FLEETWOOD MAC
SAY YOU WILL
PRESS KIT
FLEETWOOD MAC
SAY YOU WILL
STEVIE NICKS
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
MICK FLEETWOOD
JOHN McVIE

There are many marks of musical success, a familiar litany of units sold, seats
filled and charts topped.
But there is another measure more meaningful still: the simple love of the art
of the song that overcomes all personal and professional travails, transcending
trends and standing the test of time. It’s evident in the unalloyed joy that
comes from creative collaboration, a commitment to a lifelong partnership that
is greater than the sum of its individual parts. It’s the mercurial magic of
real rock & roll.
It’s Fleetwood Mac.
With Say You Will (out April 15 on Reprise), the glorious new album from one of
the most original and enduring bands in the history of popular music, Fleetwood
Mac reinvents the interactive chemistry that has sustained a genuinely legendary
career. Beyond the multi-platinum stats, the tour grosses and the trappings of
pop stardom, this storied aggregate of strong wills, potent talents and tangled
histories has sustained a common musical bond since the group originally formed
in 1967, fashioning, in the process, an unequalled body of work. That, by any
measure, is a sterling standard of success.
So, too, are 18 astonishing tracks that comprise the generous tune stack of Say
You Will. But behind the exquisite songwriting, the dazzling craftsmanship and
the inspired performances and productions that are all part of the band’s
writ-large signature, Say You Will tells a story of near-heroic determination,
patience and fortitude, a creative saga that makes this music even more
meaningful.
“I’d been working on a solo album for a long time,” explains Lindsey Buckingham
on the genesis of Say You Will. Busy in his home studio well before his
involvement in The Dance, the group’s acclaimed 1997 in-concert reunion album,
Lindsey goes on to recount how he recruited both Mick Fleetwood and John McVie
to provide a rock solid rhythm section on selected tracks from his solo work in
progress. “It was a real catharsis,” he reveals. “We really hadn’t been in the
studio since Tango In The Night in 1987 and getting together again, working on
new material, really reaffirmed our fighting spirit. We had a quasi-intervention
and then got down to work.”
“We were originally going to get together for a few weeks,” recounts John McVie.
“It turned into a year. The fact was, we were enjoying ourselves tremendously. I
wouldn’t say it was exactly like old times. It was better. We’d all let a lot of
things go and were free to concentrate on the music.”
It was this unspoken agenda that eventually presented itself to the remaining
members of the group. While Christine McVie opted out of continued involvement,
Stevie Nicks, the voice and songwriter behind some of the band’s most memorable
hits, answered the siren’s call. “It was just before I started touring for my
solo album Trouble In Shangri-La,” Stevie relates. “I knew the guys were working
together, although at that time none of us had any idea how it would turn out.
Lindsey asked me if I had any material lying around, so I gave him a collection
of 17 demos I had done stretching from 1976 all the way up to some songs that
didn’t make it onto Shangri-La.”
“Once we got Stevie’s songs, the recording took on a life of its own,” remarks
Lindsey. “Without anybody really saying as much, we knew we were doing the next
Fleetwood Mac album. It was a very organic process. John and Mick and I spent
the next six months working on Stevie’s material while she was on tour and when
she got back we presented her with the results.”
“I’m very attached to my demos,” says Stevie. “My philosophy is that you’ve got
to beat the original if you want to use the song, which is exactly what Lindsey
did. When I heard the tracks, I knew we were on to something serious. I
immediately went back and started writing, one song a week for a month.”
While, as Mick puts it, “Lindsey continued doing his alchemy in the studio,” the
group came to terms with the reality of the band’s de facto rebirth. “When
Christine made it clear she wasn’t coming back, I knew I’d miss her, both as a
friend and a collaborator,” remarks Stevie. “But it’s been my experience that
change creates opportunities. Someone leaves and suddenly something great has a
chance to happen.”
Lindsey agrees. “From a musical point of view, it presents both a challenge and
an opportunity. From the beginning the band had been about three strong
songwriters. Now, we had 33 percent more space to work in. There’s something
exhilarating in that.”
More space or not, it was obvious that the band was now dealing with an array of
musical talent. “We had the all the songs developed from my solo project,”
Lindsey explains, “and we’d cut ten new tracks by Stevie. We started thinking we
had a double album on our hands.”
“From the beginning we were all after something extraordinary,” Mick picks up.
“The last thing we wanted to do was tread water. With the abundance of material
we had, we thought we might lose focus, and although painful, we managed to cull
it down to 18 tracks.”
Nearly seven years after Lindsey had begun work on what was to be a solo album,
Say You Will was complete, and with it, the renewal of one of popular music’s
most influential and enduring bands. “Creative tension never dies,” remarks
Stevie. “We’ve always had our differences and we always will. But through it all
we managed to be smart about what matters. This album is a tribute to four
people making the right decisions.”
“It’s the result of a lot of self-examination, a steady focus and, most of all,
the realization of what we give to each other as a band,” Lindsey asserts.
“There is no reason why we should have had our shot and then just burnt out.
We’re all safe and happy these days. We’re capable of enjoying ourselves.”
“Somehow we’ve always managed to stay in touch with the spirit of Fleetwood
Mac,” is how Mick puts it. “Let’s face it. We’re not all just saying hello to
each other. We’re connected very deeply. It’s been a seamless journey, it’s just
the logistics that sometimes need working out.”
The track of that seamless journey has brought the band to some of the most
heartfelt and satisfying music of their long career. Quintessential Stevie Nicks
gems range from “Smile At You” and “Goodbye, Baby,” both written in 1976, to her
stunning quartet of new originals--“Destiny Rules,” “Silver Girl,” the title
track “Say You Will” and the shimmering “Illume.” The endlessly inventive
musical imagination of Lindsey Buckingham is given its full scope on such
breathtaking originals as “Murrow,” “Miranda,” “Red Rover,” “Bleed To Love Her”
and beyond. And, beneath it all, is the steady pulse of rock & roll’s premier
rhythm section--Mssrs. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
For Fleetwood Mac, success has always been what they make it. On Say You Will,
they have made history.
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FLEETWOOD MAC
"SAY YOU WILL' FAST FACTS
Years since the
formation of the original Fleetwood Mac: 36
No. of Fleetwood Mac albums sold worldwide since 1967:73,220,349
Years Mick Fleetwood (co-founder) has been in Fleetwood Mac: 36
Years John McVie (co-founder) has been in Fleetwood Mac: 36
Years Christine McVie was in Fleetwood Mac: 28
Year Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac: 1974
Year Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac: 1974
No. of years the lineup of McVie, McVie, Fleetwood, Nicks & Buckingham existed:
15
No. of Fleetwood Mac albums released by that lineup: 7
No. of those 7 albums that sold multi-platinum in the U.S.: 7
No. of those 7 albums that went Top 10 in the U.S.: 6
U.S. Chart position attained by Fleetwood Mac .(the album), Rumours, Mirage, The
Dance #1:
U.K. Chart position attained by Rumours, Tusk, Tango In The Night, Behind The
Mask: #1
No. of Top 10 Fleetwood Mac albums in the U.K.: 9
Combined total of Tango In The Night albums sold worldwide: 8,697,088
Fleetwood Mac's position in the U.K.'s 20 Most Charted Acts of All Time: 8
Years since the release of Rumours: 26
Copies of Rumours
sold worldwide as of July 1997:24,360,994
No. of weeks Rumours remained at #1 on U.S. charts: 31
Total weeks Rumours spent on U.S. charts: 134
Total weeks Rumours spent on U.K charts: 443 (second longest running album in
U.K. history)
Position held by Rumours in top selling albums of all time: 3
Year that Rumours won the Grammy for album of the year: 1977
Copies of Rumours sold in the U.S. in the first seven months of 1997: 65,017
No. of consecutive months Fleetwood Mac toured in support of Rumours: 7
No. of people who heard Fleetwood Mac perform at the US Festival in '82:
400,000
No. of songs on The Dance that reached the Top 10 in their original versions:
8
No. of album tracks recorded by Fleetwood Mac between 1967 and 1992: 221
No. of new songs on The Dance: 4
Year of induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: 1998
No. of songs on the new album: 18
Line-up for Say You Will: Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood,
John McVie
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FLEETWOOD MAC
RELEASE NEW SINGLE AS THEY CRISS-CROSS
THE COUNTRY ON A MAJOR ARENA TOUR;
BAND EARNING MANY CRITICAL ACCOLADES FOR
‘SAY YOU WILL’ ALBUM AND TOUR
As FLEETWOOD MAC’s newly released SAY YOU WILL album moves beyond
gold status, they’ve just issued the STEVIE NICKS-penned title cut as their new single.
An irresistibly melodic and achingly beautiful song about a failed romance, “Say You Will” is one of nine songs NICKS contributed to the LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM-produced album, which entered the Billboard pop albums chart at #3. BUCKINGHAM penned the other nine tracks, including the top 10 Billboard AC hit “Peacekeeper.”
Writing in Rolling Stone 5/1/03),
Arion Berger noted, “...when...(their) accumulation of chops
rallies for a single, the result is the perfectly mellow breeze of the title
song.” Elsewhere, Robert Wilonsky cited the “Say You Will” song in his
Dallas Observer review (6/5/03): “…its
[the album’s] best moments, chief among them the wondrous title track, evoke
a classic sound--that, yes, timeless pleasure of hearing a great singer and
a great guitar player and a great bassist and a great drummer playing great
songs with great production.
Currently criss-crossing the country on a major arena tour, FLEETWOOD MAC--NICKS, Buckingham and founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McViE--are mixing an array of classics with songs from SAY YOU WILL, marking BUCKINGHAM’s first album with the group in 16 years. The disc was described by the Miami Herald’s Howard Cohen as “…easily its best studio album in 24 years” (4/4/03), while the Boston Globe’s Steve Morse praised the album as "...a sterling 18-song set of melodic, multilayered pop-rock that ranks with the group's best work” (4/13/03).
In a seven-page feature in the June ’03 issue of Interview magazine, BUCKINGHAM says, “It’s really touching that we can come back after so long and care about making an album that says as much as this one does. And after all this time, we really do care about each other…Our chemistry is what made us a great band to begin with. That it’s potent after 16 years apart is pretty amazing.”
Visit www.FleetwoodMac.com for exclusive video, audio and news from the band available only at the official Fleetwood Mac site.
Here are critical soundbites from the road:
“And unlike many classic-rock acts, Fleetwood Mac doesn't shy away from new material. Several of the songs from SAY YOU WILL, released last month, grew more compelling in performance, notably the Nicks-penned title track and Buckingham's ‘Goodbye to You,’ a poised, tempo-less reverie that was as wrenching as the end of ‘Go Your Own Way’ was furious.”
--Tom Moon, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/21/03
“Stevie Nicks, resplendent in black gown and tails, is still the captivating high priestess of the band. Many of her songs were highlights of the night, including a roiling ‘Gold Dust Woman,' the dramatic piano ballad ‘Silver Springs'--one of her best vocals of the show--and her kicky solo synth anthem ‘Stand Back,' during which she gave the crowd one of her signature twirls. But for sheer elegance and simplicity, ‘Landslide’ ruled the night. The 55-year-old Nicks sang, ‘I'm getting older, too,’ without bitterness or regret but a radiant peace”
--Sarah Rodman, Boston Herald (5/28/03)
“The band's classic songs had worthy competition from the new ones. The six tracks offered from SAY YOU WILL stood as peers with those in the band's catalog…Buckingham's playing underscored his role as one of rock's most fast-fingered guitarists. In ‘Eyes Of The World,’ his quicksilver lines had a giddy thrill, and he flickered brilliantly through the breakneck pace of ‘Second Hand News.’ He even impressed in the more leisurely lines of ‘Never Going Back Again’”
--Jim Farber, The New York Daily News (5/19/03)
“Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, as usual, anchored the songs with their steady, subtly buoyant rhythms.”
--Jay Lustig, Newark Star Ledger (5/27/03)
“Co-founder Mick Fleetwood…His enormous gold drum set shook the arena—drumsticks flying, eyes flashing. The percussion consumed his body, and even his eyebrows kept time. His joy was contagious…Co-founder John McVie shunned the limelight but provided solid backup. At times, his powerful bass felt like it could alter any heartbeat.”
--Lara Baker, Freelance Star (Fredericksburg, VA, 5/15/03)
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FLEETWOOD MAC
ADD SECOND LEG
OF DATES TO CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED TOUR
Due to the stunning success of the 40-city FLEETWOOD MAC tour this summer, the band has added a second leg of dates to their critically acclaimed tour. The new leg begins September 6 in Biloxi, MS with additional stops at New York City's Madison Square Garden as well as return visits to Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The 2003 Fleetwood Mac tour is being nationally promoted by Concerts West, an AEG-Live company.
FLEETWOOD MAC's two hour-plus show features material from the band's current CD SAY YOU WILL (including the singles “Peacekeeper” and “Say You Will”) which debuted on the Billboard charts at #3 as well as band classics “Go Your Own Way,” “Landslide,” “Big Love” and “Don't Stop.”
The group--America's premiere rock and roll band which includes STEVIE NICKS, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM and founding members MICK FLEETWOOD and JOHN McVIE--are receiving some of the best reviews of their long and extraordinary career:
"Reinvigorated and ravishing (in Nicks’ case) with renewed reason to exist…" Ben Wener, Orange County Register(7/14/03)
“The band's tour is playing to packed houses and glowing notices across the country.” Sarah Rodman, BOSTON HERALD, (5/27/03)
“The band's classic songs had worthy competition from the new ones. The six tracks offered from SAY YOU WILL stood as peers with those in the band's catalogue. Buckingham's playing underscored his role as one of rock's most fast-fingered guitarists. In ‘Eyes Of The World’ his quicksilver lines had a giddy thrill." Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, (5/19/03)
“Nicks brought her usual sultry flair to songs like ‘Dreams,’ ‘Gyspy’ and ‘Gold Dust Woman,’ and closed the show with a sweet version of the SAY YOU WILL ballad, ‘Goodbye Baby.’ But she showed a more steely, determined side when numbers like ‘Silver Springs’ and ‘Stand Back’ called for it…” Jay Lustig, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER, (5/27/03)
Fans can access exclusive FLEETWOOD MAC content including videos and a tour of the studio where the SAY YOU WILL album was recorded at www.FleetwoodMac.com/club.htm. Those who join the www.FleetwoodMac.com/club.htm fan club site can also access special updates and advance ticket presales.
The tour’s first leg concludes August 19 in Grand Forks, ND
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