For those few remaining souls who don’t own most of this already, here’s the five albums recorded by the mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up in one handy box. There’s no new remastering and no extras apart from “crystal-clear” vinyl and a limited edition that includes Silver Springs, the B-side that should have been on Rumours.
What you get is the soundtrack to the greatest rock’n’roll soap opera ever. Mick Fleetwood must still mutter a daily prayer of gratitude for running into Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (whose 1973 Buckingham Nicks is Mac in all but name). Their contribution to 1975’s Fleetwood Mac saved the band for being blues boom relics and surely made worrying about household bills a thing of the past. Stevie Nicks’ Rhiannon and Landslide are deservedly immortal and Christine McVie delivered pop perfection with Say You Love Me, something she does repeatedly across these discs.
Rumours, still in the UK Vinyl top 20, is the most nakedly personal 40 million-odd seller you’ll find. It’s all marvellous but The Chain, the only song credited to all five members, is especially great and that Formula 1-soundtracking breakdown heralded by John McVie’s nimble bass playing remains spectacular despite the track’s enduring ubiquity.
Legend has it that Tusk was where Buckingham went off the rails, cutting his hair and recording new wave-ish oddities like The Ledge. That’s only half the picture, however, as Nicks and McVie were still ‘knocking out’ the likes of Sara and Think About Me and the title track proves he retained a passing interest in the buttered side of the bread. It’s justifiably hailed as a bit of a masterpiece.
1982’s Mirage, an attempt to recover lost commercial ground, might be the runt of this litter but it’s impossible to diss the breezy Oh Diane, Nicks’s Gypsy, and McVie’s gorgeous Hold Me which hinted where they’d go next. Tango In The Night (1987) plays like a Greatest Hits album thanks to Seven Wonders, Everywhere, and Little Lies. The tumbling arpeggios of Buckingham’s breathless Big Love is the highlight but the album’s an embarrassment of riches, as is this box.
If you’ve just arrived on the planet and music is new to you, then buy this because it’s all gold. The rest of us need only listen again to be reminded of The Mac’s undeniable greatness.
