Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters (10)

by Sean Egan

Fleetwood Mac was a triumph from the beginning—their first album was the UK’s bestselling album of 1968. After some low points—when founder Peter Green left, some fans felt that the band continuing was sacrilege—Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined, and their 1977 album,  Rumours , became one of history’s immortals, a true classic that remained on the charts for years and in the public's affection forever.

In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. This collection of interviews across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac’s career features articles from such celebrated publications as  Crawdaddy ,  New Musical Express ,  Circus ,  Creem ,  Mojo ,  Goldmine ,  Classic Rock ,  Blender , and  Elle , as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print. Here is the only place you can learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members’ own mouths.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Memoir

448 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2016

About the author

A freelance journalist, author and editor who writes about arts and entertainment (music, film, TV, comics and literature), social history (20th and 21st centuries) and sport (soccer and tennis history).

Reviews

[Ellie Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

the "rumours five" ranked by how much you should trust that they're telling the truth in any given interview:
5. aka dead last, lindsey buckingham
it's a race to the bottom for lindsey and stevie, both of whom have a tendency to say something and then directly contradict themselves a year down the line. still, lindsey's the worst offender for things like "stevie and i will not be taking interviews in the same room but you shouldn't read anything into that" and also for throwing any band member under the bus at any moment. one point in his favour is that you get the sense that he would much rather be talking about music than group infighting, but that's no excuse to just lie all the time
4. stevie nicks
stevie's interesting because she comes across as the most open and candid of the bunch, but is also constantly lying. good for her
3. mick fleetwood
his contradictions tend more towards changing opinions and seeming errors in memory, but i still don't trust him
2. john mcvie
if you barely talk to the press you can't get caught out in repeated lies. good technique, john
1. christine mcvie
it says a lot that i trust her leagues more than anyone else in the band and yet i still can't say i'm 100% sure she's telling the truth. maybe more of a 75%. regardless, she seems like a cool lady and most of her inconsistencies are lies of omission rather than what i've decided to call "doing a lindsey". you get the sense that, like john (and lindsey), she'd rather not be talking about most of it, and i can definitely respect that

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want to listen to "Rumours" on repeat forever. I love Fleetwood Mac and didn't realize how little I knew about them before I read this. I didn't know they were half-British, had been around forever, and that Mick Fleetwood was twice married to Jenny Boyd, sister of Patti Boyd, ex-wife of George Harrison (later to be married to Eric Clapton, who also had close ties to early members of Fleetwood Mac). I also want to listen to "Tusk" more, as that is apparently the album that kept Lindsey Buckingham from leaving the band sooner. The band has such an interesting dynamic and I love reading the interviews with different members. I really admire them for getting back together as many times as they have and continuing to play into their later years. I love Stevie Nicks and thought her contributions to the interviews were always heartfelt. The members all seemed to be very honest and open about their complicated relationships, and that is probably something that comes across in their music and what makes their music relatable. Recommended to anyone who is a Fleetwood Mac fan but doesn't know much about their history. Very well put together.

[jada mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

hey zo,

they should write a show about this band.. oh wait

-jada

[Julie Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I consider myself only slightly more than a casual listener of Fleetwood Mac - say, slightly more than the average American, but not a serious follower. There were some interesting tidbits in this book, and I definitely enjoyed the behind-the-scenes insider information. My 3-star rating was that low due to the sheer level of repetition. It became tedious to read as the same stories were retold a few times in original articles about the band and their music... and then by the *multiple* musicians themselves. A good editor could have eliminated some of that problem.

Overall, though, it was fun and I'd recommend it to Fleetwood fans. Andrea, you're up next. :)

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, esp. for huge fans of Fleetwood Mac, and maybe, ONLY for huge fans of Fleetwood Mac. Most of the books/articles I read these days do not contain any new gossip or stories or insights, but Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac does. A large portion of the interviews and articles focuses on the Buckingham/Nicks and beyond eras of FM, which may annoy some fans. My digital copy did not have photos, and that was a little disappointing, so if the hardcover does, I will definitely purchase for my collection.

P. S. Thanks much to Edelweiss for the ARC!!

[Rudy Buehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of the Mac will appreciate this book because of how much of it is in the band’s own words. Reading it as a chronology of their history and their changing views on the music and each other is the real treat. The difficulty is that because it’s a collection of articles, there’s not one voice as the narrator and it can become repetitive at parts as interviewers find themselves asking the same questions over and over again. The Chain that can’t be broken is the belief in the band and the love of the music. Fleetwood Mac, Don’t Stop.

[Juliann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heads up first, this is a collection of reprints and transcripts of articles and interviews all previously published elsewhere - so if you are expecting something new, or new quotes, don't be disappointed and don't give low rating because of that!!!

If you appreciate the research and compilation efforts of the author, it's a fun read, because of the organization of the articles has been done to tell a story rather than to be strictly chronological. While it's full of quotes you've likely heard before if you follow Fleetwood Mac even slightly, it's fun to see them in context. Especially interesting for US readers is the collection includes articles from overseas that were likely only quoted by US magazines at the time they were published, so you get to read the rest of the story. Often the one quote that the US press seized and repeated was not even relevant to the article itself. it's also entertaining to see their comments and tone when talking to the press over time - when you read a string of interviews back to back that were done 10 years apart, you see what changes and what doesn't .

[Anna Ziel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ranking the Rumours 5 based on who I would trust watching my drink:
5. Lindsey Buckingham: Listen, I’m not anti-Lindsey, but…
4. Mick Fleetwood: I feel like it would be a joke gone wrong.
3. John McVie
2. Stevie Nicks: She would bewitch me, for sure.
1. Christine McVie: I would also trust Chris with my life.

I intended just to read a few articles from this anthology, but found myself returning to the beginning and reading most of them. By the end, each article’s recap of the Rumours soap opera does get pretty repetitive, but it’s still a pretty comprehensive look at the band’s tumultuous evolution from the 1960s on.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a weird one to rate simply because of its format. The interviews collected here are interesting, if somewhat repetitive... but if you're here for the drama (which, to be honest, I was) there's plenty to learn in this one. It was so nice to read their own voices all in one place and put them together as people. I read this over a long time, just a few articles at a time, and I will admit I skimmed some of it because I simply wasn't interested, but altogether this is a great collection!

[Zoe Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Fleetwood Mac, and was looking forward to reading this. You might not get much out of it if you are a casual listener of the band, but it is great if you are obsessed like me :) Some parts were extremely repetitive, but the majority of the book was very interesting, and I'm glad I read it.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slow read for me. The style (a series of interviews that I found very repetitive)
was as advertised by the title but not one that I prefer. There are a number of other books about Fleetwood Mac that I might enjoy more.

That being said, I found myself stopping and listening to a number of songs referenced in the book and learned quite a bit about their origins and their messages.

[Kaylee Barnett · Rating 2 out of 5]

honestly mad respect for christine mcvie. she lived the rockstar life and then decided she was done and wanted to go live with some dogs. i admire the setting of firm boundaries.

otherwise this was just repetitive and made me hate lindsey buckingham more than i already did. i didn’t need over 400 pages to reinforce my opinions!

[Gato Negro · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading interviews with and magazine articles about Fleetwood Mac, you will enjoy this. It's a great retrospective on the band in all its iterations.

[tia lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but got pretty repetitive by the end.

[Steve Wolcott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of music magazine interviews from the bands decades long career. Not always the best writing nor an objective look at the band.

[Elinor Hurst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting titbits but it was somewhat repetitive due to the nature of the format.

[Maggie Kate Zaifert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good but it was a little redundant at points.

[geneva ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book , featuring a grand collection of interviews and articles about, well, Fleetwood Mac spanning from the early 1970s all the way to about 2014. Not particularly enthralling, but very interesting and useful for research purposes!

[Adeline Lutts · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus and interviews fall heavily on the later years of the band. Fine for some fans, however I was disappointed, hoping for more context for the early years.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like the music journalism equivalent of a greatest-hits album — a collection of interviews covering most of the familiar anecdotes dedicated Mac fans have already heard, plus a few rarer gems and a handful of previously-unpublished pieces. It's arranged chronologically, starting with the early Peter Green days and ending with Christine McVie's triumphant return in 2013. The collection is occasionally repetitive, but that's probably to be expected — with the band members often giving multiple interviews around the same time to promote the same album, material was bound to be repeated. The book generally manages to move on before any one time period becomes too overdone, but it's still best read in bits and pieces. The editorial notes before each article are occasionally obvious or unnecessary, but mostly do a good job of placing each interview and tying the collection together. More casual fans may not care enough to stick around for the entire book, but I'd recommend it for obsessives like myself.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinating but there was a ton of repetition as it was mostly interviews and magazine articles with and about the band from the mid-70s through 2013. I found myself skimming just to get through it. You can only read about Stevie/Lindsey or Christine/John and their break ups so many times.

[Dona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this rich history of a classic band! This book is beautiful in design and layout, and it's packed with revelations and reflections from extensive interviews with band members. I love how the interviews start in 1967 and continue all the way to 2014.

I received a copy of the book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I give it five stars as a rating. Highly recommended for readers who are interested in Fleetwood Mac, any successful band, or music from the past five decades.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good chronicle of the thoughts and stories about regarding and regarding to various band members throughout the years, particularly the Rumors five. Some stories get retold but that's as to be expected. The only minor quibble is I wish they had more early 80's and mid 90's interviews. Very minor quibble though, most eras get covered nicely
though. Def worth picking up if you like the band (duh).

[Kris Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of writings about the band over time. Not quite what I wanted to read. I found the book after reading Daisy Jones and the Six. I wanted to learn more about the music scene and the musicians of this era. I guess primary sources, writings from critics and interviews compiled chronologically should have fit the bill, but I wanted more of a narrative through line. Informative but not captivating .

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

This book offered a more intimate look into the lives of Fleetwood Mac. It is so much more interesting than a normal book about them because it is from them. Fleetwood Mac stories from Fleetwood Mac. This is a book that any Fleetwood Mac fan should definitely read!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd rate this more a 3.5. The middle articles were quite repetitive and really dragged, but last 100 pages were pretty interesting as they were more open to candidly talking about their drug use and relationships since more time had passed.