Fleetwood Mac’s first hits album is exactly that, not a best-of, meaning only one song from the time before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined up is present (the instrumental “Albatross”). As such, it contains all the hits you’ve heard on the radio and is all casual fans need…at least, those who don’t already own Rumours and Fleetwood Mac and consequently have about half the songs here.
You can figure out what’s here from Rumours; the shame is that the album tracks like “The Chain” and “Gold Dust Woman,” which get just as much airplay as “Go Your Own Way” and “Dreams,” are missing here. Same with Fleetwood Mac, represented by the excellent “Rhiannon” and “Over My Head” but missing “Landslide” and “World Turning.” Perhaps those weren’t as big hits, but they are just as well known and deserve a spot on this.
Tusk is represented by its two hits, the oddball title track and “Sara,” while Mirage offers up “Gypsy” and “Hold Me,” both showing a band in creative decline. The era-ending Tango in the Night offers up the strong “Big Love” and the vocal workout of “Little Lies,” as well as “Everywhere.”
There are of course two new tracks to entice fans, but neither are memorable or up to par with the rest of the work. But the rest of this shows why the band was so popular in its heyday and is still a great overview of just the hits, making it necessary for casual fans and unnecessary for everyone else.
