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4 OUT OF 5 AIN’T BAD
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It’s not unusual for a band who have managed to build a substantial career for themselves to lose a key member or two along the way. And no one knows more about that than Fleetwood Mac, who lost two frontmen (Peter Green and Bob Welch) and then went through a radical transformation when what had been a British blues-rock outfit hooked up with a couple of Californians (Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham) in 1975. The result became the band’s best-known line-up, with founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie laying down the foundation for the singing, songwriting, and infighting of Nicks, Buckingham, and Christine McVie. With the addition of plentiful drugs and massive egos, Fleetwood Mac became the quintessential ’70s California rock band. With the excesses of the ’70s behind them, Fleetwood Mac have made a respectable comeback over the past decade. But they’ve also had to weather yet another personnel storm as keyboardist Christine McVie has retired from touring, leaving the rest of the band to soldier on without her at performances like last week’s show on Wednesday, September 24, at the FleetCenter. Though the majority of the Fleetwood Mac catalogue stood up well in her absence, the material from their latest, Say You Will (Warner Bros.), paled in comparison to the classic hits. And even some of those hits had their problems. Early sound difficulties marred "The Chain," and as well executed as the individual parts of "Dreams" were, Nicks’s signature whirls and gesticulations came across as a bit forced and soulless. Indeed, it wasn’t until the band broke down into smaller configurations that the show gained any real momentum. Buckingham’s solo delivery of "Big Love" showcased his virtuoso fingerpicking guitar style to good effect, and he was joined by Nicks for a lovely rendition of "Landslide" marked by soaring harmonies and a concluding hug that looked so choreographed it could have come from an American Idol highlight reel. Unfortunately, whenever the set seemed to be hitting its stride, a new tune would trip up the band. There were still plenty of high points, like Buckingham’s energetic "Go Your Own Way," and low ones like Mick Fleetwood’s drum solo during "World Turning." Nothing new there. Christine McVie’s absence was less sorely felt in the area of instrumentation (finding a fill-in keyboardist to play her parts was no problem) than it was in the set list, which omitted some of her key contributions to the Mac catalogue in favor of tunes like the Nicks solo hit "Stand Back."
BY TOM KIELTY
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