"The Chain" | |
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Song by Fleetwood Mac | |
from the album Rumours | |
Released | 4 February 1977 |
Recorded | 1976 |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 4:28 |
Label | Warner Bros. |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
|
Audio sample | |
"The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album Rumours . [1] [2] [3] It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood).
"The Chain" was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie. The song was assembled, often manually by splicing tapes with a razor blade, at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, with engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. [4]
Following the critical and commercial success of Rumours, "The Chain" has become a staple of the band's live shows, typically the opening song. It was featured as the opening track on The Dance , a 1997 live concert CD/DVD release, as well as several of the band's greatest hits compilations. The song has attained particular fame in the United Kingdom, where the instrumental section has been used as the theme tune for the BBC and Channel 4's television coverage of Formula One. [5] [6]
According to interviews on the writing of Rumours, the final section of "The Chain" (beginning with a bass progression) was created by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. [4] Other elements were worked in from an early project of Christine's called "Keep Me There", which removed the blues-style motif, but retained the chord progression. [4] Lindsey Buckingham reworked the song by recycling the intro of an earlier song from a duet with Nicks, "Lola (My Love)", originally released on their self-titled 1973 album. [7] During the verses, Buckingham instructed Fleetwood to play a straight quarter note pattern on the kick drum. The Dobro, a type of resonator guitar, supplied the verse riff. [8] Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune. [4] Nicks' lyrics referenced the breakup of her relationship with Buckingham, a theme of many of Nicks' and Buckingham's lyrics on Rumours. [9] In an interview with Paul Zollo, Buckingham questioned whether Fleetwood contributed significantly to the song, but said that all five members nonetheless received writing credits. [10]
Due to the spliced nature of the record (the drums and guitar were the only instruments recorded in each other's company) [11] and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, "The Chain" is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time. [4] The finished song has a basic rock structure, although it has two distinct portions: the main verse and chorus, and the outro. Influences of hard rock, folk, and country are also present. [4]
Rumours garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Subsequent analysis of "The Chain" has also led many to cite it as one of the most evocative expressions of the internal fracture among various band members at the time.[ citation needed ] Buckingham and Nicks were ending their years-long relationship at the same time that John and Christine McVie's marriage broke down, as did that of Fleetwood and his wife, Jenny Boyd. [4] The Guardian and Paste ranked the song number ten and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. [12] [13]
In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called The Dance , which featured the reunion of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, the studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it debuted at number 94 in the UK. Two years later, the song peaked at number 81. [14] In October 2023, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 2,400,000 units. [15]
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [16] | 51 |
Canada Rock/Alternative ( RPM ) [17] | 22 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [18] | 30 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [27] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [28] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29] | 6× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [30] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [15] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
United States digital | — | 721,186 [31] |
United States digital Remastered LP version | — | 260,541 [32] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The BBC's Formula One coverage used the ending bass line as a theme tune from 1978 until 1996 and again from 2009 to 2015, thus making the song highly recognisable in the United Kingdom. [33] On 29 March 2009, the song re-entered the UK Chart at number 94 through downloads, following confirmation from the BBC that it would be reintroduced, the BBC having regained broadcasting rights from ITV. On 20 March 2011, "The Chain" peaked higher at number 81 in the UK chart following a campaign on Facebook to try to get the song to number 1 for the start of the 2011 Formula One season. [5]
In the 2017 Marvel Studios film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , director James Gunn has said that "The Chain" was "most deeply embedded into the fibers of the film". [34] "The Chain" was also used as the closing song to the first-season episode "We Gull Way Back" of the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death , and featured prominently in the 2017 film I, Tonya .
"The Chain" | ||||
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Single by Tantric | ||||
from the album After We Go | ||||
Released | Winter 2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:21 | |||
Label | Maverick | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Tantric singles chronology | ||||
|
The song was recorded by the American rock band Tantric, released as the second single from their 2004 second album, After We Go . However, even though the song was released as a single, it lacked much promotion, and debuted at number 36 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Tantric's cover of the song was used as the theme song for the 2004 HBO Documentary series Family Bonds. [35]
"The Chain" | |
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Song by Three Days Grace | |
from the EP Lost in You | |
Released | 15 March 2011 |
Recorded | 2011 |
Length | 3:50 |
Label | Jive Records |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
The song was recorded by the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace, released from their EP, Lost in You . It was released on 15 March 2011. [36] The song peaked at number 45 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart. [37]
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard) [37] | 45 |
"The Chain" | ||||
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Single by Evanescence | ||||
Released | 22 November 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2019 | |||
Length | 4:12 | |||
Label | BMG | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Bobby Tahouri | |||
Evanescence singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"The Chain" on YouTube |
American rock band Evanescence released a cover version of the song. The song was released as a digital download on 22 November 2019 by BMG. [38]
Amy Lee, the lead vocalist of Evanescence said, "This cover was so fun to make. We love Fleetwood Mac and wanted to paint a dark and epic picture with our take on 'The Chain'. The lyrics make me feel the power of standing together against great forces trying to pull us apart, perhaps even from the inside. I really wanted to drive that home in our version, and even made everyone in the band sing by the end of it! We're beyond excited to share this with our fans and I'm really looking forward to playing it live." [39]
An official music video to accompany the release of "The Chain" was first released onto YouTube on 9 January 2020. [40]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Chain" (From "Gears 5") | 4:12 |
Chart (2019–20) | Peak position |
---|---|
Czech Republic (Modern Rock) [41] | 16 |
Scotland (OCC) [42] | 61 |
UK Singles Sales (OCC) [43] | 53 |
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [44] | 53 |
US Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [45] | 20 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [46] | 9 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [47] | 36 |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
United States | 22 November 2019 [38] | Digital download | BMG |
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green recruited drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist and singer Jeremy Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning, with John McVie replacing Brunning a few weeks after their first public appearance. Guitarist and singer Danny Kirwan joined the band in 1968. Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician starting with the band's second album, married McVie and joined Fleetwood Mac as an official member in July 1970 on vocals and keyboards, two months after Green left the band; she became known as Christine McVie.
Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has released seven solo studio albums and three live albums. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Buckingham was ranked 100th in Rolling Stone's 2011 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Buckingham is known for his fingerpicking guitar style.
Christine Anne McVie was an English musician and singer. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of 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.
Rumours is the eleventh studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977 in the United States and on 11 February 1977 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The recording sessions took place as band members dealt with breakups and used drugs heavily, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.
Fleetwood Mac is the tenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 11 July 1975 in the United States and on 1 August 1975 in the United Kingdom by Reprise Records. It is the band's second eponymous album after their 1968 debut album and is sometimes referred to by fans as the White Album. It is the first Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as a vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. It is also the band's last album to be released on the Reprise label until 1997's The Dance; the band's subsequent albums until then were released through Warner Bros. Records, Reprise's parent company.
Mirage is the thirteenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 2 July 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. This studio effort's soft rock sound stood in stark contrast to its more experimental predecessor, 1979's Tusk. Mirage yielded several singles: "Hold Me", "Gypsy", "Love in Store", "Oh Diane", and "Can't Go Back".
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.
"Don't Stop" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written by vocalist and keyboardist Christine McVie. The song was sung by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, and it was a single taken from the band's hit album Rumours (1977).
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"Go Your Own Way" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 in the United States. Written and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, it became the band's first top-ten hit in the United States. "Go Your Own Way" has been well received by music critics and was ranked number 120 by Rolling Stone magazine on their list of 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010, and re-ranked number 401 in 2021. They also ranked the song second on their list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.
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"Love in Store" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac. The song is the opening track on the 1982 album Mirage, the fourth album by the band with Lindsey Buckingham acting as main producer with Richard Dashut and Ken Caillat. "Love in Store" was written by Christine McVie and Jim Recor and it became the album's third single in the US. Released in November 1982, it went on to peak at No. 22 for three weeks as the follow-up to Top 20 hits "Hold Me" and "Gypsy". It also peaked at number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song features lead vocals by Christine McVie with prominent vocal harmonies by Stevie Nicks and background vocals by Lindsey Buckingham.
"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.
"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.
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