Circa 1982, Who *Was* Fleetwood Mac?

David · #1 09-26-2005, 06:50 PM

Fleetwood Mac, as it stands in its current incarnation, is Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie. The men in the band are pure backup (despite the cloying efforts of Lindsey Buckingham to dig up the moldering spirit of Buddy Holly) & as such they just fill in the gaps, round out the record, or just plain snooze when the forces of Nicks & McVie grasp the moment.

--Joe Fernbacher
"Mirage" Review
Creem
December 1982

The Tower · #2 09-26-2005, 07:04 PM

I pretty much agree with that. Strictly from a songwriting point of view, Lindsey's Mirage material is his worst. Stevie's voice was at her zenith. Christine's Mirage stuff is beautiful.

strandinthewind · #3 09-26-2005, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Tower

I pretty much agree with that. Strictly from a songwriting point of view, Lindsey's Mirage material is his worst. Stevie's voice was at her zenith. Christine's Mirage stuff is beautiful.

I agree. I also think LB was reluctant to even participate.

HomerMcvie · #4 09-26-2005, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Tower

I pretty much agree with that. Strictly from a songwriting point of view, Lindsey's Mirage material is his worst. Stevie's voice was at her zenith. Christine's Mirage stuff is beautiful.

And it's also my favorite era for the band. FM could do no wrong, IMO, in those days. And I loved them all equally.

Nicksluvver · #5 09-26-2005, 09:15 PM

While I think the bands problems are evident in the music at that point in time {for example Stevies voice having to be dubbed in from other sessions, because 3/4 of the time she was not present during the making of the record do to drugs and solo stuff plus the rest of the bands addiction, fame, money and personality clash issues, with the exception of Christine who usually got along with everyone up untill Tango } I love that record! Book of love , Thats Alright, Love in a store, Only over you , Wish you were here , and Eyes of the world are my faves from Mirage.

ontheEdgeof17 · #6 09-26-2005, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicksluvver

{for example Stevies voice having to be dubbed in from other sessions, because 3/4 of the time she was not present during the making of the record}

This true?

We all know about the Tango sessions, but I didn't know Stevie wasn't present for most of Mirage. I was always under the assumption that they recorded in France....together....as a unit.

Nicksluvver · #7 09-26-2005, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

This true?

We all know about the Tango sessions, but I didn't know Stevie wasn't present for most of Mirage. I was always under the assumption that they recorded in France....together....as a unit.

Unless I am mistaken I believe I got this from FM behind the music. That it was hard to get Mirage done, becuase she wasn't there and vocals had to be dubbed in. Maybe he said Tango and I got them mixed up. Anyone know for sure? I can't dig out my FM BTM right now~!

amber · #8 09-27-2005, 12:16 AM

Wow, I didn't realize. It seems Lindsey tried pretty hard during Mirage to "do something" but it just came out crappy. I guess I am wrong? I don't even like Christine's Mirage material. The "tinny" production makes it unlistenable to me. And usually Christine's stuff is kind of...untouchable - the voice is still there. (yes, there are exceptions)
Never listen.
Stevie's voice was kick ass, though, I only like her songs. So far.

The tour was outstanding, though, thankfully.

David · #9 09-27-2005, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

We all know about the Tango sessions, but I didn't know Stevie wasn't present for most of Mirage. I was always under the assumption that they recorded in France....together....as a unit.

Apparently, they laid down only some basic tracks in France. Most of the work on the album was done back in L.A. at Larrabee. Based on what the other Macsters have said & on some articles at the time (like the David Gans piece in Record), Stevie wasn't around for much more than a couple of weeks.

But maybe she didn't need to be. Besides, her solo album was huge at that point, so that naturally captured her attention.

The story of Lindsey's having to piece together bits of unrelated Stevie vocal tracks in order to create a cohesive work, though, refers to the "Tango" sessions.

DavidMn · #10 09-27-2005, 01:15 AM

Yeah I can see where that person is coming from, at least when it comes to mirage.

amber · #11 09-27-2005, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Apparently, they laid down only some basic tracks in France. Most of the work on the album was done back in L.A. at Larrabee. Based on what the other Macsters have said & on some articles at the time (like the David Gans piece in Record), Stevie wasn't around for much more than a couple of weeks.

But maybe she didn't need to be. Besides, her solo album was huge at that point, so that naturally captured her attention.

The story of Lindsey's having to piece together bits of unrelated Stevie vocal tracks in order to create a cohesive work, though, refers to the "Tango" sessions.

How odd that Stevie's tracks are clearly the best....

trackaghost · #12 09-27-2005, 05:23 AM

I really like Lindsey's Mirage songs. Am I in the minority here?

macfan 57 · #13 09-27-2005, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Fleetwood Mac, as it stands in its current incarnation, is Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie. The men in the band are pure backup (despite the cloying efforts of Lindsey Buckingham to dig up the moldering spirit of Buddy Holly) & as such they just fill in the gaps, round out the record, or just plain snooze when the forces of Nicks & McVie grasp the moment.

--Joe Fernbacher
"Mirage" Review
Creem
December 1982

I pretty much agree with this review. Chris & Stevie carried this record. This album was the last Fleetwood Mac album in which I actually liked Stevie's songs. I don't think Lindsey really even wanted to do this album because of the flack he had gotten for Tusk. At this point, I think he was sort of half in, half out of the band. The solo careers of both Buckingham & Nicks after Tusk totally changed everything for Fleetwood Mac as a band.

GateandGarden · #14 09-27-2005, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

And it's also my favorite era for the band. FM could do no wrong, IMO, in those days. And I loved them all equally.

GateandGarden · #15 09-27-2005, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trackaghost

I really like Lindsey's Mirage songs. Am I in the minority here?

I really love or like some of them. My love for "Oh Diane" still seems hard to justify. I think Amber is correct when she says that Stevie's songs on that album are inarguably the best. I try (though it's a really difficult thing) to separate my personal tastes and objectively say what is best, musically and lyrically, regardless of what I think is best. Hmmm, is that really possible? Anyway, despite my undying love for "Only Over You" (which only grows and flourishes the more people talk about how they don't like it

), I feel certain that Stevie's songs are the best on that CD. Like with Then Play On, I know "Underway" isn't the best song on there (it's even a song, really), but it's my favorite for whatever reason. Is this making sense and does it have any relevance? This actually goes through my mind during survivors; I wonder if I should vote something off simply because I don't like it, or because I think it's technically inferior regardless of whether or not I like it. But then I figure out soon enough that survivor games are about neither of those things and all about "strategery," anyway.

[/end senseless rambling]