Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Rock & Roll is back!
Oh gosh, this is one of many Fleetwood Mac compilations (others: Greatest Hits & The Chain Box Set), however, it is probably one of the more comprehensive yet. Not only is the quality absolutely amazing, but the setlist includes the original studio version of "Silver Springs" and live versions (from 1997's The Dance) of "Big Love," "I'm So Afraid," and "Go Insane." In addition, songs like "Storms," "Second Hand News," "Monday Morning," "Sisters of the Moon," "World Turning," and "Songbird," made the cut and sound excellent!This enhanced edition rocks even more because of the documentary footage included on the first disc. Yes, we finally get a glimpse into the recording process of Mick, John, Lindsey, and Stevie recording for their 2003 album! It's so much fun to watch, especially if you're one of the millions of fans out there. I recommend this right behind Rumours -- it's absolutely essential...and ROCK IS BACK!
Rating: - FINALLY!!!
I own many greatest hits CD's (including "Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits" from 1988), and one thing I've learned is that very few of them actually contain every single notable track one could want. There's always a few missing, be it a Top 40 single or an album track that received heavy airplay. Rhino Records was basically created for the music collector who wants the ultimate compilations, and while they still don't always manage to get everything "right", they come way closer than anyone before them ever have or ever will. Yeah, the live acoustic version of "Big Love" from "The Dance" is here instead of the hit single version from "Tango In The Night" and "Greatest Hits" (probably because it's shorter). Conversely, the studio version of "Silver Springs" is here instead of the more popular live version from "The Dance". And there are a few songs - most notably "Rhiannon" and "Over My Head" - that are significantly edited to fit more songs on the collection. I compared both those tunes to the full length versions on "Greatest Hits" and barely noticed what was missing. Either way, any Fleetwood Mac collection that contains well-known but rarely anthologized songs like "The Chain", "Second Hand News", "Never Going Back Again", "Gold Dust Woman", "Monday Morning", "World Turning", "Songbird", and great but forgotten singles like "Sisters Of The Moon", "Think About Me", "Family Man", "Seven Wonders", and "Paper Doll" is one worth having. And as always, the remastered sound is spectacular and the liner notes are comprehensive, including release dates and chart peaks for all singles and the albums they came from - a Top 40 geek's dream! Things I might've done differently - included the original version of "Big Love" instead of the live version, included one of Stevie Nicks' solo tunes done live by the Mac ("Stand Back" is a staple of Mac concerts whenver Nicks is in the band) to go with Lindsey Buckingham's "Go Insane", included full-length versions of all songs (even if it meant cutting one or two lesser known numbers), and I probably wouldn't have included anything from "Behind The Mask", but if I had to, I would've gone with "Save Me" instead of "Skies The Limit". Either way, this is a five star 2CD set by a five star band if ever there was one. Rhino has previously done great overviews for bands like Chicago, Foreigner, INXS, the Cars, and Black Sabbath (forthcoming!) and I only hope they get around to giving the same treatment to bands like the Eagles, Dire Straits, ZZ Top, and many others I can't even think of right now!
Rating:  - Disc #1= 5 stars, Disc #2= 2 stars. 3 1/2 star average.
OK..first off, I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan. Have all the albums from 1975-1997, with the exception of "Time", and some albums prior to the addition of Buckingham/Nicks, ie. "Mystery To Me", and "Bare Trees". Also have many bootlegs of live shows, demos, etc..Like I said, I'm a Mac nut. Disc #1 is classic. All the gems are here..Go your own way, Dreams, Rhiannon, the original Landslide, and the original Silver Springs! It's about time too. Also contains some amazing songs that were never released as singles like Second Hand News, Songbird, and What Makes You Think You're The One from "Tusk". All wonderful choices. Then there's Disc #2 which starts off great with Don't Stop and the Chain, and also includes Think About Me..Classic! But it seems that whoever was compiling these songs got a little lazy by track #7. Ok, what are Family Man, No Questions Asked, Paper Doll, and World Turning doing here??? Anyone who has the 1988 greatest hits album has heard No Questions Asked, so I ask, who needs it here?? It's not that good. At Least As long as you follow was a moderate hit, and a good tune. Then there's Family Man, possibly the worst FM song..EVER. Parer Doll..not good. World Turning..boring. It seems like these were added to beef up the collection, but all they do is take away from the truly great songs. I am glad, however, that a live version of I'm So Afraid is here, and not the original version from the white FM album..IMO though,they should have put the live version from the 1980 live album which is amazing. If you have all the FM albums, you don't really need this unless you are a collector. If you're looking for an introduction to FM, this is a good start, but I would still go with the single disc Greatest Hits album, which btw is how I got hooked, or I would buy Rumours and Tusk together.
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