Member since:
August 31, 2005

The Fleetwood Mac You Might Not Know

March 20, 2007 08:11 PM EDT (Updated: March 20, 2007 08:48 PM EDT)

views: 263 | comments: 31

There's a somewhat valid tendency to dismiss groups that have had wild success. Fleetwood Mac is no exception. In order to sell millions of records you need to tap into a lot of different people's likes, and that smacks of lowest common denominator. When Buckingham Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, they softened the tone of the group just as the boomers were looking for something a little more quiet. And the first two albums were pretty darned good; so good in fact that we all became sick of hearing them on the radio.

I know a different Fleetwood Mac, the one from before Buckingham Nicks joined. It was more of a family or commune than a commercial venture. Members were added as much because they "felt right" to the persons already in the band as for their actual talent. Fortunately, Fleetwood Mac never, ever brought in any duds. Yes, some of the band members did experience what we might call insanity, but it didn't have a harmful effect on the music. They went bonkers, they left, and someone else took their places. No problem.

Fleetwood Mac was originally a raunchy British Blues band. I would go into detail, but I don't want to flag this article as intended for mature audiences. Let's just say the Rattlesnake Shake was not about a rattle. They also had a very peculiar prop that got them kicked out of a number of clubs.

In those days Peter Green was their primary guitarist, and in the minds of many rivaled Clapton. I'm not so sure about that, but their blues did had a haunting, almost horrific tone that cut right into you if you're vulnerable to that sort of thing. I am. Closing My Eyes, off their Then Play On album, is one of the scariest songs I've ever heard - scary in its vulnerability and vivid depiction of despair. Then, there's the song Oh, Well - which starts out the rockin'est thing you could ever ask to hear, and then dissolves into a moody drifting thing that leaves the listener wondering what the hell these guys were on. Shortly after releasing Then Play On in 1970, something went awry with Green and he disappeared into hiding. At one point he was so reclusive that when a person tried to deliver his royalties check, he is reported to have chased them off with a gun.

So, Green had left a bonafide star, and the rest of the band seemed to drift without any sort of focus. For the next 5 albums, they couldn't seem to settle on a particular sound, and there was great variety in the records themselves. This was not conducive to building a brand that fans could latch on to. They would rock out on one cut, go utterly sentimental on the next, do some Beach-Boys-sounding thing, and then a banjo would start up to start a song about a guy sleeping in an abandoned car. How do you market this? Who do you market it to? The answer is some people would love it, and lots of people wouldn't get it. The records Bare Trees, Kiln House, Mystery to Me, Future Games, and Heroes Are Hard to Find each sold a maddening 300,000 copies - just enough to keep the band going.

One constant they had was that which defines many a great rock band - a great drum and bass guitar combination. Through all of their personnel changes, Mick Fleetwood would provide a wonderful variety of rhythms and John McVie would dazzle with bass lines like the ones in Bare Trees and Miles Away. If you hate Fleetwood Mac and have to listen to them, tune out all but the drums. If you can't appreciate Mick Fleetwood, may I suggest you try classical music, or contemporary top 40 Country.

You already know Christine McVie. She has a wonderfully silky voice and a knack for sentimentality you will - most likely - either love or hate.

I love those 5 albums. If you can go out and download singles, I recommend the following:

From Then Play On: Oh, Well; Closing My Eyes; (If you like those, you might want to get the whole album.) The whole Searching for Madge / Fighting for Madge thing is very entertaining - something you'll surely want to crank to piss off the neighbors.

From Bare Trees: Bare Trees; Spare Me a Little; Danny's Chant

From Future Games: Sands of Time; Morning Rain

From Heroes Are Hard to Find (my least favorite of these albums, but okay): Come a Little Bit Closer

From Penguin: The Derelict; Revelation

From Kiln House: Station Man; Tell Me All the Things You Do

From Mystery to Me: (just get the whole thing, but) The City; For Your Love; Forever; Just Crazy Love; Miles Away; Somebody

If you only listen to three songs, go find Miles Away, The Derelict and Spare Me a Little.

-----------

If you prefer to go to old record stores or yard sales, you can't beat the album covers, and my favorite, hands down, is the artwork on Mystery to Me:

fileId:3096224744063396;size:full;

view all photos

You need the latest Adobe Flash Player.
Install the player now

recommend this

link to this page

Bookmark this post:

Comments: 31

Ron Hall Mar 20, 2007, 9:14pm EDT

With the exception of Christie McVie's composing style, it was a totally different band. If you find Bare Trees or Mystery to Me, give them a listen. I don't care much for Stevie Nicks either. Lindsay Buckingham is pretty incredible.

The Fleetwood Mac You Might Not Know

Comments: 31

Join the Conversation

You might also like

More by Ron Hall