What was the most important song of the Early Fleetwood Mac

DavidMn · #1 08-14-2006, 03:47 PM

There are alot of choices here. My 2 personal choices are Oh Well, which will FOREVER stand the test of time, and the instrumental Fleetwood Mac, it being the first song they recorded. What are your choices?

chiliD · #2 08-14-2006, 04:00 PM

As much as I love "Oh Well"...the "most important" would definitely have to be "Fleetwood Mac". If that hadn't been recorded, the band wouldn't have gotten its name, nor possibly even BEEN a band.

Wouter Vuijk · #3 08-14-2006, 04:09 PM

For me personally it was "I loved another woman" from the dog and dustbin album. It got me hooked on blues (I absolutely loved the reverb on the guitar). From then on took I up guitar playing rather seriously and started investigating on blues and found all the originals. Still love em as much as I still adore Peter's style in his old days.
Cheers

brightfire · #4 08-14-2006, 08:04 PM

Oh Well is a good choice. I would choose World In Harmony, another great early song.

sharksfan2000 · #5 08-14-2006, 10:02 PM

Of course it all depends on what you mean by "important", but one song I haven't seen mentioned yet is "Albatross". That's the song that really took the band to another level in terms of broad popularity. The commercial success of that song was certainly a key for the band - I wonder if they would have taken the musical direction they did if "Albatross" had not been so successful.

aleuzzi · #6 08-14-2006, 11:02 PM

On a professional level, I'm with Sharkfan on this. Even though Green was anti-money and fame later on, in the early days, he--along with the rest of the band--were eager to make it big. "Albatross" catapulted the band into the major leagues.

On a musical level, I think "Black Magic Woman" was the most important. It's a great blues but one that allowed the band--in several incarnations-- to explore all sorts of directions in a live setting. It was a touring staple for them until '75, which meant the newer Macs could connect with original fans, as well as more recent ones.

desertangel · #7 08-15-2006, 12:57 AM

Albatross gets my vote too. Kinda wondered if the band felt that way too since they played it at the end of every SYW show. Love that song.

Somewhere in the back of my mind ... I seem to recall a story about a UK DJ who got a hold of a copy of Albatross and played it as the intro, or was it outro, to his late night radio show and next thing ya know, people are calling in asking for it to be played as part of the regular programming and it rocketed to it's number one spot on the charts back in '69. But I can't seem to find that story anywhere online... what book was that in... did I dream this up? I have had a few Fleetwood Mac Dreams over the years.

aleuzzi · #8 08-15-2006, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertangel

Somewhere in the back of my mind ... I seem to recall a story about a UK DJ who got a hold of a copy of Albatross and played it as the intro, or was it outro, to his late night radio show and next thing ya know, people are calling in asking for it to be played as part of the regular programming and it rocketed to it's number one spot on the charts back in '69. But I can't seem to find that story anywhere online... what book was that in... did I dream this up? I have had a few Fleetwood Mac Dreams over the years.

You're not dreaming about this. I read it, too. Maybe in Mick's book? Or maybe it was in Samuel Graham's book from 1978...Can't recall, but the info is right.

BTW: I once dreamed Stevie was dancing before a black El Dorado in parking lot lit only by a sole street lamp in the distance. John McVie was filming her with a camcorder. That image (minus their identities) formed the basis of a short story I wrote a few years back...

bretonbanquet · #9 08-15-2006, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertangel

Albatross gets my vote too. Kinda wondered if the band felt that way too since they played it at the end of every SYW show. Love that song.

Somewhere in the back of my mind ... I seem to recall a story about a UK DJ who got a hold of a copy of Albatross and played it as the intro, or was it outro, to his late night radio show and next thing ya know, people are calling in asking for it to be played as part of the regular programming and it rocketed to it's number one spot on the charts back in '69. But I can't seem to find that story anywhere online... what book was that in... did I dream this up? I have had a few Fleetwood Mac Dreams over the years.

That was the recently-defunct, long-running, late-lamented British chart TV show, "Top of the Pops". Apparently they played "Albatross" over the closing credits one night, and they had lots of people asking who the band was etc, so they featured it the following week. The single had been out for quite a while, but that was the point at which it took off

Can't recall where I read that story, but I'm sure that's how it went.

As for Mac dreams, I quite regularly see members popping up at odd times in random dreams. Usually it's just one of them on their own, and most of them have appeared at one time or another. Usually it's Danny telling me he's OK

, but sometimes it's John or Mick, Peter or Chris.

DavidMn · #10 08-15-2006, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertangel

Albatross gets my vote too. Kinda wondered if the band felt that way too since they played it at the end of every SYW show. Love that song.

Somewhere in the back of my mind ... I seem to recall a story about a UK DJ who got a hold of a copy of Albatross and played it as the intro, or was it outro, to his late night radio show and next thing ya know, people are calling in asking for it to be played as part of the regular programming and it rocketed to it's number one spot on the charts back in '69. But I can't seem to find that story anywhere online... what book was that in... did I dream this up? I have had a few Fleetwood Mac Dreams over the years.

Not to be too picky, but they didnt start playing it at the end of shows until about 35 or 40 shows into the tour.

shackin'up · #11 08-15-2006, 05:09 PM

for me, it's Looking for Somebody. I've never heard a more simple song with so much vibe. It shows the strenghth of the rythmsection that still carries on 'till this day with the same strength and recognizable Mac-feel.

DavidMn · #12 08-15-2006, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shackin'up

for me, it's Looking for Somebody. I've never heard a more simple song with so much vibe. It shows the strenghth of the rythmsection that still carries on 'till this day with the same strength and recognizable Mac-feel.

Geez, I'm embarrased to say I've never heard of that song. What album is it on?

shackin'up · #13 08-15-2006, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Geez, I'm embarrased to say I've never heard of that song. What album is it on?

the first. Brilliant album.

SteveMacD · #14 08-15-2006, 06:38 PM

That depends. "Fleetwood Mac" is the song that gave the band its name, and probably lit the spark in Peter that lead to the ultimate formation of the group. That's pretty big. HOWEVER...

"Oh Well" could be argued to be their signature song. I think the only tours it wasn't played on since its release were the "Kiln House," "Dance," and SYW tours. It's be covered by quite a few artists, but is still thought of first and foremost as a Fleetwood Mac song. Fans always went crazy when they played it in concert. BUT...

"Albatross" was their first #1 hit in Europe, and was so big, the Beatles (yes, THOSE Beatles) were compelled to write "Sun King" as a bit of a tribute. It was so good, it hit #2 when rereleased as a single in 1973. STILL...

"Hypnotized" was really the first Fleetwood Mac song to get a lot of regular airplay in the USA, the market they had to crack to become what they became.

So, I'd say it's one of those songs. "Black Magic Woman" should get an honorable mention. It gave the band certain bragging rights it needed in that transition phase. However, by 1974, I think those may have been milked for all they were worth.

desertangel · #15 08-16-2006, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Not to be too picky, but they didnt start playing it at the end of shows until about 35 or 40 shows into the tour.

Are you serious? Well heavens to mergatroid! I just ASSumed... since they played it at the shows I attended, read other mentions of it and with the crickets and canned stage antics, etc. figured it had been there all along. I feel lucky I got to hear it then.

After reading all the replies to this thread, it isn't easy to pick just one song. Going on my own recollection from back in the day and what made me notice early Mac... Albatross, Hypnotized and Oh Well all were played quite a bit in my circle of friends and on the radio stations we listened to.

I have the "dog and ash can" album on vinyl and it really is a stand out.

Anyone like Rattlesnake Shake? Has anyone ever seen the video of them performing it on Playboy After Dark? It's a HOOT!!!