Greatest Hits (1988)

After the huge success of Tango in the night the band released a new Greatest Hits album in November 1988 while the public were still hungry for Fleetwood Mac's music. This includes nothing pre-1975 so if you're only interested in the Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham era hits then you can't go wrong with this, although Lindsey has been replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito (interesting that they needed two people to replace him) for the two new songs featured.

The UK version of this is seventeen tracks long, and is the one that I am going to concentrate on here, while the US left off the magnificent Seven wonders and the poppy Oh Diane in favour of Over my head, which isn't as good as either of those in my opinion. As only the singles are included then there's no classic album tracks such as The Chain, Songbird or Landslide. They also decided to leave off the wonderful Isn't it midnight and Mac classics Can't go back and Family man.

Anyway enough of what isn't on there, as there is more than enough here to help you forget what could have been. Rhiannon opens proceedings and has you immediately entranced. Go your own way, Don't stop, Gypsy, Everywhere, You make loving fun and Big love ensure you never want to even look at the skip button. As long as you follow is the first of the new tracks and is a Christine McVie/Eddy Quintela composition that is a pure delight. Infectiously dreamy and radio friendly it is classic Christine and should have been a big hit. Unfortunately it wasn't, but it still sounds great amongst all the classics.

Side two opens with Say you love me, then my favourite, Dreams. Little lies, Oh Diane, the full six and a half minute version of Sara is followed by the only other song from Tusk, the title track. Seven wonders thankfully makes an appearance on this version of the album and then Hold me, which is included despite flopping in the UK - never mind, it sounds great on here. That's it then apart from one more new song, the Stevie Nicks/Kelly Johnston composed No questions asked, which was released as the B-side of a re-released Hold me (that still flopped!), and is Stevie sounding more fiery and sure of herself than she did on Tango in the night, along with a catchy tune that makes for another classic moment to end what is surely one of the most consistently brilliant discs ever produced.

Tango In The Night

Fans had to wait a full five years after Mirage before Tango in the night, its follow-up was released in April 1987 and became the band's fourteenth studio album to date. During those five years they had all except John released at least one solo album, with the only band offering being a seven track Live in Boston which was recorded in 1970 when Peter Green was still at the forefront. (I have decided to wait and review the full three volume version which was released in 1998 with much better sound quality).

Tango in the night was the fifth and final album to feature the line-up of Lindsey, Stevie, Christine, John and Mick, and the band were soon to be turned upside down once more as Lindsey decided to quit in the same year as its release. He was subsequently replaced on the tour by musicians Rick Vito and Billy Burnette. In fact Lindsey's tracks on this album were originally intended for a new solo project but he was persuaded to use them as part of the new Fleetwood Mac album, which went on to become their second biggest selling studio album ever and spawned six single releases, three of which made the UK top ten. The album itself reached the #1 position no less than three separate times and remains one of the biggest sellers of all-time. Impressive stuff.

This album was the first Fleetwood Mac album I ever owned, and I almost wore the cassette out (I didn't have a CD player in those days) through playing it constantly at home and also when I was allowed to have it playing on the school bus. It has remained very special to me to this day, so let's get on with talking about the tracks.

Big love is the first track and was the first single to be released, reaching as high as #9 in the UK charts, which is impressive when you consider that their singles hadn't very often done great and the song wasn't at all commercial. In fact in 1987 it sounded decidedly fresh and different to anything else around at that time, and it hasn't aged badly at all. This is the kind of thing you get when you give Lindsey a free rein and perhaps the band had finally realised that.

Stevie Nicks was having a bit of a troubled time during the recording of this album, although she still managed to complete three tracks, the first of which, Seven wonders, is an absolute diamond studded classic. It's one of the best songs she's ever sung in my opinion, despite her not having actually wrote it (Sandy Stewart wrote the song but Stevie added extra lyrics) and I'll never understand why it wasn't a big hit despite only being the second single from the album and being one of the most radio friendly and endearing songs the band ever recorded, and it's catchy as hell too.

Once the first two tracks are done then the rest of the album bows down to the brilliance of Christine McVie's songs on here. It really is her finest hour and contains some of the most genius tracks she has ever produced, starting with Everywhere, a world-class piece of pop that is also a love song which immediately has you hooked from the first listen. No wonder it reached as high as #4 in the charts despite being the fifth single to be released from the album. It remains just as popular today and is regularly played at wedding disco's.

That's not to say that the rest of the band don't play their part in making this album as great as it is. Lindsey's Caroline has plenty of drums, like Big love, and continues his new-found style which runs a thread through the album. The title track, Tango in the night, carries the theme on but is moodier, building up from the hauntingly mellow verses to a thumping chorus and a fantastic guitar solo throughout and Lindsey manages to take you off somewhere far away on this epic track. He shares the songwriting with Christine on Mystified, with her singing the vocals on this gorgeous little ballad. It says something about the quality of her tracks on here when I say that this is easily the weakest of the four that she sings.

And then we come to the best. Little lies is the first track on side two (if you are listening on vinyl or cassette) and was written and sung by Christine, although she does share songwriting credit with her then husband, Eddy Quintela. The song is an absolute timeless classic and never fails to touch the heartstrings even now. In fact I would say it's the best song she ever sung, as is reflected on its chart performance (it reached #5 in the UK and was the third single), and it has probably been featured on many a power ballad compilation.

The fourth single release was Family man, although this failed to do big things chart-wise, which was written by Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut. It is poppier and catchier than his songs on side one, although it still has the same exotic feel to it and deserved to be a much bigger hit than it was.

Stevie takes a bit of a back seat for most of this album so she's almost been forgotten about by the time it comes to Welcome to the room...Sara, which may not be one of the highlights of the album, or her career, but it's still a reasonably strong track and deserves its place. Christine and Lindsey team up again on the magnificent Isn't it midnight, sung by Christine and the final single from the album in the UK. It's a track that's always overlooked on best of compilations and that is a travesty as the song is a breath of fresh air, despite being darker and more haunting than usual. In fact it almost sounds indie and is totally underrated in my view.

When I see you again is Stevie's third and final track, a lovely little ballad that is a heartbreaker which gives me goosebumps. Then You and I (part II) closes the show (part I is featured on the B-side of the Big love single and is definitely worth hearing). Again Lindsey and Christine have joint songwriting credit, although this one is sung by Lindsey, and they close the album on a high with the poppiest track here. And there's not much more to be said really about this album, except if you haven't already - buy it!!

Mirage

After the experimental sound of Tusk, for their thirteenth studio album, released in June 1982, Fleetwood Mac went back to the more commercial soft rock sound that sells records. It's the fourth album of the same line-up (Buckingham, Nicks, C. McVie, J. McVie and Fleetwood), although Stevie and Lindsey had both released their debut solo albums the previous year as they were feeling restricted within the band.

What of Mirage though? Despite being criticized by many there is much to love here. The opening track, Love in store, is an infectious, upbeat love song written by Christine McVie and Jim Recor and was a hit single in the U.S.. Already you can hear a return to the Californian rock sound of Rumours and it's welcome here. Lindsey Buckingham provides us with the poppy Can't go back, a single in the U.K. which didn't do too well despite being as catchy as they come and rather brilliant.

Now I have to admit to absolutely adoring That's alright, an irresistible country flavoured pop song that Stevie Nicks originally wrote and demoed during the Buckingham Nicks era in 1974. It was called Designs of love then, but I'm so glad she finally got round to releasing it properly in some form as it's a belter. Book of love, written by Lindsey and his friend Richard Dashut, is also insanely catchy and another corker.

We then come to the wonderful Gypsy, a Stevie Nicks standard now that is simply one of her best ever songs. Her friend Robin Anderson had died of leukemia and this was apparantly included as a tribute. It's a hauntingly beautiful song that never ages, and was a much bigger hit in the U.S. than it was in the U.K., although it's since become one of their most well known songs over here. Only over you finishes side one on a dreamy, catchy note that is another strong Christine McVie composition.

The most radical song on here had to be Empire state, another Buckingham/Dashut composition that shows Lindsey isn't ready to be pinned down to one musical style. This tribute to New York has fans divided but that's probably the point and I absolutely love it for its differences. It's also good that the band allowed him a little bit of freedom or I think he would have left before Tango in the night, and that doesn't bear thinking about now.

Stevie's third and final offering on here is Straight back, quite a heart-rending ballad that refers to her leaving her newfound solo success to make another Fleetwood Mac album. Then we come to Hold me, the first single to be taken from this project. It reached #4 in the U.S. but flopped in the U.K., although it still featured on their '88 Greatest Hits and gained a not much more successful re-release. Christine wrote this with Robbie Patton and this is her at her most vulnerable and needy, but cleverly disguised as a very catchy and brilliant pop song.

Oh Diane was the biggest hit in the U.K., reaching the top ten. Lindsey again teamed up with Richard Dashut to write this irresitibly catchy little pop ditty, which seems to be almost universally hated amongst fans for some reason. I freely admit to loving it though, despite not having a clue who Diane is - wasn't he still with Carol Ann Harris at this time?

Eyes of the world was written solely by Lindsey and is a sadder song of heartbreak, yet simple and melodic but remaining catchy. The guitar work on this one is also great. Christine gives us one of her best ever ballads on the album closer, Wish you were here. Co-written with Colin Allen it is a dreamy, heartbreaking and stunningly beautiful track that is definitely one of my favourites from Mirage.

Really then there's not much to not love here. Obviously you're going to get the comparisons to Rumours, but I honestly think that is a success that they could never repeat. I applaud Lindsey's decision to go more experimental on Tusk, because that is a truly great album that proved they could do more than just soft rock. Mirage was an obvious attempt to return to the glory days of Rumours, but they lacked the passion and hurtful break-ups within the band to make this happen. What we have are warmer pop/rock songs that make for a first-class album by most bands' standards, although Lindsey's heart obviously isn't really in it and I think the rest of the band were just going through the motions to get an album out too. What I am trying to say is, if they can come up with something this good without the drive and passion, then imagine what they could have produced if they'd really wanted to. All in all, it's still a great album though.

Live

The Tusk world tour lasted between October '79 and September '80 and was so successful that a double album featuring some of 'the best bits' was released in the December after, to keep fans entertained while the band got round to recording the next studio album. It's the first live album by the band to feature the current line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Fleetwood Mac..." starts off the album, followed by a guitar intro that goes into an electric performance of Monday morning. Say you love me follows with Christine vocally proving her worth alongside natural front people Lindsey and Stevie. Then we come to Dreams which was rather disappointingly recorded at a Paris soundcheck (Don't go is also from a soundcheck, but appears later in the album), and it stands out for not having any crowd noise although Stevie is vocally on top form.

The only pre-Fleetwood Mac white album band song to appear is Oh well, which Lindsey puts his own stamp on and really makes his own. The guitar solo is out of this world and makes for a definite highlight on this album, and I think I may even prefer it to the original. This flows into a nice version of Over & over, and it's good to hear Christine's endearing talking voice as she introduces the song. A seven minute version of Sara comes after, which is a song that never sounds anything other than great.

Lindsey gives everything he's got on a nine minute interpretation of Not that funny, turning a pretty good song into a feast of epic proportions. Naturally there is a lot of instrumental, with some dazzling guitar work at the end. I'm not sure if drugs are responsible for the strange noises he makes in the middle but it all comes together like a masterpiece. Far better than the version on Tusk. He then slows it down for an emotional version of Never going back again, which shows off his vocal talents like never before, and not even Stevie can outdo him on her heart-rending performance of Landslide (although she comes close).

The second album starts with the first of three new songs that were recorded in front of friends and the road crew. Fireflies was written and sung by Stevie Nicks, and was also released as a single the following year. It's a nice song which has a good energy to it. Christine then introduces Over my head as "the first single we ever had from the white Fleetwood Mac album" and they give another strong performance. The mighty Rhiannon follows, complete with extra lyrics, and the guitars at the end bring some added power to the song making you wish you were there at the time (lucky you if you were).

Don't let me down again isn't a new track but was originally on the self-titled Buckingham Nicks album from 1973 and was written by Lindsey. It's a powerful performance on here and has more guts than the original version. One more night definitely is a new track which was written and performed by Christine McVie. It is a tender ballad that shows off her vocal talents to the max. Lovely.

Lindsey then gives an almighty performance of Go your own way which starts with him screaming to the audience. The band are all great on this and it seems like they might be trying to outdo each other, but they all sound like they are having a good time which makes for an electric performance. After such a rush it's then a bit of a come-down to have a soundcheck performance of Don't stop, a song which is anthemic enough to benefit from some crowd participation. It's a strong performance nonetheless, but would have sounded so much better in front of a crowd.

I'm so afraid is the most bluesy thing on here, and you can really feel the pain and angst in Lindsey's voice, which together with the strong guitars make for a really outstanding performance that goes on for eight and a half minutes. I can only imagine what it was like to be in the crowd at this point. The album finishes with the last of the 'new' tracks, which is actually a cover of The Beach Boys' The Farmer's daughter. It was around this time that Christine was having a relationship with Dennis Wilson, so I don't know if that prompted the interest in recording one of their tracks. Whatever, it's a good cover which has great harmonies in it.

Having listened to this album a couple of times now I would definitely recommend that fans should get it, especially for the new tracks, although I would have preferred it if all the tracks had been sung in front of a crowd to get a real feel of what a Fleetwood Mac concert would have been like in those golden days. There are also some strange omissions, there's no Tusk, The Chain, Songbird or You make loving fun, all of which would surely have gone down a storm at the time. Although I'm usually more of a fan of the girls, and everyone gives a very strong performance on here, it's really Lindsey that steals the show overall and he has really gone up in my estimation after this.