For long-time drummer Mick Fleetwood, preparing another reunion set list for Fleetwood Mac is fairly straight forward. Any song, he says, will do — though Fleetwood admits a personal preference for the group’s uptempo songs.
“I have really no specific favorites; I just enjoy playing,” Fleetwood says, in the attached video. “We know we’re going to do certain songs, and if we don’t do them the audience will shoot us. We know that, and we enjoy doing it.”
Fleetwood co-founded Fleetwood Mac along with bassist John McVie and the now-departed Peter Green in the 1960s. After a series of more blues-focused recordings, however, the group began to evolve into a hit-making pop machine in the following decade — reaching critical mass after the twin departures of Green and second guitarist Jeremy Spencer.
Even as the now-retired Christine McVie began to emerge in the band dynamic, the lineup expanded to include Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in the early ’70s. Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 smash Rumours would go on to produce four U.S. Top 10 hit songs, and topped the Billboard album charts for some 31 weeks.
Unsurprisingly, when pressed to select a favorite track, Fleetwood eventually goes with one from that blockbuster release — as well as another from its follow up, 1979’s Tusk.
“I think as a percussionist, a drummer, I always know my tempo is up,” Fleetwood allows. “It lets me know that I’m still doing what I really need to be doing — like ‘Go Your Own Way,’ ‘Tusk.’ Songs like that give me a personal workout, so selfishly I go: “Shit, I can still play. That’s good.'”
Fleetwood Mac will begin a 16-week series of American concert dates in April, continuing through early July. European shows will follow later in 2013.
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Have to go with the Welch era as my fave. Future Games #1, Bare Trees #2, Mystery To Me #3. Good blues/rock/jam before then, and good pop after, but for me the Welch era really stands out as the Mac’s unique niche and creative best. It’s sad to see that time, and Welch, pretty much erased from the history.
We’re big fans of that era, too, Terry. Here’s our tribute to Welch, after he passed last year: http://somethingelsereviews.com/2012/06/07/bob-welch-1945-2012-an-appreciation/
I agree, Terry. It’s a travesty that the entirety of the Welch-era Mac catalog is completely absent from iTunes and Spotify and other online sources – it’s virtually impossible outside of CDs and used vinyl, illegal downloads and low-grade YouTube videos for a new generation to rediscover such an important part of Fleetwood Mac’s legacy. Furthermore, if Bob wasn’t there to see the band through its most challenging times and shepherd their relationship with Warner Bros., the Buckingham-Nicks lineup might not have ever happened.
I love Chris so much. She’s written some of my favorite FM songs. dont stop is one of my favorite song.