REVIEW: Nicks is at an age where her voice is robust and layered

Chicago Sun Times
BY MARK GUARINO

The grab-n-go revenue stream of aging rock bands is the greatest-hits tour. You spend the first half of your life creating groundbreaking hits; then you spend the second half performing them each time a new wife requests alimony or Bernie Madoff made off with your fortune.

Fleetwood Mac's current revival on the tour circuit has those hallmarks -- it is the Anglo-American band's first since 2003, when core members Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood reunited for a new album that was surprisingly very good.

Their return is not featuring any of those songs, only hits from their blockbuster albums of late 1970s: "Tusk," "Rumours" and "Fleetwood Mac." Thursday night at the Allstate Arena, the first of two consecutive nights, Buckingham admitted there was "no new album -- yet" and the two-hour show would concentrate on "things we love and hopefully stuff that you love, as well."

It was a love affair to last. Unlike most outings like these, the band steered through its hits with interest that went well beyond professional courtesy. While the last tour was more like a revue, with secondary players crowding out the band, this outing was nicely subdued, with even the clownish Fleetwood kept in check.

Forty-one years past its earliest incarnation, the band wisely chose not to dwell on the same old references. Instead, it let the body of work stand on its own ground. At 60, Nicks is at an age where her voice is robust and layered with lovely textures; she sang "Landslide," as a blues song, tarnished but with strength.

She and Buckingham sang lead vocals together on many songs, harmonized sweetly on others, but made the unfortunate decision to trade vocals on "Say You Love Me." Their reconstruction did not suit their voices, and the interchange was strained.

The night belonged to Buckingham, who injected paranoid intensity into every guitar lick, whoop, holler, growl and foot stomp. His peers may have been knighted early in their careers for their guitar flash and mastery, but at age 60, Buckingham has emerged as the only one who still carries it forward with sparkle and commitment.

He elevated even his own revenue generators when the night's highlight became a pairing of the band's lesser-known songs: "Oh Well" and "I'm So Afraid." Played back-to-back, they built into an emotional purging of volume and odd detouring. As Buckingham stalked the width of the stage, he injected an edge-of-cliff abandon into his playing, yet maintained a remarkable technique.

Near the end, his body worked in convulsion over his instrument until he stopped to skip back to his spot -- a concluding image that was peculiar but well-deserved.

Mark Guarino is a Chicago-based journalist. Visit mark-guarino.com.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Guitarist Played Like His Graying Hair Was On Fire

Chicago Tribune
by: Greg Kot

Fleetwood Mac at Allstate Arena Lindsey Buckingham burns through nostalgia

The Fleetwood Mac set list Thursday at the packed Allstate Arena was straight out of the ‘70s, but Lindsey Buckingham was very much in the present tense on the quartet’s latest reunion tour.

The leather-jacketed guitarist played like his graying hair was on fire most of the night, throwing himself into the songs with a gusto that frequently erupted into manic howls and fleet-fingered, shrapnel-tossing solos. Buckingham pulled the 23 creaky songs out of the long-lost “Rumours” era and into the now, with enthusiastic assistance from drummer Mick Fleetwood.

With the stalwart bassist John McVie at his side, Fleetwood looked like he had just popped out of a Dickens novel, a towering, pony-tailed Fagin in knickers. For all the mugging and preening, he pounded the drums with maniacal glee, blending bluesy firepower with orchestral flair. The inventively propulsive drum parts on songs such as “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way” and “World Turning” colored the arrangements with authority, and matched Buckingham’s passion.

Stevie Nicks was the only member of this revived version of the band’s classic ‘70s lineup (minus singer-songwriter Christine McVie, who retired from the business years ago) who wasn’t quite up to speed as the show began. Her voice has not only deepened, it has lost much of its flexibility, and her performances of “Gypsy” and “Rhiannon” fell flat. She re-accessorized continually with boots, dresses, shawls, scarves, tambourines and even a top hat as the show progressed over two-plus hours. Halfway through the set, she finally shook off the doldrums and audibly rose to the occasion on “Landslide,” accompanied only by Buckingham’s guitar.

“I’m getting older, too,” Nicks sang with soaring, if melancholy conviction. By the time she trotted out her solo hit “Stand Back,” she felt frisky enough to revive one of her trademark twirls.

But it all would’ve been little more than a quaint rehash of a bunch of golden oldies were it not for Buckingham. He started strong, pushing his voice hard on “Monday Morning,” and by the end of the set was finger-picking shrieking, gale-force solos from his instrument, reanimating Peter Green’s early Mac classic “Oh Well” and investing “I’m So Afraid” with scarifying intensity. Wired and still wiry, Buckingham looked like he could’ve raved all night with this rhythm section at his back.

Set list for Thursday at Allstate Arena:

1. Monday Morning
2. The Chain
3. Dreams
4. I Know I’m Not Wrong
5. Gypsy
6. Go Insane
7. Rhiannon
8. Second Hand News
9. Tusk
10. Sara
11. Big Love
12. Landslide
13. Never Going Back Again
14. Storms
15. Say That You Love Me
16. Gold Dust Woman
17. Oh Well
18. I’m So Afraid
19. Stand Back
20. Go Your Own Way

Encore
21. World Turning
22. Don’t Stop

Second encore
23. Silver Springs

"I THINK THE WORLD SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER FLEETWOOD MAC RECORD" (Stevie Nicks)

Boston.com
By Sarah Rodman

All iconic rock records begin life as the dreaded "new stuff" fans don't want to hear.

Stevie Nicks vividly remembers a time when Fleetwood Mac fans weren't interested in the songs from the landmark album "Rumours." Granted, it didn't take long for the 1977 release to become a multiplatinum monster, but there was definitely an initial resistance to the charms of "Gold Dust Woman."

"The audience is always going to be like, 'We need to hear the songs we came here to hear,' " says the 60-year-old singer-songwriter. And at the start of the "Rumours" tour, the songs they came to hear were hits like "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me" from Fleetwood Mac's eponymous 1975 album, the first to feature Nicks and her then boyfriend, singer-songwriter-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

As the title of the current road show makes clear, Fleetwood Mac's "Unleashed: Hits Tour 2009," which comes to the TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday, will not feature any new stuff. "We've had incredibly good luck with successful radio songs, so if you start with that and make a list, it's not a short list," says Buckingham, 59.

But this is no farewell jaunt for the band, which also features the namesake rhythm section of drummer Mick Fleetwood, 61, and bassist John McVie, 63. (Singer-songwriter-keyboardist Christine McVie retired from the group in 1998 but performed on the 2003 album, "Say You Will.") In separate back-to-back interviews, we talked to Buckingham and Nicks about the past, present, and future, and they made it clear that the British-American band that has withstood more than a half-dozen permutations will continue to make new music for the masses to disregard - at least at first.

Singing McVie's praises

This tour is the group's second go-round without McVie. The absence of her harmonies and keyboards was definitely felt on the "Say You Will" tour, as were her songwriting contributions, including the hits "Say You Love Me," "Over My Head," "Hold Me," "Everywhere," and "Little Lies." This time out, the group has decided to add some of her tunes to the set list.

Buckingham: "I think she would want us to do that. I think she's going to be flattered as well."

Nicks: "She's delighted. Chris is the greatest, she's not selfish and she's not conceited. She's just a wonderful, wonderful girl. She doesn't like to fly and you just have to. She was having panic attacks and she didn't tell us, so we were all very surprised when she said 'I can't do this' because we never knew she was having a hard time."

The Stevie/Lindsey dynamic

McVie's absence was also felt on a personal level, especially by Nicks, who felt adrift as the band's gender balance shifted. Buckingham was having a blast, however, digging into his songs and guitar playing. Onstage in Worcester in 2003, the former lovers could be seen shooting intense glares at each other.

Buckingham: "When we got off the road in 2004 with Fleetwood Mac, I know Stevie was not very happy with me. I think she maybe wasn't that comfortable onstage in a situation where, without Christine, I had half the material to do and I was just up there being a guy. I think her sense of herself, the context kind of got blurred for her without the female compadre. I had a great time; she didn't."

Nicks: "It went from being a band with two powerful women and a bunch of guys to a bunch of guys with one powerful woman. And Christine really was the powerhouse anyway, she really was the leader of the pack, our Mother Earth. So without Chris it definitely changed the dynamic. And I was lonely because I was obviously so used to having her there since 1975."

Buckingham: "That was one of the reasons we decided we would do a few more Christine McVie songs this time and that we would find ways to do them that are more about Stevie's and my dynamic. I've been talking to Stevie a lot and it's great, the chemistry, the history; I've known her since we were both in high school. And it's not only intriguing but it gives me a big smile that we're going to go out there as a band, the four of us, and particularly Stevie and myself, and be able to bridge all the crap that maybe we've never been able to completely bridge before. We're talking about a band whose sensibilities are so disparate that probably on some level we don't really have much business being in a band together. . . . It's the synergy of that, that makes it work, that makes it greater than the sum of its parts. I think it becomes important and timely to acknowledge that and to share it with each other."

New record on the horizon

The band members hope to keep that synergy going when they get off the road and into the studio.

Nicks: "There's nothing better than having a totally tight, rehearsed band go in and make a record because you're playing great and you've been hanging out for a long time. I'm excited about it because I think the world should have another Fleetwood Mac record. Even if it doesn't sell one record, what it is for us is the experience of making the record. It really is the journey of making 'Rumours,' of making [her first solo album] 'Bella Donna,' of making these really precious records in the long run that is almost more important than what they did when they left us."

Buckingham: "I think there are chapters yet to be written with this band, and there are chapters that need to be written for the people themselves. There have been some things left hanging out there, and this isn't just a band getting together to do it for the bucks. . . . I'm getting quite excited about it, I have to say."

FLEETWOOD MAC'S SAGA IS LIKE A "FRIENDS" STORY ARC

For Fleetwood Mac, the flame still burns
Boston Herald
By Jed Gottlieb

Fleetwood Mac’s saga is like a “Friends” story arc. Couples break up, things get interesting, couples make up, things get less interesting, then the cycle repeats itself.

This makes Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks rock ’n’ roll’s Ross and Rachel (only sub out annoying drama at Central Perk, sub in genius song-writing and cocaine). And though the romance between the two may be long over, Buckingham and Nicks aren’t done with each other yet.

With the Mac back (minus the retired Christine McVie) at TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday, Buckingham phoned the Herald to talk about the band’s first tour in half a decade and when we can expect a new album. Then Nicks called with her own take on the saga’s next chapter and to remind us that, even in their AARP years, the two’s tempestuous relationship isn’t about to end.

Lindsey Buckingham

Herald Without a new album to promote are you going to dig into your back catalog for older, more obscure stuff to play in concert?

Buckingham: It’s a funny thing because you get into that area and it really underscores part of what makes Fleetwood Mac such a good band. There’s such a disparate range of sensibilities. What one person considers to be a worthy, obscure gem is not what another feels is right. When you include all of the songs that have been radio songs for us it defines about 80 percent of our set. The extra 20 percent is up for grabs.

Have you had a big hand in putting together the deluxe reissue of “Rumours” that’s due in May?

Not really. I’m not a huge fan of those repackagings anyway. But in light of the fact that there is no new album, it makes sense to have something out there to help the marketing of the tour. Certainly there are some curiosities on there, but I haven’t had much to do with it. I did put the kibosh on a few things that I didn’t think should make the cut. So I’ve had an editorial hand in it, but that’s it.

You’ve done two solo albums in three years, which seems like a furious pace for you. Are still writing like a madman?

Kind of, yeah. When we got off the road in 2004, I told the band, ‘Don’t bother me for about three years.’ And they didn’t, which was great. It allowed me to step up the writing frequency and get out and tour. But we had committed to do a tour months ago, so I had to cut my own tour short. The finer points aside, it was very satisfying to get to spend a few years doing my own thing. It has stepped up my creativity and put me on a whole new wavelength.

Do you recognize when you write a song if it will be for Fleetwood Mac or for a solo album?

Not really. There are certain things I write that are esoteric or idiosyncratic that I know will go on a solo record. But in general, if you look at the lion’s share of “Gift of Screws” (Buckingham’s 2008 solo album), much of that would work as Fleetwood Mac. It also comes down to the band. If they go “eh,” then it becomes a solo piece. (Laughs.)

How far along are you in planning a new Fleetwood Mac album?

We aren’t far along in any specific sense. My mantra is to work on my dynamic with Stevie. She was a little uncomfortable when we got on the road last time, for whatever reason. Part of it was that she missed Christine, part of it was that I was getting 50 percent of the face time onstage and she wasn’t used to having a guy get all that space. I think it threw her context out a little. So this time around I am very much wanting to make everyone as comfortable as possible and have that be the most important thing. But we have discussed, when this tour is done, going into the studio. The only specific we know is that we are leaning toward finding an outside producer. I think it would help to have an overviewer. It was pretty hard taking the reins last time. Not so much with the music but with the band politics.

Have any producers in mind?

We had a short a list, but I have no idea. We’ve talked about everyone form Daniel Lanois to Dave Stewart to Rick Rubin. That pretty much runs the gamut of approaches. We have to meet with a few people and see how it feels.

Looking back, does it seem like everything great that you’ve done as a band has come out of turmoil?

That’s absolutely true. Obviously “Rumours” was the personal turmoil and then “Tusk” was the artistic turmoil. Then a lot of stuff after that was dealing with levels of disillusionment, at least for me. Or it was about dealing with lifestyles that were getting out of hand on some level.

Stevie Nicks

Herald You’ve been busy on the road for the last three summers. When did you have time to plan this Fleetwood Mac tour?

Nicks: The last three summers on solo tours and two years ago a tour with Tom Petty. I went out for seven shows and I stayed for 27. Tom asked me to stay and I said, “There’s no way I’m not going.” My manager said, “OK, but this is your vacation. Tom Petty is your vacation.”

So when did the Fleetwood Mac reunion come together?

We had a meeting between two and three years ago to talk. Lindsey had really been working hard on his solo work and decided he was going to get those one or two or three CDs done and tour behind them. He ended up using up a lot of his songs for “Say You Will” and that really didn’t fulfill his need to be a solo artist and, well, that album wasn’t the best experience for any of us. Lindsey made a decision to take a couple of years off and work on his solo stuff so he could enjoy Fleetwood Mac again. We all said, “Go ahead, have fun, rock on!”

I asked Lindsey if there was another rarity like “Silver Spring” waiting to be dug out and done live and he wasn’t sure. What do you think?

I suggested that we do “Storms” (from “Tusk”) on this tour. We have never done it onstage. The last tour we pulled “Beautiful Child” out and we’d never done that before and it went great. But what we do always comes down to is what sounds good. We’re just thrilled to play our body of work that we’ve worked so hard on over the last 30 years. We really shy away from the “Greatest Hits Tour” label because we think it sounds cheesy. It’s not just the greatest hits, it’s the familiar songs that everyone loves.

And you’re ready to jump into the studio as soon as this tour is over?

I would very much like to do that. I think the world should have one more kickass Fleetwood Mac record. This tour could go on for 135 shows, but when we come off the road we will be a finely tuned, well-rehearsed band, which is the best thing to be when you go into the studio because you’re already hot. Your chops are up, you’re singing great, you’ve been playing fantastic music for a year. And writing on the road is really fun. Not to mention that we already both have enough songs to do a record now. But it all depends on if we’re having fun and enjoying each other.

In the past it seemed you recorded or toured because you had to, it was your career. Now it seems like you don’t have to, you want to.

That’s right. Lindsey has children. He didn’t have children 10 years ago. Mick (Fleetwood) has 6-year-old twins. John (McVie) has a daughter in college and so he and I are the only freewheeling ones. At this point in our lives, especially for Lindsey and Mick, if they’re not having a good time, they need to go home and raise their kids and make music in their home studios.

What do you think of the “Rumours” reissue?

It’s pretty awesome. It’s the songs before they came to fruition, almost like the five of us sitting in your living room playing for you. Listening to it, I could rise up above my body and go back there and remember what an amazing group of people we were in those years. As I was listening to it, I thought, “This could so be now. This sounds like a brand-new band just coming out.”

It’s that fresh?

It is so amazingly fresh. But Lindsey and I joke that we could never get a record deal in L.A. today with this sound. People wouldn’t know if we were folk or country or rockabilly. Well, they said the same thing when I moved to L.A. in 1971. But when you hear this band, this really young band, and you hear Christine’s amazing keyboards and John and Mick, the bassist and drummer of life, and then stick that under Lindsey Buckingham who can do anything on the guitar, it’s spectacular.

So much of your great stuff came out of the band being a mess. If you are all on great terms will it be harder to make a great album?

No. Lindsey and I and our tragic, uptight way of doing things to each other is still the same in so many ways. In many, many ways, Lindsey and I are still the same people that we were when we met at 16 and 17. There’s a part of our relationship that remains unchanged. It doesn’t matter that he’s married with kids. It doesn’t matter what my life is. When we’re together we can still be incredibly teenage. And we still write about each other a lot. We’re still great sources of inspiration for each other. When we’re 90, whoever goes first, the other one will be sitting on a bed alone. We’ll never run out of stuff to write about.

The Chris Isaak Hour (w/Stevie Nicks) Will Air On A&E

The Chris Isaak Hour Featuring Special Guest Stevie Nicks aired tonight (3/5) on A&E's The Biography Channel.

The show will be re-broadcast on the regular A&E Channel on Sunday March 15th at 7:00am (6:00 Central). 

Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Stevie Nicks gives us a sneak peak of "Gold Dust Woman" and "Stand Back" from her new CD. In an exclusive interview, Nicks talks to host, Chris Isaak about her years with Fleetwood Mac, her severe battle with cocaine and why she has never married. Isaak accompanies Nicks to perform songs that influenced her early career, such as "It's Late" and "Red River Valley".

One other song that I know of that was performed but wasn't aired was "Landslide". Preview video (including Landslide) can be found here at Recordnet.com

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in St. Paul "Who sits still at such a show?"

Blogger Review of St. Paul Show
Information Access Avenger

My first visit to the University of Minnesota as a perspective student eleven years ago was the day after a Fleetwood Mac concert. 

Guess what. Guess who I saw last night …… Lindsey, Stevie, Mick and John. 

Totally blew me away. Teri and I walked, skipped, jumped and ran our way into the arena as Tusk was playing; unbelievable. Don’t Stop, Gold Dust Wom[y]n, Landslide, and Silver Springs were just a few songs played. Mick totally knocked my socks off with his loony, tripped out drumming tactics and little red shoes. Lindsey’s voice, incredible. John rocked it. And Stevie, amazing. A full set and two encores later even for an arena show, I was was not let down, not even a little bit. 

The house was packed, mostly with…..the Minnesota nice who sit real still in their seats. WHO SITS STILL AT SUCH A SHOW?