With the death of Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac several years ago, the possibility of a full-fledged reunion of that group’s classic lineup is over. Fortunately, McVie and her partners in that iconic group have left a fulsome recorded legacy behind.
Most incarnations of the group made albums that have stood the test of time. Also, much of their work, particularly in the 1970s, reflects the heyday of well-conceived albums that were impeccably recorded during the analog years of studio innovation and sound. Reissues of the group’s music have been steady, with many albums being reissued over and over again. Two recent reissues prove that even for albums that have been reissued often before, new reissues offer much for fans, particularly audiophiles.
The group’s 1975 self-titled album, celebrating its 50th anniversary, was their breakout commercial release featuring new members Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While some often regard the album as the precursor to their mega-smash Rumours, it stands on its own, and only Rumours is equally as good when considering the Buckingham/Nicks version of the group.
Members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been constants in the band throughout their entire history. The album was Christine McVie’s sixth with the band, after she left Chicken Shack. After appearing uncredited on keyboards on two Mac albums, she joined the group full-time for Future Games (1971). Ever since Bare Trees, McVie was coming more and more into her own as a songwriter and a more confident singer. With Fleetwood Mac, she hit her stride with such songs as “Warm Ways,” “Over My Head,” and “Sugar Daddy.” Her “Say You Love Me” was so strong that Lindsey Buckingham handled most of the lead vocals, and the two then collaborated on co-writing “World Turning.”
Buckingham is a strong presence and key to the group’s newfound success and sound, particularly with “Monday Morning.” Steve Nicks began her ascent as a major artist with this album, with the classics “Rhiannon” and “Landslide,” and she also penned “Crystal.”
This album illustrates why music in the ’70s was so rich and, by contrast, why today’s music is so lacking. While solo artists and often electronic backing dominate today’s music, Fleetwood Mac brought disparate figures together—three men, two women, three Brits, and two Americans of two different age groups. While Buckingham was clearly a superb musician, the others succeeded more through feel than virtuosity. And the cherry on the cake was the unmistakable vocal blend, or even the individual vocals, of this group. Add to this that there were two couples in the group, and there was bound to be musical fireworks.
This Rhino High Fidelity, limited-edition release is a stereo cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray. The vinyl, which comes in a poly-lined inner sleeve, was pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal in Germany and features a glossy gatefold jacket with an OBI strip and a bonus insert that includes liner notes from Anthony DeCurtis and an interview he conducted with Lindsey Buckingham. Few albums that receive this kind of bespoke release deserve it as much as this classic from the heyday of the 1970s, arguably the best decade for albums as an art form.
Fleetwood Mac fans who seek to go deeper into the group’s music and explore their albums before the first album with Buckingham and Nicks will be richly rewarded. The group’s early sound was dominated by the mercurial and vastly talented Peter Green. He, Fleetwood, and McVie were joined on the early British blues-rock albums of the group by Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan. Spencer played on three of the first four albums by the group and then, in 1971, dropped out during their tour in the States to join The Children of God, a religious cult, prompting Peter Green to briefly return to the group he had left after the release of Then Play On (1969). On Future Games (1971), their fifth album, American Bob Welch joined the group, along with Christine McVie. This was a major change for the group, adding a more mellow, song-based, and studio-oriented sound to their music.
With their next album, Bare Trees (1972), recently given the Rhino Reserve vinyl treatment, the group had moved almost completely away from their raw British blues sound, but also honored that past with excellent contributions from Danny Kirwan on what would prove to be his last album with the group, but a fitting and strong end.
The highlights on Bare Trees are Bob Welch’s “Sentimental Lady,” which he would re-record as a solo artist and have a big hit with on his debut solo album, French Kiss, in 1977, with contributions on the track from Fleetwood, Buckingham, and Christine McVie, and Christine McVie’s “Spare Me a Little of Your Love.” However, Kirwan’s five songs, with their heady and subtle bluesy studio grooves, which are either instrumentals or songs with minimal lyrics, are inviting gems.
During this pre-Buckingham Nicks, post-British blues period, the group was developing a singular sound, gradually moving their base of operation and musical approach westward to the United States and building slowly, the old-fashioned way, a following by touring and playing excellent live shows and creating their own unique brand of music on more and more impressive and confident albums.
Those who know the Bare Trees album, with its haunting and stark John McVie front and back cover photos, treasure it. “Sentimental Lady” was also the first of two songs that Welch contributed to the group during his tenure, with the next being “Hypnotized” on 1973’s Mystery To Me, which are classics of ’70s FM album pop-rock.
This Rhino Reserve release was cut from the original analog tapes by Matthew Luthens at the Mastering Lab and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California on 180-gram vinyl. The vinyl comes in an audiophile inner sleeve, and the jacket is housed in a plastic sleeve.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Fleetwood Mac
A
Bare Trees
B+
