Fleetwood Machas a discography that is as polarizing as it is unique. What makes the discography so unique is that so many of their albums sprout different line-ups,thanks to numerous replacementsand departures. While most artists and bands consistently maintain the same set of performers for the most part, Fleetwood Mac has sprouted more than a dozen different band line-ups across 17 official studio albums.
At some point, it becomes difficult to judge these albums when compared and contrasted against each other. Each album sounds distinctly different the furtherthe band abandons their original sound. At the same time, it offers an entirely new listening experience when Fleetwood Mac’s sound is constantly evolving with each line-up and album. Not many discographies sprout such versatility, and it only helps add to the legendary legacy of the band itself. At the same time, it lends to varying quality between albums unanimously considered the best and those considered the worst.
17Time
Fleetwood Mac’s 16th Studio Album
Fleetwood Mac’s second-to-last album might be their most polarizing. As much as the band has had several different line-ups, this one - for many - feels the least Fleetwood Mac-esque. It’s the second album that Fleetwood Mac released without Lindsey Buckingham since he left the band in 1987, the last to feature Christine McVie as a member, and the only album since 1974 to not feature Stevie Nicks. The lack of Nicks is what really makes this album a hard one to swallow.
A big reason why theband survived losing their OG lead singeris because Stevie Nicks was the missing ingredient in the band. She led to Fleetwood Mac’s greatest successes and their most tantalizing sound. Without her,Timewas always going to have a hard time winning people over. To its credit, songs like the title track and “I Do” make a strong effort in trying.
16Behind the Mask
Fleetwood Mac’s 15th Studio Album
This marks the first album without Lindsey Buckingham as he left the band afterTango in the Night. It’s evident that Fleetwood Mac, even with Stevie Nicks still in the lead, was struggling to find its sound without Buckingham. The album lacks cohesion and consistency, as so many songs just sound jarring against each other. In better hands, this could lend to some apt versatility, but in becoming a sextet with four songwriters,it just makes the tone feel all over the place, as if there are just too many cooks in the kitchen.
That being said, that doesn’t mean the hands involved aren’t skilled hands. It’s certainly a polished album, but the lack of cohesion with so many different, conflicting sounds working against each other makes it feel more chaotic than enjoyable.
15Fleetwood Mac (1968) (a.k.a. Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac)
Fleetwood Mac’s First Studio Album
Similarly, whereas Stevie Nicks helped Fleetwood Mac find its sound, the first Fleetwood Mac album saw the band actively trying to find its sound. The band at the time was led by guitarists Peter Green (the band’s original leader beforehe left the band in 1970) and Jeremy Spencer (who left in 1971). Almost more damning than a lack of Stevie Nicks is a lack of Christine McVie, who can actually be argued as the heart and soul of Fleetwood Mac. This and their final album are the only Fleetwood Mac albums without McVie onboard.
All that encompassed with the band going for more of a bluegrass approach make this a harder listen for listeners attached to the more quintessential sound of Fleetwood Mac.
14Penguin
Fleetwood Mac’s Seventh Studio Album
If there’s any album that suffers from Fleetwood Mac having a constantly revolving door of members, it’sPenguin. With this album, it’s the first album following Danny Kirwan’s firing and the first to feature Bob Weston. It’s also the first to feature Dave Walker. Many of their early albums lack of certain consistency because the sound is constantly changing as a result of not only the band trying to find a groove following the departure of key members, but trying to maintain a certain groove. They’re trying to find a new sound while trying to maintain elements that worked when the band was altogether, but with new members.
It makes listening back to some of these projects as a jarring listen because so many projects sound different from each other, and lends to some uneventful efforts from the band. This is one of them.
13Mr. Wonderful
Fleetwood Mac’s Second Studio Album
Two albums deep with Peter Green and co. still at the helm, Fleetwood Mac is still trying to find itself, and it’s hard to say if the results are much different from the first album. Whether it’s better or worse, the first two albums are a toss-up. That’s up to the eye of the beholder, but it feels more like a misfire than anything else. The struggle in listening to early albums like Mr. Wonderful is that the listener is constantly comparing and contrasting with the sound of the most recognizable version of Fleetwood Mac. Comparison is, indeed, the thief of joy.
It takes a special brand of listener to disregard everything they know about Fleetwood Mac when they’re aware of what Fleetwood Mac sounds like at their best potential. Otherwise,their earliest projects likeMr. Wonderfulare a chore to listen to with little redeeming qualities.
12Kiln House
Fleetwood Mac’s Fourth Studio Album
Kiln Houseis an interesting album in which it tries to maintain the progression the band found onThen Play Onwhile still trying to incorporate the blues sound of previous albums. While the result is an album that isn’t much to write home about in how it feels uneventful, it does feel like the band are on course to find a sound that works for them and their comfort levels as a band. It’s almost as if they are using their experience with blues and rock as a gateway into a more pop-heavy sound.
This marks the first Fleetwood Mac album without Peter Green.
That being said, as a consequence, the band still seems to be in that searching stage of looking for a sound that works for them, which is especially disappointing for listeners who immensely enjoyedThen Play On.Most of Fleetwood Mac’s songs on this album remain forgettable, underwhelming, and not noteworthy in the slightest.
11Heroes Are Hard to Find
Fleetwood Mac’s Ninth Studio Album
Fleetwood Mac was not in a great place at the time. The album came to light as Mick Fleetwood’s wife was having an affair with Bob Weston, leaving to a brief breakup. Beyond personal struggles, the album feels as if it’s trying to lean into a more poppy, commercial sound that just doesn’t translate very well. It’s as if the band’s lack of identity gave them no other choice but to lean more toward the vision that pop-heavy commercial markets found most favorable.
Following this album, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks would join Fleetwood Mac in time for their 10th album, and given the state of their ninth project, they could not have arrived at a better time.
10Mystery to Me
Fleetwood Mac’s Eighth Studio Album
As Fleetwood Mac constantly shifts its style following the departure of its founder, Peter Green, and before Lindsey Buckingham or Stevie Nicks ever joined. That explains why so much of their style changes practically with each album, leading to varying results.Mystery to Memakes for one of the more underwhelming and even forgettable results to come from it. There are several influences on display and many of those influences can be found in their past albums up to this point. Blues, rock, and pop all seem to be melding together here to unfavorable results.
Without a clear vision on display and without a proper leader to take that vision to another level,Mystery to Mejust feels disjointed as a whole. It’s hard to pick out any standout tracks because most tracks seem to blur together.
9Future Games
Fleetwood Mac’s Fifth Album
Future Gamesis an album bursting with potential that never seems to find its second gear. It starts on a hauntingly beautiful note with “Woman of 1000 Years.” The rest of the album struggles to live up to that standard set in itsopening track, where the album peaks. The few songs that meet the same standard and have tremendous replay value are “Sands of Time,” and the title track, “Future Games.” Everything else underwhelms by comparison and fails to live up to early expectations.
The rest of the album feels drab by comparison, which is unfortunate when those tracks aresogreat. It’s another sign of this version of Fleetwood Mac trying to find itself, nearly getting there, but not quite hitting the mark before it is all said and done.
8Bare Trees
Fleetwood Mac’s Sixth Studio Album
As far as pre-Buckingham albums go,Bare Treesis one of Fleetwood Mac’s very best and one of the few that stands tall among the rest of Fleetwood Mac’s Buckingham/Nicks projects.Unlike most pre-Buckingham albums,Bare Treeshas aged surprisingly well. For a 1972 album, songs like “Child of Mine” wouldn’t seem out of place when listed among the more definitive rock records of later eras. There’s little to no sign of rust, and despite this being more of a transitional album, the band reads as their most confident yet.
The reason some may consider this a transition album as the first without Jeremy Spencer and the last with Danny Kirwan. Fleetwood Mac were actively trying to adapt to their latest changes, and they passed the test with flying colors. “Sentimental Lady” itself ranks among one of the band’s best, with or without Buckingham.
