 Fleetwood Mac Great boot of a studio rehearsal by the 1975 Fleetwood Mac lineup, debuting the talents of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks for all the world to hear. Or at least for this tiny Connecticut audience to hear. The cool thing about this disc is that it captures a band that is about to become absolutely ginormous, but no one present knows that yet. So you get to hear a moment in time when a crowd of people is hearing "Rhiannon" and "Landslide" for the first time. Kind of chilling. The band starts out with a couple of Mac standbys from the previous (sans-Buckingham/Nicks) couple of albums: "Station Man" and "Spare Me a Little of Your Love" – and already you can tell this is a better band. Buckingham's guitar work, Nicks's harmonies: it all just gels. Now, I actually like to listen to those early Fleetwood Mac albums more than the "classic" ones, but that's just because the classic ones are so played out. I would never argue, though, that they are bad albums – they sold millions of copies for a reason. This was a great band, and Who's the New Girl? shows them proving themselves. Highlights are an intense, almost gritty "Rhiannon" (with some different lyrics), the amazing "Landslide" (which seems to stun the audience into silence), and Lindsey's anguished "I'm So Afraid." Buckingham throughout is on top of his game, totally confident yet also aware that he's the new guy. Christine McVie is probably the MVP of the show, smoothly bridging the gap between the old Fleetwood Mac and the new, anchoring things for people who might be scratching their heads and saying "Who the hell is in this band, anyway?" Great three-part harmonies all over the place. The end of Christine's "Don't Give Up" is particularly fantastic, with the Buckingham-Nicks-McVie interplay in full effect. Sound is good (crunchy '75 soundboard), audience noise doesn't get in the way. Well worth seeking out, this one.
Review by Orleans James |