This is a thought that's always intrigued me. How the group totally changed their sound. For the record i prefer the later Mac with Lindsey, as to me the songs were much better.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

I perfer Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac they were two different groups as far as Im concerned. Peter Green is a legend. His music is more appeling to me.

+1!

FM surely had greater commercial success with Lindsey Buckingham but Peter Green cut his teeth with the blues greats of the early '60s era.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I said Lindsey Buckingham, because I like more of their songs from that era, but I'd quite happily listen to either.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Tbazzone pretty well said it all,the change was profound and Green and Buckingham were like polar opposites who took the group into totally different directions.Bob Welsh also made a huge impact on the sound of the group and when he left there was another
profound change in the sound.

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Yes the change was pretty incredible. I watched a documentary on them the other night and they were in the states and wondering what way to go and they heard a tape of Lindsey playing and when they met him he insisted he'd only join if they took Stevie as well Little did they know the huge role she'd play in their future sound too!

I just liked the Lindsey era better because i love songs with great tunes and hooks and felt latter FM had more of that. Still love Peter Green though and Gary Moore's tribute album to him 'Blues For Greeny' was sublime.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Peter Green era FM hands down.
"Oh Well" and "Black Magic Woman" were killer. And yep, Carlos Santana didn't write Black Magic Woman, he just made it timeless. I do like Green's version better though.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

That's like trying to ask which was better--Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, the Arc Angels or Storyville...each of these three bands had the same rhythm section, but besides that, none of them were the same.
One was blues, one was blues/rock, one was soul/rock.
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Likewise, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac was an all-boys British Blues band that dabbled in rock and psychedelia. They were amongst the best at what they did and deserve all the praise heaped upon them.

Lindsay Buckingham's Fleetwood Mac was a multi-national, multi-gender pop/rock band that defined 1970's West Coast pop. Likewise, they were amongst the best at what they did, too.

I would have to vote for Peter Green's version of the band, but by no means do I ignore or dislike Buckingham's era(s).

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the real shame is that pete lost his mind and the original group split. they were concidered the best british blues band. i have to say eventhough eric clapton era bluesbreakers was wonderful, peter green's fleetwood mac was beter. period. they had a great line up.and songs to boot. although eric had the best sound and style.

This is like comparing apples to oranges as they are two totally different entities.

I had to think about this for a moment as I had to consider two separate bands with two radically different styles. The bottom line is, I could listen to the Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac infinitely longer than the Lindsey Buckingham one.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

There was a Fleetwood Mac after peter Green???
I'm With SA on this one.
When the individual who brings the heart and soul to a band moves on to other ventures the band takes on a new personality -
The Guess Who and BTO?
Airplane without Paul Kantner?
Genesis without Peter Gabriel?
(Dare I mention) Pink Floyd without Syd Barrett?
The Grandmothers (Mothers of Invention after Frank passed away... and recently Jimmy Carl Black).
Granted the bands had very successful careers (some more than [m]others) when the founders went away, but they weren't the same.

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According to Mike Vernon, Mac's producer for Blue Horizon, between the end of '67 and the beginning of 1970 Fleetwood Mac outsold both The Stones and The Beatles combined.
He mentions it in the Fleetwood Mac biography Man Of The World.

(Starts here ten parter worth a watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0DayWUY64)

I got nothing against the latter incarnation but songwise, I'd have to disagree that they have better songs. Thats like saying Kylie Minogue has better songs than Elvis. Yeah they may sell or have sold more but were targeted at a much bigger audience in a very different market.

[PERSONAL OPINION ALERT not to be taken seriously]
The only album worth buying was Rumours and half of that was Stevie Nicks mystical moonhippy, unicorn baiting rainbow nonsense. Tango had a couple of good tracks and Tusk was a disaster aside from the title track.
Buckingham is an amazing guitarist ultimately they were a singles band though.

Bob Weston played for em for a while. He was well worth listening to. He died earlier this year.

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No no and no

Simply the best IMO Always brings a tear to my eye. Stevie is superb on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM7-PYtXtJM&ob=av2e

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

It's already been said, two TOTALLY different bands so really no comparison.

And my vote is Lindsay/Stevie era FM. Stevie's lyrics are brilliant and introspective and Lindsay's playing is stellar. With the Mcvie's and Mick it was a great lineup.

In the minority again here, go figure

When I was engineering, many moons ago, I did demo's for Billy Burnette. He was lead for FM for a short time when Lindsey was on hiatus. He's a very cool guy, played a lot of Rockabilly. I never got to hear him play with Fleetwood, I wish I had.
Edit: I looked it up, the album he did with them was "Behind The Mask".

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