Thematically, it’s not classic Mac – more hard rock than blues- but it’s worth it for the lengths the group take it to.Ī happier spin on a ‘Rumour’s break-up, vocalist Christine McVie committed to looking forward, rather than backward after eight years of marriage with bass guitarist John McVie. Originally a B-Side to ‘Over My Head’, the track quickly became a live staple, closing nearly every Mac gig, and appearing on each Fleetwood Mac live album (including an almost 10-minute version on 2004’s ‘Live: In Boston’). Fleetwood Mac’s final top ten in the US, 1987’s ‘Little Lies’ has a similar haunting hook to ‘Everywhere’, coupled with the surreptitious guitar lines of ‘Dreams’, making it mathematically at least 10% better than anything else.Ī Fleetwood Mac concert without ‘I’m So Afraid’ would be like a Bruce Springsteen concert without ‘Thunder Road’. We’re not sure why the video for this track is set on an abandoned farm, but we’ll try and put that in the past. Opening with a chanted “Why don’t you ask him if he’s going to stay?” before moving into a shriek of “Just tell me that you want me”, it’s paranoid, aggressive, and totally brilliant. The track set the record for the highest number of musicians performing on a single, and considering that it came in the wake of ‘Rumours’, still went to #6 in the UK.
That drum tattoo you hear at the start of ‘Tusk’? It’s actually the University of Southern California’s Trojan Marching Band. “I’m not a child any more, I’m tall enough to reach for the stars.” It’s not easy, it’s always complicated, but that’s how life is sometimes, they sing. Melancholic harmonies between Nicks and McVie lament the loss of innocence, but also look forward to change and growth. This is from the September 25th, 1975 issue of Rolling Stone.Out of kilter with ‘Tusk’s mainly new-wave vibe, ‘Beautiful Child’ is a sweet respite towards the end of the album. Thanks to the rapport that is evident between McVie and Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac adds up to an impressively smooth transitional album. Her “Rhiannon,” colored by Buckingham’s Kirwan-style guitar, works a little better and “Crystal,” on which Buckingham joins her on lead vocal, suggests that she may yet find a comfortable slot in this band. Compared to McVie’s, her singing seems callow and mannered, especially on “Landslide,” where she sounds lost and out of place – although to be fair, this is more a problem of context than of absolute quality. Nicks, on the other hand, has yet to integrate herself into the group style. Of the four tracks he dominates, “Monday Morning” has the most initial appeal, but the hard-edged guitar song, “World Turning” (a McVie/Buckingham collaboration) and the gorgeously somber “I’m So Afraid” stand out more and more as the album grows more familiar. But her contributions have been a strong point since she first appeared with the group on Kiln House what makes this album a marked improvement over the last several are the efforts of Buckingham, who gives Fleetwood Mac a distinguished and fitting guitar and vocal presence, something the band has lacked since Kirwan’s departure.
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