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On the Shelf 191: Buckingham and McVie
Nov. 12th, 2017 10:24 amI own up to my guilty pleasures and one of those is Fleetwood Mac.
Now, everyone loves Rumours right- and some times is it nostalgia and sometimes it's irony, but I get it. I am not sure if I can even give it an honest opinion just because a good half of it is etched into mine and everyone's conscience, as to not really know what the true impact is. Good songs, though.
It is with little doubt that Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham by themselves have elements of cool. Stevie's always cool and Lindsay has always skirted a line that puts him on the right side of hip.
It's Christine McVie that is not so hip. "You Make Loving Fun" and "Dont Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" tend to be closer to the types of songs that make you want to rebel and start a punk band.
Of course, it has nothing to do with hipness, it's just style, and McVie's style is standard pop. I will never prefer her to Stevie or Lindsay, but she's been the lead on some great pop songs- "Everywhere", "Little Lies" and the lesser known "Isn't it Midnight?" all off of Tango in the Night are fantastic songs (as is the similarly time framed "As Long as You Follow")
Tango in the Night is a bit of an anomaly. No worries. It did very well. It gets lost in 1987. Rap is on the ascent (Yo Bum Rush the Show, Bigger and Deffer, Criminal Minded, Paid in Full, Rhyme Pays). Metal is about to explode(Appetite for Destruction, Girls Girls Girls, Among the Living, The 5.98 EP). College Rock is about to break through (In My Tribe, Document, The Lion and the Cobra, Diesel and Dust) and its weirder kid brother Indie Rock is at creative peaks (Pleased to Meet Me, You're Living All Over Me, Sister, Locust Abortion Technician, Come On Pilgrim, Warehouse:Songs and Stories, Songs about F*cking) It's British cousin Modern Rock is at an apex as well (Music for the Masses, Strangeways here We Come, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, Floodland, George Best, The Perfect Prescription) and the esoteric post punkers are making unheard masterpieces (Children of God, Cleanse Fold and Manipulate, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun).
Even pop music is stretching boundaries is modern, beyond Faith and Whitney and Bad, there's The Joshua Tree, Hysteria, Introducing the Hardline..., Kick, and Lonesome Jubilee, and even the old guard has adapted (Permanent Vacation, Crazy Nights, Momentary Lapse of Reason).
So no doubt Tango gets lost, but what a great album. The Mac made two albums in the 90s without Lindsey Buckingham. For the band that maybe had the longest strangest trip over the years, probably the most resilient is the Mac. it is at least on the short list of bands who have made dramatic changes more than once (Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd to name a few), it is hard to imagine Fleetwood Mac without Buckingham fronting it. Similarly, with due respect to all parties involved, Buckingham seems to need Mac too. His solo work is interesting, his string of singles is wonderful, but he is best when he is backed by Fleetwood and McVie, not to mention the depth brought by Nicks and McVie.
This was followed in short order by a rediscovery of sorts that brought them back to the fore. The classic five got their honors in1997 and groups as seemingly disparate as the Dixie Chicks and Hole were claiming Mac as heroes. Mac had been labelled 70s pop nostalgia, and they finally were getting their due.
It all could have ended there, and most bands would be happy with that and going out and playing the hits every four years. Fleetwood Mac released new music in 2003. This time for the first time in a long time without Christine McVie. I like Say You Will alot. To me, it really captures what Lindsay has been trying to accomplish in recent years. The rhythm section is always fantastic. I love Stevie singing.
At 18 songs, it's probably too much, but I don't want to complain about value for the money. Critics tend to point out the absence of McVie as a negative. As I said I usually give her short shrift, I am a Lindsay and Stevie guy, but it's a fair statement. The criticism that it sounds like two solo albums mashed together isn't entirely untrue. Anyway, if you want to know where I am coming from, I do like that album.
The Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie 2017 disc is the flip. It is essentially the five expected Macs minus Stevie (or as has been joked "It's a duet album with the worlds best hired rhythm section).
You know my prejudices, but what McVie does really well is sing pop music. Even more than singing, "knowing" pop music- writing and delivering.
The album is a really good pop record. If you like the harmony style of pop rock, it's hard to say anybody does it better. it can't all be grunge and thrash, right?
Again, critics have pointed out it's not a true duet album with Lindsey and Christine taking turns at vocals. It is pretty close thematically though. i doubt many would even notice without the critical ear.
Anyway, I really like it. There are moments when it goes a bit too sweet for me, and Buckingham still has his tics (why does he like the Big Love "ohs" and "ahs" so much? They show up in the otherwise perfect "In My World"). In any case, it shows that the band still makes interesting and relevant music.
Like back in 1987, I don't know where radio stations would play this. It's not for the Pitchfork crowd, though if this were anyone else, it might be indistinguishable. It's not country, though pop country owes more to Mac and the Eagles and Jimmy Buffet, than it does Hank Sr or Willie. It is certainly an odd fit in today's pop environment, and it's too soft (despite Lindsey's guitar heroics) to remotely fit in the rock world.
And after all these words, you probably won't like it if you don't like Fleetoowd Mac anyway, but I do.
All from a pair of 70 year olds who have nothing to prove and probably don't need it. How punk is that!
Now, everyone loves Rumours right- and some times is it nostalgia and sometimes it's irony, but I get it. I am not sure if I can even give it an honest opinion just because a good half of it is etched into mine and everyone's conscience, as to not really know what the true impact is. Good songs, though.
It is with little doubt that Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham by themselves have elements of cool. Stevie's always cool and Lindsay has always skirted a line that puts him on the right side of hip.
It's Christine McVie that is not so hip. "You Make Loving Fun" and "Dont Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" tend to be closer to the types of songs that make you want to rebel and start a punk band.
Of course, it has nothing to do with hipness, it's just style, and McVie's style is standard pop. I will never prefer her to Stevie or Lindsay, but she's been the lead on some great pop songs- "Everywhere", "Little Lies" and the lesser known "Isn't it Midnight?" all off of Tango in the Night are fantastic songs (as is the similarly time framed "As Long as You Follow")
Tango in the Night is a bit of an anomaly. No worries. It did very well. It gets lost in 1987. Rap is on the ascent (Yo Bum Rush the Show, Bigger and Deffer, Criminal Minded, Paid in Full, Rhyme Pays). Metal is about to explode(Appetite for Destruction, Girls Girls Girls, Among the Living, The 5.98 EP). College Rock is about to break through (In My Tribe, Document, The Lion and the Cobra, Diesel and Dust) and its weirder kid brother Indie Rock is at creative peaks (Pleased to Meet Me, You're Living All Over Me, Sister, Locust Abortion Technician, Come On Pilgrim, Warehouse:Songs and Stories, Songs about F*cking) It's British cousin Modern Rock is at an apex as well (Music for the Masses, Strangeways here We Come, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, Floodland, George Best, The Perfect Prescription) and the esoteric post punkers are making unheard masterpieces (Children of God, Cleanse Fold and Manipulate, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun).
Even pop music is stretching boundaries is modern, beyond Faith and Whitney and Bad, there's The Joshua Tree, Hysteria, Introducing the Hardline..., Kick, and Lonesome Jubilee, and even the old guard has adapted (Permanent Vacation, Crazy Nights, Momentary Lapse of Reason).
So no doubt Tango gets lost, but what a great album. The Mac made two albums in the 90s without Lindsey Buckingham. For the band that maybe had the longest strangest trip over the years, probably the most resilient is the Mac. it is at least on the short list of bands who have made dramatic changes more than once (Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Pink Floyd to name a few), it is hard to imagine Fleetwood Mac without Buckingham fronting it. Similarly, with due respect to all parties involved, Buckingham seems to need Mac too. His solo work is interesting, his string of singles is wonderful, but he is best when he is backed by Fleetwood and McVie, not to mention the depth brought by Nicks and McVie.
This was followed in short order by a rediscovery of sorts that brought them back to the fore. The classic five got their honors in1997 and groups as seemingly disparate as the Dixie Chicks and Hole were claiming Mac as heroes. Mac had been labelled 70s pop nostalgia, and they finally were getting their due.
It all could have ended there, and most bands would be happy with that and going out and playing the hits every four years. Fleetwood Mac released new music in 2003. This time for the first time in a long time without Christine McVie. I like Say You Will alot. To me, it really captures what Lindsay has been trying to accomplish in recent years. The rhythm section is always fantastic. I love Stevie singing.
At 18 songs, it's probably too much, but I don't want to complain about value for the money. Critics tend to point out the absence of McVie as a negative. As I said I usually give her short shrift, I am a Lindsay and Stevie guy, but it's a fair statement. The criticism that it sounds like two solo albums mashed together isn't entirely untrue. Anyway, if you want to know where I am coming from, I do like that album.
The Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie 2017 disc is the flip. It is essentially the five expected Macs minus Stevie (or as has been joked "It's a duet album with the worlds best hired rhythm section).
You know my prejudices, but what McVie does really well is sing pop music. Even more than singing, "knowing" pop music- writing and delivering.
The album is a really good pop record. If you like the harmony style of pop rock, it's hard to say anybody does it better. it can't all be grunge and thrash, right?
Again, critics have pointed out it's not a true duet album with Lindsey and Christine taking turns at vocals. It is pretty close thematically though. i doubt many would even notice without the critical ear.
Anyway, I really like it. There are moments when it goes a bit too sweet for me, and Buckingham still has his tics (why does he like the Big Love "ohs" and "ahs" so much? They show up in the otherwise perfect "In My World"). In any case, it shows that the band still makes interesting and relevant music.
Like back in 1987, I don't know where radio stations would play this. It's not for the Pitchfork crowd, though if this were anyone else, it might be indistinguishable. It's not country, though pop country owes more to Mac and the Eagles and Jimmy Buffet, than it does Hank Sr or Willie. It is certainly an odd fit in today's pop environment, and it's too soft (despite Lindsey's guitar heroics) to remotely fit in the rock world.
And after all these words, you probably won't like it if you don't like Fleetoowd Mac anyway, but I do.
All from a pair of 70 year olds who have nothing to prove and probably don't need it. How punk is that!
