Book Review: “Fleetwood Mac All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track” by Olivier Roubin and Romuald Ollivier

It took them more than 600 pages to do it, but French music journalists Olivier Roubin and Romuald Ollivier managed to tell the tale of every song Fleetwood Mac ever released - and even some they didn’t.

It a long journey from the Peter Green- and Jeremy Spencer-fronted blues band that Fleetwood Mac was when it spun off from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to the mega-superstars they became with Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks at the helm. While these periods have been well-documented, the Danny Kirwan, Bob Welch, Rick Vito, Dave Mason and Mike Campbell eras have not been - until now.

And “Fleetwood Mac All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track” is likely the only place most fans will ever hear of Kirwan’s “Early Morning Come,” which exists only on bootlegs, and the treasure trove of Behind the Mask leftovers recently uploaded to YouTube.

Rather than simply chronologically list the songs, their authors, details of the recording sessions and offer mini reviews of each track - though Roubin and Ollivier do that - they also break up the material with asides titled “For Mac Addicts” and offer biographical sketches not only of the bold-faced Fleetwoods but of lesser-known Macs including Kirwan, Bob Weston, Dave Walker, Billy Burnett, Bekka Bramlett and others.

There’s also a chapter on the fake Fleetwood Mac that emerged between the Mystery to Me and Heroes are Hard to Find albums, which nearly finished off the real band and the authors describe as “probably one of the saddest episodes in the history of the music industry.”

While the material is always engrossing, the writing can be tricky to navigate. The authors toggle between full names and surnames; call LPs “opuses;” refer to McVie and Nicks as “the young woman” through the 1980s; and are occasionally sloppy whether referring to Nicks as “he” and Buckingham as “she;” writing such lines as “Tango in the Night, which took its name from the title track;” and saying the band played to “hundreds of thousands of fans every night” on the Dance tour, which is obviously not correct.

These unfortunate, unforced, errors notwithstanding, “All the Songs” remains essential reading about the many bands Fleetwood Mac has been across five decades as 18 members have come and gone with drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie as the only constants. Roubin and Ollivier cover it all while delineating the through line that makes it possible to be a fan of every iteration, with the possible exception of the Time lineup, of Fleetwood Mac, despite their wide variations in style and musical output.

Grade card: “Fleetwood Mac All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track” by Olivier Roubin and Romuald Ollivier - B

1967

Lineup:

Peter Green: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Spencer: Vocals, Guitar

Bob Brunning: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums

Single: I Believe My Time Ain't Long / Rambling Pony

Peter Green: Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica

Jeremy Spencer: Guitar, Vocals, Piano

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums

1968

Album: Fleetwood Mac

Single: Black Magic Woman/The Sun Is Shining

Album: Mr. Wonderful (feat. Christine McVie and Horns)

Single: Need Your Love So Bad

Peter Green: Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Cello, Bass, Percussion

Danny Kirwan: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Spencer: Guitar, Vocals, Percussion, Piano

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Single: Albatross/Jigsaw Puzzle Blues

Compilation: English Rose (US only)

1969

Compilation: The Pious Bird of Good Omen

Single: Man of the World/Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite (As Earl Vance and the Valliants)

Album: Then Play On

Single: Oh Well (Pts. I & II)

Album: Blues Jam At Chess

1970

Single: The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) / World In Harmony

Danny Kirwan: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Spencer: Vocals, Guitar, Piano

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Kiln House

Danny Kirwan: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Spencer: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

1971

Single: Dragonfly/The Purple Dancer

Danny Kirwan: Guitar, Vocals

Bob Welch: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Future Games

1972

Album: Bare Trees

1973

Bob Welch: Guitar, Vocals

Bob Weston: Guitar, Banjo

Dave Walker: Vocals, Harmonica

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Penguin

Bob Welch: Guitar, Vocals

Bob Weston: Guitar

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Mystery To Me

1974

Bob Welch: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Heroes are Hard to Find

1975

Lindsey Buckingham: Guitar, Vocals, Banjo, Bass, Keys, Drums

Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Percussion, piano

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Album: Fleetwood Mac

1976

Single: Go Your Own Way/Silver Springs

1977

Album: Rumours

1979

Album: Tusk

1980

Live Album: Live

1982

Single: G***y/Cool Water (Non-Album B-Side)

Album: Mirage

1987

Single: Big Love/You and I, Pt. 1 (Non-Album B-Side)

Single: Seven Wonders/Book of Miracle (Non-Album B-Side)

Single: Little Lies/Ricky (Non-Album B-Side)

Album: Tango In The Night

1988

Stevie Nicks: Vocals

Billy Burnette: Guitar, Vocals

Rick Vito: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion, Spoken Word

Compilation: Greatest Hits

1990

Album: Behind The Mask

Billy Burnette: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

1992

Single: Love Shines

Single: Paper Doll (Recorded '88)

1993

Billy Burnette: Guitar, Vocals

Dave Mason: Guitar, Vocals

Bekka Bramlett: Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion, Spoken Word

1995

Album: Time

1997

Lindsey Buckingham: Guitar, Vocals

Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Percussion

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

Live Album: The Dance

1998

Lindsey Buckingham: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard, Bass, Percussion

Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Keyboard

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

2003

Album: Say You Will

2013

EP: Extended Play

2014

Lindsey Buckingham: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard, Bass, Percussion

Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Percussion

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

2017

Album: Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie (Sans Stevie Nicks, as Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie)

2018

Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Percussion

Neil Finn: Guitar, Vocals

Mike Campbell: Guitar, Vocals

Christine McVie: Keyboards, Vocals

John McVie: Bass

Mick Fleetwood: Drums, Percussion

2022

Fleetwood Mac 1968-1974 studio album covers.

1. Fleetwood Mac (also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac) released February 24th, 1968.

2. Mr. Wonderful released August 23rd, 1968.

3. Then Play On released September 19th, 1969.

4. Fleetwood Mac in Chicago released December 5th, 1969.

5. Kiln House released September 18th, 1970.

6. Future Games released September 3rd, 1971.

7. Bare Trees released March 1st, 1972.

8. Penguin released March 1st, 1973.

9. Mystery to Me released October 15th, 1973.

British Comics-related Calendars for 2022 (and a few in the side!)

There are a huge number of comic-related calendars out there as possible Christmas gifts, and some of them feature characters with a presence on UK news stands or in book shops. All links below are mainly affiliate linked to AmazonUK – using these helps support downthetubes, thank you. But you should be able to find many of these listed in book shops or pop up Calendar Club shops. I’ve focused…