Fleetwood Mac plays at Verizon Arena Friday pic

  • Fleetwood Mac plays at Verizon Arena Friday.

FLEETWOOD MAC
8 p.m. Verizon Arena. $39-$147.

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Is there another band that rose to fame during the Classic Rock Decade — let’s call it 1970-1980 — for which there is broader consensus than Fleetwood Mac? (Side note: I’m referring to the Buckingham/Nicks lineup of the band; the earlier incarnations certainly had their merits, e.g. 1969’s majestic “Then Play On”).

Sure, you’ll hear people dis the giants from that era all the time. The Eagles were and are huge, and sold a ton of records. But they also inspire passionate hatred. Ditto for your Billy Joels and your Elton Johns and your Peter Framptons. But have you ever heard any credible person (basically anybody who’s not a gadfly, curmudgeon, spoilsport or stick in the mud) claim that Fleetwood Mac sucks?

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No, you have not. And why is that? It’s because the band made music that was sophisticated and catchy, but also real and human. They were massively popular and despite the ubiquity of many of the group’s hits, I never change the dial when “Rhiannon” or “Go Your Own Way” or “Dreams” comes on, even though I’ve heard ’em a zillion times. The band’s hits are simply indelible parts of the pop landscape, one of the few groups that just about everyone can agree on.

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