Two for the road
Fleetwood Mac is famous for two things: perfect pop and drama. The Mac has sold 100 million records thanks to an astounding catalog of Top 40 singles — they have 18 of them. The British-American sensation also has a history filled with breakups, bad blood and drugs (lots of drugs). But through it all, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham remain close friends.
Sexual tensions may have made “Rumours” a masterpiece, but a lack of tension of any kind has made the duo's debut, “Lindsey Buckingham/ Christine McVie,” a little slice of genius.
“We have no melodrama; we have no baggage; we just got in the studio and worked,” McVie said ahead of the duo's Wednesday show at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion with the Wallflowers. “Lindsey played guitar and I played piano. Lindsey took the reins as a producer, I sat back on the couch and let him do this thing.”
Buckingham's thing is producing distinctive Fleetwood Mac records, so it's no surprise this LP sounds like the pair's band — drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie even acted as the rhythm section on many of the tracks. Aesthetically, it has a sonic freshness and at the same time could have come out between “Mirage” and “Tango in the Night.”
Naturally, Buckingham/McVie will play most of the record on the current tour — they plan to play eight of the 10 tracks. But there will also be Mac hits including “Hold Me,” “Everywhere” and “Go Your Own Way,” and solo songs such as Buckingham's “Trouble.” Currently, McVie's biggest solo hit, 1984's “Got a Hold on Me,” hasn't made the cut.
“Of course nothing is set in stone, and actually, thanks for the reminder,” she said. “We have a 90-minute show and plenty of material.”
For McVie, the tour marks the first time she's performed in public without Fleetwood behind the kit and her ex-husband holding down the bass. The prospect makes her a little nervous, but it's also kind of thrilling.
“I've honestly never played with anyone else,” she said. “And of course the show will lack the flamboyance of Fleetwood Mac; Stevie (Nicks) and Mick have always been the flamboyant ones. But I am very thrilled the way the rehearsals have gone. We have this really good rocking band behind us.”
Just like you, McVie is excited to get back on the road with the whole crew. And she will next year.
“I am trying to make up for the time I lost when I left the band (between 1998 and 2014),” she said. “We start Fleetwood Mac rehearsals in the fall, and I can't wait.”