White Album Appreciation

[Andy Man]

Apologies if this is a redundant thread.

I've started listening to The Mac again in the hopes that I'll be seeing them in London in a few weeks (looking for some decently priced tickets for the Friday show). I must admit that my constant FM go-to albums have always been Rumours and Tusk. I always have thought of the White album as being great, but never thought it compared to the previously two mentioned albums.

However, I've been listening to it non-stop lately and must say I have severely underrated it in the past. I've always thought that it was a record of 11 great songs - however never thought much of them as a cohesive whole. And while it may not have the narrative that Rumours had, I now really appreciate how the album is structured. It is fascinating to me how a group that had three vocalists/writers (two of them being brand new the group) were able to make an record that flows seamlessly. Just like Rumours, I always feel like I'm listening to a 'band' rather than three stars (a trend that continued until around Mirage where the cohesiveness of the group began to dwindle - not that there weren't excellent moments, though).

I really have grown to admire the production of this record, especially moments like the end of Rhiannon where it fades and flows right into the beginning of Over My Head (the usage of the same drum part is quite creative, from a production standpoint). Also, the album version of Over My Head is excellent. As I usually listen to the single version of the song, which is a bit 'harsher' sounding, the album version really brings out the beautiful simplicity of the track - one of CM's best.

I've also always been a fan of the live version of I'm So Afraid and not so much the studio. However I've grown to quiet like the studio and it's interesting to hear such a quite and mysterious-esque interpretation (never really was done live).

I now hold this album in the same place as Rumours and Tusk - and there are moments where I think it outshines both of those works.

[bluefox4000]

It's got some great tracks but if I had to rate the Bucky-Nicks albums it'd go like this.

1. Tusk
2, Rumours
3. Tango
4. White album.
5. Mirage











SYW (Sans Chris so it's bottom pile)

Anyway, White album have a ton of forgettable stuff.....with nuggets of greatness.

Mick

[aleuzzi]

The White Album is one of my favs. Used to be my all-time favorite, but now I like Tusk and Kiln House as much as it.

There is something oddly magical about the 1975 release. It's a rather restrained set of songs, peppered with occasional bursts of high energy. Nothing sounds truly unleashed. If you listen to Monday Morning alongside Second Hand News you can hear a real leap in confidence and attack. Lindsey hadn't come into his own yet. Still, all the held-in tension makes for a lot of under-the-surface excitement on the White album. Christine's voice is in top form--it feels like her record more than the others. The drum-bass-piano trio are as tight as can be, too. And then there's Rhiannon. What else does one have to say?

[Ulpian]

I love the White Album.

I think there's some stuff I get tired of but I know are great songs (Rhiannon, Landslide, ISA, SYLM) but Crystal and Sugar Daddy just make that album for me. In their own very different ways, those two songs are little pieces of perfection to my amateur ear.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Andy Man

I must admit that my constant FM go-to albums have always been Rumours and Tusk. I always have thought of the White album as being great, but never thought it compared to the previously two mentioned albums.

I've always thought that it was a record of 11 great songs - however never thought much of them as a cohesive whole.

I've also always been a fan of the live version of I'm So Afraid and not so much the studio. However I've grown to quiet like the studio and it's interesting to hear such a quite and mysterious-esque interpretation (never really was done live).

This has always been my issue with the White Album- HIGH quality material, but the way it all hangs together for me has always been just a bit disjointed. Lindsey doing a cover song, only 2 Stevie songs, and World Turning is awesome, but clearly a leftover of a past Mac era. You can tell there's chemistry brewing, but they're still trying to figure how to balance it all.

The production of the White Album may be flawless, but it's polished to the point where the album is lacking any grit, IMO.

That being said, I've always adored the album version of I'm So Afraid. It's so tortured, moody, dark, and atmospheric. The song is a different animal live, but I've always loved the purity of the studio version.

Originally Posted by bluefox4000

It's got some great tracks but if I had to rate the Bucky-Nicks albums it'd go like this.

1. Tusk
2, Rumours
3. Tango
4. White album.
5. Mirage

Anyway, White album have a ton of forgettable stuff.....with nuggets of greatness.

Mick

That's pretty much how I'd rate the White Album as well. Everything on the album is sonically flawless... but it's just so highly polished to the point that it's just safe & boring. Maybe it has to do with the fact that so many of the songs on the album are such radio staples to this day that they've been cliche for decades. I'm not really sure.

Every time I play the White Album (which isn't too often), I am always amazed at the effortless quality it exudes. It's California Pop at it's finest. But I'm also reminded of how glad I am that the band branched out from there, too. The White Album is probably why the band has long been dismissed as a breezy pop band, vs being viewed as a true rock band.

[wheart]

I don't listen to it that often but I love all the songs on it. I think Warm Ways is one of the best songs Chris has ever written! Other highlights for me are Blue Letter (that needs to return to their live set) SYLM and Crystal.

[Andy Man]

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Christine's voice is in top form--it feels like her record more than the others.

I've always thought that Christine deserves a lot of recognition for this. On this record it is very evident that Christine was given so much more power in Fleetwood Mac than when Bob Welch was in the band. Lindsey and Stevie are newcomers (like she had once been in FM). Now, Christine is essentially leading the band. Lindsey may have gained creative control later down the road (certainly by Tusk), but in 1975 I think it was Christine calling the shots...

[applebucked]

This album has got to be one of my favorites as well. Great batch of songs all around from all three songwriters (if a little restrained).

Also, the White Album tour has my favorite tour setlist. A nice mix of old and new songs.

[ejb1969]

I've always liked it equal to Rumours. Whenever I hear Rhiannon and Crystal, I imagine what it was like for people to hear those tracks for the first time. Although Lindsey and Stevie were new to the Mac, Studio City was their home away from home and I think that comfort in the studio and their trust in Keith Olsen really comes through. And I believe that the album captures Christine's voice at its finest. The "Sound City" documentary made me appreciate the magic that the Neve console brought to the music of the era, not only for the Mac but for other acts as well.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by wheart

I think Warm Ways is one of the best songs Chris has ever written!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who adores this track. There aren't a lot of breezy, beautiful Fleetwood Mac LOVE songs, but this one is a rare exception. Warm Ways is just pop perfection: gorgeous lead & backing vocals and a beautifully spare musical arrangement. The drum parts Mick laid down for this track are particularly sublime.

[sleepless child]

This was the album that made me a fan. I loved everything about it. Especially Stevie. My favorite song is Crystal. In English class we had to interpret a poem and I choose this one. I had no idea what the lyrics meant. LOL! I said it was about realizing you had fallen in love with someone. I think Stevie says she wrote it about her dad. so I think it is really about leaving your youth behind to become and adult. Leaving your dad and going to your boyfriend. I still love hearing this record and the sound is amazing. Of course it was recorded in Sound City.

[becca]

This album was huge when it came out, almost everyone seemed to have it along with Heart's Dreamboat Annie and Nazareth's Raz-Ma-Naz. Those were the big heavy party/boogie LPs. Say You Love Me and Over My Head were monsters; always on the radio. Rhiannon was huge too but I remember some b.s. controversy where some stations wouldn't play it as it promoted devil worship blah blah blah.

I think a lot of people don't realize how to about half the audience Rumours was really part two of the 1975 album!

[redbird]

I love the white album, I don't care if it's called real rock or pop or what, there are days that it's my favorite of the Rumours-era lineup's outputs (I certainly like it consistently more than Mirage, Tango and SYW). I wouldn't need or want every FM album to be as "easy listening" as this one but it's good at what it does and there are qualities about it that I really miss when I get to the latter parts of the line-up's catalog. It couldn't last forever but I love the classic California sound.

"Rhiannon", "Blue Letter", "Over My Head", the entire second side ... incidentally "Blue Letter" kicks off my workout at the gym every morning.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by becca

This album was huge when it came out, almost everyone seemed to have it along with Heart's Dreamboat Annie and Nazareth's Raz-Ma-Naz....

I think a lot of people don't realize how to about half the audience Rumours was really part two of the 1975 album!

Yes, this is so true. The albums are really of a piece; they share an aesthetic, a decidedly tasteful slant on arena rock. Though Rumours is the flashier, livelier sibling, it learned its basic tricks from its slightly older, more reserved older brother.

[applebucked]

When you play the two albums side by side, it becomes even clearer.