty bloated and big haired in 1994, so the comeback hadn’t really started. She was ready to quit altogether until she lost weight after the 1994 tour.

However, the Smashing Pumpkins and Hole covering her songs created a renewed interest in Stevie. So, the time was right for her image makeover.