The Dance (Fleetwood Mac album)

The Dance is a live album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 August 1997. It hailed the return of the band's most successful lineup of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks, who had not released an album together since 1987's Tango in the Night, a decade earlier. It was the first Fleetwood Mac release to top the U.S. album charts since 1982's Mirage.

The Dance
Live album by
Released19 August 1997
Recorded23 May 1997
VenueWarner Brothers Studios, Burbank, California
GenreRock, pop
Length79:11
LabelReprise
ProducerLindsey Buckingham, Elliot Scheiner
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Time
(1995)
The Dance
(1997)
Say You Will
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Uncut[1]

History

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Recorded during a concert on 23 May 1997, The Dance was the last Fleetwood Mac album to feature Christine McVie as a full-time member before she left a year after the album's release (she would return to tour with the band in 2014). Debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 199,000, The Dance became the fifth best-selling live album of all time in the United States, selling a million copies within eight weeks, spending more than seven months within the top 40, and eventually selling over 6,000,000 copies worldwide. The DVD version has been certified 9× platinum in Australia for selling 135,000 copies. The 44 date tour grossed $36 million.

Unlike 1980's Live, which was a collection of live recordings over a series of 60 shows, The Dance was recorded in one night, albeit with good isolation to allow for overdubs.[2] The concert was recorded for Fleetwood Mac's MTV The Dance special at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California, and features the University of Southern California Marching Band who perform on the tracks "Tusk" (having played on the original studio recording) and "Don't Stop".

Although the album is predominantly a live greatest hits package, The Dance also features new material written by each of the primary songwriting members of the band (with two from Buckingham) as well as popular album tracks. "Bleed to Love Her" was a previously unreleased track when The Dance was released, although a studio recording of the song was later included on the Say You Will (2003) album. No tracks from the Mirage album were included on the CD, although "Gypsy" was included in the video and DVD versions.

"Say You Love Me" received a folk rearrangement that featured a banjo and cocktail drum kit.[3] John McVie also sang backing vocals for this performance.[4]

The album was titled for Henri Matisse's painting, Dance, which was at one point intended to be used as the album cover but couldn't be licensed.[5] The album cover photo, taken by David LaChapelle, has Mick Fleetwood recreating his pose from the cover of Rumours, the band's most successful album, and Lindsey Buckingham holding the cane used on the cover of the Fleetwood Mac album, Rumours' predecessor.

This album spawned three singles in the USA: "Landslide", "The Chain", and "Silver Springs" which earned the band three Grammy nominations in 1998, in the categories of "Best Pop Album", "Best Rock Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocal" for "The Chain" and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "Silver Springs". A fourth single, "Temporary One," was released in some European markets.

Buckingham originally wanted less overlap in the track listing between The Dance and their 1980 live album. "At first I thought this should be a more eclectic collection, with different songs that were a little more surprising. But Warner was very upset about that. They wanted more hits. They felt a live album from 1981 was irrelevant, and I guess they were right."[3]

The band later embarked on a 44-date tour across the United States with one stop in Canada in support of The Dance. The setlist was similar to that of the album, but with "Over My Head" and "My Little Demon" being replaced by "Oh Daddy", "Second Hand News", "Stand Back", "Farmer's Daughter" (a cover of the Beach Boys song from Surfin' U.S.A.), and "Not That Funny". "Eyes of the World" was played instead of "Second Hand News" on opening night in Hartford, Connecticut.

Track listing

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CD version

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CD track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Chain"5:11
2."Dreams"Nicks4:39
3."Everywhere"C. McVie3:28
4."Rhiannon"Nicks6:48
5."I'm So Afraid"Buckingham7:45
6."Temporary One[a]"
  • C. McVie
  • Eddy Quintela
4:00
7."Bleed to Love Her[b]"Buckingham3:27
8."Big Love"Buckingham3:06
9."Landslide"Nicks4:27
10."Say You Love Me"C. McVie4:59
11."My Little Demon[a]"Buckingham3:33
12."Silver Springs"Nicks5:41
13."You Make Loving Fun"C. McVie3:49
14."Sweet Girl[c]"Nicks3:19
15."Go Your Own Way"Buckingham5:00
16."Tusk"Buckingham4:22
17."Don't Stop"C. McVie5:28
Total length:79:11

Video track listing

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The DVD video is in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, while audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and PCM stereo.

VHS/DVD/LD track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Chain"
  • Buckingham
  • Fleetwood
  • C. McVie
  • J. McVie
  • Nicks
 
2."Dreams"Nicks 
3."Everywhere"C. McVie 
4."Gold Dust Woman[d]"Nicks 
5."I'm So Afraid"Buckingham 
6."Temporary One"
  • C. McVie
  • Quintela
 
7."Bleed to Love Her"Buckingham 
8."Gypsy[e]"Nicks 
9."Big Love"Buckingham 
10."Go Insane[f]"Buckingham 
11."Landslide"Nicks 
12."Say You Love Me"C. McVie 
13."You Make Loving Fun"C. McVie 
14."My Little Demon"Buckingham 
15."Silver Springs"Nicks 
16."Over My Head[d]"C. McVie 
17."Rhiannon"Nicks 
18."Sweet Girl"Nicks 
19."Go Your Own Way"Buckingham 
20."Tusk"Buckingham 
21."Don't Stop"C. McVie 
22."Songbird[d]"C. McVie 

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Unreleased in studio form.
  2. ^ Studio version later recorded on the album Say You Will.
  3. ^ Studio version later released on Stevie Nicks' Enchanted box set.
  4. ^ a b c Does not appear on the CD, but was released as a B-side on a German CD single of "Silver Springs".
  5. ^ Does not appear on the CD, but was released as a B-side of "Silver Springs" and as a standalone digital single.[6]
  6. ^ Does not appear on the CD, but was released as a B-side of "Silver Springs" and on the 2CD edition of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

Personnel

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Fleetwood Mac

Additional musicians

Fleetwood Mac crew

  • Marty Hom – tour manager
  • Paul Chavarria – production manager
  • Sam Emerson - stage manager
  • Edd Kolakowski – piano tech
  • Ray Lindsey – guitar tech
  • Todd Bowie – guitar tech
  • Steve Dikun – bass tech
  • Walter Earl – drum tech
  • Mike Fasano – drum tech
  • Bruce Jackson – FOH sound
  • Chris Lantz – monitors
  • Chris Fulton – Clair Bros.
  • Mark Dowdle – Clair Bros.
  • Kim Brakeley – wardrobe stylist
  • Jill Focke – assistant wardrobe
  • Margi Kent – clothing designer for Nicks
  • Barbara Buck – makeup
  • Elaine Offers – makeup
  • Karen Johnston – assistant to Nicks
  • Steve Real – vocal coach
  • Sara Sierra – hair
  • Robert Ramos – hair
  • Richard Perea – assistant/runner
  • Mark Candelario, Jen Dreisen – runners
  • Edward O'Hickey III – WB stage
  • Fred Hammond, Jim Callahan – WB security

CD production

  • Lindsey Buckingham – producer
  • Elliot Scheiner – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Barry Goldberg – engineer
  • Guy Charbonneau – additional engineer
  • Charlie Bouis – assistant engineer
  • John Nelson – assistant engineer
  • Paul DeCarli – digital editing
  • Scott Humphrey – digital editing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
  • Ted Barela – technical assistance
  • David Gallo – technical assistance
  • Eric Johnston – technical assistance
  • Ph. D – art direction, design
  • David LaChapelle – photography
  • Neal Preston – photography

Video production

  • Bruce Gower – director
  • Lindsey Buckingham – producer
  • Elliot Scheiner – producer, recording, mixing
  • Barry Goldberg – recording
  • David LaChapelle – photography
  • Neal Preston – photography
  • Dr. Arthur C. Bartner – director of the USC Marching Band

Charts

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Singles

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Year Single Chart Position
1997 "The Chain" Mainstream Rock Tracks 30
1998 "Landslide" Adult Contemporary 10
1998 "Landslide" Adult Top 40 26
1998 "Landslide" Billboard Hot 100 51

Certifications

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References

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  1. ^ Brown, Glyn (October 1997). "Ewe turn". Uncut. No. 5. p. 83.
  2. ^ "Ken Caillat Question and Answer Session". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b Westbrook, Bruce (11 August 1997). "Houston Chronicle Dance Interview". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  4. ^ "John McVie, Q&A Session, September 27 - October 10, 2004". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Stevie and Lindsey Interview WZLX Radio, Boston, MA 100.7 FM August 15, 1997". fleetwoodmac-uk.com. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Gypsy (Live) by Fleetwood Mac". 22 April 2003.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3320". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  18. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1997". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1997". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  22. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  23. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  24. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Music Canada.
  25. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". British Phonographic Industry.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Recording Industry Association of America.
  28. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  29. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum DVDs". Radioscope. 3 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011.
  30. ^ "British video certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". British Phonographic Industry.
  31. ^ "American video certifications – Fleetwood Mac – The Dance". Recording Industry Association of America.