Disco de Fleetwood Mac: “Chain: Selections From 25 Years”

Back in '92 Fleetwood Mac released a 4 CD version of this boxed set in the states -- I have it, and it's one of the best boxed sets I own. One CD contains the cream of the crop of their '68 - '74 material, although personally I would have liked to have seen a fifth CD to accomodate more of that particular material. The rest of the boxed set is good, although the booklet that accompanies it has no liner notes of any kind. I'm assuming the 4 CD version is out of print. Try tracking that version down in used record stores rather than settling for this butchered version.

Among the numerous "boxes" out there, this is the best compilation that I have come across. This is a legitimate "Best Of...", "Greatest Hits", and "Anthology Of...", Rolled into one. Every number here is recognizable and so intrinsic to the make-up of Fleetwood Mac; combining the historically evoking early songs, their monster hits, and then some. When these tunes are played front to back, one realizes how good this band has been and how many great songs they've offered up to Rock and Pop.

If the disks are played in order, 1 through 4, the set is loosely organized into the most recent material first, gradually moving to the very early 60's vintage Fleetwood Mac at the beginning of disc 1. Most younger listeners would probably not even recognize the older material as Fleetwood Mac, during the days of the psychedelic Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, lending their blues-rock influence and soulful under-pinings, and then the ethereal Bob Welch with his smooth "other-wordly" sound which is evidenced in the aptly named "Hypnotized". Personally, I prefer the comparison of the material when the four discs are loaded in the changer and set to shuffle play; the effect is quite compelling. The listener soon realizes from one tune to the next that the transition and order, or lack thereof, works well. In addition, there is no fodder or fluff in the whole bunch..."good song...good song...man, great song!!"

Even though Fleetwood Mac's style has changed dramatically spanning four decades, they have always achieved high standards and satisfied fans to the fullest measure. This package gives credence to that fact. The only reason not to have this particular set of recordings, if your looking for an ultimate Fleetwood Mac package, is if you already own all of their other albums. I have listened to all of their recordings but this is the one that own and play.

First off, I don't know why the box set is out of print. It's a crime IMO. So, since there is no box set, I will review it anyways under this title.

Basically this CD is a condensed version of the out of print box set- a sampler if you will. It is worth noting that this set includes a track not on the out of print box set - Bermuda Triangle (which orignally was from Heroes Are Hard To Find).

Now, as a box set, this is pretty good. It has tracks from all eras/line-ups of Fleetwood Mac represented up to that point (1992). It does include 1 b-side "Silver Springs" (which is also now available on The Very Best of FM), as well as a few unreleased gems from the Mirage period, a Danny Kirwin track titled Trinity, as well as a track from the proposed Jeremy Spencer EP called String-A-Long.

Also included are a few live tracks taken from FM Live '80 and other sources.

As far as "easily obtainable" material, the set does a good job at covering the band's most popular songs, although it would have been nice to see "Hold Me" and "Seven Wonders" on here as well.

The older material (aka Peter Green era) is concentrated on the 4th disc. They do a good job covering the basics of what the original FM sound was with most of the big songs by them during that period (Black Magic Woman, Albatross, Need Your Love So Bad, I Believe My Time Ain't Long (Dust My Broom), Oh Well, Rattlesnake Shake, etc). I do think that their "middle period songs" feel a little out of place on this disc, as well as the Hypmotized and Lay It All Down on CD 3. I believe they should have added another CD with the "middle period" stuff and add more to CD 4 of Peter Green material (maybe some live gems).

All in all, a very good set, if not for CD 4 alone, as there is not a good "compilation" of older FM material out there that can equal what CD 4 is (there are imports out there though if you look hard).

BUT, with this set being out of print, you'd be better off trying to look in a used CD store or auction site to find it.

In the meantime, enjoy this "sample" disc and relish in some of these great tunes.

All the classic tracks are here but regular buyers of boxed sets will be dissappointed by the lack of info. There is a booklet with lots of nice photos but no information about the origins of the songs, the history of the band etc.. Oh and why did they include 'Not That Funny' as one of the tracks..it really is awful.. The rest is 5 star stuff though. It reminds you of how great this band is..

A lavish 4-disc boxed set that covers the band's entire first 25 years, including some rarities, a few previously unreleased tracks, four new songs, and a whole lot of big hits. All of the band's post-1975 hits are present here, except for the inexplicable exclusions of the hits "Hold Me" and "Seven Wonders" - the omissions of which are inexcusable for a thorough boxed set. An error was also made by attempting to incorporate the band's early years into the mix, which does not set well with the Buckingham/Nicks years of the band. The group's pre-1975 material is largely squeezed onto one disc, is hardly complete, and deserved to anthologized separately and better.

Having gotten those determinants out of the way, THE CHAIN still has a good amount to offer. There are four new songs, including Stevie Nicks' plodding and unfocused "Paper Doll" and two pleasant mid-tempo tunes from Christine McVie ("Love Shines," "Heart of Stone"). None of these three new songs are particularly memorable, but are somewhat significant in the sense that they are the final records by the BEHIND THE MASK lineup of the band, as both Nicks and Rick Vito abandoned ship in 1993. Lindsey Buckingham's sole new contribution, the haunting "Make Me a Mask," was probably an out-take from his 1992 solo album OUT OF THE CRADLE, but that's not a complaint as the neo-lullaby is easily the best of the new material.

The set also includes some B-sides and previously unreleased material, although I'm sure there's even more great material lurking the vaults somewhere. I was a bit disappointed that "Cool Water" (the B-side to 1982's "Gypsy") and "You and I, part I" (the B-side to 1987's "Big Love") were not included, but it was great to finally have a legitimate copy of the gorgeous "Sliver Springs" (the B-side to "Go Your Own Way") on CD. The highpoint of the previously unreleased material are two 1982 Lindsey Buckingham compositions, both left off of the album MIRAGE. The mid-tempo ballad "Goodbye Angel" is a beautiful fifties' homage, while the madcap "Teen Beat" is a wild instrumental (with some non-syllabic vocal ad libs thrown in) in the same vein as "Tusk." It is total mystery why these two tracks failed to make the cut the first time around.

There are also many terrific album tracks selected (which isn't that big of deal seeing that the band's entire discography is available on CD), and I was particularly pleased with the large amount of material from 1979's underrated masterpiece TUSK. The many tracks that are listed as "alternate mixes" are very misleading, however, as most sound identical to the original versions. The big exception here is the unedited version of "Gypsy," which has a has longer fadeout featuring more delightful interaction between Stevie and Lindsey and actually improves upon the classic original. Nicks' fans will also be delighted by the 1988 live version of her 1983 solo hit "Stand Back," which strips away the disco arrangement of the original and is performed as a straight ahead rock song.

Overall, THE CHAIN features enough fresh and interesting material to be a worthy buy for fans, but it is still somewhat of a wasted opportunity. The compilers obviously tried to cram in all of the many variations of this constantly evolving band into one package, and the results are simply not completely pleasing. This, the missing hits, the minimum of previously unreleased material, and the ho-hum new songs prevent the package from really hitting the bull's-eye. It may not be the definitive Fleetwood Mac collection that many were hoping for, but it certainly does have it's charms.