Fleetwood Mac - Live in Boston

Rating:
Summary: Great band, great tour, DVD could be better.
Review: I am a huge and passionate Fleetwood Mac fan. I was lucky enough to see this last 'Say You Will Tour' 6 times throughout 2003 and 2004. My last concert being May 23, 2004 in Jacksonville, FL. where I had the great opportunity of being front row, and interacting with the band (playing Lindsey's guitar and much more)- technically I actually had 3rd row tickets, but security let the first 4 rows move up front and stand at the stage.

I was greatly anticipating the release of this DVD set. I purchased it on the day of its release, and I still love it..in fact I actually watched it about an hour ago.
I will start off with what I love about this DVD, and later get into what I do not love.
First off it's just great to have a new DVD since the Dance video. It's also great to have a video filmed from an actual concert, compared to the Dance when the crowd was invite only.
Lindsey Buckingham is portrayed best here, and his wildness on stage is really shown. I felt it at the concerts and I could feel it watching this DVD as well. He has proved himself to be a musical genius. You really get a sense while watching what he's actually like in concert.
Stevie Nicks, through all her criticisms that every video performance receives her...shines. She has always been deeply scrutinized, especially when performing live. Some fans and especially critics have it in their heads that this 56 year old woman (55 when this was taped) should be EXACTLY like she was in 1975 screaming her vocal chords out to RHIANNON.. I guess you would like her to still be on drugs as well??

Anyway...'Say Goodbye' is one of the highlights of the DVD. It is a new song from their SAY YOU WILL CD, and this live performance is much better than the album version. The way they perform it live, is somewhat slower than the album version. Stevie's voice is so delicate in this song, and this is one of the intense moments of the set.
'Beautiful Child' has been one of the highlights of this tour. Never performed live until this current tour, it is truly a delight to hear. Stevie Nicks sings this tune with such intensity , while watching you feel like you are sitting in her home watching her sing it for the first time.

Stevie gives her trademark "GOLD DUST WOMAN" scream, and wears her trademark gold shawl. She even breaks out her cream colored high heeled platform boots of days gone by for GYPSY.
"Come" another song from SAY YOU WILL, really shines on this DVD as well. Although Lindsey doesn't play a whole lot of guitar in this song, he focuses much more on his crazed screaming and intense flirting with the ladies in the front row. The backing band really deserves credit for the incredible music in this song. Carlos Rios, and Neale Heywood play some incredible and hard pounding electric guitars in this one. While Mick's drumming is great, Steve Rinkov's backing drumming is what makes this particular song. Also we cannot forget "the backbone of Fleetwood Mac" John McVie on bass, which is very prominent in "COME."
Another highlight is Stevie Nicks' solo hit "STAND BACK." I have been reading the reviews her, and I too think her performance was superb. It is a moment within the show that really allows Stevie to rock out. Many of her Fleetwood Mac tunes are not what one would call "upbeat" songs, so this solo addition to the site really adds a lot to the show. You get to see her do her classic twirls, here. During Stand Back she probably twirls about 10 consecutive times, gives a few kicks and does all that famous dancing Stevie Nicks is known for, love it or hate it!
Stevie dedicates "LANDSLIDE" to her former lover and band-mate Lindsey Buckingham, and she performs a memorable rendition of this classic.
"TUSK" is another musical performance which the backing band deserves much credit. This is another tune which Lindsey plays little guitar, opting for another crazed vocal and stage performance instead. The USC Marching band is not here, but their horns are nicely sampled in via today's new technology. A video of the USC Marching Band is also shown in the background during the song. You get to watch Lindsey yell "TUSK" "TUSK" and then chase Stevie Nicks around the stage as they perform a mock boxing match.
Now, my disappointments with this set. The editing, the editing, the editing is all that needs to be said. This show was filmed over two consecutive nights - Sept 23 (with an invite/winners only crowd of 1000 lucky fans) for closeup purposes as well as audio, as well as the actual concert on Sept 24 - both at the Fleet Center. This is all fine and dandy, except those who edited failed to do a great job in putting this all together. Once in "RHIANNON" Stevie's vocal continues for about 1 sec after her face is away from the mic. This is a problem caused by filming over two nights, and not watching little mistakes like that.
I agree with a previous reviewer that there is too much camera cutting in certain songs, that are not even fast songs. In slow songs the camera should be a little more "Steady" and focus on one thing, rather than jumping all over the stage. It makes it have a much less intimate feel. I agree also that there is not much point in all the long distance shots. We KNOW they draw a huge crowd of 20,000 + and a couple of nice crowds shots would have done it. It seems as if the editers wanted to remind everyone of the size of the crowd, except in THE MIDDLE OF SONGS.
The sound is great, except sometimes it seems to fluctuate. In slow songs like "SAY GOODBYE" Lindsey's guitar seems to get louder in some parts, where it really doesn't do that in the actual concert. I feel the need to turn the tv down a little in certain parts. However, overall the audio mixing is great and the sound is pretty tight.
Another little problem I have is this being 2 DVD's. Certainly it could have all fit on one DVD, as did the Dance video which still had superb quality (I would say a little better quality than this DVD)..Was the purpose so the price could be jacked up? Well, I dunno that's for everyone to decide. Regardless, it's pointless for this to be a 2DVD set...it kind of interrupts the show if you are watching the concert in its entirety to have to change discs in the middle.

Overall I was quite satisfied with this DVD. I strongly recommend it to those who love this great band. It has it's technical problems, but the band is superb. The sound is incredible for the most part, the video is the only rough part at times. The packaging is nice...although most of the pictures in the booklet are not actually from THIS particular concert, that's ok. I would say even without Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac managed to really shine. This tour was the 3rd highest grossing tour of 2003, and there's a reason. THEY ROCK!


Rating:
Summary: The DVD Shines - The CD Disappoints
Review: At first, I was a little skeptical when I found out that Fleetwood Mac was releasing another live set - "Fleetwood Mac - Live in Boston". There were two reasons for my skeptism: 1) It was only back in 1997 that Fleetwood Mac had released "The Dance" on CD and Video. This was an incredible effort by the band and I thought this was going to be very difficult to top; 2) Christine McVie had departed the band and I just didn't know whether or not the remaining four members could pull things off or not. The good news is that Fleetwood Mac pulls through once again. They find a way to carry on without Christine McVie and produce a solid live performance. In fact, the level of showmanship comes very close to "The Dance".

Fleetwood Mac's "Live in Boston" is actually a 3 disc set. Two discs are DVDs and the third disc is a CD. The two DVDs are actually from a concert done at the Fleet Center in Boston. This performance was also broadcasted on PBS' "Soundstage" series. The DVDs present the full concert - in its entirety and in the order that it was performed. The PBS Broadcasts were 1 and 2 hour subsets - each of the subsets are reordered. You probably will still want this collection even if you have seen the PBS set. The DVD set provides the continuity and magic that Fleetwood Mac delivered that particular evening.

This would be a 5 star collection if it weren't for the CD. I found the CD to be a big disappointment. The CD contains only 10 of the 24 songs. In 2003, the progressive Rock band Rush released a DVD and CD of their 2002 Rio concert entitled "Rush in Rio". "Rush in Rio" was originally intended to be a DVD set, but since the band found some "magic" with the performance, they also decided to release the performance on audio CD - in the exact order and flow that was on the DVD. It would have been nice if Fleetwood Mac had done the same. They clearly have "magic" with the DVD set, but the CD is basically a bunch of live songs. The live songs have been somehwat reordered and you don't get a lot of the spoken words said by the band members. While Rush released the DVD and CD separately, the Fleetwood Mac package includes both. Another note on the CD - they could have clearly fit more than ten songs on the collection. If you get "Live in Boston", get this for the DVD and not the CD.

Since Christine McVie has departed - the playset doesn't include many of her songs that had her vocals. Therefore, much of the weight on falls on Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Mick Fleetwood to make the show go on. (John McVie as always, lays low in the background doing what he does best - playing Bass). Lindsey is going to provide some incredible guitar work on songs such as "Come", "Big Love", "I'm So Afraid", and Tusk. Stevie Nicks gets an opportunity to do one of her solo songs - "Stand Back". Mick Fleetwood even gets a chance to do some "ramblings" during a drum duet he performs on stage. The band also gets an opportunity to perform some songs that haven't been done in a long time live - "Eyes of the World", "Never Going Back Again", "Beautiful Child", and "World Turning". The band also performs several new songs from the "Say You Will" album. These include: "Peacekeeper", "Come" (definitely the best of the new work), "Say Goodbye", "What's the World Coming To", and "Goodbye Baby".

The highlight of "Live in Boston" is going to be the performance of "Stand Back". It was great to see Fleetwood Mac do this. The song starts out with a two minute percussion intro. During the concert, Fleetwood Mac brings in a great set of tour muscians. One of the musicians who really steals the show (especially in the second half of the show) is percussionist Taku Hirano. Hirano leads the two minute percussion which then explodes into the start of "Stand Back". Stevie delivers the song with lots of intensity and trademark twirls.

"Silver Springs" was the song on "The Dance" that stole the show. It's back on here. There was a lot of emotion during this song between Lindsey and Stevie on "The Dance". This time, "Silver Springs" has a slightly quicker tempo toward the end. It doesn't quite live up to what was done on "The Dance", but it is still something you'll want to play over and over. There isn't any loss of emotion between Stevie and Lindsey on "Landslide".

"Tusk" is back and better than ever. On "The Dance", Fleetwood Mac utilized the USC Marching Band and it gave the song a whole new twist. This time, Fleetwood Mac uses a Marching Band again, but this time uses a pre-recorded track. However the song has no loss in entertainment value. Lindsey is going to really steal the show when he goes into a bizarre kind of dance, then will go and do an embraced dance with Stevie.

One thing to note, Mick Fleetwood does an incredible drum duet with Hirano during "World Turning". It features some terrific rambling vocals and Fleetwood even gets out from behind the drum set. It's great stuff. Following that song, the band does "Don't Stop". This is the only Christine McVie vocals song included - Stevie Nicks steps in flawlessly and delivers Christine's vocals.

The collection includes some very thin liner notes. They do list the songs with songwriting credits. The stage and production credits are included as well. The packaging is kind of cheap (cardbox box as opposed to jewel case). Overall, it's another solid live set by Fleetwood Mac. As mentioned above, the CD is the disappointment - but the DVD set alone is worth the price of this collection.

Rating:
Summary: Evolution of FM
Review: At the outset I have to say that pound of pound THE DANCE saw FM at their absolute best. The fiery emotions that drove Rumors to be the 3rd best seller of all time was still there - and yet the long overdue healing had begun... I saw FM in Portland and it was a fine show. I so wished they'd all be there but 80% of FM is better than none...
That said, I have to say the DVD of the Boston performance is not quite what I'd hoped for. They should have done SMILE AT YOU and THROWN DOWN from the new CD. And it would have been nice to hear STORMS. For me I thought BEAUTIFUL CHILD and LANDSLIDE where Stevie finally, FINALLY told the whole story about the origins of the song, etc., was wonderful.

In the on going evolution that is FM it is well worth having the DVD...

For someone who remembers listening to Rumors that fateful Summer so long ago... And all the attendent memories in conjures... Well, as she says in Landslide... "I'm getting older too" It will never be the same folks... But there are still moments, where they share a look, where Stevie's eyes flare with anger... And you're suddenly back at that first moment when you fell in love with Fleetwood Mac...

Rating:
Summary: Still One Helluva Band
Review: Buckingham's hair has a grayish sheen; Nicks, who I have seen several times as a solo act, is clearly a mature woman long past the days of her svelte Welsh Witch; John McVie and Mick Fleetwood lead both of them in age. Given this, one almost expects a "nostalgia" tour, but nostalgia be damned: even in the absence of Christine McVie, this is still one helluva band, and God help recent girl singers and boy bands who might be tempted to sneer: when Fleetwood Mac takes the stage, you get Big Time Take No Prisoners Rock And Roll.

I was fortunate enough to see Fleetwood Mac on this particular tour when the band played Biloxi, Mississippi--and I was even more fortunate to be sitting within arm's reach of the stage, directly in front of the wall of energy the band generates. While nothing can really duplicate the experience of a truly powerhouse live concert, LIVE IN BOSTON comes very close to capturing the authority of what I experienced that evening, and that says a great deal for both the band and this concert film.

Christine McVie's absence, the loss of her cool blue voice that so perfectly balances out Buckingham and Nicks extremes, the loss of her uniquely beautiful songs--that's regrettable, but I must say the band doesn't let it slow them down any. From such Mac standards as "Go Your Own Way" from the classic RUMORS to picks from the recent SAY YOU WILL, everything crackles with energy.

Nicks' voice, always a delicate instrument, has darkened with time and is no longer as ethereal as once it was, but her richness of tone more than makes up for the loss; songs like "Landslide" and "Beautiful Child" sound better than ever. Buckingham's poetry-in-motion guitar playing and electrically eccentric vocals combine with a manic physical energy to create a huge musical and physical presence. And while the unassuming John McVie fades into the background to work his wonders on bass, Mick Fleetwood is positively demonic in the star drum trap--and the two roll it out like thunder. It's just a knockout all the way.

The previous DVD of THE DANCE tour is perhaps more technically perfect--but while excellent, that performance was more formal in tone; LIVE IN BOSTON is simply raw rock and roll, ready to blow the roof off. True, the accompanying CD is weak--but CD or not CD, if you'll pardon the bad pun, is no major question. This is a concert DVD that will simply blow you away. Worth every cent!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Now THIS is a Fleetwood Mac concert!!!
Review: First of all, I wrote a review of THE DANCE that seemed to never get posted. It wasn't very complimentary. That show was very lack-lustre to me; it was too polished, too rehearsed, and severely lacked energy. It seemed more like a recital than a concert. But that's mostly because it was a one-off, "staged" show to record a live "reunion" album.

This new DVD is far, far superior to THE DANCE. The energy level is so much higher, and the performance is much more "real." Part of that is simply song selection, which is much better for this tour. But also, it was filmed in front of a real audience as part of a real tour. And it shows.

The hands-down highlight of this DVD is "Come." First of all, this song is one of the best tracks from SAY YOU WILL, and one of Lindsey's best tracks ever. But the performance of it here is absolutely incindiary. This reconfirms my notion that he is one of the absolute geniuses of modern rock music. BUY THIS DVD JUST FOR THIS ONE SONG. I'm not kidding!

But then, every song here from SAY YOU WILL comes across even better than the original versions. The music on that album was made to be performed live, and its a shame that they don't do more of it.

Other highlights include a great new version of "Eyes of the World"; a "Rhiannon" that is still pale compared to Stevie's excorcism rituals of the 70s (as Mick once called it), but much better than what was on THE DANCE; a really killer new rendition of "Never Goin' Back Again"; a mesmerizing performance of "Beautiful Child" (this is the first tour this song's ever been included in); a blazing "Stand Back"; and for me at least (I know I'm in the minority here!), Mick's solo during "World Turning."

This is an almost perfect Mac concert. I honestly can't think what I would have changed about this, other than to include 1 or 2 more tunes from SAY YOU WILL.

So why did I only give it 4 stars?? Because of the accompanying CD. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that they included a CD with the DVD. Brilliant move. But if they were going to do that, why in the hell did they just include repeats of the songs that were on THE DANCE CD???? That makes absolutely no sense. Out of the 10 songs, only 3 of them ("Come," "Eyes", and "Stand Back") are "new". We still don't have an "official" live version of "Gypsy" or "Gold Dust Woman", and those two sounded quite fine here and should have been included on the CD. As should "Beautiful Child". We certainly don't need yet another live album with "Rhiannon", "Dreams", "Landslide" and "Silver Springs", especially as these versions are in almost exactly the same arrangements as what were played for THE DANCE. Assinine. And why only one SYW song? Luckily, it was "Come". But "Peacekeeper" at least should also have been included.

So if I were rating only the DVD, this would get 5 stars easily, and I would wish that I could rate it higher. But a star gets taken off for making the effort to include a CD, but making it almost pointless.

A lot of people ranked THE DANCE very highly, which I don't agree with. If you liked that, you will love LIVE IN BOSTON. And wait 'til you see "Landslide"...it will make you cry. No lie.

Rating:
Summary: The Mac is Back!!!
Review: Fleetwood Mac is still a force to be reckoned with. I was also at this show back in September and was honored to be a part of Fleetwood Mac's long and storied history. This is by far their best live concert captured on tape.........beautifully done, credit should be give to the producers who captured many nuances between the members. There is no slowing down Lindsey, and he is amazing on acoustic guitar especially "Never Going Back Again" which is re-tooled to perfection! Stevie is beautiful as expected, but also lets her inner beauty shine thru, most notably on "Landslide", "Beautiful Child" and "Goodbye Baby". Mike Fleetwood's energy is astonishing and is the steadfast and driving beat thru-out this amazing night. John McVie shouldn't be overlooked either, an important backbone to the band. All the members filled the gap Christine McVie has left with so much spirit and life. You MUST see this DVD, not just for die-hard fans, but anyone who appreciates this band that continues to give so much!!

Rating:
Summary: LINDSEY'S "LIVE" TOUR DE FORCE
Review: FLEETWOOD MAC ROCKS THE ROOF OFF! Short of a decade later, Four Fifths of the superstar "fab-five" MIGHTY MAC RUMOURS era remain happily reunited and youthfully enthusiastic exactly thirty years after joining forces to become OUR beloved FM, circa 2004. Namesakes Mick Fleetwood and John McVie maintain their savagely hypnotic hard driving rhythmic pulse and propelling forces of the band, almost 40 years on! The "diamond" in the band's crown, Christine McVie, has flown solo(new album is due in 2004!), but, FM have reinvented, reenergized themselves successfully as a powerhouse rock band and carried on. Stevie Nicks, remains the "pearl" and one of the band's vocal and visual staples. The "ruby", and most brilliant gem in the band's crown has always been LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM, and on this LIVE IN BOSTON Dvd, he shines onstage brighter than all the band's parts as a sum. FLEETWOOD MAC embrace their star musician, guitarist god, arranger, producer and pay tribute to his immense talents and contributions throughout the ongoing 2003-04(possibly beyond?) SAY YOU WILL Tour. LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM takes charge onstage with all his boundless cosmic energy and dramatic vocal abilities. He explodes with 'gusto' all over the stage playing his frenzied guitar solos, one sweat drenched impassioned performance after another, like a broncin' buck bursting with the mighty spunk of a teenager whipping the audience into maddening enthusiasm throughout the show. LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM is FM's star entertainer and he comes on like a hurricane throught this LIVE IN BOSTON show! Hard to believe FLEETWOOD MAC have been around since 1967, with all this energy onstage! If FLEETWOOD MAC ever does a "Farewell Tour" that drags on in CHER-like proportions, CHRISTINE better jump back onboard or maybe even tour as the "opening act" - a "Farewell Tour" without Christine is NOT a true goodbye. Note: Lindsey & Stevie perform "DON'T STOP" quite well as the "encore" here.

Rating:
Summary: Fleetwood Mac still rock!
Review: Fleetwood Mac still kick major portions of ass, I'm lucky enough to have witnessed this in the flesh during their recent tour. I have to say, I think Fleetwood Mac are at a definite high point in their career right now, particularly Lindsey Buckingham. Thank God for Lindsey's return! It seems that he has become the star of the recent Fleetwood Mac shows to some extent (no disrespect to Stevie, who, more often than not, can still put on a very good show). Do not listen to the naysayer's and miserablists out there who mistake charisma and showmanship and TALENT for an inflated ego. This is quite simply not the case. But then, some people are cursed with a rather limited capacity for music appreciation and for not being bitter and twisted. I know it's the popular thing to dis any band more than 20 years old for being washed up or whatever, but the creative energies of Fleetwood Mac have plenty of vitality left. Live In Boston is probably best appreciated by the dedicated or die-hard fans of the band.

Rating:
Summary: Superb music but flawed presentation
Review: I am a diehard Fleetwood Mac fan who attended five concerts in Australia and watched this DVD three times over 96 hours. Despite my fanatical tendencies, I can still be critically objective about Fleetwood Mac.

I am ambivalent about this DVD at best. One the one hand, it is great to have a DVD recording from the current tour. It allows you to relive the concert and to reconnect with idiosyncracies such as the boxing sequence in 'Tusk', to Stevie's 'Say You Will' dance, and Mick's drum solo. There are beautiful moments captured from the acoustic delicacies of 'Say Goodbye' to the epic 'I'm So Afraid' or the spellbinding 'Gold Dust Woman'. Musically speaking - whether you attended a concert or not - you will enjoy the music. Not only is the music superb but the performances are great. Some fans will miss Christine but they should also look at it as an opportunity for the band to head in a different creative direction - and therefore offer us something different as well.

Lindsey is the most active member of the band in this concert. You really get the sense that it's his moment to take center stage. The dialogue between Stevie and Lindsey (whether staged or not) really comes through. The sound and lighting is stunning.

The problem remains in the visual presentation of the concert. I found it alienating and and lacking in emotion. For starters, the editing is too rapid. This makes the concert's pace very snappy. That pace is fine for faster songs but Fleetwood Mac songs are often hypnotic and packed with emotional fibre - that a camera shot would be better to sit and pause for a while to capture that emotion. The film does not know when to be still. Compare any song to 'Silver Springs' from 'The Dance' DVD and look at how the camera sits on Stevie for a while before cutting away to a different band member. In short, the editing is not always appropriate and doesn't allow the audience to engage with the emotion as much as it could.

Secondly, there are too many long shots which creates further alienation between the band and the viewer. Again, this is an editing issue. The idea of a film concert is to bring the viewer closer to the band. It is awful to have Stevie sing a slow song only to cut to a long shot from the back of the Fleet Center. Nicks' fans will hate the fact that you hardly see close-ups of Stevie's face. That may have been a conscious choice on her part but that adds to the alienation as well.

Therein lies my ambivalence: I cherished the DVD because the music is superb but I was disappointed by the visual presentation. I don't mind rapid editing but I think it should be appropriate for the song. Hopefully one day, it will be re-edited. In the meantime, I'll listen to the DVD rather than watch it. That said, it's still a worthwhile purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Forget Stevie for a moment and let's discuss Lindsey...
Review: I love Stevie Nicks as much as the the next fan and she is an integral part of this band, but let's be honest here, without the musical genius of Lindsey, there would be no Stevie Nicks and she knows it so why doesn't everyone else? Actually, there would be no Fleetwood Mac. Period. If you don't think so, consider this: When he left the band in the 80s' they needed TWO guitarists to replace him - and they soon folded like a house of cards. Where are those guitarists now? Do you know? Do you care? Didn't think so. Lindsey is without question one of the most underappreciated musical geniuses in popular music in every conceivable way - and the fact that supposed "Fleetwood Mac fans" would write a review and not mention him is scandalously incompetent and insulting. His guitar work is nothing less than breathtaking, whether it's bluegrass finger-picking or screaming electrical chords - and you get all of that on this DVD. The live acoustic version of Big Love is one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen and I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor. On top of that, he's a gifted composer and vocalist. In every song, you hear nothing but exquisite melodies dripping from his guitar chords and he sings like it he means it - with unequivocal emotion. Even Stevie has said that Lindsey is the magic behind her best tunes. Listen to her solo music and then her Mac tunes and you really appreciate his subtle, but fluid guitar work. Christine's absence in this concert is bittersweet. Her smoky voice is indeed missed, but then it gives Lindsey the room he needs to really loosen up and expand. I do wish Stevie had performed more of her newer material like Silver Girl and Illume instead of Stand Back. Both are very haunting and sound like vintage Stevie. But her rare performance of Beautiful Child is a gem that can't be overlooked. I was hoping she too would loosen up more, but sometimes she seems uncomfortable on stage - like she doesn't know what to do with herself. But that's minor quibbling. I was fortunate to see this show in Worcester, MA and was blown away by it then. A year and half later, seeing the details and facial expressions that I couldn't see in person and the explosive chemistry between these two performers, I am still blown away. Say Goodbye is a sad and touching duet that will remind real music lovers that THIS is what great music and artistic integrity is supposed to sound like.