Daily Archives: June 4, 2015

Fleetwood Mac, Reviews, Stevie Nicks, UK Articles

Unutterably thrilling: Fleetwood Mac at the O2 reviewed | The Spectator

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6 June 2015
The Spectator

When they spoke, they made little to no sense, but when they sang and played they came close to perfection, says Melissa Kite

How can Stevie Nicks be 67? Is this possible or has Wikipedia made a mistake?
How can Stevie Nicks be 67? Is this possible or has Wikipedia made a mistake?

Fleetwood Mac
O2

‘I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to get this chance in life,’ said Christine McVie, as the opening jangle to ‘Everywhere’ rang out. Judging by their ecstatic reaction, the audience felt much the same way.

Look, I’ll be honest. I’m not going to give you a dispassionately critical review of Fleetwood Mac, together again in their classic line-up — Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and, for the first time in 16 years, Christine McVie. But then, who would give you that? A puritan arrived on a time machine from the 16th century? A shadow minister for work and pensions? Who could possibly be so joyless as to not enjoy the Mac being well and truly back?

From the minute the fab five wafted on stage and began thumping out ‘The Chain’ in glorious abandon, this was a show that was as near perfection as it is possible to calibrate. It wasn’t just good. It was so good I was jealous of myself for being there.

This was the 82nd gig of Fleetwood Mac’s On With the Show tour, and they delivered an impeccable showcasing of non-stop hits. For such diverse, eccentric talents to come together and gel at all is a miracle. To gel for so long, how does that work? But perhaps that’s the point. The band makes a wonderful sound in the way that only musicians who have been together a long time, gone through fire, and learnt to accommodate each other, can. Continue reading Unutterably thrilling: Fleetwood Mac at the O2 reviewed | The Spectator →

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac, Tour Info, UK Articles

Why we’re excited about seeing Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie at Isle of Wight | The Guardian

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Tim Jonze
Wednesday 3 June 2015 14.00 BST
The Guardian

Those heading for the Isle of Wight festival will see something Mac fans feared they would never see again: Christine McVie’s return after a 16-year absence

McVie (second from left) with the rest of Fleetwood Mac, 1975. Photograph: Sam Emerson
McVie (second from left) with the rest of Fleetwood Mac, 1975. Photograph: Sam Emerson

To listen to Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie speak, you’d never guess she was a member of one of the world’s most successful – not to mention debauched and dysfunctional – bands of all time. Level-headed and prone to understatement when I interviewed her for the Guardian in 2013, she described the songwriting gift that enabled her to knock out such hits as Don’t Stop and Little Lies as follows: “I don’t know what it is really … I think I’m just good with hooks.”

During that interview, she went on to discuss the band’s legendarily gargantuan drug intake without a hint of romance – “Well, I’d be lying if I said I was sober as a judge” – and described the crazy routine the band adhered to at the peak of their success in similar terms: “You look at tennis players; it’s the same kind of thing.”

So grounded can McVie appear that it’s almost surprising that the songs she writes take flight so effortlessly: heartfelt and clear, they’re given extra wind beneath their wings by her pure, songbird falsetto. This summer, those heading to the Isle of Wight festival will get to see her perform them, something many Mac fans feared they would never see again: McVie left the group in 1998, succumbing to a fear of flying and longing for a quiet life in the country; she rejoined in 2014.

She always seemed capable of rising above the tangled love dramas that caused jealously and tantrums among the men

Continue reading Why we’re excited about seeing Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie at Isle of Wight | The Guardian →