It is said that if anyone only possesses 11 albums, one of those albums will be Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Since I possess many multiples of that number, it's no surprise that I have it. It's a beautiful album. It was written and performed by a tightly-knit group, who could practically feel each others thoughts and moods.
Fast forward to Tusk, a cocaine-fuelled adventure in self expression and I think we have the piece that Fleetwood Mac will be remembered for in 200 years time. It cost a phenomenal amount of money to produce. The personal lives of the performers were in tatters; marriages and relationships of many years standing were in ruins, but somehow Lindsey Buckingham and the band managed to put together a masterpiece. Mick Fleetwood once said that the band is a rhythm section (himself and John McVie) accompanied by anyone who could handle being a part of something that is bigger than any musician. Watching the band on stage shows the different characters at play. Mick and John look totally relaxed, enjoying themselves hugely. Christine McVie doesn't appear to be putting too much effort in and lets the keyboards do the work, her crystal clear voice filling the moment when called upon to do so. And then Buckingham and Stevie Nicks put on a performance that screams of desperate, unfulfilled love, an opportunity missed, a moment passed. The passion of their performance speaks volumes. They seem not so much to be singing to each other, as pouring out their hearts to each other, and all the time with a realization that there is no going back, that what has gone, has gone...forever.
Fleetwood Mac is one of the great bands, yet somehow flies under the radar. Many of the people who have the 11th album would forget to mention the band if they were called upon to name their top ten. For me, they are up there with Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. THE greats, those who cannot be, and never will be, replaced, those who musical history will never forget.
