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by Gary Graff, Billboard
Lindsey Buckingham says the group has five more unreleased tracks. "The whole thing is just kind of wide open now, and it really is tantalizing to be able to put together just a few things, three or four songs on an EP"
Lindsey Buckingham says there's more where Fleetwood Mac's new "Extended Play" came from.
Buckingham tells Billboard that he, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie "cut eight songs" with producer Mitchell Froom last year after Fleetwood Mac decided it would be touring this year. Three of those -- "Sad Angel," "It Takes Time" and "Miss Fantasy" -- are part of the "Extended Play" digital release that came out May 6, joined by "Without You," resurrected by Stevie Nicks from the Buckingham Nicks days before they joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975.
Buckingham says "it may be too early to tell where things are going to go" with the remaining songs, but he adds that "it's safe to say there is more than these four songs that you're going to hear from Fleetwood Mac -- it's just a question of how and when, y'know?"
The "when," of course, is complicated by Fleetwood Mac's current tour, which crosses North America through July 6 and then heads to Europe in September. But Buckingham acknowledges that "Extended Play" has certainly given the veteran group a fresh perspective on releasing new music rather than the drama and trauma of making an entire album, as it's done in the past.
"When I was growing up, EPs were all over the place," Buckingham notes. "When I was growing up, albums were not really an art form; the single was the thing, and in some ways it has gotten back to that a little bit. The whole thing is just kind of wide open now, and it really is tantalizing to be able to put together just a few things, three or four songs on an EP. There is something quite effective about that, for sure. I have no preconceptions one way or the other in terms of what Fleetwood Mac will do or even what Fleetwood Mac should do. You just do what you can do and what makes sense logically -- and politically."
Fleetwood Mac has been playing "Sad Angel" and "Without You" regularly in its shows, and has dug into its catalog for "Sisters of the Moon" -- part of a four-song blast from 1979's "Tusk" that Buckingham says he's happy to have in the set.
"After all this time it's very sweet we're able to sort of tap into that, just on more of an overview level," Buckingham reports. "I think we're playing better, or as well, as we've ever played. It's kind of a lovefest between Stevie and me out there, which is great. And this time there seems to be an enhanced appreciation of the body of work. There seem to be a lot of young people at the shows -- not that there haven't been before, but there seem to be more this time. So I'm having a great time out there. We're just killing it out there as far as I'm concerned."
Fans, meanwhile, are hoping that the tour -- which coincides with the 45th anniversary of the release of the very first Fleetwood Mac album -- will catch up to one of the group's most celebrated alumni later this year. Mick Fleetwood rather publicly reached out to Christine McVie, who quit the band in 1998, which resulted in her visiting him in Maui as well as a Mac reunion dinner in Los Angeles. Buckingham calls the gesture "just reaching out to her as a longtime friend" and definitively says that "Christine is never going to rejoin the band."
Being together again, however, was a hoot.
"That was great fun. It was very interesting to see what that extra piece of the puzzle does to the overall equation," Buckingham recalls. "It was a trip, because she was the same old person I'd always known, and she was cracking me up. We'd always had just a great chemistry, the two of us, and we just kind of hit the ground running as soon as I saw her, which was kind of amazing. If she wants to come up and do 'Don't Stop' with us when we're in England, I'd love to see that. But beyond that I think there's not too much you can make out of it -- although I'm sure people will try."
18 comments:
Great reading about the dinner they all had with Christine.
Reminds me of the obvious musical chemistry between she and Lindsey on Mirage and Tango In The Night.
i got over my 'i want a cd or vinyl copy' silly ranter missive of last week and got the EP. remember, i'm bitchy. not tonight. i think the EP is excellent. More Nicks next time, yes, but she sounds good on the tracks. Summer is almost here. 'Sad Angel' was the 2nd most added song at Triple A radio this past week- the impossible is about to become a reality: 'Sad Angel' will be a big summer hit, and the last big summer hit I recall by the band was 'Hold Me'- Lindsey, Mick and John really brought it- and Stevie's harmonies are good. The Lindsey solo 'It Takes Time' is gorgeous.
But, as funny as it sounds, we are about to see 'Sad Angel' really make an impact and a big one- the song is on the fast track and will be a cross market hit and it ''seems'' certain- from triple A to
(Omg) Top 40, classic rock and adult contemporary- the song will be in place all over radio by June and the song will last the summer. Tour extended, media blitz, and another EP by fall with Nicks wanting 'her' own hit. She'll give up her best song to not be outdone by this fluke about to happen- A hit song in their mid 60s, the last comparable flukes were Cher and Santana circa 1998-1999. 'Sad Angel' is about to go viral, and even on the radio! The men of Mac made this happen- and SN does sound cute and perky on the song.
Lindsey is soon bringing the band into the Top 10 nationally, when a hit song has been missing for decades- it is happening, and I can't believe it and I'm thrilled. I may not be bitchy again for a day!
^ Are you sitting near some toxic waste or something?
Why be nasty? This is that persons perspective. Someone so quick to ridicule should be prohibited from being near the public. People like you make Oscar the Grouched look like mother Theresa! If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing. I hope you aren't a parent. Your kids will only perpetuate your nastiness. Here's to hoping you are childless!
"Why be nasty?"
Not that it actually was... but I'm guessing it was because the post was difficult to read, rambled, made little sense, and is generally annoying and indulgent.
It's very nice of you ,though, to tell a perfect stranger that you hope they are childless based on a single line of text you read on the internet.
Why so nasty?
Ruth:
Indulgent, probably. Rambling, ok, but that was 'nothing'. Hard to read? Not applicable if one can read! 'Worth' reading? Maybe not.
The point is, I was pleased. The EP is a good thing, it's an appetizer. I can concisely write, nearly, that while I enjoyed 'Trouble In Shangra La', 'Say You Will' and 'In Your Dreams' all three releases, for me, were ''bloated''. The best albums of Fleetwood Mac and Nicks and their best selling albums have been the ones with 11 or 12 tracks. 'Tusk' is an exception, the 20 songs form an intriguing album.
I make plenty of sense, even at my most eccentric, and who made you the monitor of what is annoying and indulgent, Ruth? I'm also really rich, have a nice life and try not to be unkind and YOU were nasty about a happy message, I was enthusiastic. Yes, who cares if anyone, you, I or your mother is rich or not, the point is you being a snarky know it all by personally insulting me, when we probably don't even know each other.
THEN, you conclude with 'why so nasty' after shredding someone for reasons best known to yourself.
While not perfect, the 4 song EP is breezy, and it avoids being overlong like the 3 cds I wrote of, which, again, have good music. Lindsey, Mick and John did a good job and Nicks blends in fine- I hope, and think, we will have another 4 song EP in the fall.
I won't address further criticisms of me, anyone has the right to write whatever they want. "Sad Angel'' is going to be huge, and it's exciting. Lindsey is key, not Dave's Stewart or Grohl, to getting something for Stevie Nicks that she very, very much wants: a hit.
And I like her and the band through hits and non hits, it's just exciting to see Fleetwood Mac on the verge, again.
Ruth, Ruth, Ruth, with a need to attack someone who was positive and meant you and not anyone harm. See, the 'toxic dump' quip was funny, it didn't get all self righteous and judgmental.
Peace, baby!
If you're so rich (you told us that and then asked us who really cares? Who cares indeed!), buy a grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure help-guide.
i got over my 'i want a cd or vinyl copy' silly ranter missive of last week and got the EP. remember, i'm bitchy. not tonight. i think the EP is excellent.
Oh yes, makes perfect sense!
Ruth, go away. No one cares to read about your grammar obsession. This is about Fleetwood Mac, not your desire to be the center of attention. So, please go away. The EP IS excellent. That's the bottom line.
Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather hear Ruth moan about grammar than folks exclaiming they're "really rich". I can't even believe people post things like that. There was someone in another post a few days ago going on about how attractive they are at 40. Tragic.
And for the record, the EP is just sorta OK. Bit of a bore really. So maybe you could go away as well.
Jealous that people are prettier and richer than you, PHILLIPCK? For the record, the EP is fantastic. "A bit of a bore "? Who are you? Mary Poppins? I am with the other two Anons- take Ruth and go away.
I didn't know Mary Poppins was really all that into pop music these days. I see her zip by on her umbrella now and again, looking for children to eat, but she's not been seen at Tower Records in ages.
After that, you are now my favorite person on this blog! That was hilarious! I give you three and a quarter stars!
Everyone's fighting and missing the fact that Lindsey said LOVEFEST. And that's this LOVEFEST is between Stevie and him. "Which is great."
Oh Christ, now there's a shipper hanging around! That's even worse than a Flying Monkey!
Oh, and for the record, I'm the "toxic waste" comment poster from post #3, which I posted because the comment it was in reply to was totally wacko - much like the one just above^. Stop giving this Ruth person all the credit for my insulting post.
What is a Shipper? I thought I was a Flying Monkey but maybe I am a shipper! I love the EP. There is nothing boring about it. Stevie sounds so angelic on it. I play it every day and when I hear her singing along with Lindsey it just makes me smile. I can tell she is happy. If you don't love the EP, play it again, close your eyes and let it sink in. And yes, anything Stevie does IS wonderful. Just please let me know what a Shipper is. Good Night - Confused on the East Coast.
@The Shipper:
I'm sorry to burst your bubble here but you do know that just because Lindsey said "lovefest" doesn't mean he and Stevie are going at it on the makeup table backstage like rabbits. The word "lovefest" has a rather broad definition. You can have a group of transgendered, one-legged, red-haired, Spanish-speaking, Goth-dressing nuns on Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil sharing their experiences, good and bad stories and that can be referred to as a "lovefest". If Lindsey and Stevie are simply reminiscing about the old days or even just somehow managing to be in the same vicinity as one another without viciously tearing each other to shreds then that would be a "lovefest" in it's simplest definition.
I don't think anyone missed that at all. It's just no one gives two hoots about that particular comment as we're focused on the MUSIC rather than on any unrealistic dreams and wishes for a "ship" that plummeted to the ocean floor quicker than the Titanic.
@Confused on the East Coast:
"Shipper" is short for "relationshipper". They are fans who are convinced, in their own minds, that no matter what has happened in the past 40 years, Stevie and Lindsey are still 110% hopelessly in love with each other. Even though they broke up decades ago, they have been secretly seeing each other.
Some shippers are worse than others. Some merely hold an idealized view of the relationship between Stevie and Lindsey; see it for what they wish it were rather than what it is. Others are a bit more rabid in their "shipping". I've even known some shippers to say that Lindsey and Kristen's children are actually Stevie and Lindsey's kids but, for whatever reason, Kristen has to be in the picture to pretend they are hers. For some reason, they have to keep up the facade that Lindsey is a happily married man with a beautiful family that truly makes him happy. Lindsey simply cannot love his wife. Stevie has never loved another man. Every song they sing on stage is directed to the other. Every song Stevie writes is about Lindsey and every song he writes is about Stevie.
It doesn't matter what Stevie or Lindsey have to say about the state of their friendship (if you can call it that), how many negative (and sometimes purely venomous) things they have said about one another in interviews or how much is said about the fights they often have while working together, according to the shippers, there has never been, nor ever will be a greater love than that that exists between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
If everything the shippers believed was true, the relationship between Stevie and Lindsey would be one of the most unhealthily obsessive and psychotic relationships on the planet.
WOW now kids...I wrote the LOVEFEST post.
I was being silly. Because everyone was fighting.
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