Fleetwood Mac (1975 album)

Fleetwood Mac
Studio album by Fleetwood Mac
Released	July 1975
Recorded	January–February 1975 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California
Genre	Soft rock,[1] pop[2]
Length	42:12
Label	Reprise
Producer	Fleetwood Mac and Keith Olsen
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974) Fleetwood Mac (1975) Rumours (1977)
Singles from Fleetwood Mac
"Warm Ways" Released: October 1975 (UK) "Over My Head" Released: November 1975 (USA) / February 1976 (UK) "Rhiannon" Released: February 1976 (USA) / April 1976 (UK) "Say You Love Me" Released: June 1976 (USA) / September 1976 (UK) "Rhiannon (re-issue)" Released: February 1978 (UK)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A−[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Mojo	[2]
MusicHound	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]

Fleetwood Mac is the eponymous tenth studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in July 1975 by Reprise Records. It was the band's second eponymous album; the first was their 1968 debut album. Among Fleetwood Mac fans, the album is often referred to as the White Album.^[8] This is the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. The album was also the band's last to be released on the Reprise label until 1997's The Dance (the band's subsequent albums until then were released through Warner Bros. Records, Reprise's parent company).

The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 over a year after entering the chart, spent 37 weeks within the top 10, and more than fifteen months within the top 40. It launched three top twenty singles: "Over My Head", "Rhiannon" and "Say You Love Me", the last two falling just short of the top ten, both at No. 11. In 1986, it was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA representing shipments of five million units in the United States.^[9]

"Warm Ways" was the first single lifted from the album in 1975 in the UK.^[10] It was not released as a single in the United States, where Over My Head was released instead. Initially, the album generated limited interest in the UK, as the first three singles released by the new lineup failed to chart. "Say You Love Me" charted on the UK Singles Chart and it reached No. 40^[11] Following the massive success of Rumours two years later, interest in the band re-ignited and Fleetwood Mac was re-released in 1978, along with the single "Rhiannon" which peaked just outside the Top 40 at No. 46.^[10] The album eventually peaked at No. 23 on the UK Albums Chart^[11] but was a prelude to a run of hugely successful albums for the band in Britain, including four multi-platinum number ones: Rumours, Tusk, Tango in the Night and Behind the Mask.^[10]

A live version of "Landslide" was eventually released as a single in the US in 1998 after it became one of the most popular tracks from the live reunion album The Dance. It reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[10]

Background

In 1974, Fleetwood Mac relocated from England to California to manage the band's affairs better.^[12] In California, they recorded another album, Heroes Are Hard to Find, and set out on tour. Shortly after finishing up the tour, Bob Welch (guitarist, singer, and composer) announced that he was leaving what had become Fleetwood Mac's ninth lineup in eight years,^[13] so that he could be part of the power trio Paris.^[12] Now looking for both a new guitarist and a recording studio, Mick Fleetwood met with producer Keith Olsen at Sound City Studios to listen to some demos.^[12][13] There, Olsen played Fleetwood an album he had recently engineered, called Buckingham Nicks.^[12] Fleetwood particularly enjoyed the guitar solo on the song "Frozen Love",^[13] and decided to hire both Olsen and the guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham.^[12] However, Buckingham would not accept Fleetwood's offer unless he agreed to also hire Buckingham's musical and romantic partner, Stevie Nicks.^[13] After an informal interview at a Mexican restaurant, Mick Fleetwood invited both Buckingham and Nicks to join the band.^[13] Within three months, the band had recorded the album Fleetwood Mac.^[13] Though the band's tenth lineup proved to be their most successful, it was certainly not the most stable, as Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were close to breaking up when they joined the band.^[13] This tension ultimately helped inspire the band's next album, Rumours.^[12]

Promotion and release

Fleetwood Mac was released in July 1975.^[13] Though the band only experienced modest success immediately after the release, they were determined to promote their new album.^[13] After touring doggedly for several months, the band started seeing the results of their hard work.^[13] In an interview with Uncut, Stevie Nicks said of the album: "We just played everywhere and we sold that record. We kicked that album in the ass."^[13] Fifteen months after the release of Fleetwood Mac, the album climbed to the top of the US charts.^[13]

All singles from Fleetwood Mac are remixes, noticeably different from the album versions, as included on the 2004 re-issue. A 'single mix' was also created for "Blue Letter" and this version was originally only available as the B-side to the "Warm Ways" single from 1975.^[10]

This album helped launch them as musical superstars with an almost constant radio presence (which would be continued with their even more popular follow-up, Rumours). In 2003, the album was ranked No. 182 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".^[14]

The album cover photo for Fleetwood Mac emulates all of the band's albums, in that all the band members have never fully appeared on the front cover of any of their studio albums, The Dance from 1997, being the only exception.^[15] Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitarist John McVie are the only band members that are shown on the cover.

Track listing

2004 reissue

On 24 March 2004, Warner Bros. Records re-released the remastered album with the following tracks.

Additional information

• Although it was written by Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham sang lead on the song "Crystal". It originally appeared (also sung by Lindsey) on the duo's 1973 Buckingham Nicks album. Stevie later recorded it as a solo song (with backing vocals from Sheryl Crow) for the soundtrack of the 1998 film Practical Magic.
• Both "Rhiannon" and "Monday Morning" were written during the Buckingham Nicks days, and performed live by the duo although not recorded. The early version of Rhiannon was played much faster.
• Though the album is self-titled, it's often referred to as "The Crystal Album", referring to the track "Crystal" and John McVie tossing a crystal sphere into the air on the album's cover art. This was likely to avoid confusion with the band's debut self-titled album from 1968.
• The figures on the album cover depict a stretched image of Mick Fleetwood and a compressed image of McVie, showing an exaggerated difference in height. In reality, there is only a difference of about six inches between the pair. Also, the album cover on the 8 track is mirrored.

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

• Lindsey Buckingham – electric, acoustic, and resonator guitars, vocals
• Stevie Nicks – vocals
• Christine McVie – keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Waddy – rhythm guitar on "Sugar Daddy"

Production

• Producers: Fleetwood Mac & Keith Olsen
• Engineer: Keith Olsen
• 2nd Engineer: David Devore
• Photograph: Herbert W. Worthington II

Charts

Certifications

See also

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1976

References

Bibliography

• Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-312-1. 
• Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.