What do y'all think of... Fleetwood Mac?

[StreetDreamer83]

I think it's pretty well established here that I am a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, and if you didn't know that already, you haven't been paying close enough attention. ;D I won't delve too much into my own opinions on the band, I'm more interested in what others have to say about the band. My only opinion is this: I believe that Fleetwood Mac in its entirety is overlooked and underappreciated. I consider them to be at or near the level of The Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, etc. and definitely better than their counterparts The Eagles. A lot of people ignore or don't know that at one point, Fleetwood Mac under Peter Green's leadership were outselling The Beatles in record sales in the late 60s. Keep in mind, that's when they were a blues group.

In any case, listed below are the various lineups and official studio and live albums Fleetwood Mac has released since 1967. Please share your opinions, positive or negative.

Lineup 1: Peter Green (guitar/vocals), Jeremy Spencer (slide guitar/vocals), Bob Brunning (bass), Mick Fleetwood (drums) - Bob Brunning was hired as a temporary fill-in for John McVie as McVie hadn't decided to leave John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at the time Peter Green formed the band.
no albums released

Lineup 2: Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie (bass), Mick Fleetwood
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1967)
Mr. Wonderful (1968)
The Original Fleetwood Mac (1971)

Lineup 3: Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan (guitar/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
English Rose (1969)
Fleetwood Mac In Chicago (1969)
The Pious Bird Of Good Omen (1969)
Then Play On (1969) - Spencer actually wasn't on this album, but was still in the band
Greatest Hits (1971)

Lineup 4: Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Kiln House (1970)

Lineup 5: Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie (piano/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood - Christine played somewhat of a role in the Kiln House album before she was asked to officially join the band in the subsequent tour in support of the album

Lineup 6: Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie, Bob Welch (guitar/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Future Games (1971)
Bare Trees (1972)

Lineup 7: Christine McVie, Bob Welch, Bob Weston (guitar), Dave Walker (guitar/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Penguin (1973)

Lineup 8: Christine McVie, Bob Welch, Bob Weston, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Mystery To Me (1973)

Lineup 9: Christine McVie, Bob Welch, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974) - First album released after the band battled for the rights to their name

Lineup 10: Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham (guitar/vocals), Stevie Nicks (vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Fleetwood Mac (The White Album) (1975)
Rumours (1977)
Tusk (1979)
Live (1980)
Mirage (1982)
Tango In The Night (1987)
The Dance (1997)

Lineup 11: Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Billy Burnette (guitar/vocals), Rick Vito (lead guitar/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Greatest Hits (1988)
Behind The Mask (1990)

Lineup 12: Christine McVie, Billy Burnette, Rick Vito, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
25 Years: The Chain (1992)

Lineup 13: Billy Burnette, Bekka Bramlett (vocals), Dave Mason (guitar/vocals), John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Time (1995)

Lineup 14: Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood
Say You Will (2004)

Matt

[Phantom Engineer]

Sorry, I don't think they're anywhere near the level of The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who or possibly even ect. I like the Peter Green years. Other than that I've always thought they were just fine but not upper echelon.

[Mr. Atari]

I think Stevie Nicks sounds like a goat.

There, I said it.


Mostly, I'm ambivalent about the band, and have been pretty unimpressed by what I've heard.

But, as always, your mileage may vary.

[Krista]

I have a friend, who is 18, that is the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan ever. It's quite odd... she has two copies of all of their albums on vinyl just in case, knows every nit-picky thing there is to know about 'em.

I'm not really into them, but it seems as those that are, are really into them.

[Phantom Engineer]

Fleetwood Mac is unique among long lasting English bands. While many long time bands change members, either through quiting or dying, the generally revolve around a core of frontman/songwriter(s). Take The Rolling Stones, they had several personnel changes but you still have Jagger/Richards, the singer and songwriters.
But the only consistency in Fleetwood Mac is the rhythm section, neither of whom carries the vocals or songwriting. So it was a band with a continuous change of identity, despite the same name. Fans of the band might see that as welcome variety but to me it's just a lack of a cohesive direction. But it is kind of unique for a major band to have endured like that for so long.

[Captain Hygiene]

I had no idea they changed up so much. Fleetwood Mac is just Fleetwood Mac to me, since I don't pay much attention to them when they come on the radio.

[Phantom Engineer]

Yeah, they've had a revolving door. The Stevie Nicks era was the most commercially successful so that's probably what most people think of.

[StreetDreamer83]

All 16 members of Fleetwood Mac are alive, amazingly in some cases such as Peter Green's. One of the reasons why I love the band so much is that there is so much of a variety to listen to. The Rumours group gets all the attention, in particular Stevie Nicks, but John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are the heart, soul and driving force of the band. Those of you who aren't familiar with the band's history might want to read this: www.fmlegacy.com/main.html It's one of the most intreging stories of any artist or band in the history of popular music.

Matt

[Bix Dugan]

I liked Rumours.
I was 15 and we drank 12 packs of Busch beer. And a Christmas tree got knocked over...




Edit: Here's a weird co-incident. The guy's house we were all at, listening to Rumours, drinking beer and knocking over a Christmas tree:

Just contacted me via Class-Mates. I hadn't heard from him since 1980!

[SOL Stowaway]

(Most of) my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs, in chronological order:

"The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)"
"Sentimental Lady"
"Bare Trees"
"Hypnotized"
"World Turning"
"I'm So Afraid"
"Don't Stop"
"Go Your Own Way"
"You Make Loving Fun"
"Second Hand News"
"Gold Dust Woman"
"Silver Springs"
"The Chain"
"Sisters of the Moon"
"Sara"
"Gypsy"
"Little Lies"
"Tango in the Night"
"Go Insane" (from 'The Dance')
"Big Love" (from 'The Dance')
"Peacekeeper"

As you can see, I'm more of a fan of the legendary 10th lineup. But as someone up-thread said, I'm all about the variety.

[Krista]

I like the song "Edge of Seventeen."

That's the song on the beinning of Live at Red Rocks, when everyone is walking in with their goofy 80's clothes, right? I got that for my friend for Christmas one year, and I was suckered into watching it with her.

[Crowfan]

My favorite FLeetwood Mac album is Rumors. I remember listening to the LP when I was in 4th grade. Don't Stop had to be one of my all time faves. I still have the LP. I also had Tusk, and some others. Now that I'm thinking about it, I really need to put them on my IPod. Thanks Matt.