Publication of the first volume of Mick Fleetwood’s memoir Love That Burns led to a series of articles discussing the book and the pre-1974 versions of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood’s first volume ends at the end of 1974, as he introduces new band members Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to the group’s keyboard player, Christine McVie. McVie was a Mac veteran already, having joined unofficially with Kiln House in 1970. McVie had proven to be a strong band member, writing some good songs, becoming the group’s only female vocalist, and adding musically with her keyboard work.
Most articles I’ve seen discuss the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac in great detail, centering on Green’s outstanding guitar playing as well as his songwriting and singing and his eventual crash and burn. But for me, the period of greatest fascination and least attention is from 1971-1974 when Fleetwood Mac was neither fish nor fowl.
They were no longer a British blues band, but neither were they an arena rock act. They produced great pop material, but with some amazing shading and color that belied the fact that they were still a rock band. Their sound began to skew much more to the American side of the Atlantic, as did their personnel. Most of the records they produced in this time period are flawed but contain a lot of deep musical moments that make it worth sifting through some less than stellar tracks.
During this time period, Christine McVie contributed 15 songs to the Fleetwood Mac catalog. While many have not been part of the group’s set lists for many years, they form a solid body of work that shows she was writing great material long before Buckingham and Nicks joined the band. From: https://newdirectionsinmusic.substack.com/p/christine-mcvie-fleetwood-mac-songs
