#aluacrescente

[soundsof71]

Hey! Album: 'Fleetwood Mac' (1975) - Fleetwood Mac

Hey! Great to hear from you! You (and your previous blog) were my original inspiration for trying to raise my tumblr game to something intentionally curated, and more than that, personally creative. Sorry to have let you down. LOL

What a pleasure to talk about this one, though, an album I think is -- strangely enough -- one of the most underrated albums in the classic rock pantheon!

What’s that you say? An album with “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” underrated?!?! Well it’s true, seriously underrated, at least partly because those two stellar, nay, legendary songs are the first ones that most people think of. There's so much more! It's definitely my favorite Fleetwood Mac album!

My perspective is a little different than the standard rap that Fleetwood Mac didn't properly begin until those two California kids joined the band in 1975, because to me, they started taking off when their first American joined the band, Bob Welch in 1971 for Future Games, which I wrote about at some length here. 

(For the record, Future Games is my second favorite Fleetwood Mac album. Anyone who hasn't checked it out really needs to.)

I’ll leave it at that for now, except to observe that to most of my music nerd friends at the time, I was a latecomer to Fleetwood Mac the band, having completely missed their earlier, bluesier lineups. Indeed, the 1971 lineup was their 8th! And they'd come to #9 in 1972, before landing on lineup #10 in 1975.

They had a bunch of hits on the five albums in this 71-74 range (”Hypnotized” is one that still slays me) that I think hold up as among their best ever. While the album before Fleetwood Mac, Heroes Are Hard to Find didn’t have a hit single, it rose to #34 on the US charts, and got plenty of attention. 

My point is that Fleetwood Mac didn’t spring into existence out of nowhere in 1975. Nor was 1975 necessarily ground zero for the millions of people who bought the album Fleetwood Mac. It came out in the summer of ‘75, but took 15 months to hit #1 in the US! (It peaked at #11 in the UK.) This was a far bigger album in 1976 when all the singles came out, and the band was touring like crazy to support it.

They basically dragged the album to the top of the charts kicking and screaming by the end of THAT year with relentless touring, setting the stage for their true commercial breakthrough with Rumours in 1977, but artistically? I prefer everything about 1975′s Fleetwood Mac.

btw, the music nerds know that Fleetwood Mac was recorded at Sound City Studios, which makes all the difference in the telling of the tale. In 1974, the band had located to Los Angeles, and following the departure of Bob Welch in December, Mick Fleetwood went looking for both a recording studio and a guitarist. 

While getting to know producer Keith Olsen at Sound City (a studio legendary for its drum sound, among other things), Keith played Mick some tracks from an album he’d recorded here a couple of years earlier with a local guitarist and his girlfriend singer, both of whom were also songwriters.

Mick said, I’ll book the studio to record my next album, I’ll book you to produce, and I’ll hire the guitarist....who famously informed Mick that he and his girlfriend were a package deal. All of this happened because of Sound City Studios.

(Here's Mick recording this very album in this very studio.)

Your friend and mine Dave Grohl directed a FANTASTIC documentary about Sound City Studios, a kind of a dump to be honest, but where tons of phenomenal records were made, from After The Gold Rush to Caribou, Damn The Torpedoes, Nevermind, Rage Against The Machine, and most recently, Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher. Lots and lots of stories about the making of Fleetwood Mac in this movie, and much more. 

Here’s the trailer. The whole movie is available on YT, too! And Amazon Prime, and a bunch of other places. HIGHLY recommended!

So here we go taking directly about Fleetwood Mac.....

the first song from the album i heard: "Over My Head". This was the first single released in the US, remarkably, four months after the album was released! I dunno, did the label not want to sell any albums? Or did they just not get how catchy these tunes were? I have no idea.

And ironically, the band didn't like the choice of "Over My Head" at all, ranking it dead-last in their own considerations of likely singles! I think that this is evidence that they were using heavy drugs much earlier than we thought. LOL

"Over My Head" peaked at #20 in the US, their highest to date by far, although, in some defense of the band's reservations, didn't chart at all in the UK. Saying that it rose to "only" 20 in the charts doesn't begin to describe how heavily it was played, though. A LOT.

do i own the album: Did then, Spotify now. The answer for most of the albums in this round of Asks. :-)

my favorite song: "Over My Head". Look, I admit that this is insane when Fleetwood Mac also includes "Landslide" and "Rhiannon." "Landslide" in particular is maybe one of the greatest songs anyone has ever written, and every single person reading this knows somebody named Rhiannon because of that song. (I've met two.) And hey, "Say You Love Me" was a MUCH bigger hit at the time too... but I'm tellin' ya, "Over My Head" fucks. 

It's the single version that fucks hardest, though, no doubt about it. I was disappointed when I finally bought the album that the version there fades in (NO! THIS IS WRONG) and has a wide mix that diffuses the impact. The radio version is so tight that it's practically mono, and it punches you right upside the head. 

One of my favorite things about listening to "Over My Head" in the past couple of weeks for this Ask is that it's Old School Fleetwood Mac. Chris on piano, Mick on drums, and John McVie with what might be the best bassline that anyone stroked out in 1975. My god, it's a fucking monster, and it just gets hotter as the song progresses. By the end, it's on fire, and you hear it so much better in this tight single mix.

The new guy adds a nice little solo on top of a nice rhythm lick, and he and Stevie add background vocals, but they're not front and center. "Over My Head" is really Christine McVie's showcase, although Fleetwood and Mac really shine too. This would have been a monster hit without the new kids, as indeed it pretty much was. You could say the same thing about "Say You Love Me", which is also all about Christine's songcraft, and a voice like no other, then or now.

Here's my edit of a lovely Mick Putland photo of Christine McVie from a couple of years earlier.

I guarantee that it's been way too long since you heard the in-your-face single version of "Over My Head". On Spotify, you can find it on the couple of Deluxe Editions of Fleetwood Mac (here's one), and it's also on the anthology, The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, which I've embedded here. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-lIt1ILzk

least favorite song: "I'm So Afraid." I'm so afraid not. LOL

a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: Hmm, I might put "Sugar Daddy" in that category, but honestly, the main thing I don't like about this song is the title. LOL But it's the 4th best Christine McVie song on an album where the best three of hers were all released as singles, so I guess it all works out.

a song I used to like, but now don’t: Anything by the new guy. I'm not going to go into detail here because what I love about this album, I still love. At the time, I dug two of his songs here (you can guess which two, surely), but I started to really despise this guy a few years later. Now, I can't listen to anything where he's prominent at all, on any Fleetwood Mac records.

Fortunately there are more than enough Christine and Stevie songs, and Mick and John's playing, plus all those earlier albums like Future Games, to keep Fleetwood Mac in the rock good pantheon. I'd have fired the new guy 30 years earlier than he was. 

favorite lyric:

Mirror in the sky

What is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I've been afraid of changin'

'Cause I've built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Even children get older

And I'm getting older too

Like I said, the two Stevie Nicks tracks on Fleetwood Mac deserve every bit of the love they've gotten over the years. You can also see with just a quick glance around my blog that she's one of my most-posted artists. Please don't take me repping Christine as any disrespect for Stevie!

Do I like "Landslide" a little more than I otherwise might because it's specifically about outgrowing the aforementioned new guy? Maybe.  Or do I like it a little less than I otherwise might because I can't hear it without thinking of him? Maybe that too.

overall rating out of 10: Then: 9.4. Now: 9. The new guy went 2-for-4 for my money at the time, and the two that he whiffed on are genuinely terrible...but as bad as those two clunkers were, the rest of the album seemed perfect to me. Certainly among my most-played mainstream rock records into the early 80s. I was perfectly fine skipping one song on each side.

Even though nowadays I can't stand any of the songs he sings lead on, you take those off, and you STILL have "Landslide", "Rhiannon", "Say You Love Me", "Over My Head", and "Warm Ways". No album with ALL THOSE on them gets less than an 8.5, right?

I'm adding a few tenths each for how tightly Fleetwood and Mac are locked into each other and these songs on rythm (easily the most underrated duo of the era, sez me), and Keith Olsen's immaculate production. The score of 9 is therefore objectively correct and mathematically unassailable. LOL

I'm going to end where I began, by talking about Christine McVie. Instead of listening to this first and foremost as an album with a couple of giant Stevie Nicks songs, listen again to Fleetwood Mac as Christine McVie really lighting things up. She deserves so much more credit for the band's success than she gets, and seriously, "Over My Head" fucks. 

Now looky here, @aluacrescente . I know that YOU have strong feelings about this record, so spill! And the rest of you, too! I don't intend to have the last word on the albums in any of these Asks! Just the first one. :-) So lemme know what YOU think!

PS. Apologies for any formatting weirdness! I started this on desktop, where I do all my writing, saved the first few paragraphs to come back to later, only to be told by tumblr that I'd stated this on the app (DID NOT) and could only edit there. Grrr. Not cool, @staff. I've spent another day just tweaking to make it somewhat readable and wondering how these people can be so bad at their jobs. LOL

My crackpot opinions and wobbly writing are my own of course, and I'm aware that they have a larger negative impact on readability than tumblr's incompetence by far. LOL

[pop-punklouis]

Can you rec some blogs you like? Like, in general not just larries or friends

hi! yesss.

here’s some of my fav non fandom blogs @joeysummerskill @gayisnotasynonymforjalex @eaglesblood @soundsof71 @lazyconfessionscrazyintentions @justme-herand-themoon @littlealienproducts @retropopcult @lookingbackatfashionhistory @incirreceli @shiftythrifting @aluacrescente @fau1tline @hotgirlhannibal @eh-notreally @unexplained-events @congenitaldisease @petewentz- @sitcomlesbian @fullcravings @ariel-x 🖤

[moonlit-witches]

thank you @moonchildwildheart for tagging me ♥️

rules: tag nine people you’d like to know better

top ships: rory gilmore and jess mariano (gilmore girls), eleanor shellstrop and chidi anagonye (the good place), lydia martin and stiles stilinski (teen wolf)

last song: bellbottoms - the jon spencer blues explosion

last movie: midsommar

reading: doctor sleep - stephen king, a tree grows in brooklyn - betty smith, it’s always the husband - michele campbell hahaha

@junkyardheart @itsametaphorbriansblog @bonesbabey @starshines @aluacrescente @sunshinekiszka

[honeybeeshepherd]

Tag game: Get to know me better

Shout out and big thanks to @sunnysaysbookreviews who tagged me to participate :D

Rules: Tag 10 mutuals you wanna know better

Name/Nickname?

Mel

Star Sign?

Gemini

Height?

5'8"

Play your playlist on shuffle, what are the first five songs that come up?

Midnight by Elan

We Can’t Stop by Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox

Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Go’s

Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison

Peace On Earth by Meat Loaf

Ever had a song or poem written about you?

No.

When was the last time you played the guitar?

Yr 7 (aka 1998). I’d been learning for a few years, but even back then I had zero motivation and follow through, so I was never any good.

Who is your celebrity crush?

Clive Owen. I love him.

What’s a sound you love?

Rain falling on the roof. Cats purring/sniffing in my ear (tho there’s probably an element of touch there as well that makes it so good) Actually just cat’s purring/meowing/breathing/any other noises they make.

What’s a sound you hate?

Idk, nails on a chalkboard? Loud crowds?

Do you believe in ghosts?

Not really. I’m open but sceptical tho.

How about aliens?

I’m sure there has to be some form of extraterrestrial life out there somewhere, that’s just a matter of mathematical probability. But has an intelligent extraterrestrial species been in contact with us? I don’t think so.

Do you drive?

No.

What was the last book you read?

Re-read Begging For It by Lilah Pace (sequel to Asking For It).

Do you like the smell of gasoline?

Yes.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

In yr 1 I was racing on my bike with my dad and when I turned a corner I lost my balance and nearly gouged my right eye out on a recently pruned tree branch (but instead wound up with a massive cut, a visit to the emergency room and stitches just below my eye).

Do you have any obsessions right now?

Um, as in new ones? Idk, Hole (the band), my latest oc otp...

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

I... don’t think so? I don’t really know very many people well enough to tell? But sometimes I remember things that happened in school and I’m like, damn, why aren’t I more bitter?

In a relationship?

No, lol, I wish.

I’m tagging @riley1cannon @thecrankyagnes @coffeeandmusic82 @judyjetsons @bespectacled-phoenix @mariaslozak @pseudo-euphoria @friends-with-stars @aluacrescente @dandelionapril no pressure tho. If you’ve already done it or just don’t want to participate, that’s fine.

[erotiqueb]

aluacrescente : Cher and her sister Georganne LaPiere at the premiere of ‘Last Tango in Paris,’ 1973.

[callmethehunter]

Jimmy and Robert. Kezar Stadium. This would have been an awesome picture of Robert… I enlarged it to admire the half of him that is there….

Source: @aluacrescente

[myledzeppelin]

Blogs with nice Led Zeppelin GIFs/edits made by them!

@dream7790: [ LZ tag ]  -One of my favourites!

@notmytree: [ LZ gifs ]  -I fucking love it!

@babeimgonnaleaveu: [ LZ tag ]  -My favourite blog!!

@hot-in-the-shade: [ LZ edits ] [ gifs ]  -I love their work!!

@ledzeppelin-gifs: [ the whole blog ]  -Now inactive but nice work!

@rockstarsgifs: [ LZ tag ]  -The whole blog is great!

@changchens: [ gifs ]  -owner of rockstarsgifs

@turbanaroo: [ chronological list of LZ gifs ]  -Nicely organized by date!

@aluacrescente: [ LZ tag ]  -Wonderful photo edits

@aethelas: [ LZ gifs ]  -Quality gifs

@white-summer-dream: [ LZ gifs ]

@just-like-the-pied-piper: [ edits ]   -The edits xx

@bonscottintheimpala: [ gifs ]

@zeppelinmajesty: [ The whole blog ]  -sad it’s inactive. Great edits!

@mccartney-paul: [ LZ edits ]

@squeezemylemon: [ LZ gifs ]  -a new blog with cool gifs!

I think that’s all! If you think I’ve forgotten some blogs, please leave a comment with them below!

And remember: REBLOG original posts, DO NOT REPOST them.

[honeybeeshepherd]

Get To Know You Tag

Tagged by: the lovely @mariaslozak

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

Name: Melissa

Sign(s): Gemini

Height: 5’8”

Background for your desktop/phone: Clive Owen on pc, Bei Badgirl ‘Paradise Special’ art show sign on iPad, my cat Milkshakes on mobile

Who was your last kiss: My first kiss in (around) 1996 was my last kiss, lol! I was about 11 years old.

Have you ever been stood up: Once, in high school. I needed a date for my formal and my sister’s friend set me up with someone and he couldn’t get to the first get-to-know-you “date”.

Have you ever been to Las Vegas? Does Bris Vegas count? Actually I think I’ve only ever passed through Brisbane…

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Kind of? I don’t know if they’d qualify as full blown crushes, but I really liked my 65+ year old Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Modern Europe lecturer and possibly also my Modern Europe lecturer, who was (slightly) more age appropriate but it wasn’t as intense.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I don’t know, hopefully not where I am right now!

Coolest Halloween costume: We don’t do Halloween here, but I think my Cruella Deville I once did for my sister’s housewarming party was pretty good (I’d post some pics, but I’m on mobile rn)

Favorite 90′s show: I’m going to be very basic and say The Simpson’s (hey, it wasn’t a pop culture phenomenon for nothing!), but also the Power Rangers. We were obsessed with them as kids.

Favorite pair of shoes: casual, pointy toe ballet flats in a neutral shade. My last pair wore out and I’m currently without :(

Favorite fruit: bananas, apricots and green grapes

Favorite books:

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons (first read it in high school around 2001. Epic, EPIC love story set in the Soviet Union during World War Two. I’ve lost count how many times over the years I’ve read and reread the Lazarevo section.)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (current absolute fave. I identify with the second Mrs De Winter on a very close and personal level, it’s almost insulting (considering what happens in the book). Every time I’m in a second hand book store I check to see if they’ve got a copy and at last count I owned 14 different editions of it. Oops.)

Unsticky by Sarra Manning (the rich asshole hero trope in romance novels is not one I like very much, but it’s just so common I still like quite a few of them by default (even Rebecca is one, if you count it as a romance novel (which is very debatable and I have thoughts on this, but now is not the time)) but this is the only one I like on it’s own terms AS a rich asshole hero romance novel. I love Grace and I love Vaughn and I want need a rewrite from Vaughn’s POV and a sequel (although I hate The Bronze Horseman and Rebecca sequels (not written by Du Maurier, but approved of by her estate), so maybe I should just count myself lucky?))

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done: I once tried to break up a guinea pig fight with my bare hands, and when I lifted my hands up again one of those guinea pigs was latched onto my wrist with his teeth. The scar is still pretty prominent even though it’s probably over 20 years old by now.

Tagging: I’m terrible at picking so I’m just going to tag all my mutuals who are still active on here and they can decide whether they want to play along or not (no pressure!) Also, even if I haven’t tagged you and you want to play along, just consider yourself tagged 😊

@judyjetsons @bespectacled-phoenix @sisterfriedes @class-struggle-anarchism @friends-with-stars @w1tchmom @girlpoweranthem @alyesque @spacegirll2005 @aluacrescente @sweetfrosti @pseudo-euphoria @dandelionapril @voxsecundus

[erotiqueb]

aluacrescente: Mick and Bianca Jagger photographed in 1971.