You can go your own way, but you better be home soon…
April 11, 2018 by 6 Comments
In incredible news in the world of music, Kiwi-Aussie legend Neil Finn has joined one of the biggest bands of all time, Fleetwood Mac, after their guitarist and one of the band’s creative forces, Lindsay Buckingham, was sensationally fired.
Now in this age of Trump, firing people with important jobs on short notice has seemingly become de rigueur, but thankfully it’s still a relatively rare occurrence in the AFL.
Most recently, both Fremantle (Out: Mark Harvey In: Ross Lyon) and Carlton (Out: Brett Ratten In: Mick Malthouse) caused shocks. Norm Smith getting the boot only to be replaced by 50 years of bad luck and rubbish performances must be up there. Let us know your standouts from the footy realm.
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The old “I quit”, “You’re fired” argument.
Lindsay was replaced by Neil Finn and Mike Campbell, w two great guitarists, maybe they’ll blow the cobwebs off this beauty: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TDpiA2r8jtg
Lindsay’s got the bullet and new member Neil Finn will need to concentrate on his guitar playing in a band noted for its somewhat complicated interpersonal romantic love-hate polyhedra*. I’m not sure that Albatross (the “beauty” mentioned above) will feature on the set list. Arguably the ultimate instrumental, Albatross was all down to the genius of Peter Green and his guitar (with some wonderful drumming by Mick Fleetwood) when Fleetwood Mac was basically a brilliant British blues band prior to the change of personnel that saw them evolve into a soft rock consortium of indulgence that made squillions. OK, they went their own way and recorded some great songs too but nothing that comes close to Love That Burns or Oh Well or Black Magic Woman or Albatross.
As Don Walker said of Albatross in his autobiography Shots, “Was there ever a more beautiful human creation? The sound of oceans tapped from the depths of a naked heart. Peter Green’s goodbye note as he turned his back on insanity.”
* Bass player John McVie married Christine Perfect who joined the band and became Christine McVie but this all went pear shaped when Christine had an affair with the band’s lighting engineer then Americans Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were enlisted in the absence of the conflicted Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer who had left to join a cult after which Lindsay and Stevie split up and Stevie then embarked on an affair with drummer Mick Fleetwood who had divorced his wife Jenny, sister of Patti Boyd who was married to George Harrison and then Eric Clapton who probably wishes he had composed Albatross.
Check out the original Fleetwood Mac playing blues in Chicago with Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Walter Horton and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1UADM5QU0
Could this be the end of Fleetwood MacDonalds??
Seriously though, all due respect to Lindsay. Without him there’d be no theme song to National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Also, Peter, with regards to some of their great tunes (in case you’re unfamiliar with these but perhaps not) FM did a very solid version of Otis Rush’s “Homework” and teamed up with the great blues pianist Otis Spann for the album “The Biggest Thing Since Colossus” – the track “Walkin'” is about as far removed from Tusk as you’d hope it to be.
Thanks Adam. Kindred spirit.
All of those tracks recorded in Chicago at Chess are brilliant, including the out-takes with the old bluesmen sounding a bit bemused at times but obviously enjoying making music with the younger upstarts who could play a bit.
I just got a new copy of John Mayall’s ‘A Hard Road’, as my previous CD and vinyl copies were a mess due to much much playing – particularly the track The Super-natural, which is an excrutiatingly beautiful Peter Green instrumental track, and anticipated Albatross and other wonderful PG stuff. Yes that was the great Fleetwood Mac.
Yes, yes. The Supernatural.
Exquisite. The way he sustains the note.
Gary Moore does a very good cover on Blues for Greeny, apparently using Peter Green’s guitar.
Enjoy the new un-frisbeed A Hard Road.
John Mayall’s new album Three For The Road is pretty good too – recorded at the age of 83.