When I found out that there is a 608-page book weighing in at over five pounds titled “Fleetwood Mac All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track,” I knew I had to get my hands on a copy and see what’s doing.
It’s not that I’m anything more than an average (or slightly above) Fleetwood Mac fan. Like everyone else, I’m well-versed in the “Rumours”-era mega-hits like “Don’t Stop” and “The Chain,” and I even have some passing knowledge of their pre-Buckingham/Nicks incarnation as a heavy blues outfit led by Peter Green, but that’s about it.
Sure, I’ve watched the “Classic Albums: Rumours” episode three or four times, relishing the story of how interpersonal drama mixed with drug use and alcohol abuse was turned into one of the greatest albums of all time, but who doesn’t like a story that’s both a train wreck and something like the opposite?
When “Fleetwood Mac All the Songs,” was delivered to my doorstep, the thumping noise scared the dogs, and when I opened the box and saw the book inside, it was love at first sight. This is my kind of coffee table book, and if you’re at all interested in the ins and outs of a band — even if you’re not a huge Fleetwood Mac fan — I think you will find it fascinating.
Produced by two French music journalists, Olivier Roubin and Romuald Ollivier, the book delivers on the promise of its title. It truly breaks down every song by Fleetwood Mac, starting with its blue-rock origins, moving through a middle period where they were led by singer-songwriter-guitarists Bob Welch and Danny Kirwan, on through the mega-act years, and even beyond into some Fleetwood Mac incarnations I didn’t know existed and that members of the band would maybe prefer to forget.
But not Roubin and Ollivier. They forget nothing. Each song is broken down in terms of origins, songwriting and production, plus frequent trivia tidbits that were often my favorite parts. For example, I discovered that “Second Hand News,” a favorite somewhat lesser-known track from “Rumours” has a rhythm pattern borrowed from The Bee Gees, and the percussion is augmented by Lindsey Buckingham pounding on a Naugahyde chair with a pair of sticks.
Maybe that’s not interesting to you, but there’s a real pleasure to learning these things, and going back to the music and listening with more attentive ears to see what you can now hear.
In addition to the breakdown of each song and album, the authors include profiles of all of the band members over the years, and also of the producers, engineers and others who worked with Fleetwood Mac. Mini-essays work through the big events in the band’s history, the tours, the drama, the break-ups.
There was absolutely no culling process in terms of what was included in the book. Everything is present.
It would be ridiculous to claim that I’ve read the entire book. I haven’t even come close. It’s 608 pages! But after initially going through the material I was most familiar with, I turned back to the beginning of the Peter Green-era and started reading along as I listened to music I’d been aware of, but never really, truly heard. It’s been both fun and instructive.
Deep down, I think I just appreciate a truly obsessive project like this. I can’t imagine the depth of dedication it would take to pull this book together. It seems like a lifetime of work in and of itself.
This is a book that would make a great gift for the right person, and you probably all know one right person.
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry
2. “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtney
3. “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese
4. “North Woods” by Daniel Mason
5. “The Wide Wide Sea” by Hampton Sides
— Jim G., Naperville
For Jim, I’m feeling like it’s a good time to bring one of my top-5 all-time novels into the mix, “Mrs. Bridge” by Evan S. Connell.
1. “We Are the Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything” by Arionne Nettles
2. “If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin
3. “John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy” by Luke Mayville
4. “The Captain’s Daughter” by Alexander Pushkin
5. “Abide with Me” by Elizabeth Strout
— Bill B., Des Plaines
Bill should dive into Kent Haruf’s “Plainsong” next.
1. “Becoming Madam Secretary” by Stephanie Dray
2. “A Woman of Substance” by Barbara Taylor Bradford
3. “Still Life” by Sarah Winman
4. “The Bandit Queens” by Parini Shroff
5. “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn
— Lynne A., Waukegan
This is a little outside Lynne’s list, but I think it’s a reasonable reach, “The Book of Goose” by Yiyun Li.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
