Category: Misc.

Taken By The Sky, or How to Love Fleetwood Mac the Way that I Love Fleetwood Mac

By Majnoonita
updated 2 months ago

You may be wondering "What the hell does Fleetwood Mac have to do with the Bay Area?" What follows is my argument for why Fleetwood Mac is a quintessential example of a band infused with classic Bay Area influences: torment, tantra, drugs and drama. The explosive combination of British blues rock (Mick Fleetwood and the McVie's) combined with 1960s Bay Area teenage angst resulted in a melodic, melodramatic and voracious 1970s coming of age for the band, and some of the best classic rock to be produced in the United States. Primarily recording in and around the Bay Area during the pinnacle of their creative prowess, in many ways the Bay Area is what makes and breaks this undeniably talented band. Here's a guide on how to steep yourself in retro FWM groupiedom and embrace all the messed-up-ed-ness that is Fleetwood Mac.

DREAMS: Players Only Love You When They're Playing

What will become of a rock band with multiple drug problems, multiple marriages and multiple affairs living in seclusion in Marin County? The Rumors album, of course. After receiving massive commercial success from their 1975 self-titled album, no one saw the Rumors album coming. The public was blindsided by a powerhouse of passion and abuse. The Rumors album is the bastard child of FWM’s many love triangles and triages, and like any product of an ill fated affair, it is twisted, gifted and addictive. The band spent several months holed-up at The Record Plant studio in Sausolito writing and recording while their interpersonal relationships shattered like glass in an earthquake. This clip from the documentary on the making of Rumors is a testament to the creative intensity fueled by the emotional turbulence that resulted in one of the top selling albums of all time, with over 30 million copies sold.

RHIANNON (live 1976): Wouldn't You Love To Love Her

I can’t lie. Rhiannon was one of my least favorite FWM songs, that is, until I saw this live performance from 1976. Here almost more than ever is the distinction between FWM in the studio versus FWM live: in the studio Rhiannon is just another moody 70s ballad. But on stage the song becomes a manifestation of Stevie Nicks’ alter ego. The best part of this performance is Nicks’ tortured proto-punk outburst as she brings the song to climax in a wail-like chant for Rhiannon.

Relationshit

Ultimately it would be FWM’s destructive relationships that would tear the band apart. Between Buckingham and Nikcks death threats and on-stage melodramatic antics, the McVie’s divorce and Mick Fleetwood’s own failing marriage, all the various break-ups would prove fatal for the creative integrity of the band. All the drama culminated in the making of Rumors (so named for the relationship problems that plague the making of the album), and while it created long lasting classic rock, it was all too hot to handle. Fleetwood Mac, rest in peace.

Crystal Visions: The Making of the Myth

Take Mick Fleetwood and John McVie’s post-60s blues trip out of England and into California where they find Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the shadow of their lackluster 70s pop debut and you’ve got a magnetic combination of quirk, craft and crazy. Buckingham and Nicks were raised in the Bay Area, andl ate 60s Nprthern California was notorious for pumping out a phantsmagorical sound that made the masses collapse in musical ecstacy. Naturally, Buckingham and Nicks gravitated to Los Angeles in order to plug into the pop scene. At the same time Fleetwood Mac was down a guitarist due to intra-band drama, so Mick Fleetwood made his way to LA in search of fresh talent. During a rather chance meeting between Fleetwood and Buckingham at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California it became clear that Fleetwood Mac needed the exceptionally talented Buckingham as their next guitarist. But Buckingham was a packaged deal: if he joined, Stevie joined. Fleetwood was so convinced by Buckingham that he gave Nicks the green light. The rest obviously is history.

SISTERS OF THE MOON (live) aka That Time Stevie Spoke In Tongues

Although not as popular as their previous albums, Tusk marked an integral turning point for the band. A highly experimental album mainly driven by Lindsey Buckingham’s punk and new wave urges and early country influences, Tusk is actually a double album smooshed into one. Buckingham’s punk aesthetic comes out loud and proud in “Not That Funny” while Nicks stays true to her ethereal, angsty rock meltdowns. The closing song “Never Forget” marks the end of what could be deemed as the “golden age” of FWM. A more traditional and gentle ballad by the likes of Christine McVie punctuates a half decade of tumultuous fame and unforgiving fortune: “it’ll be all right, we willl never forget tonight.” After the Tusk tour things would never be the same. With several band members dabbling in solo projects, FWM was on the shelf, indefinately. Although releasing 3 additional albums post-Tusk (including one live album), FWM pretty much disbanded, only to reunite in the mid 90s for an obligatory reunion tour that yielded stale, apathetic performances yet resurrected previously passed by songs and made them into born again hits.