Go Your Own Way

[Judge]

....or not. You'd think these guys would never "break the chain".

Former guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham is suing Fleetwood Mac for kicking him off their latest band tour. The suit specifically names Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and John McVie.

Oops. Not pretty.

Either way, he's a helluva guitarist. Even if he has to head down the "Holiday Road" all on his own.

Lindsey Buckingham sues Fleetwood Mac for kicking him out

Some of Lindsey's best work, IMO:

 

[OkRad]

Dang. Aging musicians crack me up. When they are young, they blast away. Then, they get all petty and weird. It was all about the music and now, when they are all millionaires, they get POed over a few extra million.

If I had a few million, I would occupy myself with helping friends, family, and loved ones--not getting all petty.

But money changes people. It really changes them. My brother is wise. He reminds me of Socrates. His moto is "Ef a dollar".....of course, he works hard and makes a living sweating his guts out, but he'd give up every cent he had if there were any friction involved.

 

[Judge]

Dang. Aging musicians crack me up. When they are young, they blast away. Then, they get all petty and weird. It was all about the music and now, when they are all millionaires, they get POed over a few extra million.

If I had a few million, I would occupy myself with helping friends, family, and loved ones--not getting all petty.

But money changes people. It really changes them. My brother is wise. He reminds me of Socrates. His moto is "Ef a dollar".....of course, he works hard and makes a living sweating his guts out, but he'd give up every cent he had if there were any friction involved.

Yep:

 

[Mia]

Suspect without it being alluded to, that he's a difficult man to work with. As talented as he is, as many instruments as he plays, he's left the band many times and produced solo albums.

He's also toured with other band members like Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Their music without Stevie Nicks vocals seems to me a little cold, they bring no emotion when I listen. Technically they are good, but the one true element they lack is Stevie Nicks. Without her the band lacks a voice of strength and emotion that she interprets each time she sings.

 

[Judge]

Suspect without it being alluded to, that he's a difficult man to work with. As talented as he is, as many instruments as he plays, he's left the band many times and produced solo albums.

He's also toured with other band members like Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Their music without Stevie Nicks vocals seems to me a little cold, they bring no emotion when I listen. Technically they are good, but the one true element they lack is Stevie Nicks. Without her the band lacks a voice of strength and emotion that she interprets each time she sings.

Stevie is the dealbreaker. Without her there is no Fleetwood Mac.

-Sorry, Christine.

 

[Mia]

Consider that this might also be ego on the part of Buckingham. He continually dominated the band creatively when they were originally together. This is more likely about the focus of the band being Buckingham's instrumentation rather than Nicks vocals.

Her vocals made the band's music more personal and interesting. Very much as Robert Plant's vocals did with Led Zeppelin.

 

[Judge]

Consider that this might also be ego on the part of Buckingham.

Yep. I'm inclined to believe that in that particular industry, most lawsuits are.

Not many "starving artists" at that level in this crowd.

 

[Streetwise]

Yep. I'm inclined to believe that in that particular industry, most lawsuits are.

Not many "starving artists" at that level in this crowd.

The truth is we don't know Lindsay Buckinghams circumstances, he could be in debt .

 

[Judge]

The truth is we don't know Lindsay Buckinghams circumstances, he could be in debt .

At an estimated net worth of only $80,000,000 life must be a real struggle for the lad. Let's just hope he doesn't habitually live beyond his means as does Johnny Depp.

Go figure. Apparently Stevie Nicks' net worth is allegedly less than Buckingham's. Anyone catch her recent appearance on "American Horror Story" ?

What is Lindsey Buckingham’s net worth after Fleetwood Mac departure? | Daily Mail Online

A sign of the times. Nothing is sacred these days for those in the public domain.

 

[Tom]

Tbh, I always thought Christine had the better voice by far. Nicks was the pretty face and fairy/witchy thing. But her voice was like gravel.

 

[SusanLR]

At an estimated net worth of only $80,000,000 life must be a real struggle for the lad. Let's just hope he doesn't habitually live beyond his means as does Johnny Depp.

Go figure. Apparently Stevie Nicks' net worth is allegedly less than Buckingham's. Anyone catch her recent appearance on "American Horror Story" ?

What is Lindsey Buckingham’s net worth after Fleetwood Mac departure? | Daily Mail Online

A sign of the times. Nothing is sacred these days for those in the public domain.

Yes, I saw that episode of AHS this week.
The swamp witch had just been brought back from hell and she had always loved Stevie.
It was her dream come true.
I've watched all the AHS series. Coven was good. I really liked Freak Show.

 

[Judge]

Tbh, I always thought Christine had the better voice by far. Nicks was the pretty face and fairy/witchy thing. But her voice was like gravel.

Point taken, Tom.

Christine McVey has a lovely voice. No question. And clearly she made the most of it in certain songs that were dominated with her vocals. And she's first rate at a soloist, IMO. Though her ability to harmonize with Lindsey Buckingham may have been considered not as optimal as with Stevie Nicks.

In this respect perhaps McVey was just a casualty of sorts in terms of songwriting. I'm not sure. And factor in that Fleetwood Mac considered themselves a rock band- not a pop group. Stevie Nicks offered that "rough edge" that Christine McVey simply didn't have. Something that defined them far more as a rock group than a pop sensation. The sort of thing that probably appealed the most to founder Mick Fleetwood.

In other words, when Stevie Nicks belts out a song, stand back.

 

[tlc]

While I agree Nicks is the most defining vocal in Fleetwood Mac, I think Buckingham's guitar work is equally defining, along with his vocal. The band will lose a lot without him.

I missed Christine McVie when she was gone too, but the band could still be Fleetwood Mac. My favorite album is Tango In The Night. I especially like the combo of Christine McVie and Buckingham on many songs, it's more of an airy new age sound. Without the gravely earthy quality of Nicks it's not quite Fleetwood Mac, but I think the McVie/Buckingham duo could be a different band in their own right, and I've love to hear more.

 

[Judge]

While I agree Nicks is the most defining vocal in Fleetwood Mac, I think Buckingham's guitar work is equally defining, along with his vocal. The band will lose a lot without him.

Indeed. I wouldn't hesitate to list Buckingham as one of the great guitarists, likely underrated. Sometimes vocalists can cut into such distinctions. Perhaps much like Dave Stewart with the vocals of Annie Lennox.

Rock n roll forever baby!

 

[puzzlingbill]

I started out listening to Fleetwood Mac when I was a DJ on my college radio station in the early 70's, or, you might say, before Stevie. The band post-Stevie completely eclipses the earlier versions in popularity, or course. Most of my favorites are from the pre-Stevie era. There's a lot of great music, but for me it's too commercial / polished to be at the top of my list.

A little history, for those who are interested . The band was originally formed by guitarist Peter Green, and he named the band after the rhythm section -- Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. They're the only two who have been in every version of the band. It's the only band I can think of where the rhythm section was constant, but the people out front kept changing. So, there were different eras with different styles (pre-Stevie, of course).

Peter Green was a blues guitarist who was considered one of the best of his time. So the first version was a blues band. There's a great album called Fleetwood Mac in Chicago, where they went to Chicago and recorded an album with some of the Chicago blues greats -- wonderful stuff, but it doesn't sound anything like the band everyone knows. Peter Green's most famous song is Black Magic Woman, which became Santana's greatest hit. The Fleetwood Mac version, without the Latin rhythms, is much more sinuous. Peter Green, unfortunately, had drug / mental problems, and left the band.

Here are samples from the next two versions of the band. First, a beautiful song Sentimental Lady from the Bare Trees album (1972 -- last thing you'd expect from a blues band):

And Hypnotized from the Mystery to Me album (1973):

At one point they broke up, but then their manager put another band he called Fleetwood Mac (with none of the original members) out on the road. So, after some fun with the legal system, they made one more album and then some of the members left the band. So Fleetwood and Mac and Mac's wife Christine went looking for new members, and they found a duo called Buckingham/Nicks and asked them to join the band. The rest everyone knows about.