Storms (Fleetwood Mac song)

Last updated
"Storms"
Song by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Tusk
Released1979
Recorded1978–1979
Genre Soft rock
Length5:31
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Stevie Nicks
Producer(s) Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat

"Storms" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by vocalist Stevie Nicks, it was one of her five songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on the US 2002 and UK 2009 editions of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac as the final track on disc one. [1] An alternate mix with more stripped back production was included on the 2015 deluxe edition of Tusk. [2] Nicks said that the song was about her affair with bandmate Mick Fleetwood, which she believed contributed to the dissolution of his marriage with Jenny Boyd. [3]

Contents

Background

"Storms" was the first song that Nicks presented to Fleetwood Mac for the Tusk album. In its demo form, the song only consisted of vocals and a rough piano part played by Nicks. [4] Carol Anne Harris recalled that her former boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham, was critical of "Storms" when Nicks played her demo to the band, which led to an argument between Nicks and Buckingham. [5] Producer Ken Caillat described the demo as "a somewhat depressing song with only a few chords". However, when the band revisited "Storms" in autumn 1978, both Caillat and engineer Hernán Rojas were surprised at Buckingham's willingness to dedicate his efforts toward the song. [4] Buckingham later expressed his approval of "Storms" in 2015, calling it "a very strong song in terms of its form". [3]

The band worked on "Storms" the day after a recording session for "That's All for Everyone", a Buckingham composition. While the other members of Fleetwood Mac were tracking "That's All For Everyone", Nicks grew bored and insisted during dinner that the band record "Storms" the following day, which they agreed to. Rojas remembered that Nicks felt excessively criticized by the band when she asked to record one of her own songs. "It wasn't that Stevie's songs weren't good, just that they presented more of a challenge, not only to arrange the song structure, but also to give it a brighter mood." [4]

For the initial tracking of "Storms", Buckingham strummed an acoustic guitar over a click track, although he later replaced that part with a fingerpicked nylon-string guitar and two arpeggiated electric guitars: one recorded clean and another distorted. Christine McVie played a Hammond B-3 organ through a rotating Leslie speaker and also overdubbed a Fender Rhodes electric piano to supplement Buckingham's guitars and John McVie's acoustic bass guitar. Fleetwood originally played a reverbed snare drum and shaker on the downbeats, although this was replaced with a tambourine and a muted floor tom. The producers also applied equalization to transform the click track into a kick drum. [4]

Nicks confirmed that "Storms" related to the fallout of her affair with Fleetwood. "It was really about Mick...That relationship destroyed Mick’s marriage to Jenny, who was the sweetest person in the world...Here’s that song in a nutshell: Don’t break up other people’s marriages. It will never work and will haunt you for the rest of your miserable days." [3]

Critical reception

Paste ranked the song number nine its list of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs, writing that "there’s something particularly waxing and enchanting about "Storms," especially as the band's gorgeous, melodic and dreamy backing instrumentation bubbles behind her [Nicks's] confident and worn-in vocals." [6] Rolling Stone labeled "Storms" as a "lovely ballad", but said that "the production goes too far, and the track quivers with an eerie electronic vibrato". [7] GQ labeled "Storms" as one Fleetwood Mac's best post- Rumours songs, highlighting her "downtrodden" vocals. [8]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Tusk</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Tusk is the twelfth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released as a double album on 12 October 1979 in the United States and on 19 October 1979 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. It is considered more experimental than their previous albums, partly as a consequence of Lindsey Buckingham's sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of post-punk. The production costs were initially estimated to be about $1 million but many years later were revealed to be about $1.4 million, making it the most expensive rock album recorded to that date.

"Gold Dust Woman" is a song from British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac's 11th studio album, Rumours (1977). The song was written and sung by Stevie Nicks and released as a B-side to the "Don't Stop" single and the "You Make Loving Fun" single. The song's title, "Gold Dust Woman", comes from Gold Dust Lane, a street in Wickenburg, Arizona where Nicks spent time as a child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tusk (song)</span> 1979 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Tusk" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States for three weeks, reached number six in the United Kingdom, number five in Canada, and number three in Australia. Lindsey Buckingham wrote the song and is the lead singer on the track.

"The Ledge" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the second song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The band rehearsed “The Ledge” several times for the Tusk Tour, although it was ultimately not included in the set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara (Fleetwood Mac song)</span> 1979 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Sara" is a song written by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks of the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, which was released as a single from the 1979 Tusk double LP. The vinyl album version length is 6 minutes 22 seconds, and the edited single version length is 4 minutes 37 seconds. The song peaked at No. 7 in the US for three weeks, No. 37 in the UK for two weeks, No. 11 in Australia, and No. 12 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of the Moon</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Sisters of the Moon" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. It was written and sung by band-member Stevie Nicks and was released in the US as the fourth single from the 1979 album Tusk. The song peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it was not released in the UK. The single version of "Sisters of the Moon" is included on the compilation The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac and both the 2004 and 2015 remasters of 'Tusk'.

"I'm So Afraid" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham for the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac for their tenth album, Fleetwood Mac. The song was intended for a second Buckingham Nicks album, but the album never came to fruition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think About Me</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Think About Me" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1980. The song was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. "Think About Me" and "Not That Funny" were the first Tusk singles released in their remixed form.

"I Know I'm Not Wrong" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was recorded as the final song of side three of the LP on 19 September 1979, written by Lindsey Buckingham, whose sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of punk rock and new wave were the leading creative force on it and other Tusk tracks. The song was worked on for the duration of the Tusk album and took around a year to complete.

"Oh Daddy" is a song written by Christine McVie that was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the tenth song off their 1977 album Rumours.

"The Dealer" is a 2014 song by the American singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. It was the first single from her solo album, 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault. The song was a minor hit in Belgium, where it peaked at No. 72 on the Wallonia Tip chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Not That Funny</span> 1980 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Not That Funny" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1980. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was written as a response to the punk movement in the late 1970s. The song share some lyrics with "I Know I'm Not Wrong", another Buckingham penned song that appeared on the Tusk album.

"Walk a Thin Line" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album.

"That’s All For Everyone" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on Fleetwood Mac's 1992 box set, 25 Years – The Chain.

"Beautiful Child" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by vocalist Stevie Nicks, it was one of her five songs that appeared on the Tusk album. Despite not appearing on the accompanying Tusk Tour, the song resurfaced several years later on their 2003-2004 Say You Will Tour.

"Brown Eyes" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was one of six songs from the album composed and sung by Christine McVie. The song includes uncredited playing from founding member Peter Green.

"Over & Over" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. It is the opening song from the multi-platinum Tusk album and was composed by Fleetwood Mac keyboardist Christine McVie. The song was played on the Tusk Tour and also appeared on the Live album in 1980.

"What Makes You Think You're the One" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979. Composed and sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, it was one of his nine songs that appeared on the Tusk album. The song was also included on the US 2002 and UK 2009 editions of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac.

"Never Make Me Cry" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk. It was one of six songs from the album composed and sung by Christine McVie. The song was released a B-side to the album's title track in September 1979.

"That's Enough For Me" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP Tusk, on which it is the shortest track. It was one of nine songs from the album composed and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, who also supplied all of the instrumentation. The song was released a B-side to "Sara" in December 1979.

References

  1. ↑ Wild, David (2002). The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Liner Notes). Fleetwood Mac. Los Angeles: Warner Bros. Records Inc. p. 13.
  2. ↑ Dale, Jon (12 January 2016). "Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (Deluxe Edition)". UNCUT. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Irvin, Jim (2016). Tusk (2015 Remastered) (Liner Notes). Fleetwood Mac. Los Angeles: Warner Bros. Records Inc. p. 15. Publisher Warner Bros #2HS-3350.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Caillat, Ken; Rojas, Hernan (2019). Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac's Most Anticipated Album. Guilford, Connecticut: Backbeat Books. pp. 10, 97, 102–103. ISBN   978-1-4930-5983-6.
  5. ↑ Sheffield, Christopher R. Weingarten,David Browne,Jon Dolan,Corinne Cummings,Keith Harris,Rob (11 July 2017). "Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs [No. 43]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 January 2024.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Matt (7 August 2023). "The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs". Paste . Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Holden, Stephen (13 December 1979). "Tusk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Allen, Ben (11 April 2020). "The best Fleetwood Mac songs after Rumours". British GQ. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.