Search - Fleetwood Mac - Destiny Rules on DVD

Great title for a great documentary

Mike Sarzo | Glenn Dale, MD USA | 11/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Fleetwood Mac: Destiny Rules documentary goes where the band has gone before in terms of the kind of documentary you see here. The band previously released such a retrospective about the recording of their classic album Tusk, but this one is very different.

For one thing, the band is much older as it set about recording their album Say You Will. Secondly, Christine McVie has retired, so the band was left to its own devices with the three men (drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, and guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham) recording while singer Stevie Nicks was on her tour to support Trouble in Shangri-la so she couldn't be in the studio while the men were until she finished her tour.

One of the things that is obvious when watching Destiny Rules is the fact that, despite a flaky reputation, Nicks is surprisingly grounded at key moments in the filming. While Buckingham was pushing for a double album, Nicks explained her reasons for being reluctant to go along: The band's familiar audience was older and a double album would be a hard sell. She also displayed a grasp of the current music scene that seemed to escape the other members when she pointed out how difficult it would be to compete with the likes of N'SYNC or the Backstreet Boys.

Nicks does have her moments of drama. When the cameras were filming her and Buckingham debating the merits of lines in "Thrown Down," she says, "you can't change that. It's beautiful." A VH-1 All Access special caught one moment that Destiny Rules unfortunately missed: Nicks screaming at Buckingham, "of course you hate it. It's because I wrote it!"

All in all, the decision to go from a double album to a single album with 18 songs could have been explained more thoroughly and some of the sequences seemed out of whack, but the documentary was a very revealing glimpse into the changes that happen to older artists who go into a recording studio."

Intimate peek at a great reunion

G. Vernon | Seattle, WA USA | 11/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If there was ever any doubt in the press that Lindsey Buckingham is an eccentric genius, those doubts are erased by "Destiny Rules." Fleetwood Mac has allowed the filmmakers a nearly-all-access pass to the recording of their first release since the 1987 "Tango in the Night." And as such we get to see Lindsey, Stevie and company in the most unprotected setting: a beautiful home rented for the recording of "Say You Will." There are fascinating glimpses of the creative process, including the ownership the songwriters take of their music and the difficulty in turning their babies over to a mixer.

Lindsey lets it all hang out for the cameras: selfishness, self-centeredness, petty bickering, controlling possessiveness of the songs, grandiose overestimation of his share of responsibility for the record's outcome. And on top of it we see a father of a young family who just happens to be one of the great guitarists of all time. There's a segment near the beginning where Lindsey is sitting on a couch going for broke on the song "Destiny Rules" and he's just so relaxed and interacting with Mick Fleetwood almost casually while his fingers have a life all their own and it's awesome.

"You keep writing songs like that and we'll make this a double-album yet," he tells Stevie almost offhandedly as they're listening to her demos for "Say You Will." It's a bigger comment than it seems at the time, as it turns out Lindsey has been petitioning for a double album from the get-go and as the record company drives the project toward a single disc, Lindsey's about ready to take his toys and go home. Fascinating stuff for the cameras, and bravo to Lindsey for letting it stay in the film. And thank heavens he didn't throw the ultimate temper tantrum, as "Say You Will" is Fleetwood Mac's best record since "Rumors," easily besting the experimental "Tusk" or the corporate-tainted discs that followed "Tusk."

Whether or not the mighty Mac heads back into the studio, this is one for the time capsule. If you're a fan who bought the awful "Tango in the Night" home video, with all of it's false and patently awful post-concert closeups of Stevie through a filtered lens, this movie is will be even more of a pleasure. An honest, no-holds-barred depiction of a great band going through all the processes that result in one great album. Perfect companion piece to "Say You Will.""

Awesome documentary.

Chris McLeod | Locust Grove, GA. USA | 01/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you already saw and taped this documentary on VH1 when it aired, no need to buy it. The DVD contains NO extras what-so-ever. That is the reason I could not give this 5 stars. It was put together from over 500 hours of footage, and yet they still could not manage to put some extra scenes....they did not even add in the extras scenes that VH1 ALL ACCESS showed advertising the documentary...so there are my minor problems with this DVD. I taped it commercial free when it aired on VH1, and bought it...unfortunately I bought it because PBS said it had extras...

ANYWAY, the documentary itself is magnificent and if you have not seen you need to. Any fan of rock music could surely appreciate this. This DVD documents the tense making of Fleetwood Mac's first album with Lindsey Buckingham since 1987. This was also their first album without keyboardist, and sometime singer-songwriter Christine McVie. Some traditional Mac fans may miss Christine's cool personality, or just the vibe from having 3 lead vocalists in one band..However the band's king and queen of drama for the last 30 years Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are here in full force. Young kids who do not know this band might wonder why the man in the band has a caption as LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM and the lady is called STEVIE NICKS I'm sure...

There are some tense moments here, and some great musical moments. This documentary really shows what all goes into making an album in the 2000's. Fleetwood Mac, still being somewhat old fashioned skips the computers and opts to slicing tape with a razor blade to cut a guitar part in half...but that is just one of the things that makes them who they are.

Not only does the viewer get an inside look into the production and musical aspect of making a CD but also the financial and business aspect. You get to see the band literally debating over whether a Double album would sell in today's slow economy, teen pop driven music world...Stevie Nicks seems somewhat distant from the idea, while Lindsey doesn't seem to care much about the financial issue.
Not only that but you also get to witness a literally nervous band as they get ready to do their first tour without Christine, as well as their first tour since 1997. The tour rehearsals are my favorite part of the show.
This is a great documentary...don't buy if you are expecting a concert, because it's not that...
Don't buy if you expect Stevie Nicks to be twirling from room to room, you won't get that either...you get a behind the scenes look at one of rock's most successful bands trying to find their place in today's music world, while keeping their artistic integrity they worked so hard for.
"

They've still got it: talent, stage presence AND DRAMA!!!!

Jared Vaughn | 10/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watched the first night this was aired on VH1 and I have to tell you - especially Fleetwood Mac fans - if you missed it, you should be jumping at the opportunity to own this DVD! Fleetwood Mac is infamous for their obessive indulgences and drug usage - while that may all be in the past, one thing that they still have after all these years (aside from incredible talent) is DRAMA and GUESS who the drama queen is? Well - SURPRISE it's NOT Stevie Nicks. This is the making of their first studio album since 1987's Tango In The Night album, Lindsey's last before leaving the band after its release and rejoining in 1997. Not only is it an incredible look into the making of a GREAT album, which I highly recommend, but an AWESOME look into what we didn't see in the 70's and 80's behind the scenes. It takes you from the first day of recording in the Hollywood mansion they used, to the sound stage for concert rehearsals to the first night of their Say You Will Worldwide Tour 2003-04. You'll watch it over and over again!"