Essential Fleetwood Mac Songs "Buckingham/Nicks" Era

 Last week Fleetwood Mac performed in St. Louis and I really considered another solo trek down to see them. The two times I saw the band in 2013 took place before they reunited with Christine McVie in December of that year. "Rumour" has it the band is working on new music so maybe there's a chance they'll hit the road again in the future.

10. "Secondhand News" (Rumours)

This song pretty much kick-started my love for Fleetwood Mac so it's a good way to kick-off this list too. The past few years my aunt has taken a vacation to a jazz festival and I've been asked to watch her house, so I took it upon myself to check out her music collection. It was 2012- and I thought I'd sample Rumours from Fleetwood Mac. I'd hear a few over the years to mixed results, but took a chance anyway. From the opening song I was sold- it was the lyrics of "bow bow bow, bow bow bow" followed by "doodly doo." When I saw them live a year later, they opened with this song, and I'm sure I've never had a bigger smile on my face.

9. "Sisters Of The Moon" (Tusk)
While the self-titled release and Rumours have a similar style to them, Tusk completely threw out the rule book. The most unique thing about Fleetwood Mac is that they have three distinct vocalists/songwriters in Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham, yet they can harmonize perfectly together and it creates a fantastic dynamic within the band. With Tusk, the dynamic they've created was at risk, yet it still managed to be a cohesive album. The contributions were wildy different with Stevie providing dark and moody tracks like this song, Lindsey contributed some lightning-like quick songs that continue his trend of angsty love songs, and Christine's are still the beautiful melodies as with previous albums. I'm glad I was able to hear this one live on the 2013 tour because I feel like without Christine, it freed up a few slots in the set for lesser-played songs like this. Actually, they did a "mini set" with four songs pulled from the Tusk album. The title track was one I had to cut from my list. :(

8. "Hold Me" (Mirage)
Have you ever heard a song and it struck a chord so much that you had to immediately buy the album? Well that's what happened when I heard "Hold Me." The classic rock station which gives me a paycheck airs a weekly show on Sundays called "The Classics", which I usually have on during my drive to work. One night I heard a song that sounded like Fleetwood Mac but wasn't familiar with it. It hadn't finished before I made it to the parking lot, so I sat in my car to hear the entire song and see if the program's host would mention the title. And now here we are...

7. "Little Lies" (Tango In The Night)
I hated this song when I was a kid since it was on the radio every time I was riding in the car. I guess tastes change as you get older- is that what maturing is? I also realized this is the only Christine McVie song I've included, and it's not that I'm not a fan of hers, I prefer Lindsey's the most. Although her song "Brown Eyes" from Tusk was on my short list.

6. "The Chain" (Rumours)
The whole back-end of the song with the band jamming is brilliant, though it turns out the song was actually spliced together from other songs. The verse-chorus portion was written by Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie, while the awesome jam was the work of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. It remains the only song credited to all 5 band members. Cool.

5. "Tango In The Night" (Tango In The Night)
I don't know if they've ever done this song live because Buckingham bailed just before the tour supporting this album, with him being replaced by two guitarists; guess he's just that good! Although I noticed something this week... it sounds like Buckingham plays the solo from this song during live versions of "I'm So Afraid." Or maybe I'm just hearing things. :/

4. "I'm So Afraid" (Fleetwood Mac)
Well, I just mentioned the live version of "I'm So Afraid" and here it is on my list. The live version and the album version could almost be two different songs. I heard the live version on The Dance first before venturing backward to their self-titled. The live version just feels much more powerful while the studio version is subdued and almost "flat."

3. "Big Love" (Tango In The Night)
Another song where Lindsey Buckingham's pain is on display during live performances. His solo "oooh'ing" and "aaahh'ing" straddle the line of powerful and parody but I think he pulls it off. I took the song to mean his was searching for "big love", though before he performed it live, he said was actually cautious of love, so I guess it's open to interpretation depending on the version being played.

2. "Sara" (Tusk)
This is the most tranquil song I've ever heard- I want to lay in bed with the lights off and drift away when listening to it.

1. "Go Your Own Way" (Rumours)
One of the ultimate "farewell"/break-up songs I've ever heard. It hit me at just the right time in my life, too. I mentioned maturing in the entry for "Little Lies", and I suppose the subject matter was lost on me when I was younger, though it resonates in my older age. That's also the power of music- some are instant while others need to grow over time.