Disco de Fleetwood Mac: “Live!”

Most of the live shows tend to be faithful reproduction of the albums. Fleetwood Mac is a great studio band as evidenced by their albums. But don't forget that they are a great live band as well. They don't just try to reproduce the songs' sounds from the respective albums. Familiar songs with new arrangements are refreshing and also challenging to the listeners. This live album include pre-Buckingham/Nicks tune Oh Well, highlighting Buckingham's underrated guitar playing.

Most other tunes are well known ones from their Self-titled, Rumour and Tusk. One song that is not on any other album, Fireflies stands out. On the liner notes it says it was recorded during the sound check. Anyway, it would fit in any of their albums. It is a classic. Another one of my favorite is Farmer's daughter, a Beach Boys tune. Buckingham was heavily influenced by Brian Wilson and here he pays his respect by reworking a little known Beach Boys song. It's spare arrangement (just a bass guitar & drum I think) & emphasis on harmonizing vocal give it an almost mystical quality.

Overall, it's an outstanding album to have in your collection.

Fleetwood Mac Live is absolutely awe inspiring. This set is great live music plain and simple. Mac classics like Go Your Own Way, Sara, and Landslide all performed beautifully. "Rhiannon" is amazing! I would give anything to see Stevie perform Rhiannon like this one more time. Also included are never before released tracks "Fireflies" and Brian Wilson's "Farmer's Daughter" bringing out Fleetwood Mac's harmonizing ability to the listener. Pre Buckingham Nicks Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well" is played with Lindsey doing an incredible cover. "Don't Let Me Down Again," from the Buckinham Nicks album is also a highlight. Enjoy...

There are few bands that can truly pull off being an OUTSTANDING live act, but Fleetwood Mac is definetely one. Now this CD was released in 1980, and that shows somewhat in the quality of the recordings, but not enough to affect the overall quality of the CD. It's a Double-CD set, full of Fleetwood Mac classics from the 79-80 mammoth Tusk Tour.

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The Cd's feature each song from a different stop on the tour, which was very unique thing to do.

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On the first disk, you get to hear Stevie Nicks sing "Dreams" beautifully from a live sound check...which is something rare.

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On the first disk, you also get to experience the mega-hit from their album "Tusk," "Sara"- a song Nicks wrote about her relationship with Don Henley, and also Mick Fleetwood.

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On Disk 2 you get the full-fledged rock version of Stevie's classic tune "Rhiannon." The intensity of this version is incredible, and truly displays to listeners how it was back then, and the whole aura of Stevie Nicks.

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I can't say that I've ever listened to this album, really, or even a whole side of it, so take the 5-star rating with a grain of salt, but I've listened to "I'm So Afraid" about a thousand times, mostly late at night, alone in my room with the lights out. It's not just the vocals, which are amazing, but also the guitar. This is what a live performance is supposed to be, a well-rehearsed, talented band finding their groove and channeling inspiration down from that place where music resides. I admit I was 18 years when I did it--but 20 years later the memory has never left me.

It's pretty rare that a live version of a song surpasses the studio version in all ways, but this is it. After you've listetened to the live version for the tenth time in a row, look for the studio version and play that, just for a giggle.

I admit I'm a fan of The Mac. I also admit that, like another who has written a review here, 'Tusk' is my favourite Mac album. And I love live albums. So this was a real treat for me. It's simply a fantastic mesh of the first three Mac albums made with the great Buckingham/Nicks, with a gritty workout on Peter Green's 'Oh Well' thrown in for good measure.

Lindsey Buckingham reveals himself in the course of this album to be a truly absurdly talented guy. In particular his rendition of 'Never Going Back' is just beautiful. He more than holds his own in 'Oh Well' and delivers a blistering 'I'm So Afraid' to boot. Though some have expressed irritation for it, the version of 'Not That Funny' is intriguing - he sounds as if he's performing some sort of rock n roll exorcism to the manic accompaniment of Mick. The screams and yelps are great fun.

Stevie also sounds fantastic, especially on Landslide (emotionally charged) and Rhiannon, in which she summons up the Welsh witch and sends chills down the spine. 'Fireflies' is an undiscovered gem of a tune, which should have been on an album somewhere. The version of 'Sara' is the longer one which was trimmed for the Tusk album, but did appear on the green Greatest Hits album which came out in the early 90s. It's equally wicked. Nicks floats through the song like a dream.

Christine McVie is the anchor of it all...she's just great. The (then)new song 'Over & Over' twinkles in with keyboard and swooping vocals. 'Say You Love Me' provides a rousing intro (along with a fantastic 'Monday Morning') to the album.

As for the Amazing Rhythm Section...they are solid, subtle, and cool as ice, and on 'Oh Well' they dig into their blues roots like men possessed.

All in all...this album has not been off my record player for a long time. There is a song for every mood, and The Mac successfully plumb emotional depths rarely seen in today's music.

Buy it! It's great! Truly one of their finest times captured (lucky for us) on an album.