Fleetwood Mac (1975 album)

Fleetwood Mac is the tenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 11 July 1975 by Reprise Records. It was the band's second eponymous album, the first being their 1968 debut album; it is sometimes referred to among fans as the White Album.[14] This was the first Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. It was also the band's last album 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).

Fleetwood Mac
Studio album by
Fleetwood Mac
Released11 July 1975 (1975-07-11)
RecordedJanuary–February 1975
StudioSound City Studios, Van Nuys, California
Genre
Length42:12
LabelReprise
Producer
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Heroes Are Hard to Find
(1974)		 Fleetwood Mac
(1975)		 Rumours
(1977)
Singles from Fleetwood Mac
  1. "Over My Head"
    Released: September 1975 (US)[3]
  2. "Warm Ways"
    Released: October 1975 (UK)[4]
  3. "Rhiannon"
    Released: February 1976 (US)[5]
  4. "Say You Love Me"
    Released: June 1976 (US)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA[8]
Mojo[2]
Pitchfork9.0/10[9]
Q[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Uncut9/10[12]
The Village VoiceA−[13]

The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 4 September 1976, 58 weeks after entering the chart,[15] and spawned 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 number 11. It has been certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over seven million copies.[16] Peaking at number 23 on the UK Albums Chart,[17] it was a prelude to a run of hugely successful albums for the band in Britain, including six number ones: Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977), Tusk (1979), Mirage (1982), Tango in the Night (1987), and Behind the Mask (1990).[18]

Background

In 1974, Fleetwood Mac relocated from England to California to manage the band's affairs better.[19] In California, they recorded an album, Heroes Are Hard to Find, and set out on tour. Shortly after finishing the tour, Bob Welch (guitarist, singer, and composer) left the band, ending Fleetwood Mac's ninth lineup in eight years,[20] to form the band Paris.[19] Prior to Welch's departure, Mick Fleetwood met with producer Keith Olsen at Sound City Studios to listen to some demos.[19][20] There, Olsen played Fleetwood an album he had recently engineered, titled Buckingham Nicks.[19] Fleetwood particularly enjoyed the guitar solo on the song "Frozen Love",[20] and decided to hire both Olsen and the guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham.[19] However, Buckingham would not accept Fleetwood's offer unless he agreed to also hire Buckingham's musical and romantic partner, Stevie Nicks, even though they were close to breaking up. After an informal interview at a Mexican restaurant, Mick Fleetwood invited both Buckingham and Nicks to join the band, and this tenth lineup of the band proved to be its most successful. Within three months, the band had recorded the album Fleetwood Mac.[20]

During the recording sessions, bassist John McVie took offence to Buckingham's assertive nature in the studio, particularly when Buckingham was telling other band members what to play on his songs. McVie reminded Buckingham that "The band you're in is Fleetwood Mac. I'm the Mac. And I play the bass."[21]

Many of the songs on Fleetwood Mac were written before Buckingham and Nicks joined the band. "Rhiannon", "I'm So Afraid", and "Monday Morning" were written and performed live by the duo and were initially slated to appear on a second Buckingham Nicks album. "Crystal" was recycled from the first Buckingham Nicks album, but with a different arrangement. Fleetwood praised these songs as "show stoppers, even as rough sketches recorded on Lindsey's four-track.[22]

Like all of the band's studio albums, the front cover photo of Fleetwood Mac does not show the whole band,[23] including, in this case, only drummer Mick Fleetwood (standing) and bass guitarist John McVie (kneeling).

Release and reception

Fleetwood Mac was released on 11 July 1975.[20][24] Though the band experienced only modest success immediately after the release, they were determined to promote their new album, and after touring for several months, they started to see the results of their hard work.[20] 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." 15 months after its release, Fleetwood Mac reached the top of the US charts.[20]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 182 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[25] maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revised list.[26]

Singles

All of the singles that derived from Fleetwood Mac used mixes of the songs different from those used on the album (and occasionally different takes, as in the case of "Over My Head"). A "single mix" was also created for "Blue Letter", and this mix was only available as the B-side of the "Warm Ways" single from 1975[18] until it was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the album (along with an instrumental called "Jam #2" and the single versions of "Say You Love Me", "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)", and "Over My Head").

In the US, the album spawned 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 number 11. A version of "Landslide" taken from the live reunion album The Dance was released as a single in the US in 1998 and reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18]

In the UK, the album's first single was "Warm Ways",[18] which was not released as a single in the US. Initially, the album generated limited interest in the UK, and the first three singles released by the new lineup failed to enter the UK Singles Chart, while "Say You Love Me" reached number 40.[17] Following the massive success of Rumours two years later, however, interest in the band reignited, Fleetwood Mac was re-released in 1978, and a reissue of "Rhiannon" peaked at number 46.[18]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 183 on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 2 August 1975.[27] It eventually reached its peak at number one on the chart dated 4 September 1976, which was 58 weeks after it had entered the chart.[15] On 11 September 2018, the album was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over seven million copies in the United States.[16]

In the UK, the album debuted at number 49 on the UK Albums Chart dated 6 November 1976.[28] It peaked at number 23 its second week on the chart.[29] On 5 July 1978, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies in the UK.[30]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Monday Morning"Lindsey BuckinghamBuckingham2:48
2."Warm Ways"Christine McVieC. McVie3:54
3."Blue Letter"
Buckingham2:41
4."Rhiannon"Stevie NicksNicks4:11
5."Over My Head"C. McVieC. McVie3:38
6."Crystal"NicksBuckingham5:14
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Say You Love Me"C. McVieC. McVie4:11
2."Landslide"NicksNicks3:19
3."World Turning"C. McVie, BuckinghamC. McVie, Buckingham4:25
4."Sugar Daddy"C. McVieC. McVie4:10
5."I'm So Afraid"BuckinghamBuckingham4:22

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[48] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] 7× Platinum 7,000,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  2. "Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac". Mojo. No. 125. April 2004. p. 122.
  3. "Fleetwood Mac – Over My Head". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  4. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 296. ISBN 9780862415419.
  5. "Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  6. Collis, Clark (April–May 2002). "Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac". Blender. No. 7. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Fleetwood Mac". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. Brunner, Rob (18 April 2003). "Then Play On; Bare Trees; Fleetwood Mac; Rumours; Tusk; Time". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (27 January 2018). "Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  10. Doyle, Tom (February 2018). "California Dreaming". Q. No. 381. pp. 118–19.
  11. Coleman, Mark; Kemp, Mark (2004). "Fleetwood Mac". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 303–304. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. Williamson, Nigel (March 2018). "Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac". Uncut. No. 250. p. 42.
  13. Christgau, Robert (1 December 1975). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  14. Gleason, Holly (29 May 2014). "The 20 Best Fleetwood Mac Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  15. "Albums". Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 52. 25 December 1976. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. "American album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". Recording Industry Association of America.
  17. Roberts 2006, p. 205.
  18. Strong 2003.
  19. Serpick, Evan. "Fleetwood Mac Biography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  20. Williamson, Nigel (29 January 2013). "Fleetwood Mac: 'Everybody was pretty weirded out' – the story of Rumours". Uncut. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  21. Honingmann, David (9 January 2017). "The Life of a Song: Fleetwood Mac's the Chain". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  22. Fleetwood & Bozza 2014, pp. 164, 169.
  23. DeGroot, Joey. "7 Album Cover Photos Without the Entire Band: Fleetwood Mac, R.E.M., and more". Music Times. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  24. Giles, Jeff (11 July 2015). "Revisiting Fleetwood Mac's 1975 Breakthrough Album". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  25. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time > 182: Fleetwood Mac, 'Fleetwood Mac'". Rolling Stone. 1 November 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  26. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  27. "Top LPs & Tapes" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 87, no. 31. 2 August 1975. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 60: 31 October 1976 – 06 November 1976". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  30. "British album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". British Phonographic Industry.
  31. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  32. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4349a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  33. "Charts.nz – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  35. "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  36. "Ultratop.be – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  37. "Ultratop.be – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  38. "Dutchcharts.nl – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  39. "Offiziellecharts.de – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  40. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  41. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  42. "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  43. "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  44. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  45. "Top 100 Albums of '76". RPM. Vol. 26, no. 14 & 15. 8 January 1977. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  46. "Pop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 89, no. 51. 24 December 1977. ISSN 0006-2510.
  47. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  48. "Canadian album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac". Music Canada.

Bibliography
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