The ultimate fantasy box set of live recordings
 

After thinking how Tom Petty's Live Anthology box set was such a great gift to his fans -- 61 songs spanning his entire career, including rare performances. I thought how great it would be if Fleetwood Mac did the same thing -- I know this will never happen, but I can dream, can't I? The Doors did something similar, but used entirely bootleg recordings. Hence, the sound quality was varied, but the surviving members decided to showcase the best, rare and unique bootlegs --ones that were not professionally recorded. They essentially bootlegged the bootleggers.

Here is how I loosely envision a Fleetwood Mac anthology circa 1975-2010. They aren't in any particular order, just mostly by era. Let me know if I am missing any songs -- these are all the songs they performed. I didn't include Fireflies or One More Night because they never performed those songs in concert, so there are no other versions except the studio-enhanced ones on the Live album. I nixed the rehearsal (attempt) of Straight Back, because it's obvious they didn't develop it the point of consideration for the set list (like The Ledge was). I'm not aware of any other songs, similar to The Ledge, that were rehearsed, in the set list and dropped from the set before the tour began, and were never performed again. (I Know I'm Not Wrong was one of them for a long time...then they performed it!) I didn't include the Time version of the band because...I'm at a loss for words.

Having just listened to Christine McVie's solo album, I wish the Billy/Rick version of the the band would have done some of those songs. Billy featured on So Excited. Rick featured on One in a Million. I wish they never would have performed Stand Back or Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You. I don't like that Stand Back has now become a standard Fleetwood Mac song! eeh


Get Like You Used to Be
Oh Well
Green Manalishi
Rattlesnake Shake
Stop Messing Around
Jumping at Shadows
I Loved Another Woman
Station Man
Sunny Side of Heaven
Spare Me a Little
Believe Me
Frozen Love
Don't Let Me Down Again
Why

Rhiannon
Landslide
Over My Head
I'm So Afraid
Monday Morning
World Turning
Blue Letter
Second Hand News
Go Your Own Way
Never Going Back Again
Don't Stop
World Turning
Say You Love Me
Oh Daddy
Gold Dust Woman
Songbird
Dreams
Silver Springs
The Chain

Over and Over
Think About Me
The Ledge - rehearsal only
Brown Eyes
Sara
Storms
Beautiful Child
I Know I'm Not Wrong
Sisters of the Moon
Angel
Tusk
Not That Funny
Save Me a Place
That's Enough for Me
What Makes You Think You're the One

Gypsy
Love in Store
Hold Me
Eyes of the World
Big Love
Seven Wonders
Go Insane
Everywhere
Isn't it Midnight
Little Lies
Tear it Up
When the Sun Goes Down
In the Back of Your Mind
Save Me
Stand on the Rock
Love is Dangerous
Stand Back
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You

Temporary One
My Little Demon
Sweet Girl
Bleed to Love Her
Say You Will
Destiny Rules
What's the World Coming To
Red Rover
Goodbye Baby
Running Through the Garden
Come
Peacekeeper
Say Goodbye
Farmer's Daughter

Very cool. Now the question for all these songs...from which show, and which tour!

That would be the extemely challenging, most contested part! But this is all just speculation. I just wanted to compile a list of all the songs they have performed. I'm not taking anyone to task!

Given that BN and some solo are on there, I'd like to add Ebony Eyes. That live show with Stevie blows my mind everytime. Cal Jam!!

Also, Sentimental Lady and Come a Little Bit Closer.

I agree...great performance from Stevie, but that was in the context of a Bob Welch concert. The Buckingham Nicks song Don't Let Me Down was first performed by Fleetwood Mac in 1975 (and is featured on the LIVE album). Frozen Love was peformed once by Fleetwood Mac at an outdoor festival around 1976. That's why they are on the list. Were Sentimental Lady and Come A Little Bit Closer ever performed (from 1975 onward) by Fleetwood Mac? .

Looks like a pretty complete list to me. Nice work!! Thanks for making that list.

Not "taking you to task" either, just a comment. Since "Stand Back", "Go Insane" and "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" are essentially "solo" hits that have been incorporated into the FM set over the years, I'd suggest leaving them out if we want a "Fleetwood Mac" live anthology.

As far as the "Time" line up is concerned, as much as many don't like it, it is a portion of the Mac history, and something should be included, again if we're looking for a complete live anthology. There's got to be a set list from that brief era somewhere that includes live material performed from that CD and not just that line-up's versions of the standards.

I also think it would be just awesome to include a version of "In The Back Of My Mind" that bleeds over into "The Chain" as performed when Rick and Billy were with the band. That was just awesome performed live, I loved it!

The Petty anthology is awesome!!!! His version of "Oh Well" is pretty great too!!

Cool idea

I wish that boxset some day, but with a CD4 (or 5) with exclusively songs never been played live before.. so Tango in the Night would be finally there!!

(yes, they would have to play a special gig for those songs, including Christine. A dream, I know)

If Fleetwood Mac played the song, it should be included, hence "Stand Back", "Go Insane" & "HAEWAFY" should be included, it's not like those were only played once or twice, they were played throughout an entire tour. (and in "Stand Back"'s case, for multiple tours)

Speaking of "leaving things out"...it's not a comprehensive "Fleetwood Mac Live Anthology" if you don't include material from '67-74, as well.

The concert set played on 10/15/94 (by what has since been referred to at the Time lineup):

The Chain
You Make Loving Fun
Dreams
Oh Well
All Along the Watchtower
The Bigger the Love
Blow By Blow
We Just Disagree
Gold Dust Woman
Only You Know and I Know
World Turning
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Say You Love Me
Don't Stop
Go Your Own Way
{encores}
Tear It Up
Imagine

[QUOTE=chiliD;996720]If Fleetwood Mac played the song, it should be included, hence "Stand Back", "Go Insane" & "HAEWAFY" should be included, it's not like those were only played once or twice, they were played throughout an entire tour. (and in "Stand Back"'s case, for multiple tours)

Speaking of "leaving things out"...it's not a comprehensive "Fleetwood Mac Live Anthology" if you don't include material from '67-74, as well.

The concert set played on 10/15/94 (by what has since been referred to at the Time lineup):


Oh Well


Never heard of it.....;)

Thanks for listing those! They also performed Dreaming the Dream in some shows. My original concept was stated for Anthology from 1975 onward. I think a Blues era anthology is an entity unto itself. In that vein, perhaps a "middle" period anothogy is in order too!

In an alternate universe perhaps. How can songs that have never been performed exist in live format? Do you have special alien powers?:lol:

I was conflicted about the inclusion of those songs. Just like you stated, they are so much associated as solo hits. Same goes for Dave Mason's solo hits, where the remnants of Fleetwood Mac are reduced to being a back-up band. In a way, I wish they never included them in their sets. It's like messing with the seperation of church and state.

I agree. It's always kind of bugged me that FM included 'Go Insane' on their very best of, too. I feel like it gets confusing.

You make an excellent point ChiliD. I agree. If they played it, just like Petty, it should be included. We especially agree on the inclusion of the '67 - '74 material as well! The B/N line up would not have been part of Fleetwood Mac if the prior personnel hadn't been there to first off create Fleetwood Mac, and secondly to keep it going in its various incarnations.

That being said, I guess we'd need to have "Blow By Blow" as the "Time" contribution. It seems odd though that they didn't perform not one other song from that CD live. None of those other songs were on "Time". "The Bigger The Love" was Billy's from a solo project and also appeared on John's 1-off CD with Lola Thomas singing.

Are there any other set-lists that include other material from "Time" that could be chosen from? Not a huge fan of the CD, but "Blow By Blow" certainly isn't the 'be-all-and-end-all" from it to be sure.

At later shows they did "Dreaming The Dream" in place of "Imagine".

And, from what I've heard about the original aborted Another Link In The Chain album, Billy's "The Bigger The Love" was recorded for the album.

Kind of contradictory...can't have "spanning entire career" and "..from 1975 onward" at the same time.

If it exists I would love to see Sara from the Tusk tour as done in Melbourne. That's my favorite live version. It still gives me goosebumps. The bootleg recording is decent but you can tell it's been transferred from cassette to cassette. It would be amazing to have a clear recording of the original.

Not kind of contradictory -- just mistated. Yes, Tom Petty's box was spanning his career. Fleetwood Mac's history is much longer, with very diverse eras. To include all eras is not practical from a proper box set context.

Why not? :shrug: One Ms Nicks is on record (no pun intended) as saying that "there's a thread that goes through all eras".

And, who says the box set has to be "proper". "Proper" & "Rock Music" are like oil & water.

I'm confused by this.. I see FM's body of work from the beginning to the end with an amazing common thread in each and every album... I would not want them to delete sections unless they released different era box sets... Genesis did that in Archives 1 and 2.

It could go 1967-1974 Pre White Album Box
Then 1975-1997 Fab 5 Box
Then 1998-2011 Terrible Singing Years.. :laugh:

Didn't they already release a box set back in 1992?

Though I suppose one focusing on live recordings could work...

Yeah, a poorly conceived & executed one.

I have never.. and I mean never.. understood the concept of, "The Chain" box set. From the running order, to the selections. Dumbfounded as a Mac semi-professional.

And, apparently, neither did Mick. :laugh:

Did Mick put this together? Did he get the members together for the new tunes as well?

Don't know if the "new" tunes were really "new" or if they were songs already in the can (like "Paper Doll" being a leftover from Greatest Hits ('88) & "Make Me A Mask" being a Lindsey outtake from his Out Of The Cradle sessions, etc) and just final tweaks done to get them worthy of inclusion.

There's a video of "Love Shines" with only Mick, John, Billy & Chris, but not sure if that's the only four on the recording or not...could've been a Behind The Mask outtake or recorded shortly thereafter...:shrug: Same with "Heart Of Stone".

I know that Lindsey helped out on some of the new songs with mixing, some vocal & guitar overdubs, etc. (enough that he got a writer credit on "Paper Doll"...safe to say it's the only song that'll ever have both a "Buckingham" & "Vito" writer credit.)

Yeah I remember the video w/ Billy and Christine on Love Shines. Also, another new tune "Heart of Stone" is on there. Never knew where that tune came from, but I clearly hear Stephanie on it. I was always confused as to the transition between LB and Greatest Hits line up. Where did that box start and end? and with whom?

These questions are exactly what is WRONG with that box set. There's no timeline, track info is sketchy (or just incorrect), etc, etc. I guess we were lucky to get that "Teen Beat" & "Goodbye Angel" were Mirage outtakes. Jeez, even the Peter Green era sets (Vaudeville Years & ShowBiz Blues) had more info.

And a big book that explains nothing.. except (alt take) (unreleased ver) etc. etc..

That's sort of what I was thinking. To have one live anthology that includes all eras is not practical. It would be a 20 disc set and cost hundreds of dollars.

All the comments of those who completely misunderstood what I meant are forgiven. If you read my initial post I specifically stated a time line of 1975- present, making the point that this wasn't intended of a comprehensive set of the entire history of Fleetwood Mac. How could I be any clearer?

Didn't misundertand your original intent, it just doesn't make sense in my opinion.

If someone is going to do a live anthology (or an anthology period) of any band, be it FM or any other, it should include all eras of the band, not just one. No real fan of FM (as we all are on this forum) would really accept a strictly B/N era live anthology. The screaming from the fans would echo the world over. Any band or artist anthology covers material from over the entire history of the band, not just one specific era, even if that era has been the most commercially successful era in the band or artists history.

Take Eric Clapton as an example. His boxed set a number of years ago covered all eras of his career, both solo and with other bands. Would fans have really accepted a boxed set that was only of his solo material? Probably, but we would not have been as satisfied. In the country music field, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings box sets have done the same. Music from all eras of their careers, from their early "cookie-cutter" Nashville years, to the "outlaw country" eras and into their later years. These are actual career length anthologies, not just sets of specific eras. This list could go on and on. Point being, if an anthology is to be done, it should be a career long anthology, not just what has been most commercially successful or the most widely popular.

Given the the distinct, varied periods of the band, we're looking at several hundred song performances, thus, distinct box sets seems appropriate.
A Blues era live anthology is an entity unto itself. In that vein, perhaps a "middle" period anothogy would be very cool too! Not all Fleetwood Mac fans are fans of all eras of the band. Cut me some slack! It's just harmless wishfullness and speculation!
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YOU MUST LIKE EVERY SINGLE ALBUM, SONG, NOTE, VOCAL, SINGER OR ELSE!!!!!


carry on.... :lol:

So? Doesn't mean that they can't compile a live box set of all eras.

Oh, please don't misunderstand me! That's the problem with typing instead of talking. We can't judge anyone's tone of voice or read a facial expression. I'm not trying to take you to task in any way. :sorry:

I see where you're coming from and understand your point completely. I know not everyone is a fan of all eras of the band. I really get that. My wife can't stand "Time" while I like a fair chunk of it. She's not a huge fan of the pre-B/N eras either but I think she tolerates it, particularly the PG era stuff. I love it all.

My biggest problem is that I have always been a student of History. That's made me appreciate all eras of the music I listen to. I take it from where I started listening to it and go backwards, then go forward with the band/artist from there. Some stuff I like, some I don't, but I appreciate all of it. (That should not be looked at as an assumption that you don't, just trying to give you a little background on me is all.) As FM is my all-time favourite band, bar-none, my History gene kicks in and I take it all across the spectrum from the "Dog and Dustbin" to "Live in Boston" (Say You Will tour).

Honestly, I love your concept/idea. I think it's brilliant. I just would like to see a compilation of the best live stuff from across the entire history of the band is all. We're on the same page here really in my opinion. We just see it differently is all. I'd probably buy the live anthology in whatever format it was produced too. I may want it one way, but I'll take what I can get!! :lol:

Keep the ideas coming! This is an interchange of thoughts, ideas, feelings. This is great stuff! It shows us the plethora of varied opinions that are out there. "Don't Stop"!!!! :thumbsup:

Okay! Now my fantasy is to have a massive box set that includes every era of the band -- with the representation of every song that was ever performed on stage! From 1967 to 2010! It will include at least 15 discs and a hard-covered book with the most possible complete documentation with lots of rare performance photos and detailed tour lists.

Graphically and physically, the box will be a stunning work of art. Unfortunately it may cost about $350 -$450. But I will pay for it - might even sell a kidney for it!

Why isn't anyone complaining that Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits or The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac features material only from 1975 onward, with no representation from earlier configurations/eras?

How is that any different from a live compilation that focuses on a specific time period?

Sounds great to me. We're in the same boat on the kidney though!!:nod:;):D

Not to knit-pick, but that wasn't the original question or idea that you posed.:sorry:

Frankly, I think it sucks that the "Greatest Hits" and "The Very Best Of" don't include the pre-Rumours material and "The Very Best Of" should have post-Rumours material included as well.

Honestly, I think someone should pitch these ideas to Mick. I think he'd go for it, really. It might be hard to get past the label since there was the boxed set way back when, but it's certainly possible they could get talked into it. Particularly the "Live Anthology" idea.

The label (whichever label currently owns all this stuff) should put a huge bunch of MP3s up on Amazon. People could download what they want. I could download a bunch of MP3s & save them to the Amazon Cloud.

I want to hear my favorites from before 1975 played live, like "Prove Your Love," "The Derelict," "Before the Beginning," "Jumpin' at Shadows," "Safe Harbour," & the 1971 performance of "When the Train Gets Back" from Rapid City, SD.