Hybrid-SACD - UDSACD 2311 Read more.
1. Monday Morning
2. Warm Ways
3. Blue Letter
4. Rhiannon
5. Over My Head
6. Crystal
7. Say You Love Me
8. Landslide
9. World Turning
10. Sugar Daddy
11. I’m So Afraid
An experienced band facing diminishing prospects, personnel changes and management issues. A largely unknown duo whose self-titled debut album had flopped. A chance meeting in a supermarket that led to an exploratory visit to Sound City Studios: the backstory behind Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album is almost as incredible as the music itself — a blockbuster that would change pop-rock history and bring newcomers Lindsey Buckingham (vocals, guitar, piano) and Stevie Nicks (vocals, keyboards) lasting fame and popularity. “Fleetwood Mac” was ranked number 182 on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest albums of all time. All three singles — “Over My Head,” “Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)” and “Say You Love Me” — reached the Top 20 of the US charts, while the album climbed to number 1 on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 170 weeks on the Billboard 200. Nearly 10 million copies sold (16× Platinum, 1× Gold) underline the album’s remarkable success.
Six of the eleven tracks were written or co-written by Buckingham or Nicks, giving the band — which was reeling from the departure of guitarist Bob Welch — an unprecedented stylistic range. The romantically involved duo initially struggled, as their LP “Buckingham Nicks” had been largely ignored. Fate intervened when Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion), while discussing studio options in a grocery store, was advised to visit Sound City Studios in California. There he first heard “Buckingham Nicks,” played to him by producer Keith Olsen as a studio demonstration. Fleetwood invited Buckingham to join the band, on the condition that Nicks would join as well. Fleetwood agreed — a decision that transformed their careers. After just ten days of rehearsals, the new line-up entered Sound City in January 1975 to record the album. Buckingham and Nicks had already developed “Monday Morning,” “Rhiannon” and “I’m So Afraid” for a planned second duo album. Bassist John McVie later admitted that the quality of the material sparked healthy internal competition. The result was a then-new blend of catchy power pop, mystical folk, cool R&B and melodic rock ’n’ roll — balanced between perfection and pragmatism. From the airy opener “Monday Morning” to the layered closing track “I’m So Afraid,” there is not a single dull moment. Although the follow-up “Rumours” achieved even greater commercial success, the fresh energy and innovative spirit of “Fleetwood Mac” were never surpassed.
More than five decades later, “Fleetwood Mac” still sets audiophile standards in openness, realism and three-dimensionality. Lovingly remastered from the original tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s reissue goes one step further. The Hybrid SACD delivers reference-level sound with breathtaking transparency, dynamics and detail. Packaged in a mini-LP-style sleeve, it naturally features the iconic cover artwork.
