Which songs should have been singles?
 

Ready for another “what if” poll in FM History? Which singles from each album FM-Tango should have been official singles? I'm not refering to Landslide and/or Second Hand News that classic rock stations play nowadays that are radio-friendly track fouder. But official singles released during the popularity time-frame of the album. Would you have liked to hear GDW opposed to Don't Stop on the air-waves? Or Monday Morning instead of Over My Head?

For example:
Actual US singles vs. What should have been released, instead:

Warm Ways/ Monday Morning
Over My Head/ Sugar Daddy
Rhiannon/ Landslide
SYLM/ SYLM
no single/ I'm So Afraid

Please pick up to 5 songs per album (exception 8 songs for Tusk)

Put your thinking caps on and be as creative as you wish. If you want to include the Live album and the Dance, please do. Bonus: pick the singles from SYW that should have been released to radio.

I think most of the choices for Fleeetwood Mac singles have been the right one. However, I think "ANGEL" should have been released as a single from "Tusk" instead of "Sara" or "Sisters of the Moon".

Are you asking what we'd like personally or what we think would be successful on the radio? I'm going to answer the former because the latter is harder to say. I'm sure some of the songs I chose would not do any better on the radio (and so I'm not going to bother saying what should replace what specifically).

Relying on my ability to read the the singles chart on Wiki:

FM - "Warm Ways" or no single / any or all of the Lindsey songs
R - "Don't Stop" or no single / "The Chain" or "Gold Dust Woman"
T - no single / "The Ledge", "Not That Funny" (in the US), "IKINW", "Angel" (in the US), "Storms", "Beautiful Child"
M - "Love In Store", "Hold Me" / "That's Alright", "Empire State"
TitN - "Family Man" / "Mystified" (or nothing at all, just .... say no to "Family Man"!)
SYW - "Say You Will", "Peacekeeper" / "Smile At You", "Destiny Rules", "Miranda", "Bleed to Love Her", maybe "Thrown Down"

Ideally I'd live in a world where 10 singles off an album is totally hunky dory.

Since Landslide song is so popular and will known to the world.I don't understand why WB never released it as a single.It would probably go to number one before Dreams did hit 1..:shrug:

I'm glad that the Dixie Chicks had a hit with the tune.

At least it was eventually released from The Dance, I know so many people are sick of that song but I swear it's the one song the most responsible for kids my age (at least back when I was a kid) getting into the band. At least stateside.

Also seems like they tend to release up-tempo numbers, "Warm Ways" and "As Long As You Follow" being the only exceptions that I can see.

I had no idea Warm Ways was released as a single. And if that is true then what a poor choice.

It was released as a single. I do have 2 copys (one still sealed) of a cd single with the version of The Dance and three remixes on it.

Funnily enough, Angel was released as a double A-side single with Sisters Of The Moon in Europe.

BtM - When the Sun Goes Down / When It Comes To Love / Affairs Of the Heart

Time - Talkin' To My Heart / Hollywood / I Do (which was the single)

SYW - What's the World Coming To / Destiny Rules / Steal Your Heart Away / Thrown Down / Miranda / Running Through the Garden

according to your (wiki) list redbird, even Temporary One, TITN, and Straight Back were "official" singles :eek:

I don't remember TITN getting annny attention form radio, but do recall fond memories of the Tango B-sides. My mom worked at a bar and when the juke box guy would replace the music he would give the 45's to the workers.

This is when I first heard and fell in love with Down Endless St and Ricky. This is where I also heard "Housequake" by Prince. Everything was about FM back in those days for me...well, still IS :D

Fleetwood Mac
Warm Ways/Monday Morning
Over My Head/Over My Head
Rhiannon/Rhiannon
SYLM/SYLM
no single/Blue Letter

Rumours
GYOW/GYOW
Don't Stop/Second Hand News
Dreams/Dreams
You Make Loving Fun/You Make Loving Fun
no single/Gold Dust Woman

Tusk
Tusk/Brown Eyes
Sara/Sara
Not That Funny/Angel
Think About Me/Think About Me
SOTM/SOTM
no single/Storms
no single/That's Enough For Me
no single/Over and Over

Mirage
Leave all as is except "Oh Diane" should be "That's Alright or Eyes of the World"

Tango in the Night
Big Love/Tango in the Night
Seven Wonders/Seven Wonders
Little Lies/Little Lies
Family Man/Caroline
Everywhere/Everywere
Isn't it Midnight/You and I pt.1

The 70s era of this lineup is full of good songs that could have been good succesful singles. However the "instead" makes hard to answer your question. ;)

But I'd choose Monday Morning, Angel, The Chain.

Was World Turning a single? If not, I'd choose it, too.

See cantgoback has the right idea, and still he didn't chose Can't go Back :D

there are many songs that were released, Dreams, GYOW, SYLM as singles and shouldn't be replaced, IMO. But, as Villavic pointed out, there were others that were certainly single/hit material that were not.

Yes, I am specifically referring to songs that could have/should have been "hits" and may have reformed the tried and true setlist and the shape of the GH collection, had they seen radio airways.

Did WB do right by the band by picking the singles and the order they were released in? I'd say for the most part, Yes. However, there still remains those hidden gems out there that we will never know how thay would have charted.
Which of the songs are your hidden gems?

The white album: the right singles were released.
Rumours: "Second Hand News" should've been 5th single.
Tusk: "Never Forget" instead of "Sisters of the Moon" (and if I were Warner, I wouldn't in a million years have released "Tusk" as a single. How wrong I would have been!)
Live: "The Farmer's Daugther" instead of "Fireflies."
Mirage: "Can't Go Back" instead of "Oh Diane."
Tango: "Mystified" instead of "Family Man."
BTM: "When The Sun Goes Down" instead of "Hard Feelings."
Say You Will: "What's the World Coming To" instead of "Peacekeeper," and "Thrown Down" instead of "Say You Will." And "Thrown Down" should have been the first single.

Crystal
Over And Over
Oh Daddy
Tango In The Night
That's Alright
Isn't It Midnight
If I Were You

Of course it should have been a single..but I think we're only limited to FM songs here.

"The Farmer's Daughter" was the follow-up single to "Fireflies".


Spot on - and there should have been a proper video filmed. Yet another wasted opportunity...

The only one that comes to mind for me is Destiny Rules. It's classic, classic Fleetwood Mac. So much better than any other of the Mac's singles from Say You Will, and probably could have garnered much more interest in the able because it was so approachable & familiar.

DR would have made a great single were it not for one drawback: Stevie's granny voice on the verses. Someone should really advise Stevie that this aspect of her lower register is not an appealing or marketable sound and should be avoided. They could have easily cut DR in a higher key still within her range. This same issue hurt "For What It's Worth", an otherwise brilliant track.

For SYW, I always thought they should have considered "Miranda" for a single. A riskier and slightly offbeat choice, but it may have garnered more attention due to that fact. It also has plenty of hooks and is immediately recognizable as a FM song.

"Destiny Rules" and "Thrown Down" tap into the whole Fleetwood Mac soap opera too, for whatever that kind of buzz factor might be worth.

Indeed. I saw another list from an archived page of Billboard's site that, as far as I can tell, was supposed to be about released singles, but it was a list far longer than Wiki's. The page was not in a very legible format since it was an archived or chached page that's no longer supposed to be available. Billboard's current site just lists their charting singles, not the singles that failed to chart.

Absolutely agree with Miranda. It should have been the first single over Peacekeeper.

For me:

Fleetwood Mac - Warm Ways I believe was only a single in Europe. Not knowing the musical tastes over there, I will select what I think would have fared better in the US.

Over My Head
Rhiannon
Say You Love Me
Landslide
Monday Morning

Rumours - Go Your Own Way, Dreams, I Don't Want To Know, Don't Stop, You Make Loving Fun, The Chain, Second Hand News, Gold Dust Woman

Tusk - Angel, Tusk, Sara, Sisters Of The Moon, Think About Me, Beautiful Child

Mirage - Hold Me, Gypsy, Straight Back, Love In Store

TITN - Little Lies, Big Love, Seven Wonders, Everywhere, You And I Part II, Welcome To The Room...Sara, Isn't It Midnight

The Dance - Silver Springs, Bleed To Love Her, Sweet Girl, Temporary One

SYW - Miranda, Say You Will, Running Through The Garden, Steal Your Heart Away, Thrown Down, Goodbye Baby - * Also Not Make Believe should have been on the album and released as a single

Adding Greatest Hits I would have released No Questions Asked before As Long As You Follow.

Really? I had no idea. I assume it didn't break the Top 100? Anyone know what the B-side was?

If memory serves me right it was the live "Over My Head":shrug:

"Silver Springs" was released but didn't chart on the singles chart. It was a hit on the adult contemporary format though.

The Chain
Storms
Mystified or Isn't It Midnight (instead of Seven Wonders)
Behind the Mask
Do You Know
Heart Of Stone (instead of Paper Doll)
Sooner Or Later (instead of I Do)
Thrown Down

Silver Springs was released for airplay but it was not released as a physical single which is why it didn't chart

Here is my list of singles. Overall, the band released the right singles for most(all) the albums. I still believe there was some missed opportunities in releasing what could have become hits. Beautiful Child, SHN, Landslide (early on) etc.

FM:
Over My Head
Monday Morning
Rhiannon
SYLM
Landslide

Rumours:
GYOW
Dreams
Don't Stop
YMLF
Second Hand News

Tusk:
Tusk
Sara
Think About Me
IKINW
Beautiful Child
Brown Eyes
The Ledge
Sisters

Live:
Fireflies
I'm So Afraid (Live)
Farmer's Daughter

Mirage:
Hold Me
Gypsy
Can't Go Back
Love In Store
Oh Diane

I Can't Help Falling In Love (released as FM single)

Tango*:
Little Lies
Big Love
Seven Wonders
Everywhere
Isn't it Midnight

*I would have been creative here, and think the Mac did right by releasing more than 5 singles and including Family Man and IIM to different segments of the world. The same could be said about Mirage and Tusk, where different songs were released for their US entries ie: Sisters in the US vs something like Never Make Me Cry in the UK.

I've noticed that Christine had more songs released as singles and they did really well. Stevie had fewer released but they did really well, too. Poor Lindsey should have had more songs released as singles. I think Blue Letter or Monday Morning would have been great fun, up-beat singles.

I'm surprised that Sisters of the Moon and Isn't it Midnight didn't do better. :cool:

Oh I see, that's why it wouldn't show up on the top 100 chart? That makes sense.

Say You Will as the lead single from SYW. WITH a high-gloss video of them morphing into child versions of themselves to sing the fade-out!

Tango in the Night

Yep. But I do think it was a dumb move because it obviously got a lot of airplay so had they made an actual single, it would have sold and thus charted. Still many consider Silver Springs to be their last bonafide hit. But what a missed opportunity cuz who knows, maybe it would have been a #1 - it was certainly popular enough and would have been so ironic considering the song's history

Amen or even having a bunch of children who were in need of love or shelter or something saying say you will give me one more chance would have been so powerful

They should have released both The Chain and Second Hand News. Both were slated and I think people thought too much. Crazy given Thriller had 7 singles released. Rumours is better track for track and they should have taken advantage of that!

FM- World Turning, Say You Love Me, Rhiannon

Rumours - Gold Dust Woman, The Chain, Second Hand News, Dreams, You Make Loving Fun

Tusk -What Makes You Think You're The One, That's Enough For Me, Never Forget, Think About Me, Angel, Sisters Of The Moon, Tusk

Mirage - Gypsy, Only Over You, Eyes Of The World, Hold Me

Tango In The Night - Big Love, Seven Wonders, Little Lies, Isn't It Midnight

Brown Eyes
Thrown Down
The Chain

Say You Will/ Thrown Down
Everywhere/ Isn't It Midnight
Can't Go Back/ Straight Back
Think About Me/ The Ledge
Warm Ways/ I'm So Afraid