Re-Imagining Fleetwood Mac – Lindsey Buckingham Edition

Day of three finds us looking in at the driving guitar force of Fleetwood Mac, with Lindsey Buckingham.  There’s no denying that adding Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to the Fleetwood Mac mix completely elevated the band to another level.  Each one had such a distinct sound, when coupled together they form a complex companionship.  Separated, you can hear their unique voices in a more complete setting.

In this experiment, not every song works.  Again, this isn’t a “best of.”  It’s about what group of songs can cohesively go together to form an album.  Now while Tusk is pretty much a full Fleetwood Mac contribution, it’s really Lindsey’s baby (not to mention that it there was some good extra credit in there for a few USC students) hence its inclusion.

Enjoy and let me know which edition is your favorite.

Here is Buckingham Mac:

  1. Tusk (Tusk)
  2. Tango In The Night (Tango In The Night)
  3. Big Love (Tango In The Night)
  4. Empire State (Mirage)
  5. Go Your Own Way (Rumors)
  6. Family Man (Tango in the Night)
  7. Can’t Go Back (Mirage)
  8. Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac)
  9. What Makes You Think You’re The One (Tusk)
  10. Caroline (Tango In The Night)
  11. I’m So Afraid (Fleetwood Mac)

Re-Imagining Fleetwood Mac – Christine McVie Edition

Day two of re-imagining the Fleetwood Mac brings us to Christine McVie, who sang with the band for a few albums prior to Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ recruitment.  That said, I’m only including songs after the self-titled Fleetwood Mac album (1975).

As much as l love Stevie, Christine may have written and sang my favorite Fleetwood Mac tunes, including Little Lies and Isn’t It Midnight.  Neither song is included here for various reasons.  I wanted this experiment to feel more like a solo work.  It’s one thing to have another member chiming in for some background vocals but for songs like Little Lies and Hold Me, the rest of the band have too prominent of contributions.  As great as those songs are, they sound too much like a collaborative effort…and don’t necessarily fit for purposes of this post.

Here is Fleetwood MacVie:

  1. You Make Loving Fun (Rumors)
  2. Think About Me (Tusk)
  3. Say You Love Me (Fleetwood Mac)
  4. Sugar Daddy (Fleetwood Mac)
  5. Never Forget (Tusk)
  6. Over My Head (Fleetwood Mac)
  7. Everywhere (Tango In The Night)
  8. Brown Eyes (Tusk)
  9. Oh Daddy (Rumors)
  10. Over & Over (Tusk)
  11. Honey Hi (Tusk)

 

 

Re-imagining Fleetwood Mac – Stevie Nicks Edition

One of my favorite bands of all time is Fleetwood Mac.  What makes The Mac so amazing isn’t one particular member.  The band is a true sum of its parts.  They are the gold standard when it comes to the team effort approach to their songs, albums and live shows.  Though they are a chameleon of a band who has evolved and changed over time, they have had their share of chaotic times.  But difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.  When the group is in sync with each other, there is no one better.

But what if that wasn’t true?  What if Fleetwood Mac only had one singer?  The Mac has been known since their early beginnings as a band who has shared vocal duties.  But just for fun…what if that wasn’t true?  What if they only had one singer?  What would an album by Fleetwood Mac sound like?  Over the next three days, I want to look at three different versions of The Mac…each one featuring a different singer.  What would an album sound like if only Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie or Lindsey Buckingham were the singer?  I am not advocating this should be the case…but what if?

Up first, here is the Stevie Nicks version of Fleetwood Mac.  I have kept the album to a tight 11 songs, trying to find the best songs that cohesively fit together.  It’s an interesting experiment and I’d love to know your thoughts. Listen below.

Fleetwood Nicks

  1. Sisters of the Moon (Tusk)
  2. Straight Back (Mirage)
  3. Seven Wonders (Tango in the Night)
  4. Gypsy (Mirage)
  5. Rhiannon (FM)
  6. Sara (Tusk)
  7. Dreams (Rumors)
  8. That’s Alright (Mirage)
  9. Angel (Tusk)
  10. Landslide (Rumors)
  11. Storms (Tusk)

 

 

 

The 11 Best Stevie Nicks Team-ups

We all have our favorites.  We all have artists who we follow.  We all have artists who we can listen to no matter the album, whether it’s considered their best or their worst.  For me that artist is Tom Petty.  He has been one of my favorites for over 25 years.  He also may be the only artist among my favorites I’ve never seen live.   That changed this week.  After going through a deeply frustrating personal set-back, one of my best friends came through out of the blue with a free ticket to his show in Anaheim.  It could not have come at a better time, and it was exactly what I needed.  Tom Petty…40 years a rock n roll star…put on one of the best rock shows I have ever seen.   It was big, personal, and filled with every riff I ever wanted to hear out of Petty’s mouth or Campbell’s guitar.  Today, I have gratitude that when we get knocked down that our friends are there to pick us up.

One of Petty’s best rock friends is the one and only Stevie Nicks.  Many people don’t know that Nicks almost became a member of the Heartbreakers in the 80s.  Nicks may have had a massive career in dysfunctional family of Fleetwood Mac but her solo outings were ripe with huge duets and guests that made her equally respected on her own.  And with Mike Campbell sneaking into every one of her solo albums, it’s safe to say that she might as well be a Heartbreaker.

Here are the 11 Best Stevie Nicks Team-Ups:

  1. Stand Back w/ Prince (The Wild Heart)
  2. Stop Draggn’ My Heart Around w/ Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Bella Donna)
  3. Whenever I Call You Friend w/ Kenny Loggins (Nightwatch)
  4. I Will Run To You w/ Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (The Wild Heart)
  5. Leather and Lace w/ Don Henley (Bella Donna)
  6. Magnet And Steel w/ Walter Egan (Not Shy)
  7. You Can’t Fix This w/ Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffe (Reel To Reel)
  8. Too Far From Texas w/ Natalie Maines (Trouble in Shangri-La)
  9. Sorcerer w/ Marilyn Martin (Streets of Fire)
  10. Everybody Loves You w/ Dave Stewart (In Your Dreams)
  11. Twisted w/ Lindsey Buckingham (Twister Soundtrack)

Buy Stevie Nicks new album, 24 Karat Gold…now!!

 

The 11 Best Bands Who Replaced Their Singer

It’s tough to accept a new Alice in Chains album is in stores.  And it’s not really because it’s hard to accept that Layne has been replaced…what is hardest to accept is that it’s finally official that he’s really gone.  He will be missed…but that’s no reason for the band not to go on.  Jerry Cantrell wrote most of the music…and sang on a lot of the songs…so there’s not a very radical departure from their earlier material.  The new singer does a decent job…and the album is overall very respectable to the Layne AIC legacy.

AIC isn’t the first to continue on after replacing their lead singer…here are some of the best…

The 11 Best Bands Who Replaced Their Singer:

1. AC/DC (Bon Scott replaced by Brian Johnson)
2. Van Halen (David Lee Roth replaced by Sammy Hagar)
3. Genesis (Peter Gabriel replaced by Phil collins)
4. Iron Maiden (Dianno replaced by Bruce Dickinson)
5. Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green replaced “eventually” by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks)
6. Deep Purple (Ian Gilliam replaced by David Coverdale)
7. Faith No More (Chuck Mosley replaced by Mike Patton)
8. Judas Priest (Rob Halford replaced by Ripper Ownes)
9. Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne replaced by Ronnie James Dio)
10. lush (Emma Anderson replaced by Miki Berenyi)
11. Killswitch Engage (Jesse Leach replaced by Howard Jones)

Buy the new Alice in Chains now.  Black Gives Way To Blue.