[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

huh???? I'm trying like hell to figure out what you are trying to hypothesize.

Lindsey Buckingham. Twister. Time DOA. How do you see these relating to each other? Where is the conspiracy?

Since you asked, here's my rather long reply.

1. I've heard Lindsey say two different things relating to how he hooked back up with Mick. One time, he said he ran into Mick and another that Mick called him to say "hi." In both stories, Lindsey says that "over the course of the conversation, I could tell that he had gone through a lot of changes. I had done a solo album and gone through my own period of re-invention, so I was in a much better place than when I left the band back in 1987." Lindsey then went on to add some backing vocals on "Nothing Without You" on "Time."

2. Lindsey has been very critical of the writing on "Behind The Mask" and "Time" and about the direction in which the band was going. "I didn't put too much into it because the music was already becoming more generic. When I heard that Dave Mason was joining my initial reaction was, "Oh, that could be good!" But apparently, it wasn't. (Laughs) Then when I heard that they were doing this nostalgia package tour with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benetar, I was like, "What happened?"" Mind you, Fleetwood Mac wasn't touring in support of an album. Mick always said that they were touring to make money and to strengthen their chops.

3. Lindsey's OOTC was, by all counts, a dismal failure. His songs were released as singles. He made videos. The reviews were glowing. He even toured. Of course, he was opening for Tina Turner, but that's part of the story he sort of forgets. In any event, I'm sure he was shocked that a quality album like that would do so poorly. I think he realized that he was going to have a hard time making it on his own and that maybe he needed to be in Fleetwood Mac after all.

4. Of course, there was the now legendary Christine McVie AOL chat. Here are a few clippings from that:

JBatman95 : Do you still interact with other members of Fleetwood Mac?

Christine: Very much so, I have not seen Stevie in a while. I have been recording with John and Mick for the last couple years, and just ran into Lindsey at a club a couple weeks ago and had a good chat.

Gre1440: Give us your perspective on this most recent
incarnation of Fleetwood Mac.

Christine: I find it a bizarre combination of people, but Mick chose Dave Mason... I don't think he is a bad guitar player, but I just don't know how he fits in with Fleetwood Mac... Great guitar player he is, he would not have been my first choice.

MastrPeace: Who would have been your first choice, as opposed to Dave Mason?

Christine: Lindsey Buckingham, I think he was the most superlative guitar player this band will ever have. A true shining light. After Lindsey, everybody else seems a little palid. I'm not talking talent, just chemistry for Fleetwood Mac.

5. Now, here's some stuff from Bekka's website:

In 1995 the Fleetwood Mac's "Time" album is released. Bekka co-wrote two songs for that album. Bekka - "Even before Fleetwood Mac, I listened to Billy's records. I love his songwriting, although he's also my favorite singer. When we finally got together, I realized that we had something that never existed with Fleetwood Mac. They always said I sounded too country and that Billy sounded too country. They'd pull our reins back to a certain extent. There was just a down hominess that Billy and I had on tape that didn't really fit in with Fleetwood Mac. There was Mick Fleetwood in his knickers and Billy in his sequined jacket looking like a cowboy. The stuff I enjoyed singing most fell in line with what Billy was doing on his own".

At the end of 1995, Bekka moved to Nashville, where she and Billy got the attention of Garth Fundis, best known for his production work with Trisha Yearwood. "Mick wanted to take a hiatus, and so did John McVie, so the band broke up at the end of 1995. For Billy and me, it was a great opportunity to push forward with the duo. It opened the door for me to move to Nashville.

We just jumped head first on this. We fell in love with Garth Fundis instantly. He understood what we wanted to do. We've just been plugging our way, writing. The deal with Almo Sounds kind of fell in our laps, but Billy and I had been planning to do a record together for about two years. Previously, we had a commitment to Mick and John, both contractually and as a friendship, so we weren't about to leave them.

But when they broke up, that opened the door for us to do what we really wanted to do -- a duet record." That country album with Billy Burnette from Almo Sounds called "Bekka & Billy",was released in April, 1997 with a certain amount of success.

6. In Rolling Stone RS 772,from Oct. 31, 1997, with the band on the cover, Christine says something like "I told Mick, you can't go on forever," which tells me she quit Fleetwood Mac at some point during the mastering of "Time" and the band's eventual break up.

7. I'm sure the success of "Hell Freezes Over" wasn't lost on any of them. "Out Of The Cradle," "Street Angel," and "Time" were all huge failures. Combined they didn't sell 500K. Their collective careers were in the crapper.

CONCLUSION: During the recording of "Time," Christine met with Lindsey and Mick met with Lindsey. Given his lack of success and his displeasure of the direction of Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey started pressuring Mick to break the band up, with the hopes of a "Rumours" reunion. Lindsey wanted the spotlight, which was only going to happen in the context of Fleetwood Mac. Christine told Mick she was out, and she pressured him to break the band up, as she obviously didn't care for Dave Mason. Then, Bekka and Billy were already planning on doing a country album once their commitment to Fleetwood Mac was finished, which I'm sure wasn't a secret. So, Mick was getting pressure from Lindsey and Christine and was having a hard time keeping Bekka and Billy focused on being part of a rock band. I think if Christine was happy with Dave Mason, and had Bekka and Billy not been "too country" for Mick, Lindsey would have had a MUCH harder time getting Mick to split the "Time" band up. Furthermore, I personally think the pressure was being put on Mick by Lindsey and Christine prior to the release. If "Time" had been a remote success, I seriously doubt Mick would have gone back to the "Rumours" band. My HUNCH is that Lindsey said to Mick at some point "if you split the band up, you can play drums for me." Mick then saw the writing on the wall, and split the band up. I mean, nobody tours for nearly two years and breaks up less than three months after the album is FINALLY released without so much as a short tour. Especially a band known for its live shows like Fleetwood Mac. This is why I say "Time" was DOA.

As for the rest of the “conspiracy,” I think Mick was feeling uneasy about having split Fleetwood Mac up after it had already been done. Lindsey, trying to keep Mick focused, asked Mick about the possibility of getting a bass player for the project. Of course Mick was going to suggest John. Shortly thereafter, Christine just shows up. So 80% of the band was there, and wouldn’t you know it, Stevie magically shows up and has Mick and Lindsey help her with “Twisted.” So, Mick was working with John, Chris, and Lindsey on one project, and Stevie and Lindsey on another so shortly after splitting Fleetwood Mac up. The next step was obvious, and I suspect totally welcomed by all involved. I don’t think that any of these events would have happened if OOTC, SA, or “Time” were successes.