ZBomber, I humbly bow before your Fleetwood Mac knowledge. They really are a special band with a pretty good variety of work. I don't disagree with ZB's recommendations at all, although I will say that since they are such a tight live band, I would recommend The Dance as in intro instead of the greatest hits disk. Although I'm more of a metalhead at heart, The Dance is one of the best live CD's/DVD's on the market, IMO.
There was also a very good live show they did in the early '80s, if you can find it. I remember seeing it on HBO as a kid, and that was what really got me into the band. They were truly in their prime. I am certain it was never an official release, but I would bet you can find it out there on Ebay or some other outlet.
Thank you sir. And I agree, The Dance is one of my favorite live albums, but the reason I recommended it later is because personally I enjoy knowing the studio counterparts before I listen to the live versions for any band... maybe just so I have something to compare it to. If you don't mind hearing live versions before you know the studio versions, than definietly pick it up now! The versions of Go Insane, Big Love, and Silver Springs on that show are some of the most passionate performances I have ever seen from the band. And as for the show, I think you are talking about the VHS from the Tango in the Night tour... if so I wouldn't recommend it since it was right after Lindsey left the band. Stevie and everyone else is still there, but they needed 2 guitarists to replace Lindsey's fingers/vocals.
And the performance isn't horrible but its also not the greatest
Fleetwood Mac has always been a favorite of mine... and I tend to include their ENTIRE career in that assessment.
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I'd be interested to see who else on this board appreciates the blues years....
As for the earlier incarnations of Fleetwood Mac, they are all pretty good. Oh Well and Rattlesnake Shake are in my top lists of songs (It was great to hear the band play Oh Well this tour!) While I'm not the biggest blues fan in the world by any mean, I really enjoy the style Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac had (plus it paved the way for another one of my favorite bands... Aerosmith). Jigsaw Puzzle Blues and Although the Sun is Shining are also excellent tunes. I know all the songs but I don't tend to listen to this era as much as Buckingham Nicks FM. Still really good stuff, just blues isn't something I'm always in the mood to listen to.
Then like you said, theres the middle incarnation that is very underappreciated. Mystery to Me, Kiln House and Bare Trees are excellent albums. Heroes are Hard to Find is ok, but in my opinion its probably the weakest album before Buckingham and Nicks came along (and also the last!). I also still have not picked up any of the cds from this era... I only have the vinyls. Really, the only incarnation of Fleetwood Mac I don't like is the ones from Behind the Mask and Time (which I've NEVER even heard anyone talk about... the album is so bad I never bought it). Say You Will was the last album released after Lindsey and Stevie rejoined the band, and while the material is ok, I have actually only listened to the whole album once (although some of the songs have been played more than once... such as Bleed to Love Her which I play quite often).
Really, the different incarnations of FM are like completely different bands. Even though the connection is still there through Fleetwood and McVie, the style of the music and most of the musicians are completely different. I didn't bother going into all of this in the original post cause I figured sneakyblueberry just wanted info on the Buckingham Nicks led FM. However, by all means check out their back catalog... you won't hear most of it on the radio (spare maybe a song or two...) but I'd say 85% of the other FM albums/material is worth your time.
Also - They played Storms for the first time EVER this tour! <33 Stevie soundchecked it years before, but they finally played it live, 30 years after its original release.
Absolutely beautiful... Storms was the song that got me into Fleetwood Mac in the first place and I'll never forget the first time I heard it/the time I saw it live.
EDIT - Also, to anyone who says Lindsey can't play with the same emotion as Peter Green... well.... kindly redirect them to this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhTNu6ETd3sI wish there was a copy of that show in circulation... sadly this is the only performance from that day I've seen.
Seemed like an amazing concert.