Search - Fleetwood Mac :: Selections From 25 Years: The Chain

Something For Everyone.

marleyscott | Long Island, NY | 08/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you've followed the various incarnations of Fleetwood Mac over the twenty-five year span this anthology covers and if you have an appreciation for all the genres represented here from Elmore James style guitar rave-ups to ultra-cool LA Pop, then you'll love this two-disc set. What I find interesting, and other reviewers seem to loathe about this collection, is how it skips from the early Peter Green blues jams to the Bob Welch era pop ballards to the Lindsey Bunkingham light jazz classics and back to the Danny Kirwan / Jeremy Spencer Elvis rockabilly. Throughout all the changes in personel and all the stylistic experimentation, one thing has remained constant....Their rock solid rhythm section. The steady drumming of Mick Fleetwood and the ever so thick bass lines of John McVie have provided FM with the kind of heavy bottom most rock units would kill for. So wheather your bent is hearing Stevie Nicks belting out Rhinnon, with a smokey rasp as only she can, or if your preference his hearing Peter Green's wailing guitar on his orginal version of Black Magic Woman, Green Manalishi or his Santo and Johnny sound-alike, Albatross...Then again you may prefer Lindsey Buckingham's vocal pyrotechnics on Big Love or maybe Christine McVie's classic Don't Stop is right for you, (it seemed to serve well for Bill Clinton's re-election campaign). Either way there's something for just about everyone in this interesting 25 year cross-section."

Good, but a wasted opportunity (this review is of the full f

Robert Johnson | Richmond, KY USA | 10/24/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Review for Box Set - The Chain

Robert Johnson | 01/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."