Fleetwood Mac Songs That Have Grown on You

WalkAThinLine. · #1 11-29-2023, 08:09 AM

For a large portion of Fleetwood Mac songs, I enjoyed them immediately on the first listen. These tended to be the Lindsey Buckingham songs, although I also gravitated towards the other songwriters as well. Even with a band as great as Fleetwood Mac, there are some songs that I occasionally skip, although on occasion, I attempt to give these songs another chance to redeem themselves. There are times where my initial thoughts hold true and the song is not worth the listen, but more often than not, I find a greater level of appreciation for some of these neglected songs.

Here are a handful of songs that I wasn't completely fond of on the first listen but later grew to appreciate.

Songbird
Silver Springs
Over and Over
What Makes You Think You're the One
Storms
Not That Funny
Never Make Me Cry
Walk a Thin Line
Wish You Were Here
Mystified
Welcome to the Room...Sara
You and I Part II
As Long as You Follow
Hard Feelings
All Over Again
Running Through the Garden
Smile at You
Steal Your Heart Away

Villavic · #2 11-29-2023, 08:27 AM

This is an interesting topic. In my case I enjoyed immediately a large portion of songs too, but more based on albums, not singers necessarily. So if I have to pick songs that have grown on me, I realize there are several from Tusk.

Save Me a Place
Not That Funny
Brown Eyes
I Know I'm Not Wrong
Honey Hi
Straight Back
Oh Daddy
Thrown Down
Say Goodbye

**jbrownsjr** · #3 11-29-2023, 09:24 AM

That's All For Everyone
That's All Right
Eyes of The World
Beautiful Child
Honey Hi
Family Man
Caroline

David · #4 11-29-2023, 12:51 PM

It hasn’t grown all that much on me, but “Smile at You” on the 2003 album has grown somewhat. I used to think it was a misfire and a mess (my view had nothing to do with the earlier demos), but now I kind of get it. It has something, though I know not what.

HomerMcvie · #5 11-29-2023, 04:18 PM

Mystified
Only Over Ewe.

**jbrownsjr** · #6 11-29-2023, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Mystified
Only Over Ewe.

hahahahaha!!!

bwboy · #7 11-29-2023, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalkAThinLine.

Here are a handful of songs that I wasn't completely fond of on the first listen but later grew to appreciate.

Songbird
Silver Springs
Over and Over
Storms
Never Make Me Cry
Welcome to the Room...Sara
Hard Feelings
All Over You

All of these songs I totally had the same reaction. As a kid, I just couldn’t appreciate the beautifulness of Songbird and Storms, the heartbreak of Hard Feelings and Never Make Me Cry, or the lyrical intensity of Silver Springs and Welcome to the Room Sara. With some life experience, I came to really like these songs.

SteveMacD · #8 11-29-2023, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

It hasn’t grown all that much on me, but “Smile at You” on the 2003 album has grown somewhat. I used to think it was a misfire and a mess (my view had nothing to do with the earlier demos), but now I kind of get it. It has something, though I know not what.

For me, it was the interplay of Lindsey’s percussive guitar playing with John’s incredibly melodic bass playing. It was maybe John’s finest hour.

WatchChain · #9 11-29-2023, 11:39 PM

I Know I'm Not Wrong
What Makes You Think You're the One

Sheer brilliance! The live versions pack an even better punch. As stated by an earlier post, these songs require age and life experience to appreciate. As a 7-year-old kid in 1977, I was obsessed with Rumours - I wore out the record. However, "Tusk" left the 9-year-old me scratching my head. I had no schema, no frame of reference to grow into it.

Unpopular Opinion: The 53-year-old me is convinced that "Tusk" is a better album than "Rumours" - probably the best album in the Fleetwood Mac catalog.

I Know I'm Not Wrong is a masterpiece. On stage - it's a beautiful monster.

HomerMcvie · #10 11-30-2023, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WatchChain

I Know I'm Not Wrong
What Makes You Think You're the One

Sheer brilliance! The live versions pack an even better punch. As stated by an earlier post, these songs require age and life experience to appreciate. As a 7-year-old kid in 1977, I was obsessed with Rumours - I wore out the record. However, "Tusk" left the 9-year-old me scratching my head. I had no schema, no frame of reference to grow into it.

Unpopular Opinion: The 53-year-old me is convinced that "Tusk" is a better album than "Rumours" - probably the best album in the Fleetwood Mac catalog.

I Know I'm Not Wrong is a masterpiece. On stage - it's a beautiful monster.

What Makes You Think You're The One has always been my favorite Lindsey Tusk song.

And I'm the same. Rumours defined who I became in life. I loved Tusk, but it sure wasn't the radio friendly gold that Rumours was. But it's their greatest album.

Oddly, I listen to Mirage more than anything these days. It's the original BuckVie...pop happiness.

Macfan4life · #11 11-30-2023, 05:54 AM

I like them all but there are definitely some that have grown on me.

I Know I'm Not Wrong really grew on me after OWTS. It was one of the highlights of the show for me. I love it now.

Only Over You - when I first bought Mirage in 1983 it was my least favorite on the album. About 20 years ago, it became one of my favorites.

On More Lonely Night - when I first bought the live album in 1983, it was meh. I liked the song but I wanted more concert songs. Years later I appreciate what a great song it is.

Storms - I never liked this song. It was such a downer on Tusk and I would skip it. Plus my Tusk album had such surface scratches on this song that sort of ruined the vibe. During Stevie's Behind The Music segment they played a little of this song which sort of reintroduced me to it. When I really paid attention to the lyrics, I fell in love with it and felt the heartbreak of the song. Lindsey did it justice because the solemn and basic music does the lyrics justice. Its pretty much a poem IMHO.

aleuzzi · #12 12-03-2023, 08:59 PM

Two songs I used to think were "meh" but have since become favorites are:

Never Make Me Cry
Only Over You (thanks to the alternate version on Mirage Deluxe)

Songs I used to think were "meh" that I now like a lot:

The Ghost
Silver Heels
Born Enchanter
Big Love
Tango In the Night

Songs I still can't warm to (though you didn't ask):

Blood on the Floor
Straight Back
Oh Diane
Welcome to the Room, Sara
When I See You Again
No Questions Asked
Skies the Limit (and most of BTM)
Paper Doll
Smile at You
Silver Girl
Come
Goodbye Baby

mitzo · #13 12-04-2023, 10:21 AM

Looks like the ballads or slower numbers were rejected by folks here. I have always been the opposite, and some of the songs which had to grow on you guys were my instant favourites. In fact, my classic FM playlist will always be mostly the beautiful moving emotional slow ones.

sleepless child · #14 12-04-2023, 01:09 PM

For me it's "Over and Over" and "Family Man". I have grown to love these two songs

soul_drifter333 · #15 12-04-2023, 05:29 PM

The main one for me is the song Tusk. I remember being baffled when I ran out and got the single before the album was released. Even more baffling was the B-side Never Make Me Cry. I think that Tusk has been played on every tour, both group and solo, and I have become a big fan of the song due to the live performances. A couple of honorable mentions is the live version with the marching band on The Dance, the demos on the box set, and the version from the 3rd disc of the Live box set.

Still don't care for Never Make Me Cry, although the alternate version on the box set is an improvement. I pretty much loved every Stevie song up until 1990 because they were the most commercial and I was such a fan.