Yeah, I know about those earlier iterations of Fleetwood Mac, going back into the late 1960s, fronted by Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. I alluded to the group’s evolution in a post from three years ago.
Still, most of my favorite songs were from the version represented in the 1975 eponymous album (not be confused with the 1968 album of the same name), when Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Christine McVie and the two guys for whom the band is named.
In no hard order except the first two. Chart action refers to the Billboard pop charts in the US. Links to all:
20. Save Me (Behind the Mask), #33 in 1990
19. What Makes You Think You’re the One (Tusk – T), 1979 – some referred to Tusk as the band’s “white album”. It was a double LP, the band was fractured, and some of the songs were kind of weird
18. Dreams (Rumours – R), #1 in 1977. It’s difficult for someone not living through it to understand how dominant Rumours was. 19 weeks at #1.
17. Skies the Limit (Behind the Mask), 1990 – Buckingham was gone at this point; he would return. Rick Vito and Billy Burdette were in the band
16. Everywhere (Tango in the Night – TitN), #14 in 1988
15. Over My Head (FM), #20 in 1976
14. Little Lies (TitN), #4 in 1987
13. You Make Loving Fun (R), #9 in 1977
12. Tusk (T), #8 in 1979 – there’s a live version with the USC marching band that’s even sillier
11. Say You Love Me (FM), #11 in 1976 – this first part of the list is heavy with Christine McVie songs, I just noticed; always thought she was the glue of the group
10. Monday Morning (FM), B-side of Say You Love Me – I have an irrational affection for pop songs about days of the week, from Ruby Tuesday to Monday, Monday
9. Oh Well (Then Play On), 1970 – from the Peter Green days
8. Landslide (FM), 1977
7. I’m So Afraid (FM), B-side of Over My Head – and I believe Lindsay is
6. Gypsy (Mirage – M), #12 in 1982
5. Rhiannon (FM), #11 in 1976
4. Hold Me (M) , #4 in 1982
3. Don’t Stop (R), #3 for two weeks in 1977 – the inauguration song for one William Jefferson Clinton
2. Go Your Own Way (R), #10 in 1977 – a great breakup song
1. The Chain (R), 1977 – written by all five members; given all the romantic and musical breakups over the years, SOMETHING must be holding them together
Happy birthday, Mick Fleetwood.
Raised in the southern baptist deep south, I came late to rock and roll. Gypsy and Hold Me were the two Fleetwood Mac songs I heard first, and both still keep their appeal for me. Other than David Gilmour, Buckingham is probably the best guitarist of my lifetime.
Your top 5 is pretty bulletproof. The Chain is without question the band’s greatest musical moment. Also, it was used to great effect in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Check out the remixes of Tusk, Gold Dust Woman and Hold Me on this page:
https://soundcloud.com/fleetmacwood/reposts
You have to figure that someone was pretty astute, naming this band after the two members who stayed the longest.
The first Mac music I ever heard was the instrumental “Albatross,” released in 1968, which sits right between “Sleep Walk” (Santo and Johnny) and “Sun King” (the Beatles) in construction. Still among my faves.
I was a huge Fleetwood Mac fan after Rumours was released (ironically, my friends and I gently made fun of the spelling back then; now I always spell it that way). I was browsing in a record store at some point in the 1980s and found a copy of “The Legendary Christine Perfect McVie Album”, which was renamed, no doubt, but the early bluesy work of Christine Perfect who later married John McVie. I doubt you’ll find it anywhere, but it’s interesting for music history, at least (to be honest, I don’t remember mych about it and I no longer have it…).