Greatest Hits (1971 Fleetwood Mac album)
Greatest Hits is a compilation album from the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac released on CBS Records in the United Kingdom, November of 1971. The band's first compilation package, it assembles the band's hit singles in the UK covering the period from the band's beginning in 1968 to 1971, mostly in its original incarnation led by guitarist Peter Green. It peaked at #36 on the UK Albums Chart.
| Greatest Hits | ||||
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | November 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1967–70 | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 43:23 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Producer | Mike Vernon Fleetwood Mac | |||
| Fleetwood Mac compilations chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Background and content
Part of the second British blues boom of the late 1960s, during that time Fleetwood Mac enjoyed six British hit singles, collated here along with one non-charting single, two b-sides, and three album tracks. The band's UK single "Black Magic Woman" received greater exposure in the US when it was covered by the San Francisco group Santana, who placed their version in the Billboard Top 40.
A very similar release with the same title and same cover was released by Sony BMG in 1989, but consisted of the tracks from The Pious Bird of Good Omen plus "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "Love That Burns". Another identically-titled but entirely different 1988 Greatest Hits album concentrates exclusively on post-1975 material and has no tracks in common with either this release or the 1989 one.
The album gatefold shows a full-size photo of the post-Green line up of the band with Christine McVie (née Perfect), even though she just plays piano on a couple of tracks and was not a full member until after Kiln House was released. Long out of print, it was replaced on compact disc by the 2002 compilation The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on the Sony International label, which now owns the Columbia/CBS catalogue. It was reissued on vinyl in 2010, however.
"The Green Manalishi", "Oh Well", "Rattlesnake Shake", and "Dragonfly" were licensed from Warner Bros. Records.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Reprise 27007 UK #10) | Peter Green | 4:36 |
| 2. | "Oh Well (Part 1)" (Reprise 27000 UK #2) | Peter Green | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Oh Well (Part 2)" (Reprise 27000b) | Peter Green | 5:39 |
| 4. | "Shake Your Moneymaker" (from Fleetwood Mac) | Elmore James | 2:55 |
| 5. | "Need Your Love So Bad" (Blue Horizon 3157 UK #31) | Mertis John Jr. | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Rattlesnake Shake" (from Then Play On) | Peter Green | 3:29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dragonfly" (Reprise 27010) | Danny Kirwan, W. H. Davies | 2:42 |
| 2. | "Black Magic Woman" (Blue Horizon 3138 UK #37) | Peter Green | 2:54 |
| 3. | "Albatross" (Blue Horizon 3145 UK #1) | Peter Green | 3:08 |
| 4. | "Man of the World" (Immediate IM080 UK #2) | Peter Green | 2:51 |
| 5. | "Stop Messin' Round" (Blue Horizon 3157b) | Peter Green, C.G. Adams | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Love That Burns" (from Mr. Wonderful) | Peter Green, C.G. Adams | 5:02 |
Personnel
- Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Jeremy Spencer – vocals, slide guitar, piano, maracas
- Danny Kirwan – vocals, guitar
- John McVie – bass guitar
- Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
- Christine McVie – piano on "Dragonfly"
