Cage Tour Review

[michelej1]

Globe and Mail, October 21, 1987

HEADLINE: Fleetwood Mac gets on track despite Nick's loss of power

BODY:


BY ALAN NIESTER
Special To The Globe and Mail
A decade ago, an appearance by Fleetwood Mac would have been the
highlight of the rock social season. It almost certainly would have been
held outdoors to accommodate the crowds and would have been preceded by
massive media coverage and weeks of anticipation.

But that was then and this is now. While Fleetwood Mac still has enough
clout to appear at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, as it did Monday night,
it's no longer capable of filling the place and it's doubtful the scalpers
got rich from this event. About 12,000 attended, filling the green seats,
but barely even touching the upper-level greys.

What the faithful saw was a band starting its third decade and
undergoing yet another reincarnation. Fleetwood Mac arrived without
guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who left the group after recording the
recent Tango In The Night album. Replacing him were Rick Vito and Billy
Burnette. By actual count, the two represent the sixth and seventh
guitarists in the band's 20-year history. While they proved capable, they
are probably the least distinctive of any of the guitarists ever
associated with the band.

But the guitar work was not the problem with this concert. The sad
truth is that vocalist Stevie Nicks, once a dazzling and evocative
heartthrob, and the one most responsible for the group's late seventies
renaissance, is not the performer she once was. On Monday night, the band
did everything in its power to conceal the fact that her vocal range has
shrunk to practically a monotone: the group cranked up the volume; it
slipped in a trio of backing vocalists; it even added an African drummer
to pad out the rhythm. But none of this could disguise a voice that has
moved progressively closer to that of a nanny goat. Nicks can turn it up
and turn it down, but she can't push it to where it has to go.

Rhiannon, formerly her signature tune, has become something of an
albatross. A decade ago, Nicks twirled and spun amid diaphanous veils,
while her voice soared majestically. Now, she has been forced to alter the
tune. The carefree twirls have given way to careful, almost matronly stage
movements, and the chorus of the song is unrecognizable because Nicks can
no longer handle the high notes.

The concert's success came about in spite of Nicks, rather than because
of her. While Tango In The Night has yielded a trio of hits, the band
chose to place the emphasis on past glories. Virtually every song a
longtime fan would want to hear was presented, from Rattlesnake Shake to
Seven Wonders, from Dreams to Never Break the Chain. Even the earliest
days were fair game, as guitarist Vito paid tribute to founding
member/guitarist Peter Green with his own renditions of Another Woman and
Oh Well. Vito showed vitality but hardly matched Green's tasteful
stylings; on the former number, he came off more like Eric Clapton, on the
latter, like Stevie Ray Vaughan. At least the intentions were noble.

It was the ageless rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie that
held the whole event together. Never flashy, always consistent, this duo
represents the most dependable rhythm section in rock. Mention must also
be made of vocalist/singer Christine McVie. Although her range is limited
(and she recognizes the fact better than Nicks does), her vocals on
numbers such as Say You Love Me and Over My Head were understated and
appealing.

[michelej1]

The San Diego Union-Tribune

December 9, 1987 Wednesday

SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. C-11

LENGTH: 692 words

HEADLINE: Fleetwood Mac subtracts by adding

BYLINE: Robert J. Hawkins, Tribune Entertainment Writer

BODY:


Fleetwood Mac was taking its final bows and filing off when Mick Fleetwood's beefy hands collared Billy Burnette and Rick Vito and hauled them back to center stage.

A full head and shoulders below the grinning, 6-foot-6 Mick, the two guitarists looked like sheepish boys caught with their hands in the pot. Fleetwood stepped out of their spotlight and, with exaggerated flourishes, goaded the audience to clap louder for the two newest members of the Mac. His antics were inspired by necessity as much as enthusiasm. Thinking of them as integral parts of Fleetwood Mac is going to take a while.

Nobody said the shoes of Lindsey Buckingham would be easy to fill, but perhaps these fellows are trying a bit too hard. Hoping to generate some spark, some appeal, they slung notes all over the Sports Arena last night, often flattening the delicately cultivated vocal flowers of Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks.

It is hard to see just how they are going to fit into the group. Everyone in the Mac has a unique talent: McVie's sensual singing-songwriting; Nicks' mystical baby's-breath voice; John McVie's steady-on bass; and Fleetwood's demonic drum bashing. Burnette and Vito offer, um, competence. A fire marshal couldn't get a crowd to sit down as quickly as these two did with their solos.

My god, are they suburban! While both sang often, neither has a voice that will embed itself in your brain.

Not like McVie and Nicks. The women of the Mac were splendid, especially McVie, who seems to be holding up a substantial chunk of this pop colossus these days. With the build of a teen-ager and her matured, worldly voice, McVie was captivating to watch and listen to.

She alone of the band stretched her contact with the audience beyond the rudimentary "How ya doin,' San Diego?" (Appropriate response is a lusty roar.) Rarely did she leave the stage or her keyboard during the show. Because of the sudden departure of Buckingham and the subsequent decision to retire his substantial library of compositions, this tour is something of a history lesson.

Songs like the eccentric "Oh Well" and "Another Woman" were resuscitated from the earliest days of the Mac and given to the new lads as vehicles to demonstrate their prowess. McVie dusted off "Over My Head," "Brown Eyes" "You Make Loving Fun" and "Song Bird."

From the band's newest album, Tango in the Night, she bolstered the crowd's enthusiasm with "Little Lies" and "Isn't It Midnight." An obviously well-nourished Stevie Nicks eased up on the lace and dark mystery and instead drew on a strong voice.

She was at her most cosmic-mystical on "Gold Dust," providing the most fetching and theatrical moments of the concert. Sure there were the occasional costume changes -- this or that hat, a black velvet cape, lace shawls in black, gold and red -- the ever-present glow-in-the-dark tambourine, and even a rare skirt-twirling.

These well-documented mannerisms of Nicks' were comforting, familiar.

A good thing to cling to in uncertain times.

And only sporadically emulated by the Wannabes in the audience. Nicks' voice has aged well.

The fragile, wispy tremble has grown more assertive.

It's still a voice you'd follow to the satin sheets on a moment's notice. When McVie and Nicks joined voices, they were thrilling.

The old Mac harmonies, a distinctive trademark for 11 years, were untarnished. A single, supportive guitarist, as unobtrusive as John McVie is on bass, would do nicely. Fleetwood mostly smiled benignly and kept steady time from behind his drum kit.

The old drum cobbler had one stunning eerie solo in which his body became a human drum with the aid of five pressure-sensitive sensors embedded in a vest.

By beating on his torso, Fleetwood conjured up tablas, bass drums, screams, poetry and god-knows-what while Ghana-born percussionist Asante kept time. "When I do it I'm not really of this world," Fleetwood said last week while discussing his techno-gimmick.

It's quite possible that he wasn't kidding. So there are signs of hope.

Fleetwood Mac isn't heading in any particular direction at the moment, but at least there is no pointless drift.

They still put on a good show, even with the new talent.

[michelej1]

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

December 8, 1987

HEADLINE: Low-key Christine McVie rescues a new incarnation of Fleetwood MacBYLINE: Jim Washburn, The Register

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How many changes can one band take? In its 20 years, Fleetwood Mac
has changed members about as often as Italy has changed governments.

Since the only constant is the rhythm section of bassist John McVie and
drummer Mick Fleetwood, those changes obviously affect the nature of
the group. Not counting a bogus outfit floated for a time by former
managers of the band, Fleetwood Mac has now been at least five distinct
bands.

The band's fifth incarnation -- the one that performed at the Forum
Sunday andMonday nights -- seems less an infusion of fresh blood than
an attempt to cover the immense hole left by Buckingham's departure
from the group earlier this year. Singer-guitarist Billy Burnette's
chief attribute seems to be his ability to cover Buckingham's vocals,
while singer-guitarist Rick Vito (a hired-hand vet of Jackson Browne
and Bob Seger's bands) is adept at both the textures and flash of
Buckingham's guitar work.

Most of those, for this writer, came during Stevie Nicks' songs.

While lots of swell people think she's just dandy, to me her harsh,
quavering vocals seem suited for scouring barbecue grills or scraping
barnacles off boat hulls. Her selections included "Dreams," "Seven
Wonders," "Gold Dust Woman," and her solo LP song, "Has Anyone Ever
Written Anything for You?"

McVie and Fleetwood proved themselves still a propulsive rhythm
section, though a drum solo in which Fleetwood pounded synthesizer pads
hidden in his vest and pants was a bit overworked for the few musical
ideas that were put across.

Burnette and Vito tackled only a requisite minimum of Buckingham's
songs -- "World Turning," "Go Your Own Way" -- choosing instead to
reach back to Green-era chestnuts "Oh Well," "Rattlesnake Shake" and
"If I Loved Another Woman."

By default, the stalwart Christine McVie has emerged as the heart of
the new band. Of the handful of songs from the current "Tango in the
Night" featured in the show, her "Little Lies" and "Isn't It Midnight?"
were the only ones to stand out.

[michelej1]

December 9, 1987 Wednesday, San Diego Union Tribune

HEADLINE: Fleetwood just won't stop;
`Don't Stop' is fitting motto on current tour

BYLINE: George Varga

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When Fleetwood Mac recorded the song "Don't Stop" for their 1977 album, "Rumours," no one could have guessed that -- 10 years later -- it would stand as a reaffirmation of the band's ability to endure and triumph over adversity. Yet, at their concert at the Sports Arena last night, the song served exactly that purpose. Performed as the second of three encores in a show that stretched more than two hours, "Don't Stop" perfectly summarized this Anglo-American band's dogged determination to persevere when faced with challenges that would have finished many other groups. Indeed, the song's chorus -- "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow ... yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone" -- would make an ideal motto for their current tour -- their first since singer-guitarist-composer Lindsey Buckingham left a few months ago and new members Billy Burnette and Rick Vito joined. Many observers had sternly predicted that, without Buckingham's artistic vision to guide them, the band was finished.

But, while less than a total victory, last night's concert demonstrated that Fleetwood Mac has more than just a great past to its credit. Unusually generous in length, their performance featured 21 songs that ranged from the band's eponymous 1968 debut album to this year's "Tango in the Night." Appearing before a crowd of slightly more than 9,000, they kicked off their set with a spirited version of Christine McVie's "Say You Love Me." As with all but two of the 20 selections that would follow, the song was driven by the strong, propulsive drumming of Mick Fleetwood and the no-frills bass work of John McVie, the band's two founding members. (African drummer Asante added a nice percussive touch, but the two unidentified female background singers were virtually inaudible.) As the show progressed, it became increasingly apparent that new members Burnette and Vito were more than capable of filling the void left by Buckingham -- at least in concert.

Burnette sang with gruff conviction, while Vito's blistering slide guitar work and lean, piercing solos on songs like "Oh Well," "Rattle Snake Shake" and "I've Loved Another Woman" recalled the bluesy passion of original Mac guitarist Peter Green.