Return of the Songbird (Stereoboard) How Chris Enhances the Albums
 

Stereoboard, June 17, 2015

http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/192172/9

Fleetwood Mac: Return Of The Songbird

They say good things come to those who wait, and Fleetwood Mac fans will certainly testify to that after years spent praying for Christine McVie's return to the band. Their patience was finally rewarded when the beloved songstress rejoined the group last year and with the legendary outfit's On With The Show tour currently slaloming around the UK and Ireland, it’s a fine time to delve into just how McVie's songwriting helped turn a fading British blues act into iconic superstars.

Fleetwood Mac were originally built around the talents of guitarist Peter Green and a special group in their own right, but once he departed, following the now infamous Munich LSD “nail in the coffin”, they lost their way for a time.

Countless changes in personnel followed, but the introduction of singer-songwriter and keyboard player Christine Perfect in 1970 was the most telling. She had guested on earlier albums and was married to John McVie, but she was to become intricately woven into the fabric of the band.

Although McVie's early albums with the group showcased her gifts, it wasn't until the arrival of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the mid-’70s that the now iconic, magical marriage of talents emerged. There was a supernatural smoothness in how Buckingham and Nicks gelled with the three Brits and Fleetwood Mac were reborn as a tailor-made-for-radio band, mixing bluesy rock ‘n' roll grooves with Americana, unbeatable pop smarts and spine-tingling harmonies.

McVie became the romantic poet whose soothing, ghostly vocals and passionate love songs delivered a grounded counterbalance to the abstract, mythical sensuality of Stevie and Lindsey's flights of exploration.

Between ‘75 and ‘87 the quintet released five albums that amassed millions of sales worldwide, while also delivering countless hit singles in the process. This is how those landmark efforts were enriched by the perfect songcraft of Christine McVie.

Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Known to fans as the 'White Album', this self-titled effort may be most notable for reinventing the band as transatlantic rockers and introducing the world to Buckingham and Nicks, but it was Christine's compositions that launched them into the global arena and provided a seamless transition between past and present.

Over My Head, a sugary soft-rock song with a bittersweet core, appeared to reference her turbulent marriage, foreshadowing their eventual divorce. Thanks to relentless touring it became the band's first hit single in America and thus a hugely important springboard for the success that followed. Say You Love Me, meanwhile, embodies the band's sparkling new direction, its vibrant piano-boogie backbone boasting a luminous, fluffy chorus.

Elsewhere, Warm Ways is a more traditional ‘60s Mac tune, reminiscent of Green's instrumental masterpiece Albatross, and the swaggering twang of World Turning is a McVie and Buckingham co-write where the two square off against each other with spunky lead vocals, debuting a striking chemistry that would flourish on subsequent releases.

'Rumours' (1977)

Classic albums don't gain their reputation by accident, and 'Rumours' more than justifies the tag. Every member brought their A game on a record that's become as notorious for the turbulent breakdown of relationships within the ensemble as it has for the stunning music contained within.

The fallout from Christine and John's crumbling marriage fuelled much of her writing as she characteristically mined hope from despair. Take the anthemic bounce of Don't Stop. With its party-starting 12-bar swing, punchy chorus and McVie and Buckingham co-singing its triumph over adversity message, the tune delivers both a spring in the step and kick up the backside.

Equally upbeat is You Make Loving Fun. Penned in the wake of an affair with the band's lighting director, McVie's funky work allows Buckingham's searing licks to converse with her as the song builds to a swirling dance of loved-up giddiness.

And then there's Songbird. Featuring just McVie and her piano, its delicate, heartfelt sentiments weave together with poetic imagery to create a sparse hymn about self sacrifice and true love. The song held the band together through the troubled recording of 'Rumours' and regularly featured as the encore to their concerts, something that's been revived since her return.

'Tusk' (1979)

There can't be many fans who didn't respond with a startled 'what the ****?' after first hearing this left-field follow up to 'Rumours'. Rather than repeat that formula the band stubbornly swerved commercial expectations by crafting this haunting, artistically indulgent double album. Its reputation has rightly grown over the years.

'Tusk' initially feels like Buckingham and Nicks have outshone McVie, but her songs provide a necessary familiarity within the album’s overarching dynamic, acting as a safe place from which to explore the sprawling back and forth between Buckingham's economy and Nicks’ incredible depths of emotional and musical expression.

For example, Think About Me is the most accessible cut here and, with its classic rock ‘n' roll cadence and soaring harmonies, could have fitted on 'Rumours'. Never Forget spins a mellifluous vocal with twinkling charm and campfire intimacy and You Never Make Me Cry's melancholy devotion and beautifully sung lyrics epitomise the pain of degrading yourself for the one you love.

That's not to say she doesn't spread her wings. Opener Over And Over is a country lament that sets the album's tone, with a tormented air of insecurity and brooding instrumental climax subverting her usual hopeful aura. Even better is the stunning Brown Eyes, a wonderfully constructed, jazz inflected wave of eeriness bathed in ethereal sha-la-las.

'Mirage' (1982)

This album returned the Mac to a more radio friendly aesthetic, playing host to six singles, of which Christine's Hold Me was the biggest. Co-written with Robbie Patton, it's a flirtatious mating dance sung in tandem with Buckingham and utilises some classic bluesy metaphors for getting down and dirty - “slip your hand inside of my glove.”

McVie's songs - including Love In Store and the lovelorn atmospherics of Only Over You - once again highlight why listeners are drawn to her elegant and candid exploration of love's various shades. The album closes with one of her most underrated bijous, Wish You Were Here. Beginning with some classical piano strains and a typically smoky, lilting hook, it's a lone troubadour tale of how vulnerability and isolation can overwhelm you when when separated from that special someone.

'Tango In The Night' (1987)

By the final studio album with this line-up, we'd come to expect a certain style from the McVie. But apart from Mystified's hypnotic glisten, there are some new tricks on an album that became the band's heftiest seller since 'Rumours'.

Everywhere may be a typical declaration of affection with an unbelievably simple, yet timeless hook, but Buckingham accentuates its perky beat and blanket of blissful choral harmonies with synthetic sounding Beach Boys background vocals and slick ‘80s production.

Little Lies, meanwhile, finds the songstress embracing the 'big hair' zeitgeist and is only a distorted guitar riff away from being a Bon Jovi anthem. Written with her then husband Eddie Quintela, it builds magnificently to a synth-blast chorus that leaps from the speakers.

With Nicks and Fleetwood absent for much of the recording process, Christine's creative relationship with Buckingham assumed extra significance and the pair didn't disappoint. Isn't It Midnight's frustrated tale about failing to connect with a charming rogue is the hardest rocking track to McVie's name, with Buckingham lighting up the verses with the necessary six-string fire.

Thanks for the post. A great article.


I enjoy how the writer makes it very clear that Christine is (arguably) the reason for Fleetwood Mac's ultimate success. It was really through her that the band was able to continue post-Green and pre-B/N. Her consistent songs and voice, and her stable presence, allowed for all of those transitions to happen until FM finally reached that magic year of 1975.

It's amazing to see just how much appreciation she has been getting since her return. I can't think of another individual artist in recent memory who has been able to gain as much sudden respect as Christine McVie. I think that during her initial run with the band, she was always "outshined" on stage by the eccentric front-folks (Welch, Nicks, Buckingham); this had no bearing on the quality of songs, but rather the presence that each member had on stage. As a result of the "in your face" persona of Nicks/Buckingham, I've often felt that Christine's material has always been sidelined. How great it is that she is now receiving the respect that she (and her compositions) deserve. Viewing the footage from Isle of Wight (particularly the crowd reaction to "Everywhere") is proof of how her songs have carried through the years. When I listen to "The Dance" now, I find that her songs are my go-tos. "Tango In The Night" is what it is because of Chris' compositions. Her blues-drive playing and incredible sense of melody have had far more impact on the sound of FM than I think any of us really knew. Who know that all it would take to get this respect was a 16 year break?

I was just watching some Isle of Wight videos before I read your post. I was watching the one below thinking, not so long ago Christine was stuck in the Kent countryside and now look at her.... She's just amazing :) It must be so wonderful when you see so many people enjoying and appreciating your music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwKssUbWgsA

edit...the sound is pretty dreadful, but still good to watch with the volume low

It's not even easy for me to SAY "peculiarly," let alone sing it. Michele

It took me a while to work that out...my head is stuffed up with a cold :o

Yes 5 syllables is tricky....

That chemistry she has with Lindsey is why he never wanted her to leave. He was pretty much the most vocal about her departure. And when she came back he said, "you can never leave again!" She really is part of that foundation that was sorely missed when it was just B/N.

I should think so, especially considering "peculiarly" is 4 syllables.

Ah yes, thank you for that. Now it really is a :o

English grammar is not one of my strong points as you can probably tell :confused:

It's 5, in the fashion in which I pronounce it.

And I googled after posting, and found an article saying it's 4 syllables, but I still disagree... "liar"(at least to me) isn't one syllable.

Thanks! I pronouce it as 5 also - li-ar is 2 syllables to me... but clearly that's not the proper/google english.

Anyway, as if I haven't gone off topic enough already...just to say I'm here in London waiting for the concert at the O2 tomorrow night :blob1: :woohoo:

ok, sorry, back to Christine....

There are 4 syllables in peculiarly.
The word is broken up into the separate vowel-sound groups;

pec (1st), ul (2nd), iar (3rd), ly (4th)

iar should sound more like 'yar' than 'ee-ar'

... I think

where abouts are you sat?

Yes, same. I know that it's supposed to be 4 syllables, but I make li-ar, two syllables. That's not what makes it hard to say though. It's those two "L" sounds coming so close together, with an "r" connector. Doesn't trip off the tongue.

But watching the crowd sing along to Everywhere like that was beautiful. I sang along too.

Michele

There seems to be some disagreement on the internet about it too

http://www.howmanysyllables.com calculates 5 syllables :thumbsup:

Other sites say 4 and they all seem to divide it up differently :confused:

I'll be sitting in row K, A1, almost at the end of the row (Christine's side) Are you there tomorrow and if so where are you?

Ha, bit further back. A1 row S. End of row- inner isle.
Probably wearing a green Fleetwood Mac 'football' T Shirt.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/389420699003809535/

have a good time.