Apr 272018
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

fleetwood mac covers

Lindsey Buckingham is out of Fleetwood Mac for reasons that, a few weeks later, remain as enigmatic as many of the band’s best songs. He was fired – or quit? – amid reports that he wanted to work on a solo album while everyone else wanted to tour. This after reports a couple years ago that he wanted to do a Fleetwood Mac album and Stevie didn’t. Their professional lives today are as complicated and messy as their romantic ones once were.

And let’s be honest: He’ll be back in a few years for a dramatic “reunion tour.” But why wait that long to celebrate this great band? We decided to use the excuse of the recent news to pay tribute to one of the most cover-able bands of all time. And lord knows we’ve paid tribute before, full album tributes to Rumours and Tusk and much more (a bunch of links a the bottom).

But now, just as we did with the Talking Heads last month, we’re looking at the entire catalogue, ranking the top thirty covers of Fleetwood Mac songs from any album or era. There’s no specific Lindsey-focus or anything. Though the majority of songs are from the the classic lineup (including a number from Lindsey’s passion project Tusk), a handful come from the band’s blues beginnings before he or Stevie joined. If the record sleeve said “Fleetwood Mac,” it was fair game for artists to reinterpret – and boy, have they ever. Without further ado, thirty artists who listened carefully to the sound, then played the way they felt it. Continue reading »

Mar 172017
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

mac

It may be hard to believe, but in Fleetwood Mac’s hugely successful career, they’ve only had one song go all the way to number one on America’s Top 100. That would be “Dreams,” the second single from 1977’s Rumours, and it saw Stevie Nicks running through the gamut of emotions after her breakup with Lindsey Buckingham, a subject she doesn’t even try to disguise. “Who am I to keep you down?” she asks at the start, before reminding him of the consequences of leaving her – he’ll be alone, trapped with his memories of her. But he’ll come through it all in the end, when (not if) the rain washes him clean. The backing is spare, with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie not just providing the rhythm but the musical focus, while Buckingham adds atmosphere with very occasional guitar flourishes. It all makes for beautiful uneasiness, and the song’s success was much deserved.
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Jan 302016
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

 marty-balin

Ah, Marty Balin. You have a great, blue-eyed soul voice. You were one of the founders of one of the seminal bands of the 1960s, the Jefferson Airplane. You wrote and sang lead on a number of classic and hit songs. You were knocked unconscious by Hell’s Angels on stage at Altamont. You are a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And yet, if you stopped someone on the street—even someone who grew up during the 60s or 70s—it is likely that your name would be met with a blank stare, while your former bandmate Grace Slick’s probably would be recognized. Although your solo career had a few minor hits, they were few and far between. And you continue to occasionally gig and record with some of your old bandmates, who try to carry on their old sound, with limited success.

But a lack of name recognition, and a relatively indifferent solo career, cannot detract from your accomplishments, Marty. Sure, your star might have dimmed in comparison to Slick’s beautiful, outrageous mess, and you might have lost control of what you created, leaving and returning over the years. But many of your songs have proven to be timeless, while the drug/psychedelic/experimental tunes that surrounded yours on albums now sound dated and even silly.
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