Say You Will (album) explained

Say You Will
Type:studio
Artist:Fleetwood Mac
Cover:Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will.png
Released:15 April 2003
Recorded:1995–1997, summer 2001 – fall 2002
Studio:
  • The Bellagio House
  • Cornerstone, Chatsworth
  • Ocean Way, Hollywood
  • Lindsey Buckingham's home
Genre:Pop rock[1]
Length:75:56
Label:Reprise
Prev Title:The Dance
Prev Year:1997
Next Year:2004

Say You Will is the seventeenth and final studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 15 April 2003. It followed 1995's Time and was their first album since 1970 without vocalist/keyboardist Christine McVie as a full member following her departure in 1998, although she participated in some songs as a guest musician; it would be her last time being involved with the band in a studio capacity before her death in 2022. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks shared keyboard duties throughout the album.

This was the band's last full album with Buckingham before his dismissal from the group in 2018, although he later participated in their 2013 extended play.

Say You Will was the first studio Fleetwood Mac album to peak in the top three in the US since 1982's Mirage.[2] The album debuted at No. 3 with sales of 218,000, spent two months within the top 40, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in July 2003 for 500,000 copies shipped in the US. In the UK, the album peaked at No. 6 and was certified Gold by the BPI in May 2003 for 100,000 copies shipped.

A limited edition version of the album was issued at the same time, featuring two live tracks ("Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will"), two additional studio tracks (Nicks' "Not Make Believe" and Buckingham's cover of Bob Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit"), an expanded booklet and poster.

Background

Soon after the release of Time, Billy Burnette and Bekka Bramlett departed to form the country duo Bekka & Billy. Rather than continue without them, Fleetwood Mac chose to disband. By 1997, the Rumours lineup agreed to perform again for an MTV Unplugged special. Following the successful reunion album, The Dance, which included a live performance of "Bleed to Love Her",[3] Christine McVie left the group, citing her fear of flying as the primary reason.[4] "Chris left in 1998 and we didn't start Say You Will until 2002," recalled Stevie Nicks. "It took us that long to figure out what the hell we were going to do without her – or even if we could do without her."[5]

In the early 2000s, Buckingham was finishing up a solo album but was encouraged by the band to set the material aside for a Fleetwood Mac record.[6] With the exception of "What's the World Coming To?" and "Peacekeeper", all of Buckingham's Say You Will songs were considered for his aborted solo record.[7] Buckingham stated that the body of music he created during these solo sessions "tapped into some new areas" and were "the best that I’ve ever done on my own, or with Fleetwood Mac".[8]

To round out Say You Will, Nicks brought in new material, along with leftovers from previous albums.[3] While Nicks was recording her Trouble in Shangri-La album in 2001, she left the band 17 songs to develop in her absence. The band picked five, including "Smile At You" and "Goodbye Baby", which were written in 1975–76.[9] "Smile at You" was also rehearsed for the Tusk album in 1979[10] and the Mirage album in 1982.[11] Another song, "Thrown Down", was originally recorded for Trouble in Shangri-La, but it was left off that album and instead reworked for Say You Will.[12] According to Buckingham, Nicks had previously tried three different mixes of "Thrown Down" with three different people, but none of them worked out. "It was just obvious to me it needed a guitar riff in the chorus. It was a fairly simple thing, for some reason. There seems to be an understanding between us as to what to do."[13]

By the time Nicks returned from her Trouble in Shangri-La tour, the band had made considerable progress on her material. Nicks was pleased with what she heard, but felt obligated to write four additional compositions at her Phoenix home in December 2001. Two of those – "Silver Girl" and the title track – feature Sheryl Crow.[9] "Illume (9–11)" was written after the September 11 attacks. Nicks wrote two additional songs about 9/11, namely "Get Back on the Plane," and "The Towers Touched the Sky", but neither were included on the album.[14] Her fourth new contribution was titled "Destiny Rules".[15]

Christine McVie was in contact with Fleetwood throughout portions of the recording sessions and expressed interest in writing for the band. "She could have come on board in the early stages of the recording," Fleetwood observed, "but, as time went on, that became more impractical." Nonetheless, the band retained McVie's contributions recorded before her departure, including on "Bleed to Love Her", where she sang and played organ.[15]

With their surplus of material, the band considered making Say You Will a double album,[16] but opted to condense it into a single disc of 18 songs. "Not Make Believe", "Gift of Screws, "Down on Rodeo", "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind", and a Rolling Stones cover of "I Am Waiting" were all rehearsed and considered for the track list.[17] [18] "Not Make Believe" was included on the limited edition of Say You Will,[19] "I Am Waiting", "Down on Rodeo", and "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind" were selected for Buckingham's Under the Skin album in 2006, and "Gift of Screws" appeared on Buckingham's 2008 album of the same name.[7] [18]

Critical reception and analysis

Many reviewers noted the absence of Christine McVie and the album's length. The Chicago Tribune said that McVie's "dusky voice and deft songwriting touch are missed, particularly on an 18-song disc without enough quality tunes to justify its length". They were more complimentary of Buckingham's arrangements, compositions, and production.[1] Entertainment Weekly wrote that "while the album's highlights shine brightly, the absence of the group's least heralded songwriter [Christine McVie] ultimately proves a significant obstacle". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic believed that the album sounded like "Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks' albums bouncing around on shuffle play, but also [has] occasionally flashing moments that are purely, satisfyingly Fleetwood Mac." Buckingham's six-minute hard rock song "Come" was described by Ultimate Classic Rock as a "guitar-meltdown tune".[20]

Track listing

Note

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Studios

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2003)! scope="col"
Peak
position
European Albums (Music & Media)[22] 12
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 108
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[24] 51

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)! scope="col"
Position
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 138
US Billboard 200[26] 84

Music promo videos

Music videos were shot for "Peacekeeper" and "Say You Will", both of these videos were stage performances of both songs. Neither of these videos were commercially available until 2019, when Fleetwood Mac published these videos on their official YouTube channel.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Recordings: Fleetwood Mac Say You Will (Reprise). Greg. Kot. Greg Kot. chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 21 April 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20121024233055/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-04-21/features/0304210037_1_fleetwood-mac-mick-fleetwood-songs. 24 October 2012. 13 August 2021.
  2. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r635401/charts-awards/billboard-album|pure_url=yes}} ''Say You Will'' > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums]. . 31 January 2014.
  3. Web site: Childers . Chad . How Fleetwood Mac Reunited For 'The Dance' . Ultimate Classic Rock . 19 August 2015 . 7 March 2019.
  4. Web site: Blackstone . John . Christine McVie on rejoining Fleetwood Mac . CBS News . 28 September 2014 . 7 March 2019.
  5. James . McNair . The Mojo Interview . . December 2013. 241. 40.
  6. Web site: Harris . Will . A Chat With Lindsey Buckingham . Bullz-Eye . 7 March 2019.
  7. Web site: Still Going Insane - A Lindsey Buckingham Resource . 25 August 2023. www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20230630164953/http://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/stillgoinginsane/albums/the-missing-90s-album.html. 30 June 2023.
  8. Dansby . Andrew . 19 January 2001 . Buckingham Talks Fleetwood Mac . 30 June 2023. Rolling Stone . en-US.
  9. Web site: Fleetwood Mac - Five Go Mad, Uncut Magazine - May 2003 . 29 May 2023. www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com.
  10. Web site: Ken Caillat Question and Answer Session. 21 September 2021. The Penguin. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418164638/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/kencaillat_qa3.htm. 18 April 2016.
  11. Web site: Gallucci. Michael. Fleetwood Mac's 'Mirage' Is Getting a Deluxe Reissue Read More: Fleetwood Mac's 'Mirage' Is Getting a Deluxe Reissue. Ultimate Classic Rock. 12 May 2016 . 15 May 2016.
  12. Book: Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters. Sean Egan. 2016. 240. Omnibus Press . 978-1613732342.
  13. Web site: Selvin . Joel . 15 April 2003. Buckingham gets back into 'that thing' of Fleetwood Mac . 14 October 2023. SFGATE . en.
  14. Web site: 24 December 2002 . Stevie Nicks: The Queen of Rock . 28 May 2023 . Fleetwood Mac UK.
  15. Book: Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters. Egan, Sean. 255. 2016. Wiley & Sons. 9781613732342. registration.
  16. Web site: 2015-12-30 . Rollingstone.com. 2023-05-23 . The Blue Letter Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20151230223149/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=396&c=18 . 30 December 2015.
  17. Web site: 30 December 2015. Guitar Player (04/2003), The Eternal Return . 29 May 2023. The Blue Letter Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161831/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=167&c=9 . 30 December 2015 .
  18. Web site: Kevin . Scanlon . November 2006 . Lindsey Buckingham: Original Skin - Guitar World Acoustic. 2 December 2023 . Fleetwood Mac UK.
  19. Web site: 1 January 2003 . Say You Will . 30 June 2023. Fleetwood Mac’s Official Website . en.
  20. Web site: DeRiso . Nick . 15 April 2023 . Fleetwood Mac, 'Say You Will': Retro Album Review . 26 January 2024. Ultimate Classic Rock . en.
  21. Say You Will. Fleetwood Mac . . 2003 . Liner Notes . Reprise Records. United States.
  22. European Top 100 Albums . . 21 . 21 . 17 May 2003 . 9 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
  23. Web site: http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/504788/1/ . ja:セイ・ユー・ウィル/フリートウッド・マック . Say You Will / Fleetwood Mac . ja . . 10 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140305133253/http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/504788/1/ . 5 March 2014.
  24. Book: Salaverrie, Fernando . September 2005 . Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 . es . 1st . Madrid . . 84-8048-639-2.
  25. Web site: The Official UK Albums Chart 2003. UKChartsPlus. 4. 2 November 2021.
  26. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003. Billboard. 2 November 2021.