Greatest Center Fielders/Greatest Singers

Never said I did, it's A factor for me not THE factor. or THE ONLY factor, sorry if i mislead you.

I didn't think you did, Niners, but this phrase of yours did make me wonder:

it's the truly great talents that can cross genre's despite their chosen niche.

Thanks for the clarification, though.

I'm still looking forward to your ten favorite 90's songs. I would also appreciate your ten favorite female vocal performances. I'm sure both would be excellent.

Never said I did, it's A factor for me not THE factor. or THE ONLY factor, sorry if i mislead you.

I didn't think you did, Niners, but this phrase of yours did make me wonder:

it's the truly great talents that can cross genre's despite their chosen niche.

Thanks for the clarification, though.

I'm still looking forward to your ten favorite 90's songs. I would also appreciate your ten favorite female vocal performances. I'm sure both would be excellent.

It may be awhile, life is not agreeing with me right now, don't want to go into details, but suffice to say, not enough time.

I will say this much though, I was STUNNED there wasn't a U2 song on your 90's list, given your defense of Bono as a singer. Not their best decade for material I'll admit, but you can bet my list will have at least one of their songs.
As for females, despite all the love everyone here has for Patsy Cline, she would not be on my list, personal preference, that is, I prefer not to listen to her. You hear greatness I hear fingernails on a chalk board.

No problem, Niners. Take your time and take care of yourself. As to U2, Achtung Baby would definitely be on my Top Ten list of Greatest 90's Albums, as would Metallica's Black Album. But like the Black Album, it had many songs that I loved but didn't have that one song to knock me out (although "One" came close).

So, be well, and I look forward to your lists when you can make them.

Will strictly go female in my list of greatest:

1. Stevie Nicks (no brainer)

I'm partial to Christine McVie myself.

Will strictly go female in my list of greatest:

1. Stevie Nicks (no brainer)

I'm partial to Christine McVie myself.

I'm actually going to their (Fleetwood Mac) concert in Winnipeg on Monday night! Can't wait!

It's the 5 group members from the classic lineup. Really excited.

I read Mick Fleetwood's autobiography some years ago. Fascinating reading. Great personal account of the history of the band, which was very interesting - right through all of the eras of the group. Terrific rock history.

Completely off topic - in NHL action, the Pittsburgh Penguins (including superstars Crosby and Malkin) beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in a shootout (after overtime expired) - a terrific hockey game - well played by both teams.

Back to Fleetwood Mac and singers - what a terrific example of 3 great song-writers -each very different - working together. Obviously some conflict over the years, but all the more compelling because of the conflict. Just tremendous song-writing and singing. On the subject of greatest singers, I'm going to put in a good word for Linsday Buckingham - good songwriter and singer, but I think he never got the credit that he deserved for creating a new sound for the band, starting with their white album, and carrying right through their best years. Reading the story of the production of "Rumours" is fascinating - lots of reworking to get the sound exactly right.

My teenage son commented to me that he thinks that modern recording groups produce albums too quickly, and don't put enough thought into it. Interesting reflection from a teenager. Certainly the entire Fleetwood Mac group poured their hearts into "Rumours", and it certainly shows in the finished product.

Some things hold true over the years - if you pour yourself into something, sometimes it is truly great.

Lindsay wasn't the greatest singer in the band, but he was definitely my favorite and the least "dated." While Stevie and Christie's vocals were marked by 70's flourishes, Lindsey's had a clean sound reflecting his love for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. He was also an excellent, underrated guitarist. He wasn't the virtuoso who inspired young acolytes, but--like Mike Campbell of The Heartbreakers--his riffs and leads always harmoniously reflected the melodies and lyrics of the song.

My teenage son commented to me that he thinks that modern recording groups produce albums too quickly, and don't put enough thought into it. Interesting reflection from a teenager. Certainly the entire Fleetwood Mac group poured their hearts into "Rumours", and it certainly shows in the finished product.

I wouldn't go along with this. Digital production may have sped up the production process a bit, but there have still been many modern albums created through considerable production process with substantial involvement from the band. U2's Achtung Baby, Radiohead's OK Computer, and Bjork's Homogenic all saw a considerable and extensive production process contributing to their individual brilliance. And this millennium has been marked by notoriously demanding producers such as Danger Mouse, Timbaland, and Mark Ronson.

So, the extensive, complex, and personal production process involved in Rumours was not a reflection of the production values of its time; it was a reflection of its singular process as opposed to albums of all time. As everyone knows, they had two couples splitting up, artists of different musical backgrounds (e.g. J.McVie-Blues, C.McVie-Classical, and Buckinhgam-Pop/Rock) fighting and meshing, and 5 artists all actually willing to participate in both the "fun" experimentation and "not-fun" re-take/overdubbing of the production process.

So, yes, no album has ever had a production process--or particular creative alchemy--like Rumours. However, no albums before or of its time ever had one either. It was truly a singular musical work of art.