“Fleetwood Mac” (The White Album) (1975) is no doubt a fantastic starting point for those who want to enjoy Fleetwood Mac with the Buckingham and Nicks lineup and it’s a classic album that would set that spark and make Fleetwood Mac one of the top bands, as well as recognizable bands, for many years. Recommended!
Purchase “Fleetwood Mac” (The White Album) on Amazon
BAND: Fleetwood Mac
ALBUM: Fleetwood Mac
Originally Released on July 11, 1975
Super Deluxe Edition released on November 16, 2017
Disc 1 – Original Album Remastered and Single Versions
1. “Monday Morning”
2. “Warm Ways”
3. “Blue Letter”
4. “Rhiannon”
5. “Over My Head”
6. “Crystal”
7. “Say You Love Me”
8. “Landslide”
9. “World Turning”
10. “Sugar Daddy”
11. “I’m So Afraid”
12. “Over My Head” – Single Version
13. “Rhiannon” – Single Version
14. “Say You Love Me” – Single Version
15. “Blue Letter” – Single Version *
Disc 2 – Early Takes and Live
1. “Monday Morning” – Early Take *
2. “Warm Ways” – Early Take *
3. “Blue Letter” – Early Take *
4. “Rhiannon” – Early Take *
5. “Over My Head” – Early Take *
6. “Crystal” – Early Take *
7. “Say You Love Me” – Early Version *
8. “Landslide” – Early Version *
9. “World Turning” – Early Version *
10. “Sugar Daddy” – Early Take *
11. “I’m So Afraid” – Early Version *
12. “Over My Head” – Live *
13. “Rhiannon” – Live *
14. “Why” – Live *
15. “World Turning” – Live *
16. Jam #2
17. “I’m So Afraid” – Early Take Instrumental *
Disc: 3 – LIVE
1. “Get Like You Used To Be” *
2. “Station Man” *
3. “Spare Me A Little” *
4. “Rhiannon” *
5. “Why” *
6. “Landslide” *
7. “Over My Head” *
8. “I’m So Afraid” *
9. “Oh Well” *
10. “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)” *
11. “World Turning” *
12. “Blue Letter” *
13. “Don’t Let Me Down Again”
14. “Hypnotized” *
* Previously Unreleased
When I was a child, my father had a lot of Fleetwood Mac albums.
In fact, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, The Beatles, The Eagles, Queen and Led Zeppelin were among the albums that my father listened too. Surprising to me, considering he and my mother got caught with the disco movement and because they had these disco parties (while when the parties were over and he would work on the house, out came the rock music once again), I would be with other parents kids who would look at my father’s vinyl collection (which my father had a lot) and would tell me that my father had an evil collection.
And Fleetwood Mac albums were evil because of the covers featuring Mick Fleetwood and John McVie and he actually convinced me to the point that I was scared as a kid to go near the albums featuring Fleetwood Mac, with the exception of the 1973 album “Mystery to Me” (which featured an illustration of a primate eating cake).
Despite how much I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and enjoyed the music, it’s hard to believe that I was scared of looking at their 1975 self-titled album “Fleetwood Mac (White Album)”, which featured Mick Fleetwood (standing) and John McVie (kneeling).
But that was memories I have of this album when I was younger, along with the music.
For those who are not familiar with Fleetwood Mac, the British-American band was formed in London back in 1967. It was founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassist John McVie.
There would be changes as Danny Kirwan joined as the third guitarist while, keyboardist/vocalist Christine Perfect would join in 1970 and married bassist, John McVie.
Unfortunately, the band had problem keeping guitarists and they would bringing in Bob Welch, Bob Weston and would have a new vocalist, Dave Walker.
So, there will be fans who grew up and are very big fans of early Fleetwood Mac with the original line up, and there are fans who grew up with the newer lineup.
But Welch, Weston and Walker would end up leaving in 1974 and Mick Fleetwood scouting studios in Los Angeles and heard the demo of a folk-duo known as Buckingham Nicks which consisted of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood would invite Lindsey Buckingham to be a guitarist, and he agreed under one condition, Stevie could join the band.
Three months later, the new lineup would create the band’s tenth album.
“Fleetwood Mac”, the 1975 album would be their second self-titled album. This album would be distinguished by fans as “Fleetwood Mac (The White Album)” and this combination of Green, Fleetwood and the McVie’s along with Buckingham and Nicks would propel the group to debut at No. 183 on the US Billboard Chart in August 1975 and it would reach No. 1 on Sept. 1976, 58 weeks after the album’s debut.
Granted, there were a few issues earlier on in the making of the album, for one, bassist John McVie didn’t take kindly to Buckingham telling the band members on what he wanted to play. McVie reminding Buckingham that he is the “Mac” of Fleetwood Mac.
But the band managed to work together and the album reached No. 1 and four singles from the album were released: “Over My Head” (Sept. 1975), “Warm Ways” (Sept. 1976), “Rhiannon” (Feb. 1976) and “Say You Love Me” (June 1976). All three charted in the top 20 in the US. While in the UK, “Warm Ways” was also released as a single.
Now I am reviewing the digital version of Fleetwood Mac (Super Deluxe Edition). I know there are people who are collectors and prefer to own the physical releases and that’s great. For me, while I inherited my father’s vinyl collection, one of the reasons why I don’t purchase physical is because as a music reviewer for a very long time, I have a mountain of music (physical releases) and I don’t want to accumulate and add to what I have.
These physical releases are best for those who will truly cherish these albums, may it be as a collection or wanting something of the past for nostalgia. And for those going for physical, you do get a DVD or for those going for vinyl, you can get the original album pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Personally, for me, I prefer my music these days in digital format.
While “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me” is a song that I was most familiar with, the song that would mean more to me as I grew older from this album was “Landslide” (which would eventually be released as a single in 1998).
Needless to say, Fleetwood Mac with the new lineup would reach popularity with their next album “Rumours”, released in 1977. And with the popularity of that album, “Fleetwood Mac” would be re-released a year later.
“Rolling Stone” magazine would place “Fleetwood Mac” at No. 182 in the magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.
And for many Fleetwood Mac fans, several Fleetwood Mac albums would be re-released with the new remasterings in 2017 in Deluxe and Super Deluxe format.
This version of “Fleetwood Mac” would receive the “Super Deluxe” treatment with 46 tracks. Disc One featuring 2017 remasters of the original tracks. Disc 2 would feature the early versions of these songs and also a few live tracks and a 2018 remaster of “Jam #2”.
This is what I enjoy about Super Deluxe Editions of music, hearing the alternate takes of a certain song. It gives you the mindset on the creation before the finalization of the tracks featured on “Fleetwood Mac”. Some tracks conceptualized earlier on, are close to the final, while some are different in terms of arrangement or how the song was sung. Songs such as “Rhiannon” sounded the same earlier on as it did when it was finalized, while “Landslide” was a bit different in how Stevie Nicks would sing the song.
The third disc would be an all live disc recorded at the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey, Jorgensen Auditorium at the University of Connecticut and at Campus Stadium at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1975-1976.
What these live tracks are very fascinating is seeing how songs were first sung earlier. For example, “Landslide”, while the majority of the song remained as it was heard today, Stevie Nicks had a different way of singing certain parts of a song which was consistent of how she sung the song in the early version.
I also liked how we got to hear the new lineup singing some of the older tracks from the band such as “Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)”, “Oh Well (Pt. 1)”, “Why” and more.
But this album is in a true sense deserving of being called a “Super Deluxe Edition” and it will be remembered for the beginning of the new lineup featuring newcomers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
One last comment I would like to make about the Super Deluxe Edition, if purchasing this album digital, as long as it has the three discs (even if labeled Deluxe), you are getting the tracks that came with the Super Deluxe Edition.
“Fleetwood Mac” (The White Album) (1975) is no doubt a fantastic starting point for those who want to enjoy Fleetwood Mac with the Buckingham and Nicks lineup and it’s a classic album that would set that spark and make Fleetwood Mac one of the top bands, as well as recognizable bands, for many years.
Recommended!
Purchase “Fleetwood Mac” (The White Album) on Amazon
