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Fleetwood Mac playlist: Best songs of Buckingham-Nicks era
By Jason P. Woodbury
Special for the Republic | azcentral.com
Tue May 28, 2013 10:21 AM
For nearly five decades, the name Fleetwood Mac has served varying lineups. Although they started with Peter Green in England, Fleetwood Mac hit their stride in the 1970s, when the lineup of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood scored a string of worldwide pop hits. From 1975-1987, the fivesome swapped partners and melodies, defining the sound of adult contemporary pop and tip-toeing into the genres of New Wave, hard rock and folk along the way. Here are the 10 best moments of their ’75-’87 era.
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10. “Little Lies”
1987’s “Tango in the Night” was the last record to feature the line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, and aided by charting singles like “Big Love,” “Everywhere,” and “Seven Wonders,” it was their second-best-selling record. “Little Lies” was not only the album’s biggest hit, but also its best song. Over a lush bed of Fleetwood’s taut drums, washes of synth and sashaying guitars, Christine McVie takes the lead vocal, with Nicks and Buckingham adding bursts of their signature vocal styles. It’s Fleetwood Mac at their “mature pop” height, one sublime pop song right before the train they boarded with their 1975 self-titled LP derailed.
9. “I’m So Afraid”
Although fans of Fleetwood Mac’s pre-Buckingham/Nicks era might bemoan the pop direction they took upon the duo’s arrival, “I’m So Afraid,” which closed their 1975 LP — the first to feature Buckingham and Nicks — is as tense and dark as anything they did with Danny Kirwan, and it taps into the same mystic blues vein that Peter Green did. Penned by Buckingham, there aren’t many more moments in the ’75-’87 catalog that find the guitarist’s playing so unrestrained; as he cuts loose searing leads in the song’s final movements, the song almost seems to prophesy the looming pains that would come with Fleetwood Mac’s success, the heartbreak, infidelities and substance abuse.
8. “Sara”
While 1979’s “Tusk” is generally regarded as Fleetwood Mac’s most off-kilter album — owing much to Buckingham’s fascination with New Wave and punk artists like Talking Heads and the Clash — that doesn’t mean that McVie and Nicks don’t get plenty of material in (it’s a double album, after all). “Sara,” penned by Nicks, closes the end of side A, following one of Buckingham’s more sedate, but still plenty strange, numbers on the album, “Save Me a Place.” “Sara” serves as a reminder of the band’s ability to set a mood. Over John McVie’s nimble bass line, Nicks croons, “Drowning in a sea of love, where everyone would love to drown.” It’s the sort of romantic melancholy Nicks specializes in, a calming counterpart to Buckingham’s more deranged (and excellent) songs on the album.
7. “Hold Me”
After the experimental fervor of “Tusk” and the solo debuts of both Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, 1982’s “Mirage” found Fleetwood Mac heading to Château d’Hérouville (which Elton John charmingly called the “Honky Chateau”) to get back into hit-making mode. “Hold Me” is the biggest of those hits, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Pop Chart. The interplay between Christine McVie and Buckingham is priceless; the former takes one of her sultriest leads while the latter provides a sneaky harmony and a selection of whoops and holler.
6. “Not That Funny”
The New Wave and punk affectations of 1979’s “Tusk” might have confused listeners and upset the folks at the record company at the time, but its quirky qualities have earned it a cult following in the following years, with fans like Tame Impala, Wolf Parade and Animal Collective proudly trumpeting its fusion of soft rock and avant garde weirdness. “Not That Funny” isn’t the most out-there song on the record (that title goes the marching band title track), but it is the most unhinged, with Buckingham losing it over crunchy guitars and some of the best drums Fleetwood ever recorded.
5. "The Chain"
In many ways, the cohesion of “The Chain” is baffling. The song is composed of elements written by every member of the band. McVie, Nicks and Buckingham deliver its emotional content lyrically during the verses (some of Nicks’ fiercest lines), but the romantic anger is really sold by the song’s instrumental outro, a jam crafted by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. John McVie’s bass rumble is one of the most recognizable moments in ’70s rock, an ominous progression that gives way to manic guitar from Buckingham and driving, meditative twack from Fleetwood.
4. "Rhiannon"
Stevie Nicks’ witchy ways may have freaked out more conservative listeners, but there’s no denying the mystic energy of this single from Fleetwood Mac’s 1975’s self-titled album. Nicks wrote “Rhiannon” before joining, and while the song clearly belongs to Nicks, it’s hard to imagine it without the chorusing harmonies provided by Fleetwood Mac’s other vocalists. For a real trip, dig up the Waylon Jennings version of the song (released on 1985’s “Turn the Page”). The Outlaw employs nearly identical harmonies during the shuffling chorus.
3. "Think About Me"
Christine McVie is the most unheralded element in the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up (her absence in the reunion tours is most noticeable). McVie was always able to add shots of cheery romance at crucial moments. “You Make Loving Fun” provides some necessary levity to the brutal “Rumours,” while “Think About Me” gives “Tusk” some pop-driven juice. It’s not lightweight either; in many ways it sounds like McVie’s attempt at a power pop song, and it succeeds on the merits of her stellar lyrics and hooky chorus (in which Buckingham gets to do what he does best, too).
2. "Gypsy"
Although the strife of the Buckingham/Nicks relationship ending is often credited for creating the emotional resonance of Fleetwood Mac’s best material, “Gypsy” is a success that sweetly flies in the face of that notion. Over a gentle McVie/Fleetwood rhythm, Nicks looks back on her early days with Buckingham with nostalgia. “It all comes down to you, you that it does,” Nicks sings. “Lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice.” (The song also looks back on the friendship between Nicks and her high school friend Robin Snyder Anderson.) The tension between Buckingham and Nicks continued to exist in the studio and on the road, but that doesn’t stop this song from existing as a powerful love letter to the feelings they shared.
1. “Go Your Own Way”
It’s temping to sum up the ’75-’87 incarnation of Fleetwood Mac’s catalog with the opening lyric of “Go Your Own Way”: “Loving you isn’t the right thing to do.” But it’s even easier to sum up the band’s catalog with the musical content of this tune, its hard driving rhythm and golden harmonies, a hard rock anthem with soft rock style. It doesn’t matter how many times they play this one on the radio – it always sounds vital.