Mike Campbell Interview

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by BigAl84

Please, Steve...tell me how Stevie defined the sound of a Fleetwood Mac record. I'm on the edge of my seat!

Is this the part where you tell everyone that BTM was a pivotal Fleetwood Mac album?

That’s your dichotomy, not mine. Fleetwood Mac already had a defined sound before 1975, at least as far as Christine’s songs were concerned.

Show Me A Smile isn’t too far removed from Songbird, Spare Me A Little from Say You Love Me, Remember Me from Think About Me, and Heroes Are Hard To Find from Over My Head.

The difference is that by 1975, Peter Green was a distant memory and the band had three mainstream writers instead of one mainstream writers and one jazz-funk rocker influenced by the writings of Carlos Castanedas. Plus, they could spend months making an album instead of a week or two.

Christine didn’t change, the equation changed.

[bwboy]

Oh boy, are we still arguing about what made FM successful?

Behind the Mask is my third favorite FM album, right behind FM and Rumours.

Lindsey was an absolutely integral part of the sound of FM. I just also think As Long As You Follow, Love Shines, Heart of Stone, Save Me, Behind the Mask, and No Questions Asked were great songs as well. That’s all (for everyone)

[BigAl84]

Originally Posted by bwboy

Oh boy, are we still arguing about what made FM successful?

Behind the Mask is my third favorite FM album, right behind FM and Rumours.

Lindsey was an absolutely integral part of the sound of FM. I just also think As Long As You Follow, Love Shines, Heart of Stone, Save Me, Behind the Mask, and No Questions Asked were great songs as well. That’s all (for everyone)

BTM did have some great songs, but the production sounded exactly like all of the contemporary pop of the 90s that was happening at the time. Until Christine's voice kicks in, anyone could guess it's Wilson Phillips.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by bwboy

Oh boy, are we still arguing about what made FM successful?

Behind the Mask is my third favorite FM album, right behind FM and Rumours.

Lindsey was an absolutely integral part of the sound of FM. I just also think As Long As You Follow, Love Shines, Heart of Stone, Save Me, Behind the Mask, and No Questions Asked were great songs as well. That’s all (for everyone)

Wow, that's pretty high! I do love that time period. The songs you mention above (besides No Questions Asked) are killer songs. Add Sooner or Later for me.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by BigAl84

BTM did have some great songs, but the production sounded exactly like all of the contemporary pop of the 90s that was happening at the time. Until Christine's voice kicks in, anyone could guess it's Wilson Phillips.

OUCH! I only know the big hits by Wilson Phillips, but did they really have anything on their albums like Rick Vito’s incredible guitar work on Save Me or No Questions Asked? Because if they did, I might have to buy their albums lol. Still, your point about the production is well put, even if I don’t understand exactly what you mean. When people say the songs sound muddled, for example, I don’t really know what that means. Perhaps my ears aren’t as in tune with that sort of thing as most people’s.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

Wow, that's pretty high! I do love that time period. The songs you mention above (besides No Questions Asked) are killer songs. Add Sooner or Later for me.

I just kind of realized it recently! FM and Rumours are classics, of course, and Mirage is pleasant enough but unremarkable. Parts of Tusk I love, but a few songs I hate. Tango is kind of the same as Tusk, I love some of it but dislike a few. Say You Will has probably 4 songs I love, but I could do without the rest, which is pretty sad considering it has 18 songs on it. But BTM, song for song, keeps my interest. To go from Christine to Rick and Stevie to Billy with Christine and Stevie to Billy and Christine to Rick, I mean the formula changes from pop to rock to country to whatever In the Back of My Mind is, it all just works for me. Even the songs I don’t like that much are totally tolerable, such as Affairs of the Heart, When the Sun Goes Down, and the Second Time. I don't understand how people don't fall in love with Do You Know, it’s such a beautiful, simple song.

Sorry for the gushing, but I love this album.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I just kind of realized it recently! FM and Rumours are classics, of course, and Mirage is pleasant enough but unremarkable. Parts of Tusk I love, but a few songs I hate. Tango is kind of the same as Tusk, I love some of it but dislike a few. Say You Will has probably 4 songs I love, but I could do without the rest, which is pretty sad considering it has 18 songs on it. But BTM, song for song, keeps my interest. To go from Christine to Rick and Stevie to Billy with Christine and Stevie to Billy and Christine to Rick, I mean the formula changes from pop to rock to country to whatever In the Back of My Mind is, it all just works for me. Even the songs I don’t like that much are totally tolerable, such as Affairs of the Heart, When the Sun Goes Down, and the Second Time. I don't understand how people don't fall in love with Do You Know, it’s such a beautiful, simple song.

Sorry for the gushing, but I love this album.

I rank it pretty high as far as FM albums. Time loses me. I don't like Time.

[sleepless child]

I also like Behind the Mask alot. I think Stevie's songs are very strong on this album. I'm not a huge fan of Rick's music, but I love Billy. He and Christine sound great on Do you Know. I think the reason it works for me is that everyone is singing with everyone else. On Tusk, Mirage and Tango, you didn't get that blend from the first two albums. I missed that.

[UnwindedDreams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK73nK4DV1k

New interview with Mike. He says he has nothing but respect for Lindsey's production and arrangements.

I hear there's Trouble in Shangri-La