Q&A Sessions
Ken Caillat, August 2 - 15, 2001
Page 1

Important Update, August 10, 2001 - Due to the sheer volume of questions submitted, we stopped taking questions on August 10th instead of the 15th. There have been many more than what is posted here submitted and we will forward them to Ken Caillat. He's going to try to answer as many more as he can, but repetitive questions will only be answered a single time and he might not be able to get to everything. Thank you for understanding and we hope you have enjoyed this Q&A-- we sure have!

Please read and participate on an important thread on The Ledge about the possible release of Fleetwood Mac videos on DVD. You can go there by clicking here.

Hello Ken!! When you were working on the new Rumours DVD Audio, who's idea and decision was it to put "Silver Springs" back on the album (where it should have been, because it's such an amazing song!!) and to also add "Never Going Back Again" in it's original form, "Brushes"??? Can you tell us anything about what the band members had to say about the disc when they listened to it & how they all reacted? Were you present to witness them all hearing it; and were they together, or did they each listen to it separately & give the ok? I have not purchased this disc as of yet, but I can't wait to--I've heard nothing but rave reviews about how unbelievable it is. Great job!! Hope all is well with you, and thank you for taking time to do the Q & A with us!!!!!! (Stephanie, Youngstown, Ohio, USA)

Hello, when I was mixing the album and I put up Silver Spings, I was always very proud of the sounds on Silver Springs and it was obvious that it should rejoin the other songs on the DVD. It was always meant to be a part of Rumours but because of space issues of vinyl ( which is no problem on Dvd's) it couldn't fit on the original "record". While mixing Brushes, I put up all the tracks and discovered the solo electric guitar and Mick's Brushes track. I mixed it as an alternative version and as it was on the album and played it first for Lindsey, he broke into a big smile, loved it and he said "wow , I remember that guitar." I suggested we should put it in the running order and he and Mick immediately agreed. I played the album 3 times, once for Mick and Lindsey, once for Stevie and I flew to England and played it for Christine. When Stevie heard Silver Springs, she got a tear in her eye and reached over and put her hand on my arm and said "this sounds so beautiful". I played it loud for Chris and she was rocking! Go buy a DVD-Audio player and enjoy!!! Thanks for the questions.

Ken Caillat

Hi, Ken, thanks for taking up your valuable time putting up with our "Spanish Inquisition"! :-) While mixing the Rumours DVD-A in 5:1, how did you decide what instruments would be put in which soundfield? Did you mix it according to how the band was set up in the studio? (Steve Denison, Long Beach, California, USA)

Not really, I basically placed instruments around the soundfield in a way that felt good to me and created the most amount of space and drama. For instance, I've attempted to have the background vocals surround the listener like an umbrella. Some songs, If you stand between the center and the side speaker you'd be hearing what I heard when I would be adjusting vocal mic's for a duet between Lindsey and the girls.

Good question, thanks,
Ken Caillat

Hi, Ken. The chance to ask you about your work is a really serious kick for a Machead like me. I am very grateful to you & Marty for providing this opportunity to get your take on things.

I'm a big fan of Mac's 1980 "Live" album, but I would have preferred a single concert recorded for posterity (there was talk at the time of releasing the tour-ending Hollywood Bowl shows as an album). Do you know why the decision was made to release a collection of recordings from various tours & venues? Did the band feel that picking & choosing from various tours & cities gave them the opportunity to compile stronger performances? I think a live album of a single gig (the Band's "The Last Waltz" or James Brown's "Live at the Apollo" or even Mac's "The Dance") gives the recording strength because the set is allowed to build the way it was planned, & it has that unified sense of time & place which is so important to a great concert. (David, Los Angeles, California, USA)

Thank you for the kind words. We recorded for over 60 concerts of Fleetwood Mac around the world. The problem is that some shows had one song that was performed so amazing that you would have wanted that included in the album, yet others in the show had problems. The band wanted to get the best performance of each song and felt that they did not want to go into the studio and "fix" problems, they wanted the public to hear the actual performance untouched. The Dance was recorded on a sound stage with very good isolation, enabeling the band to go in and overdub parts, perfecting the show. This is what the Eagles did too. Thanks,

Ken

Hello Mr. Caillat~ I was just wondering if there were any stories half as funny as the time when you placed a "Fake Bag" on the console? HAHAHA That was hysterical!:p THANKS :) (Alex, Winona, Minnesota, USA)

There were many funny times, but, hey, that was 30 years ago, and I was only a baby! I remember when we bought fireworks and blew up the recording truck, as well as the road manager's hotel room. Then there was Richard Dashut's favorite, when we went to the Chateau in France to record Mirage, and my puppy, which I brought with me ate the interior of Lindsey's rented Peugeot. I never saw Richard laugh so hard when he asked me where "Pal" was and I said "oh he's around here somewhere" and then I remembered I put him in one of the vehicles outside about 10 hours earlier while we were flying our model helicopters we had just bought. Richard and I walked out to Lindsey's Peugeot, I opened the door and the dome light came on and all the headliner had been torn into shreds and was hanging down like a kelp forrest with the light from the dome light streaming through....Dashut hit the ground rolling with laughter! To this day when he tells the story he's on the ground!

Hi again Ken!! Any plans to join Fleetwood Mac in the studio again to work on this next album???? Thanks! (Stephanie, Youngstown, Ohio, USA)

I'd be honored if they're smart enough to ask me!

Hi Mr Caillat,

First of all I'd like to say thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions as I'm sure you will be bombarded with them and secondly can I just say that I think you are an amazing producer/engineer. I have a couple of questions so thanks again. How did you get involved working in studios? Did you show up one day and get hired as a tea boy or something? My other question is what was it like working with Fleetwood Mac? Did you sit back sometimes and admire their respective talents and what was Lindsey like as a producer? Was his talents for production already there in the Rumours sessions or did they gradually evolve starting from those days? Can I suck up and credit you with teaching Lindsey everything he knows :o) or are you too modest? Thanks again for answering these questions sir, I am most definately not worthy, take care. (David Lydiard, Cardiff, Wales, UK)

Thanks for the complement.. How did I get into working in studios? Well, I was a guitar player and used to record my band on my home tape recorder ...nothing like they have now, old reel to reels, we'd bounce from one machine to the other. I fancied myself as a songwriter and decided I should move to L.A., get a job in a recording studio, record myself, and be discovered. I actually wore a tie for my job interview at a Wally Heider Recording Studio! Wally Heider liked my resume, call me back that night and hired me.... Of course, I had to be difficult, I said, "before I say yes, I'd like to see the studios" He loved that, he said "ok kid common' the first studio we came to was Studio 3, it was busy recording Crosby, Stills and Nash... when he told me that I said "never mind the tour, I'm in....but he said "no kid I want to show you everything".......I was completely feeling like a fool, he took me to Studio 1, where I saw the biggest console I had ever seen. Anyway he had fun with me and I ended up working there, moving tape machines and being an assistant engineer, learn while you earn. I spent the next 5 years doing live recordings, waiting for my break, for the Mac to discover me.

Working with Fleetwood Mac was great, Lindsey is a genius, he was always sitting around noodling on his guitar playing amazing stuff. My thing was the sounds. I produce by playing with sound. If I couldn't get the keyboard and the guitar into the stereo field, I'd have to figure out why and often one or the other was playing in the same octave and we'd usually suggest somebody moving up a 3rd or down a 3rd to make the sound work. Sometimes you don't know what you have till it's gone. After Fleetwood, I produced other bands, but to my surprise, the great parts just didn't come out of the musicians like the did with the Mac, they spoiled me. Good sounds can only help so much. Fleetwood Mac just played the right parts., Mick is an increadible drummer, John Mcvie plays in the pocket that Mick created and as far as Lindsey, he taught me a lot. It was easy to make him sound great. We had a great time experimenting with sounds, we had all the time we wanted. I liked putting effects in the headphones so Lindsey could get a better feel for where we were going in the control room and that had a great influence on what he played. Was his talents for production already there in the Rumours sessions or did they gradually evolve ? Nope, he came to the party with his dancing shoes on!

Very worthy questions, good one, Cheers

Hi Ken, I was wondering what the chances are of the other FM albums (especially Tusk) being rereleased on DVD-Audio? I'd think this would be a great way to also rerelease B-sides that never saw the light of day past singles before, like you did with Rumours on Silver Springs. Also, do you know if there's any chance we could see a compilation DVD of all of the Fleetwood Mac, Stevie, Lindsey, Chris and Mick's Zoo music videos? Thanks sooo much for taking the time to do this! (Brian Shoop, Cornwall, Pennsylvania, USA)

I'd like to see all the Mac albums out in DVD-Audio. My thoughts were the "Best of Tusk' or the "Greatest Hits". It would really help me, as well as the band, if all of you could vote on what you would like to hear next in DVD-Audio. Tell us! Mirage? Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac? Tango in the Night? Buckingham Nicks? the Zoo? The problem is we can't find the multi-tracks of Buckingham/Nicks. I'll pay $$$$ if anyone can help find the tapes. Thank you for taking your time to ask me these questions.

Thanks, Ken -- I hope you & Richard Dashut decide to produce a DVD-Audio of "Tusk" or even "Mirage." Your work with Dashut & Buckingham for the band (on "Rumours," "Tusk" & "Mirage") is every bit as deserving of attention to matters of production & instrumentation as is "Rubber Soul" or "Pet Sounds." (David, Los Angeles, California, USA)

You didn't like the interviews with the music? I thought it was a nice touch to turn off the lead vocals and let you all hear the track by itself. I got that idea when we were playing the music for Lindsey and he was talking to me about each song. I wanted you to hear what I heard, I got the chills. The track sheet from Wally Heiders for the Chain does list the Organ, but you are correct that the list on the DVD omitted the organ We have all the tracksheets but sometimes they were incomplete. We had problems with the tape deteriorating, during the recording, so we transferred to back-up tapes and then new parts were put down on the Safeties... of course after working on them for a year we knew everything from memory, but 30 years later....huh? To make sure we didn't forget anything we constantly had to listen to the CD to make sure we had all the right parts in.

I'm ready to go on Tusk or Mirage. Which would you prefer? Putting me in the same paragraph as Rubber Soul, wow!

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken, As I'm sure you are aware, many unreleased Mac recordings have leaked out on bootlegs over the years. In all honesty, do you think there will ever be a CD release of any previously unreleased material by Warners? I know it's not your say but as we don't get the chance to ask these kinds of questions too much to people like yourself who probably have a good idea as to how the music business functions, what do you think the hold up is? I'm sure the band members could agree on at least one discs worth of material they find acceptable for release if it's their OK and if it's the label, well, Warners must know that they we can't give them our money until they release these tapes and if fans are going to hear these recordings anyways they might as well be mixed, presented and released the way they should be heard (they can make money off them too which nobody is from the bootlegs). Do they think they've already covered it with the "25 Years: The Chain" box set from 1992? (even though that included at most maybe one discs worth of unreleased material). I don't mean to sound like I'm getting at you because I know it's not up to you, I just know many fans would be interested to hear your thoughs as to what would need to happen before something along these lines was released (such as heaven forbid, one of the members of the band passing away, but I would hope it would not have to come to that). Thanks for your thoughts in advance. (John, Peabody, Massachusetts, USA)

Thank you for you thoughts. In 1992, I was asked to assemble the songs for the "Box Set". I spent 3 months gathering every tape from every tape vault around the world, and I listened to every tape, looking for something unreleased, but could not find anything good, unless you'd like to hear a very raw jam called "Hearshy Highway", the guys of Fleetwood Mac having fun. So if you can give me some specific titles you know of, I may be able to get them released, but all I heard were demo's and alternative versions that I don't think the band would want heard and I don't think you'd want to pay money for. There's plenty of live stuff. This is the beauty of the Rumours DVD, I remixed the entire album and took the vocals out so you can hear the great sounding track and added a heartfelt narrative from the band, talking about how the album was made, an inside look into Rumours. If you haven't heard it, the band gave very intimate talks to the fans. DVD Audio is the newest and best. In the album sections, it was mixed in 6 channels at 96k and 24 bit, much higher than the cd and you can hear things you have never heard before. Listen to each speaker, all the parts have been separated into each speaker. We call it "Get Inside The Music" I hope this helps. I'm glad to have this opportunity to ask all Fleetwood Mac fans to tell us what you want to hear. Fyi, to hear the Rumours DVD-Audio disk you need to buy a DVD-Audio player (about $379) and have a 6 channel surround sound system, it comes with a subwoofer, which makes John McVie's bass shake your soul. It's at least 4 times the fidelity of Cd's. Trust me, it's worth it!

Thanks for you questions,
Ken Caillat

Hi Ken, Thanks for taking the time! My question is about the Rumours album. There's a terrible book out called "The Complete Recording Sessions Of Fleetwood Mac", the book is terrible because it doesn't give any information that anyone with the albums couldn't read for themselves. However, it does claim that two of Stevie's songs, "If You Ever Did Believe" and "Think About It" were recorded during the "Rumours" sessions. My question is aside from the songs released on the album, and Stevie's masterpiece, "Silver Springs" were any other songs recorded but shelved? The book makes it seem like only Stevie had songs recorded but never released (except in bootleg form). Thanks! (Al Chapman, Stafford Springs, Connecticut, USA)

I haven't read this book, who wrote it? Maybe I should write the "Truth Behind the Fleetwood Mac Recording Sessions"? We did record "Think About It" for Rumours, I considered mixing it for the Rumours DVD-Audio Disc, but it was too incomplete. Stevie was always writing songs. Much time during the recording was boring for Stevie and she would go into another room and write for 3 hours and, often, come back and want to lay them down to tape so as not to forget them. If there were other songs to put out I would have found them on this last listen. The DVD Audio disc does have some original demo's on it "Gold Dust Woman" for example. 

Hey Ken, another question, what exactly does a recording engineer do? How is this different from what a producer does? Thanks! (Al Chapman, Stafford Springs, Connecticut, USA)

The recording engineer gets all the sounds, chooses which mic's to use and where to put them and what effects to use; he or she turns the knobs and presses record and playback, adjusts the levels of each instrument, and makes a band sound bigger than life, making a simple song sound like a hit record. There are several types of producers, if a band can come up with the great licks, the producer (he or she) is generally the ears for the band in the studio. When the band is all out in the recording studio, playing together, they all are wearing headphones, often concentrating on what they're playing, the producer, sitting in the control room next to the engineer, can hear everything. The band might ask, "which take sounded better, the slower one or the faster one" or "was that solo better", the producer would tell them, and always the producer has the nasty job of saying "you're singing a little flat" or "you need to articulate more, I can't understand what you're saying" If you're not working with a band like Fleetwood Mac, that can deliver great parts, a producer needs to play an instrument, so as to be able to speak "musician", grab a guitar and say "play it like this" or know that the right thing to do is tell them to "try pedaling the A thru the b section" or "try an arpegiated figure under the solo" One of my favorites that is so necessary is editing, most bands just play too much, "another verse!?" A Producer is like being an english teacher, "It's not what you say, It's what you don't say, keep it simple, space is good" That space is usually where the "vibe" is!

Good Question, thanks
Ken Caillat

Why did you name your band "Fleetwood Mac"? And are you still together as a band? (Gemma, Coatbridge, Strathclyde, Scotland)

Scotland! Wow, I went there on my honeymoon and got the stomach flu the first day and was locked in my hotel room for a week. Everybody at the hotel thought I was a real stud! The name Fleetwood Mac is combined from the names of the 2 founding members, Drummer, Mick Fleetwood and Bassist, John McVie. The band is still together and about to start a new album.

Hello Ken.Is there any chance that the older Fleetwood Mac video titles, DOCUMENTARY AND LIVE CONCERT and MIRAGE TOUR will be remastered and released on DVD? Thanks. (Timothy Kee, North Huntington, Pennsylvania, USA)

I'll pass that request along...

Hi Ken. I was wondering what were your best and worst memories during the respective recording sessions of Rumours, Tusk and Mirage? (Mike Ash, Columbus, Ohio, USA)

The best memories were of the companionship of the band and the music and the worst were the hours, I'll always remember my 8 month old daughter crawling on the console during Mirage.
Ken

Did you ever tour with the band on any of the tours and what was it like as far as a typical day went? (Mike Ash, Columbus, Ohio, USA)

I usually went out to record 1 week during every tour. The typical day would always start and end the same, get up around noon, yell at the maids for making too much noise, take aspirin, and at night, come back from the gig to the hotel bar where everyone would be party. I loved flying with the band on the chartered private flights, sitting up in the jump seat, with the pilots. When I left the tour, I always felt I barely escaped with my life! On the road, everything is paid for, you've gotta be a work at 8pm, everybody telling you how great you are... it's hard not to have fun!

Hi Ken! During the recording of Rumours, did Lindsey and Stevie end up in fights alot, and were there any really special moments between them or the band that you remember and would share? Thank you, and I admire your work! (Whitney, Fayetteville, Georgia, USA)

During Rumours, there was a lot of tension on the romantic side from every band member, Richard and I considered wearing helmets, these were real life romances ending, with real tears and real emotion... and I believe that Rumours would not sound like it does if things had been different.

Thanks for the compliment!
Ken

Hello Ken. Thank you so much for participating in this. I have many questions for you. During Romours, did you believe it was unfortunate that "Silver Springs" didn't make the record? I understand the LP time issues, but couldn't something have been done to accommodate the song? (Steve Clifton, Richmond, Virginia, USA)

I absolutely hated taking Silver Springs off, I really loved my work on that song, but there was no time left on the disc. We discussed the options:

1. Edit Silver Springs way down,

2. Take another song off the album, or

3. Cut another song down in time.

Stevie's a smart woman, she was sad to see the song go, but she didn't want to see another song go either. It was a shame, but it did make "Silver Spings" famous, we always knew it would come out and have it's time. That's why it's called the music business. About half way thru the Rumours recording we stopped working on Stevie's song "Think About It". She had too many songs. We knew that with 3 writers, each wanting to have the same number of songs on the album. Stevie decided to save "Think About it" for her solo album.
Ken

If you had to choose your favorite Lindsey, Christine, and Stevie song within FM what would they be and what specific qualities about them make them stand out for you? (Steve Clifton, Richmond, Virginia, USA)

Off the top of my head I'd say:

"So Afraid" for Lindsey
"Oh Daddy" for Christine
"Landslide" and early live performances of "Rhiannon" for Stevie,

I love all of them for their emotion and space, power and sensitivity.

Good Question,
Ken

Will you be involved in the upcoming FM record? If so what are your expectations/thoughts of the sessions/release date/tour/lack of CM? (Steve Clifton, Richmond, Virginia, USA)

I gave my "smart ass" answer before, I like it so I think I use it again, I'd be honored to be involved in the upcoming album if they're smart enough to ask me! Regardless, this is a very important album for them, they need to all pull together to make this a great album and not allow distractions to get in the way of the music.

Thanks,
Ken

Thanks for spending time with us at the Penguin. Do you know about Chris' plans or what she's up to or do you know if you all may include some guests from the rock world like Stevie did on her album, big names as Chris is not likely to be included? Do you think Chris in her spare time or any of you have any plans to maybe work on a biography/documentary/film including pre-Mac life events as well as events and emotions during the music making years? Thanks a lot! (Caramel, Winchester, Massachusetts, USA)

There was an excellent documentary done for Disney several year ago called "Fleetwood Mac Going Home". I don't know what Chris' plans are, she is living happily in England.

Hello Ken, Was wondering, from a musical viewpoint, what do you think is FM's greatest collaboration together on a single song? The reason I ask this question is because obviously you have been behind the scenes and see more than "Joe", the average fan. Also, do you think that FM could pull off a Rumours 2 today... or do you think that it was just one of those special albums where the stars were aligned just right and everything just fell into place? Thanks for your time. (Jeff Baughman, Crooksville, Ohio, USA)

Wow, what a question, they're all great, possibly the Chain or Gypsy. If you've heard the Rumours DVD-Audio disk, the making of the Chain is discussed by the band. The Chain was originally called "Keep Me There" and when it was originally recorded the end solo and the great end bass line were part of "Keep Me There" but the verses sucked. The band hated the song so much that the song was almost dumped until the band got together wrote new verses and chorus and replaced the drum tracks up to the end solo. Talk about a diamond in the rough!

Do I think that FM could pull off a Rumours today? They had a combination of youthful heartbrake emotions fueling their creativity, that's a powerful movitator that might be tough to recreate today. Let's watch and see....

Dear Ken, Will Rumours be remastered on CD for its 25th anniversary & when will the DVD see the light of day on Region 2 in the UK? Thanks. (Nick, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England)

I'm sorry but I don't know what Warner's plans are for the CD, I will try to find out. I believe the DVD-Audio version of Rumours is already released in England. By the way, the DVD contains a 96k/24bit remastered version of the stereo mix that sounds awesome!

For much, much more information on the Rumours DVD-Audio in The Penguin's discographies, click on the cover image at left. You'll find a tracklisting, lyrics, Real Audio soundclips, lyric interpretations, an album interpretation, comments, reviews, and online purchase links. This is a definite must-have for any Fleetwood Mac fan! Add your own reviews too!

Quickie question.... As a guitarist, did you ever show Lindsey a trick or two?!! (Phil C., California, USA)

Maybe with sound and recording tricks, but as a guitarist....no way!

Thanks for your time Ken. Several previous questions have asked about unreleased tracks - personally I would love to see a LIVE boxset released, I heard bootlegs of Sisters Of The Moon, Frozen Love (acoustic) and Why and thought they were amazing. Do you know if the band would go for such an idea? All the best. P.S.: I hope you visited Christine in her Kent home, I come from the county and it's a beautiful place to live! (Stephen Chapman, United Kingdom)

The band would always be happy to release material that they've already recorded. Of course, the problem would lie with Warner's and if they thought they could sell enough of a Live Boxset to cover their costs. I doubt they made any money on their last box set.

I visited Chris in her home, it was beautiful. I wish I could live there!

I have the same last name as you. I'm a Fleetwood Mac Fan too...Do you think we are related in some way? I hope so!!! (D. Caillat, Los Angeles, California, USA)

Hi honey! Get off the line......

Hi Ken, Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions so completely. It is appreciaited.

Lindsey has credited you with being the one who really brought the big guitar sound into Fleetwood Mac and for making his guitar work sound so good. The guitars always had plenty of space in the arrangements and were way up in the final mixes. Was that an approach you brought with you to Fleetwood Mac or was its the songs themselves that called for that sound? Or maybe it was just Lindsey's playing?

According to VH1 John, Mick, and Lindsey have rented a house in LA to work on the basic tracks for an upcomming studio album. Have you had any involment in that work? Does it surpirse to you see Lindsey, after so many years of saying he wanted to be a solo artist, back so immersed in group activities? Thank you for time. (John, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA)

You know, regarding mixing, I just do what the music makes me feel. My hands just push the faders until it feels right. I like being an active mixer, like a member of the band. It's my instrument and I use it to play all the other instruments.

Regarding the upcoming album, I've had some talks with Mick, but I'm not involved with the project. Nothing surprises me about Lindsey. He's been solo for a while, and I think he wants to be with his family again.

Thanks,
Ken 

What can you tell me about making the song Chris McVie's "Don't Stop" when it was introduced in the sessions and what is your reaction when President Clinton used that song as his campaign theme song? (Anonymous)

Chris' song Don't Stop was always tough for me because it is a shuffle, I couldn't get enough definition on the instruments. It was like everybody was playing all at once. I worked my butt off to get the bass and kick up. It came out ok....The vocals were great with Lindsey and Chris' Duet and the choir at the end. We wanted a lot of voices to sing the ending so we got everyone who worked at the Record plant to come into the big room and sing... there were dogs, kids and a lot of fun!

I have mixed emotions to the Clinton thing, I didn't think they looked that good and it was so contrary to their beliefs. Plus, of course, the sound sucked, which makes me crazy! Thanks for the question.

Hey, Ken. Thanks so much for the opportunity to pick your brain! I've got a question about the actual production process on the Mac albums you helped create. How much input did the writer/singer of a song - Stevie/Lindsey/Chris - have in the actual production of their work? I'm sure Lindsey had more of a hands on approach to his songs. But what about Stevie and Chris? Once they recorded a song, would they just leave it up to you? Or did they get or even want the chance to listen to the finished product and offer suggestions/opinions? I guess what I'm asking is, once the vocals are recorded, is the song basically out of their hands and into yours? Thanks! (Mike Brewer, Moore, South Carolina, USA)

The Mac girls? An opinion? You bet! They provided an invaluable balance to the guys parts. Chris' offered keyboard parts that added depth by having a counter point that would sit back in the track and make the vocal changes more apparent. Lindsey's mind never rested...genius. Somewhat like displaying a diamond on blue velvet, her parts helped the diamond shine brighter. Both Stevie and Chris had many vocal ideas. Put into my hands? It was a team effort, put into the team's hands would be more accurate. I got to make them sound great. Lucky me! I may be remiss in not mentioning my pal Richard Dashut in all these talks, he shared the hot seat with me from start to finish. Thanks for the questions.

Ken, I do have the Rumours DVD audio, I agree, it is great. I'm glad you did have it set so we could hear some of the songs without the vocals, etc. Also, in watching the Classic albums Rumours DVD, I was very interested by the sections in which you and Lindsey would show us seperate instrumental tracks on their own. Is there any possibility that this kind of technology will be available so we can play around with albums in this way on our own? (If so, please give details as to what equipment is (or will be available) needed and so on.) Thanks again. (John, Peabody, Massachusetts, USA)

Nice to hear from you again, you guys should sign your name at the bottom of your questions, it's not fair, you know who I am. I'd like to know, what kind of people you are, how did you get to be such fans and what would like the record companies to do for you. Just a thought... Back to the question...I loved doing the Classic album series, I got that idea from watching George Martin on the console playing Sgt. Peppers. I have looked into giving the fans control of all the instruments, the technology would be very difficult, but nothing compared to the legal hassles. What with everyone sampling everything these days, the lawyers would get rich off of this (there's enough of that happening)! I talked to the band and they were fine with the idea, but not the legals...I'd be happy to fly all those interested to my studio's in L.A. and listen to all the tracks and play to your hearts content, (just kidding about the flying part). It's amazing when I have a Rumours multitrack up and I'm listening, I'll suddenly feel eyes on me and I'll turn around and all the people working in the building are standing there smiling.

Ken, like many of the other longer lasting bands have done with their back catalogues over the years, is there a possibility that the Fleetwood Mac back catalogue will get the "Digital Remastering" overhaul on new CD copies? And possibly adding the appropriate B-side tracks to the CD's as a bonus (such as "Cool water" to "Mirage" and the full "Gypsy" which appeared on the "Chain" box as well as "Ricky", "Book of miracles", "Down endless street" & "You and I part 1" to be added to the "Tango in the night" disc, "Silver springs" on "Rumours", "Lizard people" on "Behind the mask" and so forth) and preferrably, as discussed before maybe previously unreleased tracks (the "Hershey highways" jam sounds good to me! I could name many titles but of course these were titles that bootleggers had given the songs and those are rarely the correct titles so I wouldn't want to lead you on a wild goose chase. What about the infamous "Good things (come to those who wait)" that was going to be released but left off of "Mystery to me". I was told years ago that it was owned by Clifford Davis so therefore, it couldn't be released but I assume "Trinity" fell under this area too and that was released on the "Chain" box so maybe that could be worked out(?)). I know Warners has been re-releasing some of their other artists back titles such as Van Halen without bonus tracks anyways so hopefully this re-release idea may be an idea for the Mac catalogue in the future. Once again, I won't take what you say as gospel because I know it's not all down to you but I'd be interested to know, what do you think, is any of this possible? (John, Peabody, Massachusetts, USA)

Warners can release anything they want, if I was in charge there I'd have an email address available to all the fans so as to make sure I was always releasing what the fans want. I would suggest you call David May at Warner Records and make your suggestions known, you are obviously a huge fan and very knowledgeable, but please be gentle, he's a great guy and loves music, but he works for guys that watch the money very closely. Here's an idea, you should apply for a job at Warners' Special Products, they are in charge of taking existing content they own and releasing it. You could make millions of people happy. Plus, you could have the pleasure of negotiating with Clifford Davis. What you ask seems so simple, so there must be a reason that the label hasn't released these. I heard about the Clifford Davis negotiations, I'm glad my job is to play with music! Nice to hear from you again.

Has there been an offical release date set for the Buckingham Nicks Album on CD as yet? Thank you. (Cyndi, Springerville, Arizona, USA)

I know Warners wants to get this out as soon as possible, but they're trying to find the master tapes.

You mentioned flying to England to let Chris hear the new Rumours audio dvd......so how is she? More bluntly: is she still married to Eddy Quintela? (Linda, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA)

No, that apparently didn't work out. 

Can you explain to me what a Dingle is please. You and Richard talked about using it when recording TUSK in an article with Modern Recording Magazine around 1980. (Nick, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, USA)

Richard just left here after a wonderful dinner my wife made for us, I asked him what the hell did he mean by a dingle, we need the excerpt from the album to comment intelligently.