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The British Only Fleetwood Mac Line Up. Would FM have been as Successful Without Lindsey and Stevie?
[quote=1eyedjack;10015073]Been listening to some Fleetwood Mac with former members that many people don't know of,
Thanks for posting this, 1eyedjack.
You are so right. There were several albums that included Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and then Bob Welch from Fleetwood Mac (FM) prior to Bob Welch quitting the band and leaving the opening that Lindsey Buckingham filled. As I'm sure most know, Lindsey Buckingham said he wouldn't join unless the Mac accepted Stevie Nicks as well. I say good for Lindsey making Stevie his equal in the band. I think it was one of his best decisions to this point.
How different FM's recording career may have been without the addition of the Americans. Both Stevie and Lindsey are prolific song writers and Lindsey is often rated one of the top 5-10 guitarists of all time (no arguments please, there is a thread for battling out who is/was the best guitarist. Please discuss disagreements there). For example, many don't know that when Tusk is discussed and people talk of his genius in recording the Album, he used a guitar that was 1/2 key flat for many songs to give a very different sound.
Stevie and Lindsey changed so much of what the band did, they weren't known primarily as a "blues band," after Nicks/Buckingham arrived. Plus, with their years of singing together in harmony, they created the perfect opportunity for Chris McVie to write more of her own compositions that required 3 voices for the harmony she wanted. Chris McVie also started to write more upbeat, radio-friendly songs where the three strong voices could harmonize in her newer songs.
When one thinks of how many of Stevie's and Lindsey's compositions have become some of the best selling and most popular Songs of the longest lineup of FM, perhaps FM never would have reached the super-star status that they enjoy, if Stevie and Lindsey hadn't enterened the band and got them rocking. I'm sure glad they did.
That isn't to take anything away from Peter Green, Danny Kerwin, Bob Welch, Rick Vito, Billy Burnett and others who have been in the FM line up while Lindsey was finding himsefl away from FM.
Stevie brought several talents most don't know about, besides her voice, song-writing ability etc. She was only 1 quarter or semster away from her Speech Therapy degree in college, when she dropped out due to the demands of Fleetwood Mac. Her interest in speech couldn't have been more personal..........she stuttered as a child. Thus, how Stephanie Lynn Nicks became Stevie Nicks. She couldn't pronounce her own name as a child. Yet, she could sing folk songs etc. with her grandfather perfectly.
As I believe this video shows, Stevie has always had stage fright and still does at each performance. Some say this recording was prior to all the Cocaine and alcohol was used to calm the nerves. I don't know the dates well enough to say more, with the exception I'm very proud of them for kicking the Cocaine habit I wonder how many lives they've saved as people have looked at them and said, "If they can stop using drugs, so can I." We'll never know how many people made changes because of the examples of the bandmates. I do know some stopped drugs at the same time as various FM members got clean, using them as their inspiration.
Stevie had such an active imagination and wrote one of Fleetwood Mac's first big songs that made them stand apart from other bands. In a book she was reading in the airport, while reading about mythology she read about Rhiannon.
Her imagination and lyrics tell the rest of that story.
Thank you for the entertainment and changing the direction of FM, Lindsey and Stevie, to the Rock and Roll band who also plays some blues, a little country and a lot of just plain old Fleetwood Mac. Indeed, this song, "Rhiannon," found a new group of listeners who previously hadn't listened to FM. They were the listeners intrigued by the unusual song, for the day, telling a story about the mythology in the book Stevie was reading.
For many years Stevie was misunderstood about that song. Many vicious rumors were spread about Stevie that had no merit. However, I think that has calmed down now as most people don't think she is a witch or someone with special powers, except a gifted poet who can write music for her songs too.
I hope you enjoy this great song that has only gotten better with time, IMHO.
MSR
Last edited by Mtn. States Resident; 07-30-2009 at 05:09 AM..
This will probably be a collector's version some day to have that verse missing. Such attention to the execution, timing and clear diction of those words is so evident in all live and filmed live performances, let alone the studio work on various DVDs and CDs.
Good ears and memory is you noticed something was missing. I'm glad Fleetwood Mac put that verse back in the song, since the time it was missing
Please feel free to post your favorite version of FM playing Rhiannon. This isn't my most favorite, but it was one of the earliest ones I could find. I enjoy seeing the differences between the early and the mature performances now.
:Slide-zone back to 1973: Hey Sweet Apryl! This is the only time I
got to get to a computer! The Northwest is being baked alive in
heat so escaping is the order of the day!
Haaaahahahaha! I hope you felt cooled off right away!
You can also worry about me drownin and stuff if you
pretend I'm surfin since that's a natural reaction!
I won't though just in case you get worried in your imagination!
Now that we have had so much fun surfin, we can go back to
the bar for soda pops! I'm puttin my rose in
the frigerator so it won't get burned up during the day! !
I just know you're gonna feel all inspired and cool down from
any vibes that mess with your peace! Good deeds R' Us!
Haaahahahaha! I wish I could stay longer...I'm tryin to stall
but it's not workin so far...
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G'Nite Ms. Rare and All 
One World, One Dream
The British Only Fleetwood Mac Line Up. Would FM have been as Successful Without Lindsey and Stevie?
I say good for Lindsey making Stevie his equal in the band.
I think it was one of his best decisions to this point.
For example, many don't know that when Tusk is discussed and people talk of his genius in recording the Album, he used a guitar that was 1/2 key flat for many songs to give a very different sound.
However, I think that has calmed down now as most people don't think she is a witch or someone with special powers, except a gifted poet who can write music for her songs too.
Randy Vanwarmer - Just When I Needed You Most
