Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac - Hybrid UltraDisc UHR SACD, Remastered

An experienced band with dwindling prospects, staff turnover and management problems. A largely unknown duo whose debut album of the same name flopped. A chance encounter in a supermarket that led to an exploratory trip to Sound City Studios: The backstory behind Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album is almost as incredible as the music on the 1975 recording – a blockbuster that would change pop-rock history and bring lasting fame and popularity to newcomers Lindsey Buckingham (vocals, guitar, piano) and Stevie Nicks (vocals, keyboards). Fleetwood Mac was voted number 182 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time. All three singles – “Over My Head,” “Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)” and “Say You Love Me” – made it into the Top 20 of the US singles charts, with the album even reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts and spending a total of 170 weeks in the Billboard 200. Nearly 10 million records sold (16 times platinum, 1 time gold) are impressive proof of the success!

Six of the eleven album tracks were written or co-written by Buckingham or Nicks. These gave the band, which was suffering from the departure of guitarist Bob Welch, a stylistic breadth that had been unknown until then. However, the talent of the two romantically linked partners was not blessed with good fortune: their LP “Buckingham Nicks” was largely ignored, causing the duo to question their own future. But fate works in strange ways, as we all know, because after Mick Fleetwood (drums, percussion) told someone in a grocery store that he was looking for a place to record Fleetwood Mac's tenth album, he accepted the suggestion to visit Sound City Studios in California. There, he heard “Buckingham Nicks” for the first time, which producer Keith Olsen played to him as a demo of the studio's capabilities. Mick Fleetwood invited Buckingham to join his band. Buckingham made his acceptance conditional on Nicks joining at the same time. Fleetwood accepted, and the ensuing agreement would completely change the careers of those involved! After only ten days of rehearsing together, the new lineup of Fleetwood Mac entered Sound City Studio in January 1975 and recorded the tracks for the album. In many ways, Mick Fleetwood achieved far more than he could have hoped for with the “acquisition” of the American duo: Buckingham and Nicks had already worked out “Monday Morning,” “Rhiannon” and “I'm So Afraid” and intended them for the second Buckingham-Nicks album. John McVie (bass) later admitted that the quality of the material sparked a competitive spirit within the band. “Fleetwood Mac” thus became a novel combination of catchy power pop, mystical folk, cool R&B and melodic rock ‘n’ roll – all wrapped up in a wondrous balance of perfection and pragmatism. From the airy opener “Monday Morning” to the complexity of the closing track “I'm So Afraid,” there is not a single boring moment or superfluous note on the album. Although the band achieved even greater commercial success with their follow-up album “Rumours,” the fresh energy and innovative spirit of “Fleetwood Mac” would never be surpassed.

More than five decades later, “Fleetwood Mac” still sets the audiophile standard for openness, realism and three-dimensionality! Lovingly remastered from the original tapes, Mobile Fidelity's reissue now goes one step further: the Hybrid SACD presents itself at reference level in terms of sound quality and also impresses with its breathtaking transparency, dynamics and attention to detail! MFSL's Hybrid SACD comes in mini-LP-style packaging and, of course, features the iconic album cover!