Ahhh...my favorite band is back!
To some of the above thoughts/questions:
Peter Green is TTBOMK still alive and making blues records (as is Jeremy Spencer, the slide guitarist who was in the original FM line-up). Bob Welch committed suicide not too long ago, which may explain the confusion. I also read of bad feelings re: Welch's omission from the RR Hall of Fame, but I'm not sure what the exact deal was.
Personally, I feel that BW's highpoint with FM was "Mystery To Me", to which he contributed the track Hypnotized, among others. I also agree that this middle period Mac, with Welch and Christine McVie writing most of the songs, was a great period for the band - tho I personally think she was the more important influence on the band's ultimate direction. Nonetheless, IMO Welch was certainly a significant figure in that band's history.
Danny Kirwan, who joined after Brunning departed/John McVie arrived was the band's third guitarist. Both Green and Spencer have had fairly serious mental issues, Kirwan is - I believe - presently homeless, and Welch, as noted, met a sad end. Lindsey Buckingham should proceed with caution, as life has not been kind to FM's guitar players.
BTW, per the above speculation, I also believe that Mick Fleetwood is the only cradle to present day member of FM. The band's original bassist (John McVie initially refused to leave John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to join FM, even tho Peter Green had named FM partially after him) was Bob Bruning who IIRC also died a few years ago.
Since I'll be there anyway, I'm hoping to catch opening night of the new tour next month in Minneapolis. I understand that there'll be new songs, including several from McVie, so I'm champing at the bit. |
Tostado,
Not surprisingly, I've given that question a lot of thought over the years.
Here's my own take - in a (large) nutshell:
Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer - the two most blues-centric songwriters in the original FM - both quit the band pretty early on for mental health related reasons. That left only Danny Kirwan as a songwriter, and Kirwan has a quirky pop sensibility (evident on his solo records) in addition to blues inclinations. With Kirwan as the only remaining songwriter, it was likely that there would be a significant stylistic change in FM's music.
But, the band also needed a new instrumentalist to fill out their sound (just after Green's departure became inevitable). It's no real surprise that they turned to Christine (Perfect) McVie. Her band, Chicken Shack, was an FM sound-alike, they shared a label, and they toured together often. McVie had also already been a studio player on FM's albums, knew their songs, and had recently married John McVie before she signed on with FM. In retrospect, she seems like a pretty natural choice.
IMO, it was Christine McVie whose songwriting defined the future direction of FM. She's a blues player by trade (Chicken Shack), but a pop songwriter. On many of her songs (Don't Stop comes quickly to mind), there's a classic 1-4-5 blues progression (complete with turnaround), under the surface of the pop hit. You can hear a lot of the Buckingham/Nicks era FM in her contributions to the post-Green/pre-Buckingham/Nicks FM albums. At that point, having started the move towards a pop oriented sound behind Christine McVie's songs, they invited Bob Welch, another pop songwriter to join.
From there on, their evolution is pretty linear. IIRC, on the first, eponymous Buckingham/Nicks FM record, three of the first four singles (Warm Ways, Over My Head, and Say You Love Me) were McVie songs. Later, Rhiannon (Nicks) and Monday Morning (Buckingham) also got lots of radio play. Many years later, the Nicks tune Landslide became a hit. But, it was McVie's songs that initially drove the airplay.
I personally believe that Buckingham's ability to track McVie's songs to best effect is the primary reason the band became a radio success. Her songs were always there, waiting to be radio hits, they just needed to be polished and Buckingham is guy who (mostly) applied the polish. Then Nicks became a star for reasons IMO having as much to do with her personal charisma as with her music. When the personal drama of Rumours got the full voyeuristic attention of the record buying public, well - there you go, FM became king of the pop music world.
Ironically, tho I'll always love Peter Green's playing (and really like what Spencer and Kirwan do with a guitar, too), Buckingham has always commanded my interest at a higher level. He's the pop craftsman that can take a fair bit of credit for FM's sound, but his songs cover a huge range of styles, not all of which are radio friendly.
IMO, it's only when you see the band live, however, that you can appreciate the huge range of music that FM has mastered. The pop hits are there, of course, but you'll get experimental sounds on extended takes of songs like World Turning and/or Gold Dust Woman and/or Tusk, and monster electric guitar workouts like I'm So Afraid and/or Come. You may even get some old Green era blues rock, if Buckingham (along with Neal Heywood) fires up the absolutely smokin' version of Oh Well. And, as a bonus, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are a monster rhythm section that rocks harder than you'd ever believe.
That's why FM is still my favorite live act, after all these years and all these stylistic and personnel changes.
YMMV. |
Slaw,
Per my post above, Bob Brunning played bass on FM's first few gigs because John McVie was reluctant to leave his steady gig with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, notwithstanding the fact that Green and Fleetwood were bolting from Mayall to start their new band. I believe that one of those early shows made it to a live album, so J McVie isn't really a founding member. OTOH, he did join within a few months and has been there without fail for the 45+ years that followed, so - yeah - he's definitely a long timer. |
Loomis,
I kind of agree. I always place Pet Sounds, The White Album, Exile, and Tusk in a class of their own as outlying artistic statements from bands expected to simply fire up another collection of radio hits. (It's easy to forget how deliberately outré the White Album sounded on first listen.) Obviously, Tusk has a special place in my heart, given my own quirky fascination with FM. I'd personally be a little kinder to the previous two FM albums (taken on their own terms, both shone IMO) but I'd also be the first to acknowledge that Tusk is braver and more ambitious than either of them.
IMO, Tusk a great record largely because it eschews the mass appeal of the previous two mega-hits. To really appreciate it, however, I believe that it must be heard live. As good as the record is, I also believe that (along with Say You Will), Tusk is the anomalous FM record in that the power of one writer's songs (Buckingham's in the case of Tusk and Nicks' in the case of SYW) is diminished in the tracking - very unusual for FM which is usually expertly recorded IMO.
When I first heard it performed live, Tusk just astonished me. The rockers became absolutely ferocious and the range of the band as they move from ballad to pop hit to stripped down rock was pretty incredible. FM did a mini-set from Tusk on the last tour and I thought it was the highlight of the show. Sadly, I suspect they won't go there again this time out, simply because they have a large catalog and like to change it up.
I'm glad you're enjoying the record, I hope that you do get an opportunity to hear it at its best -live, live, live- one day. |
Steve,
I happen to like Silver Springs very much (tho not quite as much as you do), so I understand your point, but....
1) The song was left off Rumours (tho included as the B side to the first Rumours single "Go Your Own Way"). "Monday Morning" was on the previous FM album, so I'm not sure where you're going with that comparison. It was never either/or between those songs.
2) At the time, Rumours became the biggest selling album ever. It's hard to dismiss the judgement ("stupid musicians") of the band on the Rumours tracklist when the result is that kind of overwhelming response .
3) Although I've read conflicting reports about the decision process re: "Silver Springs", two things are clear:
The band liked the song A LOT and
The decision to omit it wasn't taken lightly. They knew full well that Nicks was pissed off by the decision, she was fast becoming their commercial bread and butter, and they did it anyway.
The most persuasive version of the story that I've heard (you may prefer another, and there are several) is that Richard Daschut (along with Ken Caillat one of the producers on Rumours) lobbied hard for the inclusion of the song. The push back came because contractual obligations to Warners limited the cumulative length of the content of the album. There was also an informal agreement within the band that allowed for each songwriter (Buckingham, Nicks, and McVie) "fair" access to the publishing and residual opportunities - that is, they would each get a roughly even # of songs on FM albums.
Buckingham (the least prolific songwriter of the three) and had three tracks on Rumours. "The Chain" was credited to the band. That left room (per the Warners agreement) for seven more tracks and Nicks was going to get at least three, as was McVie. In the end, McVie got the last spot (I've read multiple versions of the dynamics behind that decision as well) and "Silver Springs" was the odd song out.
BTW, Mick Fleetwood liked the song so much that he pissed off Stevie Nicks AGAIN some years later when he refused to allow her to use it on a solo album, insisting that it was FM's property and would be included on one of their future albums (which turned out to be The Dance).
Bottom line - the decision to exclude the song doesn't really say much of anything about the band's musical judgement. It was just an odd set of circumstances.
Mr Nice -
Welch left FM to pursue a solo career. He had a brief minute in the sun with a couple of hits, but eventually fell on hard times and, sadly, ended up killing himself last year. As to the live Boston material, it's a great opportunity to hear Peter Green's remarkable improvisational skills but - per Tostado's post - it's not for everyone. You might want to check out "Men of the World" a 3 disc compilation of FM's early material. |
Misternice,
English Rose is a single disc compilation and highly recommended IMO. You'll get a good taste of Green's style and a couple of highlights from Jeremy Spencer (especially Evenin' Boogie, a fantastic slide guitar workout) and Danny Kirwan (especially Something Inside of Me, a fierce blues rocker). The handful of Green tracks include the radio hits Black Magic Woman and Albatross.
If you want a broader sampling, I'd recommend Men of The World, a three disc compilation of Mac's early years. Lots of Green and a better sampling of Kirwan, too.
The first, self-titled FM album is a great set of blues rockers and Then Play On is a fantastic experimental blues rock album. Both of these show off Green at his best.
As to Green's solo material, it's pretty spotty. The songwriting just isn't as consistent and Skies (the one you already own) is probably the best of the lot IMO. In many cases, the songs aren't written by Peter Green and they just don't do the trick for me. The guitar playing is erratic, too, unfocused stretches followed by terrific moments.
BTW, Green's first solo record "The End of The Game" is really polarizing. One long jam that some find mesmerizing and others find infuriating. I love Peter, but I'm usually in the latter camp.
Good Luck. |
Ghost,
Thanx for the kind words and back atcha. Debating those with divergent opinions can be fun, but I always find it even more rewarding to discover a kindred spirit on the board. |
There are a number of recordings of Fleetwood Mac performing live in Boston - it's sort of a tradition going way back to the earliest days of the band. There's a CD set from 2004 called "Live In Boston" that features Peter Green and company. It was released in three parts and I personally prefer Volume 1 by a fair bit, tho volumes two and three have their own moments. There's a lot of overlap on the tracklist of V1 and V2, while V3 is mostly less familiar material.
Of course, because it's Fleetwood Mac, there was also a 2004 release called "Live in Boston" that features Buckingham, Nicks et al. This is one CD and two DVDs. If you like this edition of the band, it's a great example of modern Mac at its best: live.
Whichever you've got, it should be a fun listen for you. |
Enjoy the recordings. I'm pretty sure you will. |
I'll definitely check it out. Thanx for the heads up. |
Ghost,
I actually don't own that recording (it's one of the few FM recordings that I missed), but I do remember that Jeremy Spencer was notorious for his "stand-up schtick" (including musical impersonations - Elvis was a favorite at one time) at early Mac concerts. Some people loved it, but i wasn't among them. Fortunately, the guy is a bad-ass with a slide on his finger.
BTW, loved the Youtube link you provided on the 19th. Thanx for the heads up. |
