Fleetwood Mac

Neilspeed,

Did you live in North America in the 70's or early 80's? I'm guessing you did not, because ABBA was everywhere, and I do belive that they actually sold quite a few albums.

The reason they did not do as well in North America as the rest of the world is in general we thought they sucked, as I think most of us still do.

Neilspeed, Fleetwood Mac was not afraid to spend time in the recording studio to get perfection. Recording studios charge by the hour and it was understood Fleetwood Mac's last few albums were extremely expensive to record. It is no wonder the sound quality is good. Besides, they were recording in analogue with some great recording engineers. Engineering analogue is truly an art as is evidenced in your comparison with SACD.

You gotta go stand outside The Plant and transport your mind back to 1976. Feel the vibe although the place wasn't in the best shape (shabby chic perhaps) last time I was there. There were some old couches and chairs outside in the rain. No, I didn't look under the cushions for illicit things. http://www.plantstudios.com/

Again (and at the risk of beating that horse one more time),

The studio work was pure Buckingham. He was well known (maybe notorious is a better word) for his obssessive (hour burning) behavior. Both "Out of the Cradle" and "Under The Skin" are REALLY remarkable in this respect. Both, and particularly the latter, are a million miles from audiophile style, but a masterpiece of studio work.

Marty

Best band ever ? That's funny.