Fleetwood Mac's 'The Dance' ten years later...

Keeping with a few of the retrospective threads we have seen on the board as of late, it dawned on me today when on my iTunes came The Dance version of "Go Insane" that it was ten years ago this summer that the Rumours line-up got back together.

I was really into this reunion in '97 and saw them twice, in Philadelphia and in Atlantic City. Both shows were really, really well delivered and the crowds were large and enthusiastic.

I thought the DVD was terrific, but I was never happy with the sound of the CD. Does it sound a bit muddy to anyone else?

Was the project a worthy one and did all of the group members live up to expectations? What were your personal highlights and disappointments in regards to The Dance? I'll also be curious to see how many were upset that Buckingham couldn't deliver the songs in the same key as he did back in the day, what with all the fuss about that in The Police thread!

 

Funnily enough I thought the cd sounded fine on my system.

 

CD was fine to me too. But The Dance DVD is phenomenal. Can't believe it's 10 years.

 

I was blown away by Buckingham's version of Big Love on acoustic....it's amazing . and I had to try and learn it immediately...what a great song. I like to play the DVD and show people how talented he is....

 

I was just pleased to see them all playing together again. My only disappointment was that the momentum of the Dance CD/DVD release and Tour did not translate into more music.

 

I saw that tour and purchased the Dance cd. Seems to sound okay to me...

I agree too bad it didn't last and didn't involve more new songs...

 

The sound on the CD is somewhat marred by typical late-90s over-compression.

As far as the performance, it was pretty exciting to have the Mac back. Although I suspect a fair amount of post-production overdubs and maybe some autotuning on the vocals.

The highlight for me was definitely "Silver Springs", where Stevie's performance seemed to concentrate 20 years worth of bitterness in that brilliant coda. Close seconds were the breezy, banjo version of "Say You Love Me", and Buckingham's stunning solo acoustic "Big Love".

 

I haven't pulled this one out for a listen in several years. The DVD sounded pretty good going from memory, but the picture was awful. Fuzzy, and 4:3

 

I thought The Dance was well done but I prefer Say You Will. FM explored some new terrain without forsaking their trademark sound.

 

CD Only

I haven't see the DVD but I would like to. The CD didn't sound so bad though.

I think that Fleetwood Mac fans, at least the Buckingham/Nicks era version of the group will like this set. It is a great overview of their music that shows why they are such a popular group.

Scott

 

Say You Will sounded awful to these ears. I hardly can listen to this earbleeder.
Just my opinion.
Achim

 

I remember the first time I heard "Silver Springs" on the radio. I called the station and asked them what was that new Stevie Nicks song they were playing.

 

I really like the CD of The Dance and it sounds good on my system. I agree, it is a bit compressed, but I have heard a lot worse.

Standout tracks for me are Big Love and Landslide. I really like how at the end of Landslide Stevie says "Thanks you Lindsey". And then Lindsey says "Thank you Stevie". In the video they hug and it appears they have moved passed their differences.

I do wish that the CD had also included Go Insane which was on the video. I guess they were trying to keep it to a single disc. But, there are a couple of other tracks they could have dropped to be able to include Go Insane.

 

I found it to be a thrilling show; I still remember eagerly waiting for the first showing on MTV and then running out to buy the VHS upon its release. Same with the CD, and tracking down the non-album B-sides (especially for the radically reworked "Go Insane") opened a new window for me in collecting music. The outdoor concert in Atlanta in Atlanta was absolutely freezing cold, but I am so glad that I was there to see the last tour with all 5 members of the Rumours-era band.

Back to the MTV special, Lindsey's brilliance was to the fore for everyone to see that he was the true sonic matermind of the group, Christine looked more gorgeous than ever and sounded as good as ever, and Stevie's fire seemed to have been rekindled. I too wish that they could have seized upon the momentum to create more new music in the wake of The Dance.

P.S. It also brings back memories of when catalogue CDs were easily available at brick and mortar stores! In the wake of The Dance and my renewed fervor for Fleetwood Mac, I bought all of their albums on CD from the original Peter Green era through the much-derided Time album with Dave Mason & Bekka Bramlett. And I was able to find every one locally (and at a good price) with considerable ease!

 

I got the VHS and then a few weeks later bought the disc. I didn't like the Tusk performance with the USC band, I thought it sounded weird and funky. I also didn't like the disc since it ommitted "Songbird" and I was like, where the hell was this on the disc. The disc also edited the ramblings in between songs. I also didn't like the new songs.

 

I pulled out the DVD a few days ago, and what I used to use as demo material definitely shows its age. The Dolby Digital track is really thin sounding to me now, and the picture quality was pretty fuzzy. I'm sure a rerelease could sound a lot better, and look a little better with a new remaster and reencode. Maybe even HD soundtrack on a HD disc format. How about a 10th anniversary Warners?

 

I loved the sound of both the CD and the DVD (there's some differences in the mixes of the two).

I wish Stevie's vocals were a little better on some of those songs but she really wails on "Silver Springs".

I also wish the CD had "Songbird" at the end. I would've knocked off one of Stevie's songs ("Dreams" most likely) to get it on there.

I'm not too fond of the new songs although I really like "Temporary One".

The production was top notch (although I'm pretty sure there were plenty of studio overdubs added after the fact).

 

I always thought the CD sounded pretty good for a live recording. I just watched the laserdisc of the concert the other day at a friend's house, and I never get tired of watching Big Love. Though I really wish that Go Insane and Songbird would have been included on the CD. Also, I think I like just about every song on The Dance more than its studio counterpart.

 

And here it is, fifteen years later.

I just finished watching the entire DVD and it was just as fantastic as I had remembered it.

I liked all four of the "new" songs they did for it, particularly "Temporary One" which I think would have made a nice single back in the day. Too bad they didn't complete a new studio album in '97.

"Silver Springs" is still the highlight for me however. Stevie staring down Lindsey screaming "you'll never get away!" brings goosebumps every time.

There is some pretty obvious overdubbing throughout the DVD but it doesn't bother me much, which is strange for me because I usually prefer as close to the live sound as possible.

The 5.1 sound on the DVD was good, picture quality fair. Too bad we don't have a high-def version of this one.

 

The DVD really needs the blu ray treatment, although I still think it is a great document. I remember tracking down all of the bonus tracks scattered on CD singles, especially "Go Insane". I saw this tour in Atlantic City, one of the last shows of the tour. It was a fantastic performance, especially when this lineup hadn't toured proper since Tusk (the Mirage tour was only a handful of dates if memory serves). This was also the end of the era of stars of the 60s/70s having hits on Top 40 radio. "Silver Springs" was a huge hit at the time, and I don't recall ever hearing tracks from Say You Will on Top 40 only 5 or 6 years later.

 

I've never liked "Silver Springs" but I've always cared not a whit for Stevie. Her entire personality is an affectation.

Leaving Go Insane off that cd was a criminal act. Why they didn't squeeze it on there I'll never know.

But yeah, you can show anybody those clips (Go Insane or Big Love) and watch the uninitiated pick their jaws up off the floor afterwards. I love doing that. Next, I introduce them to Peter Green.

 

Back in those days, I was working as a journalist in the music biz (when there was a music biz), so I attending all those great filmed shows during that DVD era (Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Fogerty, etc).

It was a tie between FM and the Eagles......both were INCREDIBLE shows...also remember that those few hundred of us who witnessed the actual performances, we were seeing these bands again when nobody thought we ever would (or when "hell freezes over")....so it was really magical and all of these bands rose to the occasion with brilliant performances.

Getting pulled out of line and taken to my seats ahead of the likes of Brian Wilson and Courtney Love was one of those "something's wrong with this picture" moments (although my girlfriend/future wife was impressed...lol)

Sticking with FM for this thread, the show was incredible. Lindsey's solo "Big Love" was something that I was raving about to friends, colleagues (anybody who would listen) for weeks afterwards. The crowd was stunned; it was truly magical (and fortunately captured for eternity).

At that first show, Stevie was obviously a bundle of nerves as the band had to re-start the show's second song, "Dreams" THREE times because Stevie couldn't remember the opening lyrics. After the second blown attempt, Christine yelled out, "you want your FREEDOM"...... It was awkward, but as she hung her head and Lindsey gave her a reassuring hug, the crowd pumped her up and the fourth time was the charm.

The USC marching band was actually really cool at the event itself, but the power and spectacle of it was totally and completed lost on the DVD. All in all, I still love to pull out "The Dance" DVD to recall a great rock & roll memory. And I doubt there was much overdubs, if any; they were THAT good....plus, they had two performances to draw on.

 

I still play "Temporary One", "Sweet Girl", "Bleed To Love Her" and "Say You Love Me" from that release. At the time, I wished they would have done a full studio album instead of a live one with only a few new songs.

I was happy to see the band back together again but sad to see the "Behind the Mask" band had ended since I quite like what Billy Burnette added to Fleetwood Mac.

But after the letdown of "Time", that was to be expected.

Still, when it comes to future projects, I hope they can get a new studio album of new songs together.