Q Reviews

[michelej1]

From the August 2009 issue of Q.

Fleetwood Mac

Not so much a new beginning, more of a different band entirely as songwriting duo/romantic item LB and SN joined the now LA-based nucleus of Fleetwood and the McVies, providing much-needed blood and ideas. A smooth blend of rock and pop with a distinctly Californian feel, the album yielded three sizeable US hits, including Rhiannon, eventually topping the charts just under a year after the album's release. Setting the standard for late '70s AOR, this is where, for most, the Mac story really swings into action.

Rumours

Punk be damned. Until Michael Jackson's Thriller came along, Rumours was the best-selling album of all time, now topping 30 million sales. Given the infamous shenanigans going on behind the scenes during the recording -- the break ups, messy infidelities and general sensory overload -- it's amazing they had the time or energy. OUt of that emotioinal cauldron came some immaculate adult pop, not just four US Top 10 hits --- GYOW, Dreams, Don't Stop and YMLF --- but also the crafted likes of SHN and GDW.

Tusk

Following up Rumours was never going to be easy. The best part of 2 years in the making and, at the time, reckoned to be the most costly album ever made, Tusk was the band's indulgent response. Masterminded by Buckingham with Brian Wilson-like obsessiveness, it was a double-viny folly of sometimes maddening, sometimes inspired attention to sonic detail that represented the last word in '70s excess and cocaine chaos. Selling only fractionally as well as its predecessor, and too long by half, there's still enough worthwhile going to merit fresh appraisal.

[Still enough worthwhile? Oh, this just might be worth a rescue from the trash heap? Give me a break.]

Tango In The Night

Just when it looked like the game was up, a whole five years after Mirage, Tango in the Night put a reconvened Fleetwood Mac right back in the mix. The hit singles Big Love, Everywhere, Seven Wonders and Little Lies were firmly in the band's finest , hook-laden tradition, while Caroline and Family Man were solid supporting tracks. Not that band harmony had somehow been magically restored; LB departed once again after deciding he couldn't face touring the album, not returning for another 16 years. [Guess we'll ignore the Dance]

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac

By no means perfect, but the best one-stop hits collection available for anyone wanting a taste of the Mac without the unnecessary trimmings. While at least taking some note of the Peter Green era by including Albatross, Black Magic Woman and Man of the World, it omits Oh Well and Green's mad-as-a-hatter parting shot The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown). The emphasis, though, is right where it should be: on the run of hit singles that started with the wafting Rhiannon, transforming British blues survivors into svelte Californian dreamers.

Fleetwood Mac Live

The obligatory double live album, recorded at different venues during the Tusk tour, when the Mac were still very big business indeed. Rather than simply recreating note-for-note replicas of th hits, it's surprisingly a little rough around the edged, with Buckingham' especially relishing the opportunity to rock it up, even pullit out the old Peter Green number, Oh Well. There's just enough new and unfamiliar stuff to keep things interesting too, including Nicks' Fireflies, Christine McVie's bittersweet One More Night and a Brian Wilson obscurity, The Farmer's Daughter, that shows off their vocal harmonies to the full.