Fleetwood Mac finally find domestic harmony
Fleetwood Mac have often described themselves as a dysfunctional family but, if so, domestic harmony seems to have settled on this brilliant, awkward band in what might well be their final incarnation. The first of two shows in the gargantuan Wembley Stadium was filled with blissfully melodic harmonies and an unusual mood of stress-free bonhomie on stage. Unusual for them, anyway.
Fleetwood Mac gigs have tended to be tense affairs over recent decades, with tangible ego clashes and brittle competitiveness among band members, of which there have been 18 in their 52-year history. The rhythm section of highly animated drummer Mick Fleetwood and barely mobile bassist John Mcvie have been the only
consistent members since their London blues origins (lending the band their names). They remain as solid and groovy as ever, the bedrock of a night of supreme songcraft and musicianship.
The rather more fluid front line has changed again with the departure last year of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, who had effectively been musical director for decades. Buckingham was the ex-partner of vocalist Stevie Nicks, and a power struggle between the two had lent Fleetwood Mac their central tension since the days of divorce masterpiece Rumours in 1977. To get rid of Buckingham at this stage might have seemed the petulant acting out of ancient grudges, but it turns out that the sum is greater than the parts, and the songs are the greatest part of all.
Wembley sang Buckingham’s songs, 70,000 voices raised for a climactic Go Your Own Way, and apparently gave a huge collective shrug at the songwriter’s absence. His name went unmentioned, his presence unlamented. Indeed, an injection of new blood revitalised the whole band in one of the most seamless line-up changes in pop history. I suppose it is a compliment to the range of Buckingham’s skills that it took two stellar musicians to replace him: Neil Finn of Crowded House handled vocals with gusto (and played guitar) and Mike Campbell, of the late Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, offered up an array of dazzling guitar solos (and sang harmony). They both performed with such joy and aplomb that a mood of grace and gratitude spread throughout the ensemble. Without her old sparring partner, Nicks was relaxed, facing towards the smiling Finn whenever they sang together.
Actually, the biggest singalong of the night was for 1986 Crowded House classic Don’t Dream It’s Over, with Nicks taking a verse and duetting on the chorus. “A song like that only comes along once in a million years,” Nicks graciously beamed. “And then I have to follow it with one of my own.” To be fair, Fleetwood Mac have a few solid-gold classics in their canon. Finn accompanied her on a tender, acoustic version of Landslide, a song Nicks wrote at 27 with a refrain fretting about “getting older”. She’s now 71 and her voice sounded fantastic, retaining a bittersweet mix of grit and honey. Nicks took over lead vocals on a version of Black Magic Woman, a Peter Green song predating her era. She turned it into a first-person tale from a scorned woman’s perspective. “Stevie sings the blues!” she exclaimed in triumph, after a gutsy performance interacting with Campbell’s alternately searing and sensitive guitar.
Campbell looked to the manor born, swaggering about in sunglasses, peeling off fluid solos that encompassed original guitarist Peter Green sensitivity as much as Buckingham’s more jagged and nimble style, with plenty of Campbell’s own rock flash. The quartet of Fleetwood, Mcvie, Finn and Campbell blasted through another Green-era song, Oh Well, while Fleetwood exulted in “the lads having a bash”. But there was something tangibly more feminine about this Mac set, with greater emphasis on Nicks and pianist-singer Christine Mcvie, whose own great songs (Little Lies, Don’t Stop) were given plenty of space. A couple of Buckingham standards had been quietly dropped (notably Big Love and Tusk) from a set list nicely balanced between songcraft and showing off.
I feel sorry for Buckingham (who none the less received a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement following his sacking), but honestly felt his slightly frantic presence was not missed at all. The evening’s highlight was a rich, deep version of Gold Dust Woman, Nicks floating about a stage space she was finally able to claim for her own. Sometimes, they say, divorce can be good for the kids.