Penguin (album)
Penguin | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by Fleetwood Mac | ||||
Released | March 1973 | |||
Recorded | January 1973 | |||
Studio | Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Benifold, Hampshire | |||
Genre |
| |||
Length | 35:46 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | Fleetwood Mac & Martin Birch | |||
Fleetwood Mac chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] |
The Daily Vault | B+[3] |
Penguin is the seventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1973. It was the first Fleetwood Mac album after the departure of Danny Kirwan, the first to feature Bob Weston and the only one to feature Dave Walker.
The penguin is the band mascot favoured by John McVie. His fascination with the birds originated when he lived near London Zoo during the early days of his marriage to Christine McVie. He was a member of the Zoological Society and would spend hours at the zoo studying and watching the penguins.[4]
Background
After Kirwan was fired following an altercation with the other band members during the Bare Trees tour, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker (formerly of Savoy Brown and The Idle Race) in September 1972. Weston was well known for playing slide guitar and had known the band from his touring period with Long John Baldry. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Rather than record Penguin in a London studio, they hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and brought it to Hampshire in order to record their next album within the domestic atmosphere of Benifold, their communal house. The album was subsequently mixed at AIR Studios in London.
The album's artwork was painted by Chris Moore and the gatefold photo was shot on location at Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells in Hampshire, according to Dave Walker in an online Q&A interview.[5] For the first time on a Fleetwood Mac album, Mick Fleetwood was credited in the album's liner notes with playing both drums and percussion, even though he did both on previous albums, although uncredited.
The subsequent tour seemed to go well, and Penguin was the highest charting Fleetwood Mac album in the US at the time, clawing its way into the Top 50. However, during the recording of their next album, Mystery to Me, it was mutually agreed upon that Walker's vocal style and attitude "did not fit in" with Fleetwood Mac and by June 1973 he had left. If anything was ever recorded by Walker for Mystery to Me it was not used.
Walker was featured on only two tracks on Penguin in the end, namely his own composition "The Derelict" and a cover of Junior Walker's hit "(I'm a) Road Runner" on which he also played harmonica solos.
Track notes
- "Remember Me" was performed live by Christine McVie at Bob Welch's Roxy concert in 1981. This version appeared on the 2004 CD Live from the Roxy.
- "Revelation" was re-recorded by Bob Welch for His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond in 2003.
- "Did You Ever Love Me" was released as a single but did not chart.
- "Night Watch" features a brief guitar contribution from Fleetwood Mac's founder Peter Green at the end, as well as organ by Steve Nye.
- "Caught in the Rain", an instrumental, was the only track on a Fleetwood Mac record where Bob Weston received the sole writing credit.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Remember Me" | Christine McVie | C. McVie | 2:41 |
2. | "Bright Fire" | Bob Welch | Welch | 4:32 |
3. | "Dissatisfied" | C. McVie | C. McVie | 3:43 |
4. | "(I'm a) Road Runner" | Dave Walker | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
5. | "The Derelict" | Walker | Walker | 2:43 |
6. | "Revelation" | Welch | Welch | 4:55 |
7. | "Did You Ever Love Me" |
| C. McVie (with Bob Weston) | 3:39 |
8. | "Night Watch" | Welch | Welch | 6:17 |
9. | "Caught in the Rain" | Weston | instrumental | 2:35 |
Personnel
Fleetwood Mac
- Bob Welch – guitar, vocals, bass guitar on track 6[6]
- Bob Weston – lead guitar, slide guitar on track 1, banjo and harmonica on track 5, harmony vocals on track 7
- Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals
- Dave Walker – vocals on tracks 4 and 5, harmonica on track 4[7]
- John McVie – bass guitar
- Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Steve Nye – organ on track 8
- Ralph Richardson – steel drums on track 7
- Russell Valdez – steel drums on track 7
- Fred Totesant – steel drums on track 7
- Peter Green – additional lead guitar on track 8[8]
Production
- Producer: Fleetwood Mac and Martin Birch
- Engineer: Martin Birch
- Sleeve design: Modula / John Watkins (front cover) / Chris Moore
- Inside photo by Barry Wentzell
- Recorded in Hampshire on Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
- Mixed at AIR Studios, London
Charts
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] | 53 |
US Billboard 200[10] | 49 |
References
- ^ Penguin at AllMusic
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Bowling, David (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Penguin". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "The McVie Story". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Dave Walker Q&A Session, October 2000". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Bob Welch Q&A Session, November 1999". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ Saulnier, Jason (30 December 2011). "Dave Walker Interview". Music Legends. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "Bob Welch, August 4 - 17, 2003". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4862". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July, 2023.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July, 2023.
- v
- t
- e
- Peter Green
- Jeremy Spencer
- Bob Brunning
- Danny Kirwan
- Bob Welch
- Bob Weston
- Dave Walker
- Billy Burnette
- Rick Vito
- Bekka Bramlett
- Dave Mason
- Mike Campbell
- Neil Finn
- Fleetwood Mac
- Mr. Wonderful
- Then Play On
- Kiln House
- Future Games
- Bare Trees
- Penguin
- Mystery to Me
- Heroes Are Hard to Find
- Fleetwood Mac
- Rumours
- Tusk
- Mirage
- Tango in the Night
- Behind the Mask
- Time
- Say You Will
- Live
- Live in Boston
- Live at the BBC
- The Dance
- Shrine '69
- Live in Boston
- Rumours Live
- English Rose
- The Pious Bird of Good Omen
- Fleetwood Mac in Chicago
- Black Magic Woman
- The Original Fleetwood Mac
- Greatest Hits
- Vintage Years
- Greatest Hits
- 25 Years – The Chain
- Madison Blues
- The Vaudeville Years
- The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967–1969
- Show-Biz Blues
- The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
- The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
- The Essential Fleetwood Mac
- 50 Years – Don't Stop
- Extended Play
1960s |
|
---|---|
1970s |
|
1980s |
|
1990s |
|
2000s |
|
2010s |
- "Stop Messin' Round"
- "Dust My Broom"
- "Madison Blues"
- "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonite"
- "Mission Bell"
- "(I'm a) Road Runner"
- "Hypnotized"
- "Monday Morning"
- "Blue Letter"
- "Crystal"
- "World Turning"
- "I'm So Afraid"
- "Second Hand News"
- "Never Going Back Again"
- "Songbird"
- "I Don't Want to Know"
- "Oh Daddy"
- "Gold Dust Woman"
- "Over & Over"
- "The Ledge"
- "What Makes You Think You're the One"
- "Storms"
- "That's All for Everyone"
- "That's Enough for Me"
- "Brown Eyes"
- "Never Make Me Cry"
- "I Know I'm Not Wrong"
- "Beautiful Child"
- "Walk a Thin Line"
- "Only Over You"
- "Tango in the Night"
- "No Questions Asked"
- "Tallahassee Lassie"
- "Murrow Turning Over in His Grave"
- Discography
- Band members
- Buckingham Nicks
- Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie
- Tramp
- Stretch
- Bekka & Billy
- The Biggest Thing Since Colossus
- Blues for Greeny
- Tusk (Camper Van Beethoven album)
- Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
- "Rumours" (Glee episode)
- John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
- Clifford Davis
- Brett Tuggle
Category