Mac albums ranked by Uncut's ratings
 

Just out of interest, I've worked out the average track rating given by Uncut in their Ultimate Music Guide to the Mac. It makes for some pleasingly interesting results. The main caveat I would note is that each of the reviews and ratings appear to have been done by different reviewers so we have 17 individual opinions on each album rather than a combined view. Still, here goes:


1. 4.55 Rumours
2. 4.00 Kiln House
3. 3.90 Bare Trees
4. 3.88 Future Games
5. 3.75 Tusk
6. 3.71 Then Play On
7. 3.50 Mirage
8. 3.45 Heroes are Hard to Find
9. 3.42 Mystery to Me
10. 3.36 Fleetwood Mac
11. 3.33 Say You Will
12. 3.17 Tango in the Night
13. 3.08 Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
14. 2.78 Penguin
15. 2.62 Time
16. 2.58 Mr Wonderful
17. 2.54 Behind the Mask

Very interesting. Tango In the Night is relatively low while Mirage is relatively high. Also Then Play On is relatively low while Bare Trees and future Games are surprisingly higher than some would expect.

Errrrrrrr.....Kiln House?????
Hmmm

Well, it's an unusual result, I'll grant you! "the band's oddest, most underrated work" says Uncut. The reviewer, Bud Scoppa, is quite liberal with his five stars, which bumps up the average. The only tracks that get top marks are:

Station Man
Jewel Eyed Judy
Earl Grey
Tell Me All the Things You Do

Woman of a Thousand Years
Future Games

Bare Trees
Sentimental Lady
Dust

Just Crazy Love

Rhiannon

Dreams
Never Going Back Again
Don't Stop
Go Your Own Way
The Chain
You Make Loving Fun

The Ledge
Sara
Brown Eyes
Tusk

Gypsy
Hold Me

Big Love

Thrown Down
Red Rover


Even taking into account that there were some singles that didn't make it onto original studio albums (Oh Well, Man of the World, Albatross, Black Magic Woman, Green Manalishi and Need Your Love so Bad) and thus weren't reviewed, for Peter to get no five stars seems absurd when some of the above-mentioned managed it....

Only What a Shame, You and I Part II, and These Strange Times get one star.

That makes sense. When I was reading through (only through the HAHTF part right now), I couldn't figure out why a three star song was raved about on one album, when on another album, a three star was a low rating. Probably should have looked at the author's name. :o

I still don't get the low opinion of the author for Mystery to Me.

I certainly can't understand how someone could listen to MTM and think "you know, Just Crazy Love stands out to me as the finest track on this album". Weird.

I'm REALLY pleased with the love for Woman of a Thousand Years, Dust,The Ledge ,Brown Eyes and Red Rover, though.

Whoever reviewed Kiln House has tastes identical to mine. That's precisely how I would have rated each song.

Whoever reviewed Mystery to Me appears to see pre-BN albums in light of how they lead to Rumours. That's the only way I can reason Just Crazy Love getting five stars. It's a good song, but nowhere near the impact of Why (which got four). And Miles Away is not a "pro forma" rocker.


Whoever reviewed Heroes has a fairly sophisticated palate.

Nothing on the white album (1975) deserves anything less than three stars...and I'd argue all are four stars and above.

There, I've said it.

I have no need to judge how the ratings fell into place because it's such a subjective matter of personal opinion. But it's certainly intriguing, and in most cases somewhat reasonable. It's not too surprising to see Rumours at the top of the list, Behind the Mask at the very bottom. I like seeing that some of the albums from Fleetwood Mac's middle transitional period are given some respect. Things got very interesting in that brief bumpy time frame.

This list also made me realize that in 48 years of this band's existence, it has yielded only 17 proper studio albums. Quality over quantity? Perhaps. Given all the upheavals, it's just remarkable the band persevered, and the brand survived and is still thriving.

In my opinion they've ranked Kiln House way too high and Behind the Mask way too low.