Refried Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

Brandi Carlile covers "The Chain"

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes Sweetheart 2014, a collection of indelible, handpicked covers from a remarkable group of modern musical dreamers who artfully grapple, in one way or another, with that most vexing of subject to ever befall mankind, L.O.V.E. Sweetheart 2014 is an adventurous Valentine’s Day collection featuring Jim James, Vampire Weekend, Fiona Apple, Phosphorescent, Brandi Carlile, Beck, The Head and the Heart, Ben Harper, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Valerie June, Blake Mills, Bahamas and Thao & The Get Down Stay Down.

Sweetheart 2014 (Hear Music/Concord Music Group) will be available on CD exclusively at Starbucks and all digital outlets beginning February 4th, 2014. Sound clips available (including Brandi Carlile's cover of "The Chain") at the Sweetheart website.

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs cover "Trouble"

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs tackle the 80's in volume 3 of their cover albums series. Lindsey Buckingham's "Trouble" is included on this one with Susanna taking the lead.  Sounds great and close to the original. Check out the sample at Amazon and get the album if you like.  Also available at iTunes.

You may recall that on Volume 2 back in 2009 Matthew and Susanna covered Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News".

Res - Refried Mac

Soul singer RES and producer Tim Spiker rework Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks classics: Rhiannon, Dreams, The Chain, Little Lies and Edge of Seventeen on this 5 track EP that was released late last year.

Res has a beautiful voice and really takes these four Fleetwood Mac tracks, plus one solo Stevie Nicks track to a different place injecting a funky vibe, a lush chorus (Rhiannon) and infectious beats (Edge of Seventeen and The Chain) that harkens back to early '90's Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I especially love the stripped down reinterpretation of Dreams driven by a what sounds like a ticking clock and a finger popping bass line. 

Refried Mac is available at iTunes and Amazon

THE CHAIN

DREAMS

"The best of the bunch was this haunting number done with Stevie Nicks"

Nice mention for Stevie's contribution to the Sound City soundtrack "Real to Reel" with "You Can't Fix This"

Lana Del Rey, The xx and Stevie Nicks miss out on Oscar nominations for Best Original Song – what else did the Academy overlook?

“You Can't Fix This” from Sound City (performed by Dave Grohl and Stevie Nicks)

Considering songs from Sound City for consideration sort of feels like cheating, since the film, produced and directed by Dave Grohl, was about the historic Los Angeles recording studio where he and Nirvana recorded Nevermind in 1991 (and where we met him and Rick Rubin last year). For the film Grohl collected a group of all-star musicians to record a song with him on the equipment he salvaged. Among them were Paul McCartney, with whom he and the rest of Nirvana recorded the somewhat unfortunate “Cut Me Some Slack”, which, like the album itself, was nominated for a Grammy. The best of the bunch was this haunting number done with Stevie Nicks, who can't not be haunting come to think of it.

Continue to Dazed and Confused for the full list of oscar snubs

Fleetwood Mac's pre-"Rumours" days are rich with bluesy offerings that are well worth revisiting

‘Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1972’

Available at Amazon

Sun.Star Weekend

The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning Fleetwood Mac is their seminal album “Rumours.” But the band’s pre-”Rumours” days are rich with bluesy offerings that are well worth revisiting on the new box set “Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1972.”

The highlight of the four-album, vinyl collection is the first re-mastered edition of “Then Play On,” Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 debut album on Reprise Records. This is a raw, young blues-fueled Fleetwood Mac and the sense of urgency to their music is on full display. The opening, bongo-backed track “Coming Your Way” bristles with pace and the all-out house rocker “Fighting For Madge” showcases guitarist Peter Green as a force to rival Eric Clapton of that era.

“Future Games” is another winning platter, though it presents a softer Fleetwood Mac. By 1971 we find them putting together the less edgy sound that would prove to be the backbone to their radio mainstay hits to come. “Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1972” aptly presents the formative years of one of the most successful bands in history.

Christine McVie completes a line-up that millions of fans the world over thought that they’d never again see

Newsmaker: Christine McVie

by Kevin Hackett
The National

Not many of us can claim to have been born perfect, but Christine McVie – or Anne Christine Perfect on her birth certificate – definitely can. The 70-year old British singer-songwriter, famed for her work with the rock group Fleetwood Mac, was born “oop north” in Bouth, England, in July 1943, to Cyril and Beatrice Perfect, and has, of late, been rather quiet. But this past Tuesday morning, word started circulating that she would be rejoining her former bandmates and embarking on a world tour, completing a line-up that millions of fans the world over thought that they’d never again see sharing a stage.

No doubt this news will have gone straight over the heads of today’s youth, but those of a certain generation will know exactly why this is such a big deal. Because while today’s immaculate, manicured and coiffured young pop stars are groomed to perfection by armies of agents and publicists, the story of Fleetwood Mac reads like an epic, tragic blockbuster akin to Pride and Prejudice. They just don’t make them like that anymore, and Christine Perfect, once she became Mrs McVie, played a starring role in one of the great rock soap operas of our time.

John McVie extends admin agreement with Reach Music for Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain"

John McVie Renews with Reach
Fleetwood Mac bassist and co-writer of their classic song "The Chain", John McVie has extended his administration agreement with Reach Music. "The Chain" has been covered by artists such as Shawn Colvin and Tantric, while also being sampled by Bone Thugs-n-Harmoney and Project Pat. It is also credited as the only Fleetwood Mac song written by all of the original members (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie).

Reach Music is the foreign publishing administrator for John McVie's share of “The Chain”.

via Reachmusic

After those brutal break-ups and angry punches Fleetwood Mac return

More on Sunday.  Article published in the Irish Mail on Sunday Supplement (January 12, 2014). This article was originally published by The Daily Mail December 28th.  

Check it out on-line at Daily Mail-Online

Don't miss Stevie Nicks in her first appearance on American Horror Story!  

Episode 10 of the series airs in the UK and Ireland TONIGHT (Jan 14) on FOX at 10PM.

Stevie also appears in the season finale episode which is scheduled to air on January 29th 

in the U.S. and Canada on FX and a week later in Australia, UK and Ireland.