Dallas Morning News Review of the Chain, December 10, 1992
Fleetwood Mac
25 Years: The Chain
(Warner Bros., four discs, $72.98 list)
Summing up the career of a band that has lasted as long and had as many incarnations as Fleetwood Mac is a daunting task. But The Chain does an admirable job of synopsizing the dizzying array of identities the band has assumed.
Most heavily represented are the Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks years, which makes sense because they were involved with the band's longest-running and most successful era. Most of the radio hits from this period are here, often with alternate mixes indistinguishable from their originals. Silver Springs, the much-sought B-side to Go Your Own Way, is included, as are some live cuts that remind one of how odd and half-realized Fleetwood Mac's concert performances from this period were.
The period after Mr. Buckingham's departure also is covered, perhaps a bit too thoroughly, and includes four new songs. Fleetwood Mac's blues roots -- particularly the Peter Green beginnings -- are delved into, and it is surprising to hear grungy numbers like Rattlesnake Shake and realize that another version of this band turned out the polished Go Your Own Way.
Although the band's origins and later work are well-covered, the middle period of Fleetwood Mac's career is touched on only briefly. Although he was only with the band four more-or-less hitless years, Bob Welch's idiosyncratic contributions to the group's sound deserves more attention than the inclusion of Hypnotized and a handful of other tracks.
PACKAGING: The accompanying booklet is disappointing, consisting only of pictures and a few lists, the assumption being that the story of Fleetwood Mac, like that of John Henry, is known to everybody. But people buy box sets for these booklets -- to see rare photos, learn something new about a beloved band -- and the decision to fling just a handful of photos at the buyer comes off as arrogant.
BOTTOM LINE: Fleetwood Mac is, essentially, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Together, they form a seamless rhythm section that others drift in and play in front of, adding their own unique stylings. The Chain is an illustrative sampling of the range of flavors this approach has produced over the years. Devotees will appreciate the breadth of this offering, and the more casual listener, drawn in by the familiar, may be pleasantly enlightened.
-- Matt Weitz
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