NME: 20 insanely great FM songs

[elle]

20 Insanely Great Fleetwood Mac Songs
By Ailbhe MalonePosted on 07/16/12 at 03:42:45 pm

With 17 studio albums, more cast changes than the Sugababes and a career spanning almost fifty years, there's no denying the impact Fleetwood Mac have had on the musical world. From the forthcoming indie tribute album, 'Just Tell Me That You Want Me', featuring Best Coast and Lykke Li, to the (oh dear) 'Rumours' episode of Glee, it's clear that the Mac are having a bit of a moment. And with the news that the classic line-up (minus Christine McVie) are reuniting for a tour, we gathered together our top twenty Fleetwood Mac songs.


20'Save Me'
With Lindsey Buckingham gone, Fleetwood Mac roped in new members Billy Burnette and Rick Vito for 1990’s ‘Behind The Mask’. ‘Save Me’ is indicative of the era - with Wayne’s World-style guitar solos, and standard back-beat. Regardless, there are flashes of brilliance - the vocal harmonies in the bridge on "You just won’t look my way", and Nicks declaring "I can’t wait any longer for paradise."
From: ‘Behind The Mask’, 1990

19'Big Love'
Lindsey Buckingham was originally going to use ‘Big Love’ for his third solo album, but instead the track found its way to ‘Tango In The Night’. Buckingham still managed to claim the track though - the feminine ‘aah’s on the track are his. He had his voice sampled and altered in studio so that it would sound like a woman's. Which once you’ve heard, you can’t un-hear.
From: ‘Tango In The Night’, 1987

18'Family Man'
A tropical track from ‘Tango In The Night’ that sees Lindsey Buckingham channel a futuristic mix of Peter Gabriel and Friendly Fires’ Ed McFarlane. Using the layered male and female vocals of the other tracks on the album, coupled with flamenco guitar and a beatboxing segment ought to sound rushed and ill-advised. Instead, it feels like all the best bits of a mix-tape, all in just over four minutes.
From: ‘Tango In The Night’, 1987

17'Beautiful Child'
Out of kilter with ‘Tusk’s mainly new-wave vibe, ‘Beautiful Child’ is a sweet respite towards the end of the album. Melancholic harmonies between Nicks and McVie lament the loss of innocence, but also look forward to change and growth. It’s not easy, it’s always complicated, but that’s how life is sometimes, they sing. "I’m not a child any more, I’m tall enough to reach for the stars."
From: ‘Tusk’, 1979

16'Tusk'
That drum tattoo you hear at the start of ‘Tusk’? It’s actually the University of Southern California’s Trojan Marching Band. All 300-ish of them. The track set the record for the highest number of musicians performing on a single, and considering that it came in the wake of ‘Rumours’, still went to #6 in the UK. Opening with a chanted "Why don’t you ask him if he’s going to stay?" before moving into a shriek of "Just tell me that you want me", it’s paranoid, aggressive, and totally brilliant.
From: ‘Tusk’, 1979

15'Little Lies'
We’re not sure why the video for this track is set on an abandoned farm, but we’ll try and put that in the past. Fleetwood Mac’s final top ten in the US, 1987’s ‘Little Lies’ has a similar haunting hook to ‘Everywhere’, coupled with the surreptitious guitar lines of ‘Dreams’, making it mathematically at least 10% better than anything else.
From: ‘Tango In The Night’, 1987

14'I'm So Afraid'
A Fleetwood Mac concert without ‘I’m So Afraid’ would be like a Bruce Springsteen concert without ‘Thunder Road’. Originally a B-Side to ‘Over My Head’, the track quickly became a live staple, closing nearly every Mac gig, and appearing on each Fleetwood Mac live album (including an almost 10-minute version on 2004’s ‘Live: In Boston’). Thematically, it’s not classic Mac - more hard rock than blues- but it’s worth it for the lengths the group take it to.
From: ‘Fleetwood Mac’, 1975

13'Don't Stop'
A happier spin on a ‘Rumour’s break-up, vocalist Christine McVie committed to looking forward, rather than backward after eight years of marriage with bass guitarist John McVie. A relentlessly positive piano riff opens the track, and a trotting drum fill urges the listener- and the singer to remember that ‘it’ll be better than before, yesterday’s gone’.
From: ‘Rumours’, 1977

12'Silver Springs'
A ‘Rumours’ off-cut, ‘Silver Springs’ was the B-Side to ‘Go Your Own Way’, and only made it onto a Fleetwood Mac album almost twenty years after it was written - on 1997’s ‘The Dance’. With an Appalachian bent, Nicks sings, "I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me". Silvery strings echo around a slide guitar, as the harmonies rise, as Nicks leaves the past behind.
From: ‘The Dance’, 1997

11'Sara'
An attempt to chronicle the relationships and ups and downs in the band during the ‘Rumours’ years, this single from 1979’s ‘Tusk’ exists in several different lengths and edits, but each is just as forlorn as the other. Nicks sings of "drowning in a sea of love, where everyone would love to drown", over Mick Fleetwood’s brush drum-work, the harsh mixing with the mellow.
From: ‘Tusk’, 1979

10'You Make Loving Fun'
Another Christine McVie ‘Rumours’ track, ‘You Make Loving Fun’ came from a typically ‘Rumours’ background. Inspired by an affair McVie had with the group’s lighting director Curry Grant, she sings "sweet, wonderful you, you make me happy with the things you do". Which we’re sure ex-husband John McVie enjoyed hearing, while playing the bass groove that runs through the track.
From: ‘Rumours’, 1977

9'Everywhere'
Sometimes a song becomes so familiar that what makes it special is nudged into the background, like a favourite dress worn too many times. ‘Everywhere'’s blissed out vocals, perky bass line, and shimmering middle eight all combine to make a magical track about the joy of the first moments of a relationship. Feel free to give the Disney-via-ITV accompanying video a miss though.
From: ‘Tango In The Night’ 1987

8'Gypsy'
Originally earmarked for Stevie Nicks’ solo debut, ‘Gypsy’ instead ended up on 1982’s ‘Mirage’. The story behind the song is twofold. The lyrics refer to Nicks reflecting on her time before Fleetwood Mac, when she was playing in Buckingham Nicks and struggling to make ends meet. However, ‘Gypsy’ is also a memorial for Nicks’ best friend Robin Snyder Anderson who died of leukemia. Nicks explained that the line "I see your bright eyes" was written especially for Snyder.
From: ‘Mirage’, 1982

7'Rhiannon'
‘Rhiannon’ was Stevie Nicks’ breakthrough. Written before she joined Fleetwood Mac, the track was first featured on Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album, and soon made a single. At the time, her impassioned live performances of the track were a sight to behold, leading Mick Fleetwood to comment on Behind The Music that Stevie "is not a person that half cooks anything, so her Rhiannon in those days was like an exorcism.”
From: ‘Fleetwood Mac’, 1975

6'Gold Dust Woman''
Along with ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Dreams’, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ completes the triumvirate of classic Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac tracks. Though the track references cocaine use - "Take your silver spoon, and dig your grave" - Nicks insists it wasn't autobiographical, because she wasn't yet an addict at that point.
From: ‘Rumours’,1977


5'Songbird'
One of Christine McVie’s finer turns, ‘Songbird’ perhaps lives on now in current memory thanks to several definitive cover versions. Firstly, of course, Eva Cassidy’s 1998 version of the track, and secondly, Willie Nelson’s 2006 recording - produced by Ryan Adams. We’ll leave the Glee version aside for now. Despite these versions of the tracks, it’s the original that sticks. McVie’s heart breaks as she sings "I wish you all the love in the world, but most of all I wish it for myself".
From: ‘Rumours’,1977

4'The Chain'
The only track credited to all members of the 'Rumours'-era line-up of Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine Mc Vie, John McVie and Stevie Nicks), the key to ‘The Chain’ lies in its simplicity. While other tracks on the album might be more sonically lush, ‘The Chain’ pares things back, leaving the bass riff to carry through the melody to its final, crashing end.
From: ‘Rumours’,1977


3'Dreams'
The only U.S number one for the group , ‘Dreams’ was written amidst a trio of break-ups that would make ABBA look like the Brady Bunch, ‘Dreams’ was reportedly composed in under ten minutes. A plaintive slide guitar underpins the poignancy of lost love. "Women they will come and they will go/When the rain washes you clean you’ll know".
From: ‘Rumours’,1977

2'Landslide'
When Stevie Nicks wrote ‘Landslide’, she was at a crossroads. Only 25, her previous group with Lindsey Buckingham - Buckingham Nicks - had been dropped by their label Polydor after only one album, and her relationship with Buckingham was strained. The track has been covered many times since - from Smashing Pumpkins to the Dixie Chicks - but the original remans the best. Nicks’ cautious vocal sounds even more helpless knowing what’s yet to come.
From: ‘Fleetwood Mac’,1975


1'Go Your Own Way'
The first single from ‘Rumours’, ‘Go Your Own Way’ was a sign of things to come. Two months later, ‘Rumours’ went to number one. The track itself is defiant - a metaphor for all the heartbreak and struggle in the group. But within the anger, there's catharsis, and a promise that next time won't be the same.
From: ‘Rumours’ 1977


http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?bl...ngs&more=1&c=1

[michelej1]

Family Man, give me a break. Even if you like it, it's not "insanely great."

Glad to see Save Me getting some love. I wish my guy had been on that song. Or on Behind The Mask or on Heart of Stone.

Honestly Stevie, you're the only one I can count on. Those other two have broken my heart. They have left me in my time of need.

Michele

[MacFan92]

Pretty good list. I would have put Crystal on there, though.

[MacShadowsBall]

Good list of songs here, very balanced!

[nailatixela]

Originally Posted by MacShadowsBall

Good list of songs here, very balanced!

Ehh, not so much. The article starts off with talking about the amount of studio albums the band put out - and then proceeds to list 10 songs on it's list of 20, from only 2 of those albums. (That's not even counting Silver Springs)

[wetcamelfood]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I wish my guy had been on that song. Or on Behind The Mask

Actually, he is, albeit as a guest.

John

[BombaySapphire3]

NME being a UK mag I'm a bit surprised that no Peter Green era songs made the cut.I see Landslide continues on it's inexorable rise to become the ultimate Fleetwood Mac song.

[KarmaContestant]

Hmm.

I agree with many of these choices. I don't always agree on the placement within the list (if it's supposed to be order of greatness).

I tried to make my own list of 20 Insanely Great Fleetwood Mac Songs from 1975 forward, and found it difficult.

[chiliD]

Fleetwood Mac had quite a few songs prior to 1975 and after 1987 that are "all-timers"...here's MY "Top 20":

20) Go Your Own Way
19) Rattlesnake Shake
18) Station Man
17) In The Back Of My Mind
16) Remember Me
15) Revelation
14) Winds Of Change
13) Future Games
12) Sunny Side Of Heaven
11) You Make Loving Fun
10) Silver Springs
09) Black Magic Woman
08) Tusk
07) Brown Eyes
06) Bermuda Triangle
05) Rhiannon
04) Green Manalishi
03) Hypnotized
02) Albatross
01) Oh Well

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Fleetwood Mac had quite a few songs prior to 1975 and after 1987 that are "all-timers"...here's MY "Top 20":

20) Go Your Own Way
19) Rattlesnake Shake
18) Station Man
17) In The Back Of My Mind
16) Remember Me
15) Revelation
14) Winds Of Change
13) Future Games
12) Sunny Side Of Heaven
11) You Make Loving Fun
10) Silver Springs
09) Black Magic Woman
08) Tusk
07) Brown Eyes
06) Bermuda Triangle
05) Rhiannon
04) Green Manalishi
03) Hypnotized
02) Albatross
01) Oh Well

I like this list so much better!!!

[aleuzzi]

Better than I expected. Even if the writer gets some facts wrong: it's not Stevie but Christine who belts "I can't wait any longer for paradise" on Save Me. And I'm So Afraid rarely closed out the bands shows--at least as far as I know.

[MacShadowsBall]

Originally Posted by nailatixela

Ehh, not so much. The article starts off with talking about the amount of studio albums the band put out - and then proceeds to list 10 songs on it's list of 20, from only 2 of those albums. (That's not even counting Silver Springs)

I see your point. When I think balanced in terms of FM, I mean more in the terms of vocalists. This list has 5 songs for Lindsey, 7 for Stevie, and 7 for Christine and of course The Chain.

Now to argue Pre-Rumours is completely shut-out of this list. In light of Bob Welch's passing it does kinda suprise me that perhaps Sentimental Lady or Hypnotized failed to make this list. No Peter songs either! I, like michele, am glad that Save Me is on this list as it has become one of my favorite Christine/Mac songs. As far as albums go, Rumours is represented well as is Tango in the Night.

Awhile back, I made a FM mix CD for my car. Here is that CD listing, the idea was "absolutely must have if all other songs vanished of the face of the earth."

1. Need Your Love So Bad
2. Station Man
3. Dust
4. Why
5. Hypnotized
6. Say You Love Me
7. Monday Morning
8. World Turning
9. Dreams
10. Don't Stop
11. Go Your Own Way
12. Sisters of the Moon
13. Wish You Were Here
14. Gypsy
15. Isn't It Midnight
16. Seven Wonders
17. Love is Dangerous
18. Love Shines
19. Blow by Blow

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Fleetwood Mac had quite a few songs prior to 1975 and after 1987 that are "all-timers"...here's MY "Top 20":

20) Go Your Own Way
19) Rattlesnake Shake
18) Station Man
17) In The Back Of My Mind
16) Remember Me
15) Revelation
14) Winds Of Change
13) Future Games
12) Sunny Side Of Heaven
11) You Make Loving Fun
10) Silver Springs
09) Black Magic Woman
08) Tusk
07) Brown Eyes
06) Bermuda Triangle
05) Rhiannon
04) Green Manalishi
03) Hypnotized
02) Albatross
01) Oh Well

Well, if you're going to go there, I won't be able to resist:

20. Miles Away
19. Dust
18. Winds of Change
17. Angel (1979)
16. Oh Daddy
15. Lay it All Down
14. Little Lies
13. Future Games
12. World Turning
11. Why
10. Silver Springs
09. Say You Love Me
08. Hypnotized
07. Black Magic Woman (original studio version)
06. Oh Well
05. Rhiannon
04. Go Your Own Way
03. Station Man
02. Tusk
01. The Chain


Ask me on another day and the list will be different, but the top 3 will remain.

[Blueletter18]

Here's my top 20:
20.) remember Me
19.) Bare Trees
18.) Spare Me a Little
17.) what Makes You Think You're the One
16.) over and over
15.) Everywhere
14.) Rhiannon
13.) Straight Back
12.) over My Head
11.) Dreams
10.) Go Your Own Way
9.) Angel(79)
8.) Hold Me
7.) Why
6.) The Chain
5.) Tango In the Night
4.) Book of Love
3.) Think About Me
2.) Sara
1.) Silver Springs

[sodascouts]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Family Man, give me a break. Even if you like it, it's not "insanely great."

Seriously - what the freak?? I consider that their worst song EVER. I know tastes vary, but come on!

I can only imagine that its inclusion on the Very Best album - an act which I have always thought must have been a cruel joke by Lindsey Buckingham - is what confused this author into thinking it was a highly regarded song within the Fleetwood Mac canon. He probably doesn't even own Tango in the Night; all the songs he lists from that album are also on the Very Best.