The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
click the image to get it in cd-cover size
| Release Date: |
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| Label: |
WEA/Reprise |
| Rating: |
4.5 |
Description: Spanning 22 years, this double-disc, 36-track compilation chronicles the initially unlikely and ultimately triumphant conflation of a failing, veteran English neo-blues band (Mick Fleetwood and the McVies) with a pair of mercurial American also-rans (the baroque folk-rock genius Lindsey Buckingham and crypto-songbird Stevie Nicks). The creative alchemy was immediate, as 15 epochal tracks ("Dreams," "Say You Love Me," "The Chain," "Don't Stop") from
Fleetwood Mac and
Rumours here attest. They could have arguably repeated that mega-successful formula for a decade, but chose a more musically expansive tack, represented "Sara," Think About Me" and the other core tracks drawn from the ambitious
Tusk. While the band's megahit luster faded as the solo careers of Buckingham and Nicks took flight in the '80s, their power was still apparent in the dusky-bright pop of Christine McVie's "Hold Me" and "Little Lies." Sequenced with compelling listening rather than chronology in mind, this set also includes the strongest of the Mac's latter-day recordings (Nicks's "Paper Doll," "Silver Springs," and "No Questions Asked"; McVie's "As Long As You Follow"), as well the Lindsey Buckingham showcases "Go Insane" and "Big Love" from '97's
The Dance.
--Jerry McCulley
Tracklist of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
Reviews:
Excellent list of hits!!!
First I HAVE to laugh because someone said that Sara isn't on here. Uhhhhhhhhhhh YES IT IS!!!!!! HELLO! YOU BOUGHT IT DIDN'T YOU?! But anyway , I think the enhanced stuff is cool and the audio is definetly better than the original. And also someone said that it sounds like it ways recorded in a coke bottle. IT DOES NOT!!!! I CAN TELL IT WAS REMASTERED! So on this compilation are some great songs of the mac and I feel sorry for the people who don't like it and can't clearly see what songs are on it.
Not A Loser In The Bunch
Fleetwood Mac is the one of the few bands truly deserving of a two disc "best of" collection. From Stevie Nick's amazing songwriting prowess to the rest of band's craftsmenship in making their songs come alive, they are truly worthy of a career spanning anthology.
"The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac" contains all of the band's biggest songs that put them on the map back in the mid 1970s' and early '80s, including "Say You Love Me", "Rhiannon", "You Make Loving Fun", "Don't Stop", "Go Your Own Way", "Dreams", "Sarah" "Hold Me", "Gypsy" and "Little Lies". All of these songs have been digitally remastered for the finest sound possible in today's modern world.
"The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac" also contains the lion's share of classic album tracks and minor singles that rarely get any recognition, including "The Chain" (which was somehow absent from the previous single disc collection), "Gold Dust Woman", "What Makes You Think You're The One", "Seven Wonders", "Everywhere" (one of my all time favorites), "As Long As You Follow" (very mellow, got me through a lot of long car rides as a kid) and "Paper Doll", to name a few. I really like some of the stuff that usually gets a lot of criticism from fans, such as "Family Man" (though the music for this one sounds like it cmae right out of "Donkey Kong) and "The Sky's The Limit".
The producers made a wise decision by leaving off everything from the first five years when Peter Green was in the group and the incarnation without Byckingham or Nicks from the mid 1990s', when they released the horrid "Time" album. The only thing I wish they did with this collection is added solo hits from the three members who actually had them: Buckingham ("Trouble"), McVie ("Got A Hold On Me") and Nicks (either "Stand Back" or "Talk To Me"). Other than that, everything you could possibly want is hear. Definitely a must have.
Where's Sara?
That's a big mistake for me, not include one of the most beautiful song fo FleetwoodMac. That's too bad.