I bought three out of his first four albums, and Is She Really Going Out With Him and Be My Number Two are both tracks that instantly take me back to my youth when I hear them. His lyrics are good, he covers a range of different styles, and ultimately he's a bit weird. I suppose that's why I quite like him. I also read his his book A Cure For Gravity, which definitely confirms his weirdness, particularly as it only covers his life up to the point where he became famous. An interesting memoir of life in the 70s.
Edit: Joe Jackson that is, I didn't think we'd be on number 2 already.
I bought 'Rumours' but only after buying three or four Stevie Nicks albums (second hand from a bloke selling some other stuff I wanted and I had to buy a dozen albums off him, so Stevie made the number up) and also after hearing Rhiannon a lot on the Juke Box in a pub I used to use. Rumours is a great LP, really liked it, so then bought Tusk, can't say I like it at all tbh. Played it about six times and gave up with it. Don't even know where it is now, probably in the loft.
Anyway, to me the talent in Fleetwood Mac is Buckingham and Nicks, other than that Christine McVie has a nice voice, that's it.
Stevie Nicks I like a lot.
I bought 'Rumours' but only after buying three or four Stevie Nicks albums (second hand from a bloke selling some other stuff I wanted and I had to buy a dozen albums off him, so Stevie made the number up) and also after hearing Rhiannon a lot on the Juke Box in a pub I used to use. Rumours is a great LP, really liked it, so then bought Tusk, can't say I like it at all tbh. Played it about six times and gave up with it. Don't even know where it is now, probably in the loft.
Anyway, to me the talent in Fleetwood Mac is Buckingham and Nicks, other than that Christine McVie has a nice voice, that's it.
Stevie Nicks I like a lot.
Let's see the opinions on various musicians, bands, films, actors, etc etc.
Whoever does one gets to nominate someone else (who has contributed) to start the next one once it's run its course. Or people can volunteer. No jumping in though, wait your bloody turn. And don't pick someone stupidly obscure that no-one has ever heard of. I dunno, we'll see how it runs. Hey, we've got 1,200+ songs on a Spotify playlist, we're pretty good at this
You might learn something, you might have an argument. Who can say!
I'll start. Bonus marks if you do a proper OP, like all the best people.
1. Joe Jackson
David Ian "Joe" Jackson (born 11 August 1954) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. Having spent years studying music and playing clubs, Jackson scored a hit with his first release, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", in 1979. This was followed by a number of new wave singles before he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music and had a Top 10 hit in 1982 with "Steppin' Out". He is associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has also composed classical music. He has recorded 19 studio albums and received 5 Grammy Award nominations.
In 1978, a record producer heard Jackson's demo tape and signed him to A&M Records. The next year the newly formed Joe Jackson Band released their debut album Look Sharp! A mix of rock, melodic jazz, and new wave, it mined a vein similar to that of contemporaries Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. The album enjoyed wide critical success: in 2013 Rolling Stone magazine named Look Sharp! number 98 in a list of the 100 best debut albums of all time. Some commercial success also followed, as the debut single "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" reached the top 40 in 5 countries, and no. 9 in Canada.
The Joe Jackson Band released I'm the Man in 1979. The album followed a similar musical pattern, and received good, though not as strong, reviews. It did produce the single "It's Different for Girls", which became Jackson's highest charting UK single, peaking at no. 5. Beat Crazy followed in 1980. Jackson also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.
In 1981, Jackson produced an album for the British power pop group the Keys. The Keys Album was the group's only LP. The Joe Jackson Band toured extensively until it broke up. Jackson subsequently recorded an album of old-style swing and blues tunes, Jumpin' Jive, with songs by Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and Louis Jordan. The album, and associated single release, was credited to the band "Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive".
Jackson's 1982 album Night and Day was his only studio album to reach either the UK or US Top 10, peaking at No. 3 (UK) and at No. 4 (US). Two singles released from the album, "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two", were US top 20 hits. The tracks "Real Men" and "A Slow Song" referred obliquely to New York City's early 1980s gay culture. "Real Men" also became a top 10 hit in Australia.
By 1984, New York had become Jackson's home base, and he recorded Body and Soul there, an album he later said was "from the point of view of a relative newcomer". Heavily influenced by pop and jazz standards and salsa, it had the US No. 15 hit single "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".
In 1985 Jackson played piano on Joan Armatrading's album Secret Secrets, and in 1986 he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on the single "Left of Center" from Pretty in Pink's soundtrack. Jackson's next album was Big World, with all-new songs recorded live in front of an audience instructed to remain silent while music was playing. Released in 1986, it was a three-sided double record; the fourth side consisted of a single centering groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental album Will Power (1987), with heavy classical and jazz influences, set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind, he put out two more albums, Blaze of Glory (which he performed in its entirety during the subsequent tour) and Laughter & Lust. In 1995, Jackson contributed his version of "Statue of Liberty" on a tribute album for the English band XTC called A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC.
I remember buying Look Sharp! because I liked is she really going out with him? (despite some of it's connotations, I don't think I really picked up on them as a kid) and I liked the shoes on the cover. It's got a great mix of styles and was very different to most of what I was listening to at the time. It's got a huge range of influences packed into one album, there's reggae/ska all the way through it, and loads of Jazz. There's some great songwriting in evidence on there, which was probably why I was a bit confused when he released Jumpin Jive which was at odds with what most of his peers were up to. I think everyone sat up and took note when Night & Day came out, especially when Steppin Out hit the charts, but it wasn't until they broadcast a live show on bbc 2 in the early/mid 80's that i realised the depth of his songwriting talent. A lot of his stuff has really stood the test of time, some of which Ive been looking at in a different light recently, Different for Girls in particular, partly as last I head he was living quite happily in Berlin, mostly as woman. On the whole, I think he's earned his reputation, and his place at the top table. He wrote songs that were both different and memorable, most people of a certain age can rattle of the title of more than one of his tunes, and was never afraid to push the boat out a bit and do something that his fans didn't expect and that no one else was which I think is one of the signs of an artist, rather than just another act
A mixed bag of reaction then - mostly positive but some doubts.
Let's go with number two:
2. Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. They have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1998, select members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Fleetwood Mac was founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Bassist John McVie completed the lineup for their self-titled debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist in 1968. Keyboardist Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician from the second album, married McVie and joined in 1970. At this time it was primarily a British blues band, scoring a UK number one with "Albatross", and also had other hits such as the singles "Oh Well" and "Man of the World". All three guitarists left in succession during the early 1970s, to be replaced by guitarists Bob Welch and Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker. By 1974, all three had either departed or been dismissed, leaving the band without a male lead vocalist or guitarist.
In late 1974, while Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he was introduced to folk-rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac soon asked Buckingham to be their new lead guitarist, and Buckingham agreed on condition that Nicks would also join the band. The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound, and their 1975 self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, reached No. 1 in the United States. Rumours (1977), Fleetwood Mac's second album after the arrival of Buckingham and Nicks, produced four U.S. Top 10 singles and remained at number one on the American albums chart for 31 weeks. It also reached the top spot in various countries around the world and won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-selling album in history. The band went through personal turmoil while recording the album, as both the romantic partnerships in the band (one being John and Christine McVie, and the other being Buckingham and Nicks) separated while continuing to make music together.
The band's personnel remained stable through three more studio albums, but by the late 1980s began to disintegrate. After Buckingham and Nicks each left the band, they were replaced by a number of other guitarists and vocalists. A 1993 one-off performance for the first inauguration of Bill Clinton featured the lineup of Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Nicks, and Buckingham back together for the first time in six years. A full reunion occurred four years later, and the group released their fourth U.S. No. 1 album, The Dance (1997), a live compilation of their work. Christine McVie left the band in 1998, but continued to work with the band in a session capacity. Meanwhile, the group remained together as a four-piece, releasing their most recent studio album, Say You Will, in 2003. Christine McVie rejoined the band full-time in 2014. In 2018, Buckingham was fired from the band and was replaced by Mike Campbell, formerly of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House.
Fleetwood Mac are one of my all time favourite bands, in both incarnations. Peter Greene's Fleetwood Mac still stand as one of, if not the finest blues band this islands ever produced, with one of the greatest rhythm sections of all time led by one of the greatest guitarists of all time. It was Peter Greens guitar playing, and unmistakable tone that set them apart, you wont find many guitarists of any genre, not just Blues who don't tip a hat to Greene's beautifully nuanced playing and his distinctive sound that guitar players have tried to re create ever since. When I treated myself to a Les Paul last year, I had it slightly modified so I could get a little bit closer to it, but without that one of a kind 59' Les Paul in your hands, it simply isn't possible. It was extremely sad that his mental health deteriorated and he all but gave up playing all together. Most people in his position back then would have turned to his guitar and looked to make a nice little nest egg. Instead, he chose to pass it on to a kid from Belfast he'd heard about who he thought would do it justice in the future for the same price he'd originally paid for it, around 300 quid. I was lucky enough to see it's new owner play it live in '85 at the Birmingham Odeon. He spent most of the night playing some modern super strats, but for his final encore, he brought it out to play a song he'd said before the tour he'd never play again as it was like a millstone round his neck. Not only did he play it, he also got his mate and guest vocalist on stage to perform it with him, and it's still one of my most cherished live gig memories, with both now having passed away. For a while, when he sold it after falling on hard times, it reputedly became the most expensive guitar ever bought, and currently resides in Kirk Hammet's hands, who bought it for even more than it's second owner sold it for. This isn't the Odeon gig, but I think it's the same period if not that tour and I think it proves Peter Green was not only an amazing guitar player, he could spot a future one too. I feel incredibly privileged to have seen all three of these on stage at the same time.
Their second incarnation was a totally different beast owing to the addition of an American couple who'd turn them into one of the biggest grossing bands of all time, and produce one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Listening to the single Buckingham/ Nicks duo album produced before joining Mac you could be fooled into thing you were listening to then, such was their influence on the sound of the band. When Rumours hit the stands it instantly became a huge hit, containing some of the most painful and bitter-sweet tracks ever written due to the well documented bed hopping and partner swapping the band had begun to go through. In the clip of them performing go your own way, you can see Stevie Nicks eyes welling up when almost sadistically, she's forced to sing a song written by her long term lover publicly discussing their break up and the reasons why. Even in more recent performances, there are sections of the song where she turns to look over at Buckingham when singing lyrics written and aimed directly at her own reluctance to make their relationship legally binding, and get married. Following a mix of inter relationship mix and match, substance abuse and alcoholism they lost their way a bit for a while, and while there were individual tracks of brilliance, they never really recaptured the whole glory of Rumours before storming back with Tango in the night in the 80s and scoring a global hit with Big Love. As soon as Nicks and Buckingham left the band so did their heart, and despite the attempts of the other band members, they were just never the same again, having peaked with only their second album together. There have been different incarnations in subsequent years with some stars in their own right filling in for missing members, but it was the combination of the all 5 that made them unique. Take just one out of the mix and you have something that resembles what it was, but was never the same. So sadly, while they will always be one of my favourite bands, it's also 2 tales of what might have beens. What if Peter Greene hadn't lost some of his faculties? What if Nick's and Buckingham had got married? What if friends hadn't swapped lovers and what if they'd all just managed to stay friends? But then again, without much of that turmoil, would the music have resonated quite so well with quite so many millions of people?
I also love Fleetwood Mac. From the early incarnation, Man Of The World is one of my favourite songs.
The latter, well Nicks was a real powerhouse of a singer when she wanted to be. And Buckingham is possibly the most under-rated guitarist ever. Easily up there as one of the best there have ever been.
Fleetwood Mac are absolutely fantastic - both early and the better known line ups. I love blues music so I could listen to Peter Green all day, he was a god.
As with the Buckingham/Nicks incarnation, one of my favourite bands. I wholeheartedly recommend the 'Classic Albums' episode when they feature Rumours and reveal just how fucked up the band were when they recorded rumours. I can't imagine having to spend 15+ hours a day in the same cramped room as someone I had only just broken up with. For that to have happened with the majority of the band affected and to come away with such a ridiculously good album is staggering. and Rumours IS a classic - there's not an average track on it.
My better half and I actually got together after discussing Fleetwood Mac and Rumours in particular. She's a massive Stevie Nicks fan, I think Lindsey Buckingham - as with Peter Green before him - is a guitar genius. Wish I could play this:
So yeah - Fleetwood Mac. Fucking brilliant. Only wish I could have seen them live. Never managed to.
Stevie Nicks' nasal droning however makes my ears bleed. I also can't get past Mick Fleetwood and Sam Fox presenting THAT awards show. A couple of OK tracks but not my bag. Joe Jackson I always thought of as a poor mans Elvis Costello. He never reached the height's. Isn't he a giant ? Something like 6 ft 6? Maybe I dreamt that.
Bring on the next group. Please may it not be the Smiths!
I also love Fleetwood Mac. From the early incarnation, Man Of The World is one of my favourite songs.
The latter, well Nicks was a real powerhouse of a singer when she wanted to be. And Buckingham is possibly the most under-rated guitarist ever. Easily up there as one of the best there have ever been.
He makes a guitar sing. He always had a great sound, his finger picking technique always gave him something that set him apart, but when he shifted from an LP to a Turner 1 he really developed his own tone. But as this shows, and I know only too well, you can throw as much money and as much kit at it as you want, if you aint got that thing, you aint got that swing.
As an aside a guitarist magazine were once doing an interview with Dave Gilmour , he allowed the reporter to try his setup, he sounded nothing like Dave Gilmour
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