Houston Press Names Deep Tracks

[michelej1]

Houston Press
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/...c_deep_tra.php

Blue Letter: The 10 Best Fleetwood Mac Deep Tracks
By Christina Lynn Fri., Feb. 3 2012

Fleetwood Mac is perhaps the most distinct and musically diverse bands around. What started out as a British blues band headed by drummer Mick Fleetwood and lead singer/guitarist Peter Green became a pop/rock powerhouse with the addition of guitar virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham and his then-girlfriend, singer Stevie Nicks.

One of the things that has fueled their popularity in addition to their music is that they're a walking soap opera. Most, if not all the tracks on their multiplatinum 1977 release, the aptly titled Rumours, are about their relationships with each other.

However, Fleetwood Mac is an album-oriented band. Each album is different and on those albums are some equally amazing tracks.

10. Say You Will

"Say You Will" was the single from their 2003 album of the same name. It was the first album they did without longtime member Christine McVie as a full member since 1971's Future Games. The album proved to be a successful comeback -- it went gold in the US and Canada.

9. Black Magic Woman

This track from Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green era in 1968 was a huge hit when Santana covered it for his 1970 album Abraxas.

8. Seven Wonders


In 1987, Tango In the Night was released. This album featured fewer tracks by Nicks due to her time in rehab for a cocaine addiction. However this song, which was written by both Nicks and Houstonian Sandy Stewart, went to 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

7. Isn't It Midnight

Keyboardist Christine McVie isn't one that's known for being a rocker. However, she blows everyone away with this guitar-laden track from 1987's Tango In the Night. It reached 14 on the US Rock Charts in 1987.

6. Hold Me

From 1979 to 1981, Christine McVie began dating Beach Boy Dennis Wilson. This song, along with "Only Over You" from 1982's Mirage, is about her relationship with Wilson. Because of his issues with alcohol, they broke up and in 1984, Wilson drowned in Marina Del Rey, California. McVie was devastated.

5. Second Hand News

One of the best things about this Rumours-era track is that it shows off exactly what kind of guitar player Lindsey Buckingham is.

4. Tusk

Tusk was one of Fleetwood Mac's most ambitious (and expensive) albums to date. The title track features the USC Trojan Marching band.

3. Sisters of the Moon

Though it was only a minor hit for the Mac, it still has become a popular track among die-hard Stevie Nicks fans. It is Nicks at her absolute most mystical. It foreshadows her solo work on songs like "Sorcerer" from her 2001 solo album Trouble in Shangri-la.

2.
For 1979's Tusk album, the band decided to take a more experimental approach. "The Ledge" perfectly captures the experimental approach the band was aiming for.

1. Monday Morning

In 1975, Fleetwood Mac's second self-titled album was released. The two new members essentially breathed new life into a down-and-out band. This track, the first one on the record, shows off the new start for the band with the nicely meshed vocal harmonies of keyboardist Christine McVie with newcomers guitarist Buckingham and Nicks.

[louielouie2000]

How are any of those "deep tracks?" They've all been played live before, and most were singles!

When I think of deep tracks I think of Storms.

[Dodfather]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

How are any of those "deep tracks?" They've all been played live before, and most were singles!

When I think of deep tracks I think of Storms.

What a strange list! The Ledge is the only really deep cut there, one that only fans would really know. The same can be said for Isn't It Midnight but to a lesser extent.

[Artemis]

How is Hold Me a Deep track? It was their biggest hit from Mirage

[WildHearted]

Practically none of those are deep tracks... Good songs, but nothing obscure!

[michelej1]

Yes, when Seven Wonders and Hold Me have their own widely rotated videos, it's hard to call them deep.


Michele

[MacShadowsBall]

It certainly is a good list of songs that aren't as well-known, but most of these can't be considered "deep tracks".

[MacFan92]

Agreed. If "Hold Me" is a deep track, what is "Affairs of the Heart"?

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by MacFan92

Agreed. If "Hold Me" is a deep track, what is "Affairs of the Heart"?

I wonder if the article writer hails from a country outside of the USA? That would explain these songs being deep album cuts.

[SortaSavageLike]

Damn, if these are "deep tracks," then the Hunley must hold a depth record for manned submarines.

[MacFan92]

Originally Posted by vivfox

I wonder if the article writer hails from a country outside of the USA? That would explain these songs being deep album cuts.

That would make sense, but this writer is from Houston, Texas. Who knows

[michelej1]

June 28, 2013 Forgotten tracks worth digging for

Nathan Weinbender The Spokesman-Review

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...h-digging-for/

Maybe I’m late to the party, but I’m going through a bit of a Fleetwood Mac phase right now. They’ve dominated my iPod for the past couple of months – everything from their early blues material to their slightly corny ’80s output – so I’m as excited as anyone that they’re playing the Spokane Arena this weekend.

The band has been on tour since late April and has yet to deviate from the same set list, so expect to hear all of the biggest Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks hits. (And don’t hold out for any of Christine McVie’s compositions – she hasn’t played with the band since the late ’90s.)

But the Fleetwood Mac catalog is stuffed with great songs that have fallen between the cracks, so I’ve put together a compilation – a mix tape, if you will – of 10 worthy tracks you won’t be hearing live Saturday night: deep cuts, forgotten singles, and a few unfairly overlooked solo tracks.

• “Oh Well, Part 1” / Album: “Then Play On” (1969)

Back when Fleetwood Mac was a British blues outfit led by guitarist Peter Green, they had a big UK hit with an abridged version of their 9-minute epic “Oh Well.” It features one of the best guitar riffs Led Zeppelin never wrote, and it’s even rumored to have inspired Jimmy Page to write “Black Dog.”

• “Crying in the Night” / Album: “Buckingham Nicks” (1973)

This one’s a bit of a cheat: Recorded when Buckingham and Nicks were just a no-name California rock duo, “Crying in the Night” is a fine example of the pristine pop sound they’d later bring to Fleetwood Mac. Their sole album has never been officially released on CD, but it’s available on YouTube in its entirety and is worth a listen.

• “Heroes Are Hard to Find” / Album: “Heroes Are Hard to Find” (1974)

Soon after Green left Fleetwood Mac, the band – and especially keyboardist McVie – adopted the soft rock inflections that would later propel them to superstardom. It’s one of the last songs to feature guitarist Bob Welch, and you can start to hear the group’s final transition from blues to pop.

• “Blue Letter” / Album: “Fleetwood Mac” (1975)

Now armed with Buckingham’s nervy guitar and Nicks’ earthy eccentricity, Fleetwood Mac quickly conquered the mid-’70s rock scene. One of Buckingham’s earliest contributions is this driving cover of a rockabilly tune by Rick and Michael Curtis, a propulsive burst of energy that shaped his later work.

• “I Don’t Want to Know” / Album: “Rumours” (1977)

“Rumours” is, without question, Fleetwood Mac’s most famous album, and the band’s current set list features seven of its 11 classic tracks. One that isn’t represented, however, is “I Don’t Want to Know.” Nicks’ most spiteful song on “Rumours,” her acidic breakup lyrics are deliberately offset by Buckingham’s bright, bouncy guitar melody.

• “Think About Me” / Album: “Tusk” (1979)

In all of Fleetwood Mac’s discography, the one record that deserves serious reappraisal is the sprawling, unpredictable and frequently brilliant “Tusk.” McVie sticks mostly to ballads on the album, but her best song is this infectious slice of pop, a modest radio hit that really should have been a smash.

• “That’s All for Everyone” / Album: “Tusk” (1979)

Buckingham takes the experimental route on “Tusk,” which likely contributed to its initial chart failure. Of his nine wildly diverse tracks on the album, “That’s All for Everyone” is off in its own world: Dreamy, ethereal, and buried in the middle of the album, it’s one of the best things he’s ever written.

• “Trouble” / Album: “Law and Order” (1981)

After a lengthy tour with “Tusk,” Buckingham and Nicks went off to record respective solo albums. Buckingham’s “Law and Order” didn’t sell as well as Nicks’ multiplatinum “Bella Donna,” but its lead single “Trouble” is a gem of densely produced mid-tempo pop. Nicks might be the more popular solo artist, but Buckingham has always been the more interesting.

• “Hold Me” / Album: “Mirage” (1983)

You can hear the band’s magic waning a bit on “Mirage,” which barely holds a candle to the three great albums that preceded it. But it does have a few inspired numbers on it, including the Top 10 hit “Hold Me,” which boasts some of the best Buckingham-McVie dual vocals this side of “Rumours.”

• “Little Lies” / Album: “Tango in the Night” (1987)

The final album to feature Fleetwood Mac’s most famous lineup, “Tango in the Night” is mostly a victim of late-’80s overproduction (cheesy synthesizer alert!). But the McVie-penned single “Little Lies” holds up remarkably well, and it’s arguably the last great song from the group’s most iconic lineup.

[redbird]

I always liked the song "Heroes are Hard to Find" so glad it got a little love. Even at its harshest interpretation surely "I Don't Wanna Know" isn't as spiteful as "Gold Dust Woman"? It wouldn't occur to me to call "Hold Me" and "Little Lies" forgotten singles ...well maybe "Hold Me" is a bit forgotten, I dunno.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by redbird

It wouldn't occur to me to call "Hold Me" and "Little Lies" forgotten singles ...well maybe "Hold Me" is a bit forgotten, I dunno.

I know. Maybe they were forgotten by critics (although I don't even think that is true of Hold Me).

Michele

[WildHearted]

If any of Christine's hits are "forgotten," I'd say Think About Me would be the one.