I have been listening a lot to Fleetwood Mac these days… perhaps because Christine McVie finally came back for their new tour, perhaps because Stevie Nicks released a new album, perhaps because for some reason I finally saw their 1997 live show “The dance” and I got totally into it and became a bit nostalgic… But perhaps, it’s mainly because I went back, way back, to their early years, back when this band was composed of only british people playing some pretty nice blues-rock tunes. Peter Green sounds SO great (both vocally and musically, on the guitar). Really, what a bluesman.
And then, many talented musicians came and went, and two fiery americans ended up completing this band, which then created history with their music, their intriguing and charismatic personas, and their bizarre (dare I say disfunctional?) yet very productive group dynamics.
So they are all in their sixties/seventies now, and they seem to be enjoying themselves and each other a lot more now that they’re older, wiser, sober, and that some of that famous heavy emotional bagage has disapeared or at least toned down. Indeed, the intensity and pain in Lindsey Buckingham’s 77 live performance of “Go your own way” is palpable.
And if you watch interviews and documentaries like “Destiny rules” about the recording of their 2003 “Say you will” album, you can see that the lasting “tension”, especially between Stevie Nicks and Buckingham, is not just a gimmick for the fans. While it is obvious that the band and/or their managers like to exploit the Nicks/Buckingham so-called neverending soap opera, I personally don’t mind it because I think there is a genuine connection there that allows for some wonderful emotional performances, such as the ones on “The dance” live album/DVD, the band’s first live show in ten years (aside from the presidential campain of course). Buckingham once said that, as they wrote much of their songs about each other but never really reunited after their break up, Nicks and himself get to “live out their love affair on stage”. That’s the feeling I get while listening to “Silver springs” live : the ending is so intense on Nicks’ part, it’s almost scary. Scary, but great!
Lindsey Buckingham is underrated, he is a great musician (plus he gets points in my book for playing the old fashion way – no guitar pick!).
As good as “The dance” is (their vocal harmonies are better than ever), to me, the 70’s performances remain the greatest. They feature long versions of the songs we love, played and sung with fury and raw emotion, which pulls at the heartstrings.
That being said, I’m very glad I discovered the oldies too as I’m a big blues-rock fan, and I encourage you to check them out as well.
More Fleetwood Mac videos (“The Chain” and “Rihannon”) in this previous post: https://songsuneedtohear.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/a-few-70s-songs-by-fleetwood-mac/
Songs and groups you need to hear 