Album Review: Fleetwood Mac - Live 1975
Fleetwood Mac was undergoing yet another transition in 1975. And though this one would lead to superstardom with the release of Rumours in 1977, the band touring behind Fleetwood Mac was forced to look back before thinking about tomorrow.
So it was that Lindsey Buckingham found himself fronting - on vocals and guitar - songs by Peter Green (“Oh Well”), Danny Kirwan (“Station Man”) and Bob Welch (“Hypnotized”) while backing Christine McVie on Chicken Shack’s “Get Like You Used to Be” and Mac songs he and Stevie Nicks had nothing to do with recording, including “Spare Me a Little” and “Why.”
This brief, fascinating period in Fleetwood Mac history is documented on Live 1975 and it’s a must-have. Recorded Oct. 17 and 25, of the titular year, in New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively, these selections have circulated among collectors for decades, but generally in lower fidelity. And through it all are drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the threads that tie the disparate lineups together.
Buckingham and Nicks, meanwhile, perform their own “Don’t Let Me Down Again,” included perhaps to let the audience - who are not there for the then-unknowns; “Hypnotized” gets the biggest reaction - know why the band recruited them.
There are songs from the eponymous album, of course - and it’s weird in 2025 to hear Christine McVie needing to tell a Fleetwood Mac audience who Stevie Nicks is and give “Landslide” a detailed introduction.
That would change quickly. And most of these old songs, save for “Oh Well,” would soon disappear entirely.
Grade card: Fleetwood Mac - Live 1975 - A-
12/10/25
