This chronicle of one of the more durable of the British Invasion bands of the late 1960s will please avid fans and casual readers alike. As the band enters its fourth decade, Fleetwood and Davis ( Hammer of the Gods ) recount the fun, turmoil and triumphs that shaped and, at times, threatened to destroy the group. Despite numerous personnel changes over the years, involvement with drugs, grueling road trips, divorces and reconciliations, the core members of the group--Fleetwood, John McVie and Christine McVie--seem to have the same enthusiasm for music they displayed together as a raunchy blues band playing in London pubs. Anecdotes about the group and its sometimes outrageous performances (on and off the stage) abound, as does commentary about rock stars who pop in and out of the text at unexpected places. Fleetwood emerges as hip and flip and the book is written in an assured, essentially happy tone.
Fleetwood did a masterful job on explaining the insanity of the rock busines. The different people he got the pleasure, and yes pain, of playing with was amazing. His carreer lasted over fifty years. I recommend this book to all.
Okay. Let's talk about Fleetwood by Mick Fleetwood. Frankly, I love all the incarnations of this band, though the later excesses are pretty impossible to reconcile. (If you're like me, hearing Mick Fleetwood try to rationalize spending gobs of money on having Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks' hotel rooms completely redone - meaning painted pink and having a white piano moved in - before their arrival in every city on every tour will make you wanna slap somebody upside the head with a copy of Get In The Van. I mean, seriously, ladies, beige walls at the Sheraton just too much for you to bear? But I digress.) The first half of this book is pretty fascinating stuff if you're into the 60s London scene at all, though, okay, it's no White Bicycles. I'd love to read a more objective/in-depth account of the Peter Green/Jeremy Spencer/Danny Kirwan years, not to mention the Bob Welch era, which I think is really underrated. (Seriously, Future Games. Hot damn.) Still, if you're one of those people who thinks that FM went straight from being a trad blues band to falling under Stevie Nicks' witchcraft spell and becoming the titans of soft-rock overnight, you might find the "lean years" quite enlightening.
The second half gets into all the queasy, sleazy details of the Fleetwood Mac your mother knows and loves. I'd heard a lot of these tales and was still fairly agog, especially with Mick's weird forays into psychotic groupie territory (and boy did I never need to hear the term "veal viper." Ever.) I wish there was more music-nerd stuff about the actual recording of the albums, but this isn't that type of book. Favorite anecdote: Lindsey Buckingham gets drunk during a show on the Tusk tour and starts openly mocking Stevie's dance moves on stage. After the show, Christine McVie bitch-slaps him, throws a drink in his face, and warns him not to ever make this band look foolish again. Considering this book was written right after Lindsey left the band, he's treated fairly respectfully throughout, even when he doesn't necessarily deserve it. (Second favorite anecdote: the late-80s "breakup meeting" where Lindsey's whining about not being appreciated despite being the mastermind of the band was met with Christine reminding him matter-of-factly that, except for "Gypsy" and "Big Love," all of FM's big 80s hits were her songs. Which is true! Dammit, I want a Christine McVie autobiography and I want it now.)
Overall: If you don't mind a narrator who's made and lost obscene amounts of money and thinks he's completely entitled to all of the excesses that fame has afforded him and his band (for example: Mick buys a new Rolex for several thousand dollars, and, a few weeks later, during a moment of "enlightenment" in Africa, seeing that the people around him don't need that much to be happy, he smashes it to pieces.) then by all means, dig right in. If you consider yourself to be one of the 99%, you might want to have a hot shower and a copy of a Ramones record at the ready while you read it, just to cleanse yourself of all the bad Hell-a record biz juju.
(Or Future Games. Seriously. That album is awesome.)
(...Aaaand I think this is the most I've written about any book on Goodreads except for Infinite Jest. Frankly, I'm a little appalled at myself right now.)
Book works its magic for me when drummer Fleetwood discusses the Fleetwood Mac blues band from the Sixties when he played with three (3!)blazing guitarist/songwriters who all faded into darkness and insanity.
The book gets weird when Fleetwood becomes a coke whore, lusts page after page over Stevie Nicks (his drool stains the pages), flaunts the band's wife-swapping antics and brags about screaming at Lindsey Buckingham for trying to quit the band. What a dick!
The book was interesting but Mick totally glosses over anything unpleasant or negative that happened to him and in some cases the band. He comes off mentally stuck at times and almost certainly socially inept. In the beginning he tells us his inability to learn in school and his difficulty concentrating when trying to read. Instead of trying to work at it in order to expand his intellect a bit, he simply gave up. Bottom line, this guy is not very bright and it shows.
It's pretty much accepted that Mick was a very bad coke addict for awhile but he neither mentions it nor even really gets into how out of hand he got on the drug. Guess he thought that story wouldn't fit into an autobiography. Once in awhile he will say how coked up he was but never any background on how the drug affected him or the band. His relationship with Stevie is barely a footnote even though everyone else has talked about it at length. As I read through the book, I got the sense that Mick was insincere at times and uncaring the rest of the time. He screws over the mother of his children by being unfeeling, uncommunicative, and unavailable but defends himself by saying it was all in aid of his ART. Yeah maaaaan. I'm sure your kids loved that excuse. He ends a chapter about how devastated his wife and kids were by saying he buried himself in the music and didn't realize he had hurt anybody until much later when something reminded him that he used to have a wife. His kids are moved away from him and he doesn't even bat an eye. He's worse than an absentee father. He's a sperm donor.
I think Mick is missing some of the components that normal humans have and he's always come off almost sociopathic and uncaring in interviews. He seems borderline retarded or brain damaged at times. Maybe he got the same bad dose of LSD Peter Green did and that's why he's the way he is. But it's like he knows what a normal person is supposed to feel about something painful so he quickly inserts a line or two about how devastating it all was.
Another telling chapter was when Mick, the guy who admitted he was incapable of learning or reading was made FM's manager. He managed to squander an awful lot of money and had no idea where it went. Others have made mention of him smashing an $8000 Rolex after seeing the poverty in Africa. He sees poor people and it doesn't occur to him to try to help them somehow or even give one of them the watch. Bob Geldof he is not. No, instead he just smashes the watch so nobody can enjoy it. I'm sure all the poor, starving Africans really loved him after that. "Yeah this guy really gets it man. He smashed a watch that could have paid for a new house and food for 20 of my closest friends for the rest of their lives. What a great guy that Mick Fleetwood is!"
Mick explains how hurt he was that the band finally got their own managers who quickly realized that an awful lot of money was missing. Mick vaguely says that the money went to "various extravagances." For whom? After all the things he went through with lost wives, kids, and parents, it seems the biggest disappointment in his life was being ousted as FM's manager. This guy really has his priorities straight doesn't he? It's a pity the band didn't get rid of him sooner so they could have actually made some money on the interminable Tusk tour. An exasperated Mick defended himself by saying, "if Stevie wants a pink hotel room with a white piano, what am I supposed to do? Say no?" Well actually, YES. That's exactly what you say. They really must have been coked out of their minds to let the dumbest guy in the band be the manager. I would have given it to Chris or maybe even Lindsey before Mick.
At one point Mick lost eight million dollars and declared bankruptcy. Once again he blames it on someone else. It was the time accountant's bad investments that got him into this mess. It had nothing to do with him buying property he never intended to use, smashing expensive jewelry, or blowing millions on charter flights to Africa, and traveling recording studios. Again, Mick's great character comes out again when he borrows a large sum from Christine McVie and moves in with a friend and then says he really didn't care that much about losing all that money. Later he's pressuring the band to on tour again even though they all have other obligations. He's desperate for more money since he stupidly squandered what he had AGAIN. Mick says that he doesn't care if he's pressuring or causing people stress because HE really needs the money. It's no wonder the band has had so much trouble over the years. One of its members is just completely oblivious to the fact that he's a burden on the others. This man just isn't a nice person.
Another time his dad gets sick unexpectedly so he flies to his hospital room and immediately goes for breakfast with his sister. While he's gone, his dad dies. Mick goes on stage the next day saying "his dad would have wanted it that way." Really? Your dad would have wanted you to just forget about him and go back to work right away?
Toward the end of the book, Mick discusses a girl he met that he calls the Blob. Can you guess why? This section tells us everything we need to know about Mick as a person. An overweight girl wants to get to know him so she devises a way to get to know him over the phone. She assures him she's a rich model who can't get away from her parents so that's why they can't meet in person. Mick claims he fell madly in love with her but once he finds out the truth, he kicks her to the curb. Really great guy eh? Somehow this 7 ft tall, prematurely balding, borderline retarded giant thinks he deserves a rich, blond 18 year old girl and is somehow attractive and charismatic enough to land one. I felt horrible for the girl because she knew going in that Mick wouldn't give her a second look if he knew what she really looked like. Yet she was smart, funny, and charming enough to make him fall for her. Unfortunately her fears about Mick's shallowness were confirmed. Sadly, Mick tried to absolve himself of any wrongdoing by trying to paint a portrait of a mentally unstable girl. No Mick. Just a girl who wanted you to like her for her not for the way she looked. After that chapter, the verdict was in. Mick will forever be labeled a shallow jerk who cares only about himself, his ART, and of course, the finer things in life.
There are certainly more honest and in depth books about FM than this. Maybe written by someone who is actually literate and remembers some of the important things that went on?
As far as I'm concerned he's the luckiest man in the world. He's a decent enough drummer but I don't think he's really the reason the band became such a success. Take a gander at the number of records sold before Lindsey and Stevie and after. That should tell you everything you need to know about who should take the credit. Hint: Mick was there the entire time so it ain't him. Especially considering his lack of songwriting ability. At one point he pats himself on the back for not taking any publishing fees. Why should you? You didn't write anything that made any money! His solo foray in Africa went exactly nowhere and made exactly no money despite him dumping a ton of cash into getting it made. I've no idea why nobody around him tried to talk him out of giving $100,000 to some random African producer just because he asked for it. Did Mick really think people would be interested in African music by itself? There's a way to incorporate African rhythms and still make it palatable to a Western listener. Paul Simon has the formula. Mick's musical instincts are nonexistent so once again he threw away money.
Bottom line: a lot of this book seems exaggerated to absolve the author of any wrongdoing. He often plays the victim and in hindsight, claims to have tried his best to avoid any trouble in the band. Whether anything he says is actually true is debatable.
Despite the fact that I am only a casual fan of the most successful version of Fleetwood Mac (I find the era prior to Stevie and Lindsey joining much more engaging musically), I found the book kept my interest invested throughout, and Mick's prose was consistently candid and honest, warts and all.
Just a group of people sleeping with one another and doing drugs and makin music. If you are expecting a lot of music talk you’ll be disappointed. This is mostly stories relating to the dynamic of the group. It’s a stereotypical rockstar lifestyle. #expand
Over the past year, Fleetwood Mac have become one of my favourite bands of all time. My girlfriend gave me this book for my birthday and I absolutely devoured it. I took my time reading it slowly, taking in all the details and flipping back to previous events and photos once in a while.
It is an amazing account of the history of the band and all of its members (up until 1990, when this was written), mostly from the point of view of drummer Mick Fleetwood. Stephen Davis has edited the book to make sure it is readable and coherent, and provides some quotations that showcase the viewpoints of other band members and crew, and some outsiders. Reading about the history of Fleetwood Mac—from its inception as a British Blues group through their difficult start in the US, all the way to their dramatic drug-hazed pop-rock era, demise, and resurgence in the '80s—was an amazing experience.
The only two points of criticism I have are the pacing of the book, which is slower and more elaborate than some readers might like, and the question whether Fleetwood is completely honest about everything. There are some episodes in the band's past that have been described by others or outsiders in a different way from how they are described here, and I'm not sure if the history of the band as a family with Fleetwood as the ever-loving but stern father is always accurate.
An interesting but dated (1990) read on one of the top rock bands (& one of my personal faves) of the '70's, from it's inception as blues band with guitarist Peter Green to the then present Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks era. Lot of insight into the creativity, turmoil & personal clashes of the individual members. And the glue & camaraderie that held them together as a band.
There is no authorized Fleetwood Mac biography out there and MIck is the only member who has written his own autobiography. Even though this is over twenty years old, I wanted to read it because I trust what he says over any unauthorized biography AND he was there from the very beginning. I'm a sucker for biographies and music history and I found this one to be really interesting and fairly well written. He should put out another addition and write about the past twenty years because I know a lot has happened in that time. One of the things that surprised me the most is that none of the most popular members of Fleetwood Mac (and those that are in the band today) ever became coke addicts or that none of them died of an overdose. It's a shame what happened to Peter Green and some of their original members because I do love that old Fleetwood Mac music. Of course, there was lots of gossip and drama in this book to read about too. I had no idea that Mick and Stevie had had an affair. There was so much going on with all of the people in this band that it's a miracle they made and continue to make such amazing music. I'm glad for it, though!
Reading about the production of Rumours was the highlight of this book for me. It is a pretty good narrative of Fleetwood Mac but focuses a lot on the early years. Also, Mick Fleetwood is obsessed with Peter Green but I'm obsessed with Stevie. So next time I read a Fleetwood Mac tell-all I'm going to make sure it focuses more on her.
The plan, you see, was to read Play On, Mick Fleetwood's most recent autobiography (there's a phrase for the modern era). Only, when shopping for it, I happened upon Fleetwood as well. Which came first. Which meant, really, I ought to read this first. In the same way that if you're going to get into Fleetwood Mac, start with the Peter Green era and work your way up from there. It's how the beast evolved, and there's some great stuff from the late 60s you shouldn't miss. So of course the books should follow the same pattern... Then there's the co-writer. Stephen Davis. I knew I knew the name. And sure enough a quick peruse of the ol' shelves revealed he'd co-written Aerosmith's Walk This Way. Which is a belter of a rock biog. So all will be well with the world. Only... You see, there's a problem here that I only became aware of when I finished this book. Davis also brought us Hammer Of The Gods, the frankly terrible Led Zeppelin book that no one should ever have to read. And sadly, in the late 80s, this was the Davis Fleetwood happened upon - presumably trusting his much vaunted instincts. The same instincts that led him to hire a guitarist who then slept with his wife. But hey, we all make mistakes... And to be fair, Mick's made more than his fair share. And recounts them all here, with no apparent thought about how it would me him look. He can't remember which town he was playing in when his first daughter was born, but he can remember the names of the films being shown in the two porn cinemas either side of the studio used in the latter stages of Rumours' recording. He can also happily recall all the women he fell in love with - and the women he was in a relationship with when Cupid's car crash came calling. He also seems blissfully unaware of the effects of cocaine. He bangs on about them spending weeks trying to find the right note on the piano, the prefect drum sound. Weeks. Never occurs to him that the band were so strung out on blow that they could probably taste colours and see bee farts. Mick, to be fair, is just an old hippy. He hasn't changed his views or his rambling burblings in (at the time of the book) 20-odd years. Sadly, Davis is not the man to bang the words into shape. This is, after all, the man who wrote "It was a matter of keeping ones ear's open". How the book didn't get slung across the room at that point is testament to my affection towards Mick's band. And that's actually what kept me going throughout this book. You see, the later 80s was really where I started shaping my taste in music, and Tango In The Night was one of the albums I got hooked on. From there it was a short journey backwards through Mirage, Tusk, Rumours and Fleetwood Mac to the old blues era of Peter Green. The you get into the stories of how the albums were made - and frankly every documentary tells the Rumours story much better than Mick does. So I fell in love with Fleetwood Mac the way Mick falls in love with women who inexplicably get hold of his phone number. And it's that affection — and that alone — that kept me going through the book. Mick comes across as a buffoon, frankly. Treats women badly, no idea how much money he's pissing away on cars and houses, and left clinging to the band as it's the only thing he's got that actually makes him money. I went into the book quite liking him. I just about came out of it still loving the music. And they didn't cover The Brits...
Written way back in 1992, this quite short and overpriced piece of memorabilia was released in time for their twenty five year reunion. Given that this was the case, this reader thought that there would be alot better memorabilia out there that would also be cheaper. Ultimately, this reader thought that it rated two stars because of the price; There were no colour photo's and there was distinct lack of details about the band from 1982 to 1990. At a whopping 17.99 pounds sterling or $47.33 US, this hard back copy would be probably only for hardcore Fleetwood Mac enthusiasts or for complete lovers of music. Also, given that it is predominately a pictorial memoir of mainly the early years of Fleetwood Mac at only 146 pages, with a whopping 50 pages of discography, it is way way too brief.
In some ways, it actually complimented Carol Ann Harris's, "Storms" (2007) because Ms Harris filled in many of the details that were lacking in this, 'My 25 Years In Fleetwood Mac' by Mick Fleetwood. It covered the early years of the Mac as a blues group with the likes of Clapton, John Mayall, rubbing shoulders with Peter Green (the founder) and then the revolving door that made up the Mac up until 1974 when Lindsey Buckingham and then his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks joined the band. This reader thought "Storms' was a much better read than this, but the purely black and white photography was done pretty well. Also, it really enlightened this reader on how Lindsey and Stevie met then the trio of Mick Fleetwood, Christine and John McVie. But, by itself you could easily find something better to read and at a lot cheaper price.
The more this person thinks about the problems with his own edition, the less he is enthused with how many stars to give it. On this persons' edition, for example, Stephen Davis wasn't mentioned anywhere in the book. Which left this reader pondering who-else wrote it because it wasn't in first person tense (from Mick Fleetwood) when, in fact, it named Fleetwood in person and used third person tense. So, this reader knew that someone else had inked at least some of the dialogue, but the question remained, who? This person thought, it was rather amiss of the produces of the book (or at least my copy) not to include the name of the OTHER writer in the book.
Firstly, I’m a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, from the days before Buckingham and Nicks were hired. Fleetwood covers the early Mac days, fleshing out their various guitarists and their styles and interests. I would have liked more details about Bob Welch, but perhaps Fleetwood didn’t know him that well. I learned more about the pre-Mac and early Mac music of Christine McVie, my favorite band member. Fleetwood quotes numerous quips by John McVie, his bestie, as well as detailing John’s work with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. There is much about the Rumours and Tusk albums, which is now (35 years later) well known to fans, and somewhat toned down compared with other accounts. There’s not much about Lindsay Buckingham. Written in 1990, the book ends where Buckingham leaves the band before the Tango in the Night tour.
Alas, poor Mick himself, at age 43, comes off as none too bright in relationships or money matters. He seems the worst possible choice for band manager, but probably no one else wanted to do it and they didn’t trust an outsider. He wrote Fleetwood after personally going bankrupt. His obsession with Stevie Nicks, while married with children to another, lasted only till shortly after they started their affair. Then, he took up with her (married) best friend Sara (about whom she wrote the song). He not only left Stevie but chummed around on tour with Sara, previously Stevie’s on-tour companion. His all-time stupidest move was when he was in Ghana to record some music. Noticing his new Rolex and feeling his cultural disparity with the local poverty, he smashed the watch. Why not give the watch to the Ghanan musical director or sell it and give him the cash? OY!!
But I did enjoy the book and learned quite a bit. While reading, I liked listening to Youtube tracks by the various artists who influenced band members’ styles, as well as old FM recordings. I hadn’t seen many of the B&W photos before. A worthwhile read for Fleetwood Mac fans, especially those who remember or have discovered their early music.
A birthday present from mom, who carefully researched the reviews and found that this biography was considered the best, for a matter-of-fact personal account of what it was like to be a musician in England in the sixties and seventies, and what it was like to be in Fleetwood Mac and all its eras. Although different from the kinds of books I am used to, it really fed my imagination as to the wildness of the rock and roll times, and of England. From all night live shows, to Harold the vibrator and then to musicians lost to religious cults - quite a lot of content. Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band, making music I find mystically musical, wonderful rocking, and individualistic, and I've been careful to never put them up on pedestals. This telling of the band is quite candid, which I appreciate. I'd read again, for the stories, but also as a reference for the discography of the band, as well as for education of the different musical influences the band has had. The last book of my reading challenge for 2020, finished in the afternoon. Adieu, 2020.
I just read Gold Dust Woman, and it seems like much of what is in that book was copied & pasted into this one.
Mick falls in love easily, and has no shame about it, which is sweet. He’s a fool for the women he loves. But he gets himself in trouble because he can’t stop falling in love with new women when he’s already supposed to be in love with his wife or current girlfriend. He even fell in love with a voice on the phone for eight months & left his girlfriend for her, hired a private dick to locate her, and found out she was a nutbar who probably shouldn’t have been living outside the confines of the local laughing academy.
The strength of this book is all the stuff about Mick’s musical history—he joined this band, he played with those people, etc.
It’s an entertaining read, even with the parts that felt copied & pasted. I just skipped all that & stuck to the new information, and there was enough of that to keep me engaged.
The band is amazing. Each member is wonderfully talented, creative, and driven to produce a great sound. Underneath all that energy, thrilling music and performances was a group of individuals who did and did not get along, who cheated on each other, who argued and fell into divisions and then would reconnect to produce enduring music. I really enjoyed reading this book because though I knew the music of this British band I knew little about the members. As expected, they had their ups and downs. I was disappointed and grew weary of their stories of drug use and denigrating one another. Their music is harmonious, but their relationships were not and yet they performances are incredible.
insanity galore, back room dealings. Mick and Eric Clapton were friends early as they were dating sisters. if you like the old blues based FM, then you will like this the rattlesnake shake refers to him, "i know this guy named Mick", about his masturbation the old red british car that mick was pictured in was in his fleetwoods store in lahaina, maui. store burned to a crisp, i just hope the car was removed prior to the calamity. i was at the restaurant and store day before hawaii closed done because of covid. i have a hawaiian news paper cover, headline, tourism closed. i never warmed up to the modern FM with lindsey and stevie, but if you did like them, then get the buckingham nicks release done just before they joined.
I really did not think this book to be a masterpiece, writing wise, but I enjoyed it a lot nonetheless. A lot of my enjoyment probably stems from the fact that I love Fleetwood Mac and I also really like Mick, so the parts that weren't about the Mac were still interesting to me ?
I see why people who are only interested in a certain lineup of the band might get bored reading this, because it's really not very focused on a certain time period. Anyways, solely based on the book this would probably be a 3 stars for me, but Mick get's a bonus star just because he's a cool dude.
This was a interesting read about a group I only knew with the lineup of Mick, John, Christine, Stevie and Lindsey. I knew of Bob Welch’s connection, but was not about others. The way Mick’s life intertwined with so many and how the band evolved, both musically and professionally. Makes fans appreciate exactly how bands of yesterday are still around and better than “groups” of today.
Hard to rate this book because it’s a biography of a band and a biography of albums. I was hoping for more of the steamy stories, but it was an interesting book. I think my musician husband would love it.
4 Again, I wanted more dirt from reading a book about Fleetwood Mac but it was still good and entertaining better than cash by Johnny Cash but it was still a really good book honestly and interesting so maybe a 4.2