This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.Find sources: "Greatest Hits" 1971 Fleetwood Mac album – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2018)
Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by
Fleetwood Mac
ReleasedNovember 1971 (1971-11)
Recorded1967–1970
GenreBlues rock
Length43:23
LabelCBS
ProducerMike Vernon, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac chronology
The Original Fleetwood Mac
(1970) 		Greatest Hits
(1971) 		Vintage Years
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac released on CBS Records in the United Kingdom in 1971. The album assembles the band's hit singles in the UK covering the period from the band's beginning in 1968 to 1971, mostly in its original incarnation led by guitarist Peter Green. It peaked at No. 36 on the UK Albums Chart.

Background and content

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Greatest Hits" 1971 Fleetwood Mac album – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Part of the second British blues boom of the late 1960s, during that time Fleetwood Mac enjoyed six British hit singles, collated here along with one non-charting single, two B-sides, and three album tracks. The band's UK single "Black Magic Woman" received greater exposure in the US when it was covered by the American group Santana, who placed their version in the Billboard Top 40.

In 1989 Sony BMG used the Greatest Hits title and 1971 album cover for an expanded reissue of the 1969 compilation album The Pious Bird of Good Omen. In 1988 Fleetwood Mac released an identically-titled but completely different Greatest Hits album, which concentrates exclusively on post-1975 material and has no tracks in common with the 1971 album.

The album cover photo is a live shot of the late 1967/early 1968 line-up of Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The album gatefold shows a full-size photo of the late 1970/early 1971 line up of the band without Green, with Danny Kirwan and new member Christine McVie (née Perfect) alongside Spencer, Fleetwood and McVie. "Dragonfly" is the only song on the album that was recorded by this line-up. Greatest Hits was issued on CD in the 1980s but soon went out of print, and has effectively been replaced by the 2002 compilation The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on the Sony International label, which now owns the Columbia/CBS catalogue. It was reissued on vinyl in 2010.

"The Green Manalishi", "Oh Well", "Rattlesnake Shake", and "Dragonfly" were licensed from Warner Bros. Records.

Track listing

All tracks written by Peter Green except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
1."The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" Non-album single4:36
2."Oh Well (Part 1)" Non-album single3:29
3."Oh Well (Part 2)" B-side of "Oh Well (Part 1)"5:39
4."Shake Your Moneymaker"Elmore JamesFleetwood Mac2:55
5."Need Your Love So Bad"Little Willie John, Mertis John Jr.Non-album single3:53
6."Rattlesnake Shake" Then Play On3:29
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original releaseLength
7."Dragonfly"Danny Kirwan, W. H. DaviesNon-album single2:42
8."Black Magic Woman" Non-album single2:54
9."Albatross" Non-album single3:08
10."Man of the World" Non-album single2:51
11."Stop Messin' Round"Green, C.G. AdamsNon-album single version, alternate take released on Mr. Wonderful2:19
12."Love That Burns"Green, AdamsMr. Wonderful5:02

Personnel

Charts

1972 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits
Chart (1972) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[2] 36

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[3] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Greatest Hits at AllMusic
  2. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Peter Green: A 'Gold' Sales Award For The Album Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits". 28 July 2023.
Categories