Fleetwood Mac

I used to think I was the only one who couldn't stand Fleetwood Mac. I basically kept it to myself until I met others who felt the same way I did... that Fleetwood Mac was the most overated band of the 70's... no melody, so-so musicianship, and the painfully terrible voice of Stevie Nicks.

Does anyone out there actually like Fleetwood Mac ? Or are they just lieing because it seems like liking them was the thing to do ?

Somebody has to like them I guess- they did sell all those records (or perhaps 8 tracks).

if you go back three pages on this forum you will see three threads created by me and commented by others. Three threads because of the three parts of their career.

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac: the blues rock period

Fleetwood Mac MK II: the transition years with constantly changing line-ups '71 to 76

and

Fleetwood Mac  - the soap operas - their love lifes exposed ABBA styled

Happy reading

Thyme Traveler wrote: I used to think I was the only one who couldn't stand Fleetwood Mac. I basically kept it to myself until I met others who felt the same way I did... that Fleetwood Mac was the most overated band of the 70's... no melody, so-so musicianship, and the painfully terrible voice of Stevie Nicks. Does anyone out there actually like Fleetwood Mac ? Or are they just lieing because it seems like liking them was the thing to do ? Somebody has to like them I guess- they did sell all those records (or perhaps 8 tracks).

Well, I'm guessing that I'm younger than you. Where I come from it was the opposite; to claim you liked FM, would be asking for it!!  

I've never been a fan, but I've never hated them. In response to your points, I dont think they were especially short on melody, Stevie Nicks's voice is an acquired taste, I didn't mind it on certain tracks, and as for their musicanship, they didn't write songs that warranted musical virtuosity so it's hard to tell. I doubt the likes of Mick Fleetwood are up to prog standards..

I also dont think the 'Rumours' album really deserves all the praise and &rse licking it's enjoyed from rock journos over the years. It's full of incomplete sounding ideas, 'The Chain' perhaps being the biggest let down of all down.

Peter Greens FM was a better incarnation of the band.

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18308& amp;KW=fleetwood+mac

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/search.asp?KW=fleetwood+ma c&SM=1&SI=TC&FM=0&OB=1

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18309& amp;KW=fleetwood+mac

Thyme Traveler wrote: I used to think I was the only one who couldn't stand Fleetwood Mac. I basically kept it to myself until I met others who felt the same way I did... that Fleetwood Mac was the most overated band of the 70's... no melody, so-so musicianship, and the painfully terrible voice of Stevie Nicks. Does anyone out there actually like Fleetwood Mac ? Or are they just lieing because it seems like liking them was the thing to do ? Somebody has to like them I guess- they did sell all those records (or perhaps 8 tracks).

Personally I love Stevie Nick's voice, especially on tracks like "Storms". I also prefer Tusk to Rumours.

Kotro wrote: Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is the best blues band in the world ever. Along with Ten Years After.

TYA only real blues album is their self titled first album, and that at best is a second order British blues boom record*, IMHO. The original LP Undead is a classic of early jazz-rock - allowed TYA to appear with Woody Herman at one of the Newport Jazz festival - pity about the second rate blues fillers inserted in the remastered CD version, diluting some great jazz-blues jams. Stonedhenge is their psychedelic and experimental (nae progressive experimental) album. Ssshhhh, Cricklewood Green etc, are their rock blues period, and live they had gone technoflash and so lost it with a lot of discerning British fans. I saw Alvin Lee 18 months ago touring with Tony McPhee and Edgar Winter, and now he does good blues.

*Other blues bands of the period ranking in the first division: Chicken Shack, the one man band who ended up with a Crimson rhythm section Duster Bennett, Ainsley Dunbar's Retaliation, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Keef Hartley Band, Savoy Brown (esp with Chris Youlden doing the vocals), early Groundhogs, Jo Anne Kelly and does anybody remember the humour of The Spirit Of John Morgan (their show stopper was Yorkshire Blues, with a fantastic piano accordion solo in it), and still greatly enjoy the odd straight blues heard on Colosseum albums and on Jeff Beck's Truth album. And not forgetting America's Canned Heat, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield/Nick Gravenites and Harvey Mandel (did his Get Off In Chicago ever get a CD release?).

Well... Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac made Blues-music quite more enjoyable to me than it was before... "Love that burns", "The Green Mahalishi" and especially the album "Then play on" ( still waiting for a proper remaster-edition, the original cd sounds TERRIBLE ! ).

What happened after Green left the band wasn't really making me happy until Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the remaining three... "Fleetwood Mac ( aka "Mondy Morning" )", "Rumours" and "Tusk" are great albums one and all and I love 'em. "Fleetwood Mac Live" as well as "Mirage" weren't living up to them at all, but "Tango in the Night" did, though this was a strange one, cause it was Stevie Nicks delivering the flaws whilest Buckingham/McVie saved the album ( on "Mirage" it was the other way round ). Afterwards... well... I really like "Behind the Mask" and, of course, "The Dance", but it's obvious they could not come up with the same creativity and subtle power anymore... I really love their songs with Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie singin' and there's nothing compareable to them singing TOGETHER.

You can forget "Time", though...