Christine's rich output circa 1971-1974
 

Christine's hit songs are a prominent part of Fleetwood Mac's legacy. Yet she has such a strong body of work (16 songs) with the band prior to the Lindsey/Stevie era. Though the several of those songs made the set list early on with Lindsey and Stevie (1975/76), they were naturally phased out as new songs were established.

Her backlog is somewhat overshadowed by the vastly more popular/commercial configuration of the band. I suppose more casual fans aren't even aware of those songs. Christine never brought any of them back to the stage. I love them all...some more than others.

Morning Rain
Show Me a Smile
Homeward Bound
Spare Me a Little
Remember Me
Dissatisfied
Did You Ever Love Me
Believe Me
Just Crazy Love
The Way I Feel
Keep On Going
Why
Heroes Are Hard to Find
Prove Your Love
Bad Loser
Come a Little Bit Closer

Get Like You Used to Be (Chicken Shack?) was performed early in 1975, along with Why, Believe Me and Spare Me a Little. Lindsey and Stevie gave them a fresh arrangement.
Jumping at Shadows was a rare one-off performance in 1976.

Great topic. I love the 1975/6 live versions of Spare Me a Little, Believe Me and Why. I think the 3 part harmonies of those versions are fantastic. I prefer to listen to them than the originals, I feel mean saying that as they are great songs but I think Lindsey and Stevie's vocals enhanced them. The ending of Why is amazing. There are some great recordings of Believe Me from the Rumours tour rehearsals.

I think I have heard recordings of some of her earlier songs that were performed on what I assume was her solo tour (in the 80's?) that sounded very like the studio arrangements.

It's a shame those songs were phased out... Christine has so many great songs she could easily have her own best of album!

Chris definitely has the knack for writing songs. Her early writing was really something. I love the Heros album. Some of my favorite Chris songs are on that album. They are sensational. I would keep them the way they are but I bet Lindsey could have turned them into smash hits.
Come a little bit closer and Prove your love especially. I love the bluesy feel but would be curious to see how those songs would have been on the white album or Rumours. Can you imagine an early Stevie and Lindsey singing back up on these songs? Talk about goose bumps!
I agree with Mick that Bob Welch joining the band was just as profound as Lindsey. I still love Chris's older songs but Bob helped Chris perfect her songs and add harmony. Its a shame we will probably never hear these amazing songs live ever again.

This is one of the best Fleetwood Mac concerts ever from 1974. The harmonies from Chris and Bob on Future Games are so good. Great versions of Spare me a little and Why. Sentimental Lady too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5VI...dI3vuXjj7-r_Ct

Prove Your Love is one of my favorites too! A simple song, but so subtlety evocative. It's one of her best. Heroes are Hard to Find is so remarkable because of the rare employment of horns.

I love her cover of Roll With Me Henry. It's just slight of a Fleetwood Mac song as it features several members of the band. This, along with her cover of I Can't Help Falling in Love with You need to pulled out of obscurity and featured in a compilation release with other stray songs; perhaps of gathering of solo songs from Christine, Lindsey and Stevie that have been on soundtracks and tribute albums.

I love HAHTF- her songs on that album are consistently good.
Prove Your Love sounds like it could have been on Mirage with a bit of tweaking from Lindsey.

Christine did a radio interview with Jim Ladd in 1982 where she mentioned exactly that! I'll try to transcribe the quote where she talks about it:

Interviewer: If you had to pick, just on a personal level, a Christine McVie song that when you wrote it perhaps, that you thought, "Gee, this is really gonna--people are gonna love this song and really recognize this for what it is," and then it just was not ever picked up on?

Christine: Which one did I think was great which never was picked up on? I have to go back a bit, a few years I think. Then again, I wouldn't blame people for not picking up on it, because I'd like to re-record it. It's a song called Prove Your Love. The vocal is terrible. When I listen to it now, I just think the song is a great song ...I just wish that I'd just done it differently. I wish I'd been in this present band and written it and done it with Lindsey.

Whaddaya know.
'I wouldnt blame people for not picking up on it' ... typical Christine McVie

thanks WayOfTheDragon