I was listening to my favorite classic rock station on the way home from work, when another listener called in. The DJ took the call live, and the guy asked her what was the song and who was it by that she had played just before the one that had just finished because that was some awesome guitar. After some bantering back and forth, she told him it was “Never Going Back Again” by Fleetwood Mac. He then said, incredulously, “That was Fleetwood Mac?!”

I remember saying something similar in high school. “Stevie Nicks is in Fleetwood Mac?!” See, I could remember hearing the name Fleetwood Mac back in the 70’s, but I couldn’t place the band with any songs. So when I first heard Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around while listening to Casey Kasem do the American Top 40, I thought I was hearing Stevie for the first time. Loved her music. By the time her second solo album came out, I was definitely a big fan, but I still hadn’t made the Fleetwood Mac connection. Even in ’84 when Christine McVie went solo, and Mick Fleetwood formed his Zoo (both of which I saw on Solid Gold), I couldn’t place Fleetwood Mac. It was Tango in the Night that did it for me. I thought, “Wow. Fleetwood Mac is good band.”

When their greatest hits album came out, I rushed to get the tape. Shock and awe. I realized that I knew almost every song on that tape, and loved them. I set a goal to get every one of their albums. I have since given up that goal as I don’t like their early blues, but I have all of the albums since the 1972 Bare Trees album. IMHO, English blues is crap compared to American blues, and I make no exception, even for Eric Clapton. Sorry, my opinion, and no amount of argument will change my musical taste. I was even more shocked to learn that I knew a couple of Fleetwood Mac songs from before Buckingham Nicks joined: Albatross and Sentimental Lady. Yes I once yelled at a TV commercial for a compilation CD touting the songs as by the “original artists” when they played a snippet of Bob Welch’s solo version of Sentimental Lady. He did it with Fleetwood Mac first…and better.

I learned that Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green wrote Santana’s Black Magic Woman. I also have to say I like Santana’s remake better than the Fleetwood Mac original. As I listened to Fleetwood Mac more, I decided that Eddie Van Halen is not the greatest rock guitarist in the world. Lindsey Buckingham is. I spent hours trying to play my guitar along with Lindsey. Then I saw him play, and I gave up. I’ve always sucked at fingerpicking and he plays a guitar with banjo-like fingerpicking. I’ve never had that kind of coordination. Guess that’s why it took two guitarists to replace him when he left after Tango in the Night. 🙂 I was really happy to see both Stevie and Lindsey go back to the Mac.

So what does this have to do with anything? Nothing. Just got to thinking about it, and decided to share. Any other Fleetwood Mac fans out there?