I shouldn’t date myself, but I’m going to anyway. When I was in high school, the one record album everyone had to have was Fleetwood Mac “Rumours“. Every song on that album was strong and there wasn’t a weak tune in the bunch. From the 1970’s to the mid-1980’s, this band was quite prolific. With every band, there’s infighting, backstabbing and in some cases like in Fleetwood Mac, incestuous relationships, divorces, breakups, reconciliations and then back together for good. For Fleetwood Mac, multiply that times 100. There isn’t enough time in the world to go over the stories of Fleetwood Mac. But the one thing that lives on is the great music and the band still tours. Check out the official band website for more information about the history and albums.
When I did Videos of the Week this morning, there were two Fleetwood Mac songs that were used in the movie, “Slap Shot” and I had written that there will be a Fleetwood Mac Musical Interlude down the road. Well, what better time than now for a Fleetwood Mac Musical Interlude.
In their heyday, Fleetwood Mac was comprised of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. There were other incarnations with different band members, but the core of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have always been with the group.
Let’s start off with a great live performance of “Dreams,” the big single from “Rumours”. I had a big crush on Stevie Nicks at the time.
From Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 tour of Japan, this is “The Chain” also from “Rumours”. The group’s harmony was second to none at the time. Lindsey Buckingham is on lead vocals here with Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie on background.
And a clip from the “Rosebud” documentary in 1977. This is the fourth single off “Rumours” called “You Make Loving Fun.” Christine McVie leads. She wrote songs based on what she was feeling at the time.
From 1982, Fleetwood Mac sings “Go Your Own Way” on its tour promoting “Mirage.” Lindsey is again on the lead vocals. I believe this was taped in Los Angeles for HBO. You can see how hard the band worked on stage.
Another clip from the HBO concert, here’s the big single off “Mirage.” It’s called”Gypsy.” Lindsey Buckingham is awesome on guitar.
One of my all-time Fleetwood Mac songs is “Sara” off the double album “Tusk“, the epic follow up to “Rumours.” This is another live performance, this one in 1979 promoting “Tusk.” A quick story. I had a crush on a girl named Sarah at my high school so I tried singing the chorus to her. She made the right move by running away. Needless to say, Stevie Nicks sings way much better than me.
Here’s “Don’t Stop” performed with the help of the USC Marching Band. Nice to see Christine McVie singing here.
This is the original reason why the USC Marching Band was in that concert. Fleetwood Mac used the band for “Tusk”, the title track off “Tusk.” This is the arrangement of the Marching Band at Dodger Stadium and it became the official video of the song. Stevie can wave a nasty baton.
This is “Little Lies” from Christine Mc
Vie off “Tango in The Night.”
I don’t know exactly what year this is from, but this is Stevie and Lindsey performing “Landslide”, a song that has been covered by the Smashing Pumpkins and the Dixie Chicks. While both covers are good, I will always prefer Stevie’s version. It’s off the 1975 self-titled “Fleetwood Mac” album.
One last song from Fleetwood Mac. This is “Angel” from “Heroes Are Hard To Find.” I believe this song was done by the incarnation before Stevie and Lindsey came to the band. But you can how Stevie makes it her own and how she became a sex symbol for the band.
Ok, I can find plenty of more songs for you, but I have some work to do. I’ll be back with links later.
