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Fleetwood Mac<\/a>‘s classic period was more than a commercial juggernaut that led to one of the biggest-selling records of all time. It was also an era marked by the veteran group’s creative peak. With the additions of Americans\u00a0Lindsey Buckingham<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Stevie Nicks<\/a>, the British band settled on a steady lineup, after a half-decade of consistent turnover,\u00a0with its 10th album.<\/p>\n From 1975-87, the lineup of\u00a0singer, songwriter and guitarist\u00a0Buckingham,\u00a0singer and songwriter Nicks,\u00a0drummer Mick Fleetwood<\/a>, singer, songwriter and keyboardist\u00a0Christine McVie<\/a>\u00a0and bassist John McVie<\/a> recorded five albums, as well as a handful of B-sides, outtakes and stray cuts that ended up on other records before and after their time together.<\/p>\n The below\u00a0ranking\u00a0of every classic-era Fleetwood Mac\u00a0song includes more than 75 tracks from those key years.\u00a0It doesn’t contain\u00a0any of the works-in-progress or early demos of released songs found on expanded versions of the band’s five studio records. It also doesn’t include the 1997 live reunion album\u00a0The Dance<\/a><\/em>\u00a0or the 2003\u00a0LP\u00a0Say You Will<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<\/em>2013’s Extended Play<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0neither of which included\u00a0Christine McVie.<\/p>\n 78. “Kiss and Run” (From Expanded Version of Tusk<\/em>, 2004)<\/strong><\/p>\n This pointless jam of an obscure cover from the Tusk<\/a><\/em> sessions ended up on a\u00a0later reissue. This is the sort of thing the band was trying to leave behind in the mid-’70s.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 77. “Book of Miracles” (From “Seven Wonders” B-side, 1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n An instrumental that laid the basis for the song “Juliet” on Nicks’ 1989 solo album\u00a0The Other Side of the Mirror<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0“Book of Miracles” never gets out of the demo stage.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 76.\u00a0“One More Night”\u00a0(From\u00a0Fleetwood Mac Live<\/em>, 1980)<\/strong><\/p>\n Three new songs were added to the concert souvenir Fleetwood Mac Live<\/a><\/em> album in 1980. This was Christine McVie’s. It sounds unfinished and rushed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 75. “Farmer’s Daughter” (From Fleetwood Mac Live<\/em>, 1980)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n A\u00a01963\u00a0Beach Boys<\/a> song recorded during the Tusk<\/em> sessions, “Farmer’s Daughter” appeared on 1980’s Live\u00a0<\/em>with added audience. A slight, and rare, cover\u00a0by the lineup.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 74. “Cool Water” (From “Gypsy” B-Side, 1982)<\/strong><\/p>\n Only Buckingham and John McVie (on backing vocals) are on this cover of the\u00a0late-’30s\u00a0cowboy tune\u00a0gracing “Gypsy”‘s flip side. Disposable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 73. “Teen Beat” (From 25 Years: The Chain<\/em>, 1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n Another Mirage<\/em> <\/a>outtake, the Buckingham instrumental “Teen Beat”\u00a0stayed unreleased for a decade before it showed up on The Chain<\/em> box set. More sketch than a song.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 72. “Goodbye Angel”\u00a0(From\u00a025 Years: The Chain<\/em>, 1992)<\/strong><\/p>\n Left off Mirage<\/em>, Buckingham’s “Goodbye Angel” warms\u00a0up\u00a0nostalgia\u00a0with\u00a0solo-career tricks: doo-wop via a DIY path, if you will. Finally surfaced on a 1992 Mac box set.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 71. “Sugar Daddy” (From Fleetwood Mac<\/em>, 1975)<\/strong><\/p>\n Christine McVie’s “Sugar Daddy” is such a throwaway song by\u00a0the group that nobody put much effort into it. Never played live either.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 70. “Straight Back”\u00a0(From Mirage<\/em>, 1982)<\/strong><\/p>\n A Nicks song about her solo career that sounds like a leftover from her first solo album. The rest of the band does little here than provide session backup.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 69. “You and I, Part II” (From Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n Part one is on the “Big Love” single B-side and features only Buckingham; Christine McVie joins for the album version. Stitched together as one track for a later reissue.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 68. “When I See You Again”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n The second-to-last song in Tango in the Night<\/em>, this tender acoustic ballad from Nicks (with backing vocals by Buckingham) doesn’t\u00a0do or say much.\u00a0Pretty thin.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 67. “Welcome to the Room … Sara”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n Nicks spent time recovering from addiction at the Betty Ford Clinic before making\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>. This song – complete with a callback to her earlier “Sara” – details her stay.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 66. “Mystified”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n Written by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie and mostly sung by her, “Mystified” is barely a whisper of a song. Snoozy and forgettable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 65. “Honey Hi” (From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Tusk<\/em>‘s Side Four opener is as disposable as the underrated album gets.\u00a0Not even Buckingham’s lavish production can salvage Christine McVie’s blueprint of a song.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Top 10 Pre-Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac Songs<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 64. “Down Endless Street”\u00a0(From “Family Man” B-Side, 1987) Most Tango in the Night<\/em> singles contained non-album tracks\u00a0as flips; none deserved a spot on the album. Buckingham’s “Down Endless Street” is better than most, though.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 63. “Wish You Were Here”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) Mirage<\/em>‘s closing song –\u00a0co-written by Christine McVie and British drummer Colin Allen – ends the album on a reflective, longing note. Pleasant if not necessarily memorable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 62. “Eyes of the World”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) Buckingham borrowed from “Pachelbel’s Canon” for Mirage<\/em>‘s penultimate track, which – like most of his songs on the LP – sounds more suited to his solo career.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 61. “Empire State”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) California native Buckingham’s tribute to New York (co-written with Richard Dashut) opens Mirage<\/em>‘s second side. As with other songs from the LP, he doesn’t sound into it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 60. “That’s Alright”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) Stevie Nicks wrote “That’s Alright” before she and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1974. Under the deadline for songs, she excavated the lilting, county-gallop number for Mirage<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 59. “Can’t Go Back”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) During the three-year recording hiatus between Tusk<\/em> and Mirage<\/em>, several members of Fleetwood Mac pursued solo careers that resulted in a surplus of leftover songs used on the band’s 13th LP. “Can’t Go Back” is Buckingham in full quirky pop mode.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 58. “Caroline”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987) Buckingham\u00a0layers percussion and studio tricks into this sparkling but unmemorable offering to Tango in the Night<\/em>. The ’80s gloss running through much of the album is at a minimum here, but\u00a0“Caroline” is not much of a song either.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 57. “Never Forget” (From Tusk<\/em>, 1979) Christine McVie had both the opening and closing songs on Tusk<\/em>. “Never Forget,” which ends the double LP, drifts in like a final benediction after the weirdness and solo turns. It works better as a bookend than as a stand-alone song, though.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 56. “Save Me a Place”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) One of Buickingham’s lesser songs on Tusk<\/em> sounds like a ramp-up to his solo career, which was right around the corner. Running a little more than two and a half minutes, “Save Me a Place” never takes off.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 55. “Angel”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) The second Fleetwood Mac song with the title “Angel” (the first, by Bob Welch<\/a>, is from 1974’s Heroes Are Hard to Find<\/em><\/a>), Nicks’ version alludes to her relationship with Mick Fleetwood. It leads Side Three of Tusk<\/em> but lumbers throughout its nearly five minutes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 54. “Ricky” (From “Little Lies” B-Side, 1987) Co-written by Buckingham and Christine McVie, the “Little Lies” B-side was left over from the Tango in the Night<\/em> recording sessions. No surprise why the song was left off the album; there’s not much here.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 53. “Oh Daddy” (From Rumours<\/em>, 1977) The worst song on the massively popular Rumours<\/em> was written by Christine McVie about either her boyfriend or Mick Fleetwood’s marital problems. Either way, it’s appropriately buried in the graveyard position as the album’s penultimate track.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 52. “Only Over You”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) Christine McVie’s “Only Over You” is most notable for being\u00a0about her relationship with Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson<\/a>\u00a0that ended the same year Mirage<\/em> came out. He died in 1983, drowning while intoxicated.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 51. “Beautiful Child”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) Stevie Nicks had a brief affair with former Beatles<\/a> press agent Derek Taylor before the recording of Tusk<\/em>. The lullaby-like\u00a0“Beautiful Child” is about him. At almost five and a half minutes, the song may last longer than the relationship did.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 50. “Book of Love”\u00a0(From\u00a0Mirage<\/em>, 1982) Like several Mirage<\/em> tracks, Buckingham’s “Book of Love” sounds like it would be just as well-suited to a solo record. Glistening pop melody, chiming backing vocals, layered instruments and voices: check, check and check.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 49. “Walk a Thin Line”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) Comparisons to the Beatles’ White Album <\/a>greeted Tusk<\/em> from the start. This Buckingham song later made a clearer connection when George Harrison<\/a> played guitar on a version found on Mick Fleetwood’s debut solo album, The Visitor<\/em>, in 1981.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 48. “I Know I’m Not Wrong”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) Like his other songs\u00a0on\u00a0Tusk<\/em>, Buckingham’s “I Know I’m Not Wrong” was heavily influenced by the punk and new wave music infiltrating the culture at the time. It wasn’t an easy birth: He reportedly reworked the\u00a0track several times during recording.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 47. “Never Make Me Cry”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) Another sensitive, hushed Christine McVie song, buried in the back half of Tusk<\/em> and free from the\u00a0meticulous studio techniques that define so much of the album. Restrained to the point of forgettable, the performances are nonetheless lovely.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 46. “Isn’t It Midnight”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987) Everything about this mid-’80s\u00a0song by\u00a0Christine McVie (who sings lead),\u00a0Buckingham and Eddy Quintela is period-stamped, from its hollow production to the brief, shuttled-in guitar solo. It was the last single released from Tango in the Night\u00a0<\/em>but bombed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 45. “Tango in the Night”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tango in the Night<\/em>, 1987) Originally intended for Buckingham’s third solo album, “Tango in the Night” was instead reworked by Fleetwood Mac as the title track of their 14th LP. No Stevie Nicks, but the rest of the band checks in with the album’s\u00a0toughest performance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 44. “Brown Eyes”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) This Christine McVie-written and -sung song is most notable for featuring an uncredited guitar\u00a0performance at the\u00a0fade-out by Peter Green<\/a>, the band’s founder who left in 1970. He doesn’t remember it; Buckingham doesn’t either. The song is mostly forgettable, too.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 43. “That’s Enough for Me”\u00a0(From\u00a0Tusk<\/em>,\u00a01979) Tusk<\/em>‘s shortest song\u00a0was written and sung by Buckingham, who also plays all the instruments (Nicks and Christine McVie supply backing vocals, though). “That’s Enough for Me” went through several stages before the\u00a0lively 1:51 version was settled on.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 42. “Crystal”\u00a0(From\u00a0Fleetwood Mac<\/em>, 1975) “Crystal” first appeared on Buckingham and Nicks’ 1973 album and showed up again on the duo’s first Fleetwood Mac album<\/a>. Like the earlier version, Buckingham sings lead on the Nicks-penned song. She finally took the lead on a 1998 soundtrack solo recording.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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