It has taken me a little while to get around to this post, considering the inspiration for it came out mid 2024. Before I explain what this compilation is all about, I need to get a little thing off of my chest. There is a definite theme with some of my posts down the years in that I complain about record companies not servicing the needs of the punters/collectors when it comes to reissuing certain bands. One of these is Fleetwood Mac, especially the period before Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined. Even more so, the period between founder Peter Green leaving and Buckingham/Nicks’ arrival. There has been a few attempts at brining this era to greater attention but there has been a major lack of unreleased material. Either the band did not record very much or there is a reluctance to really open the archives. Do the powers at be not want to put the effort in thinking there will not be much of a return on the investment?
What brought about my compilation was a collaboration between Rhino Records and Warner Brothers called ‘Best Of 1969-1974’. This essentially the era the band were signed to Reprise Records (a subsidiary of Warner Brothers), but not quite. The first LP of the Buckingham/Nicks era originally came out on Reprise before the label was deactivated and the majority of the roster moved to the parent company. The label wasn’t completely mothballed as their final studio album, 2003’s ‘Say You Will’ came out on Reprise.
The problem I have with the ‘Best Of 1969-1974’ compilation is that there is little in the way of rarities to entice the Mac collector, such as myself. Singles that were released at the time are presented in, for the most part, as their album equivalents. These single versions have been released on a few compilations and box sets down the years, but it would have been nice to have had them on one place. It is also missing the lovely ‘Dragonfly’ which was good enough to include on the 1971 ‘Greatest Hits’ album, even though it failed to break the top 50 in the UK, and didn’t break into any chart anywhere else.
I felt that this should be a more comprehensive collection of the Rerpsie years. This mean including the the singles that Mac released when Buckingham/Nicks joined the band. Once again, some of these have different mixes to the versions included on the parent LP, with ‘Over My Head’ being a different take altogether. This was enough material for a CD. However, I do like to think that if any of my compilations were to actually be released officially, there would be a vinyl version. There was too many songs for a single LP but not enough for a double so I took up side four of the LP for some rarities. If this was actually released, I would make it so that there was a limited edition 12” single which included of additional rarities.
I have not included any singles from this era that were the same as the LP versions. A unique B-Sides that were included on the original singles are are included here.
Side A
- Oh Well, Part 1
- Oh Well, Part 2
- The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)
- World In Harmony
- Dragonfly
Side B
- Purple Dancer
- Jewel Eyed Judy (Single Version)
- Station Man (Single Version)
- Sands Of Time (Single Version)
- Sentimental Lady (Single Version)
Side C
- For Your Love (Mono Promo Edit)
- Heroes Are Hard To Find (Single Version)
- Over My Head (Single Version)
- Blue Letter (Single Version)
- Rhiannon (Single Version)
- Say You Love Me (Single Version)
Side D
- Stone (Future Games Outtake)
- What A Shame (Unedited)
- Trinity (Stereo Version)
- Good Things (Come To Those Who Wait) (Mystery To Me Outtake)
12” Single
Side A
- Trinity (Mono Version)
- Sometimes (Alternative Version)
Side B
- Lay It All Down (Alternative Version)
- Show Me A Smile (Alternative Version)
I used the same cover that was used for the ‘Best of 1969-1974’ collection, with the title amended and the Reprise Records label added.