askthatguy
Fleetwood Mac
Alternative Press - Editorial Intern on 6/16/09 @ 6:09 PM - altpress.comYEARS OF DECENT EXISTENCE: 1970-'72 (columnist); 1975-'79 (record execs, your parents)
BEST RECORDS: Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977)
WORST RECORDS: Tango In The Night (1987), Time (1995)
GO DOWNLOAD: "Oh Well," "Go Your Own Way," "Rhiannon," "Don't Stop," "The Chain," "Tusk"
FILE UNDER: Never Say Never (In This Economy)
SIMILAR-SOUNDING DINOSAURS: Linda Ronstadt
THE MUSIC: Formed in 1967 by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, with guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer in tow, Fleetwood Mac were an inspired blues-based outfit whose lineup was fragmented by a combination of drugs and religious cults. Fleetwood and McVie enlisted a conveyor belt of other players (including Christine Perfect, the future Mrs. McVie) who either quit or got fired. But it's the hit-making '74-model Mac featuring the McVies, Fleetwood and the enabling, harmonizing couple Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, that civilization credits for everything from revolutionizing pop music to bringing world peace. Sure, the Mac wrote some fine aural mayonnaise that Republican families allowed into their homes, but their success came at the cost of their marriages, relationships, drug habits and other high-maintenance behavior.
WHAT THEY SAY: "The Fleetwood Mac story is usually described as the ultimate rock 'n' roll soap opera." -Rock, The Rough Guide
WHAT I SAY: Some of my favorite musicians have used the phrase "songwriting genius" to describe Buckingham, and there's at least one staffer in this office who would break down in tears if he/she met Nicks. Me? I don't do drugs.
WHY YOUR (GRAND)PARENTS LIKE THEM: They were dolts who thought Nicks was "a poet," and freely quoted her lyrics for everything from breakup notes to text for wedding announcements. Besides, it was the '70s, and everybody needed something to listen to while simultaneously sipping wine coolers and popping Quaaludes.
CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Because the middle-class wallets of the world haven't been punished enough, Fleetwood, the McVies, Buckingham and Nicks are hitting the road in March to make up the shortfall their financial advisors put them through decades ago. Seems like everyone is lookin' for a bailout these days. -Jason Pettigrew
Post a Comment