The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002)

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac is a double-CD retrospective, consisting of 36 songs from Fleetwood Mac‘s catalog between 1975 and 1997. Rhino released the compilation on October 22, 2002. The accompanying booklet features liner notes by Rolling Stone contributing writer David Wild.

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

Enhanced Material

Disc 1 of the set contains the following enhanced material:

Recording sessions from Say You Will (2013),
“The Chain” and “Go Your Own Way” performance clips from Fleetwood Mac In Concert (1982),
“Don’t Stop” performance clip from The Dance (1997),
“Rhiannon” performance clip from The Rosebud Film (1977), and
“Seven Wonders” music video.

International Version

Outside the U.S., Warner Bros. released the compilation as a single disc with 21 songs, including three tracks from the Fleetwood Mac’s 1960s blues era (“Albatross,” “Black Magic Woman,” and “Man of the World”).

In 2009, Warner Bros. released the double-CD edition for the first time in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to help promote Fleetwood Mac’s Unleashed World Tour. The enhanced material from the 2002 North American edition does not appear on these releases.

Editorial Review (2002)

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Rhino) is a collection that should please fans old and new. The double-CD retrospective includes all the hits, and then some, from the 1975 “white” album through 1997’s reunion album The Dance.

It’s refreshing to find some new elements incorporated into this release, making it more than just your standard best-of. Some of these highlights include single versions for “Rhiannon,” “Over My Head,” “Think About Me,” and “Sisters of the Moon” — all previously unavailable on CD. There’s also a different mix of “Silver Springs,” which differs slightly from the original 7″ vinyl b-side mix of the song.

Overall, the sound quality is excellent. Remastered by engineering heavyweights Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch, who handle many of the Rhino remasters, the tracks sound clean and crisp, particularly the ones from Rumours and Mirage.

The liner booklet is well done, though the selection of photographs could be better. But there are some nice shots, like the one of Christine McVie playing a large bass. There is also a charming Rumours cover outtake featuring Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood in an alternate pose. David Wild, a contributing writer for Rolling Stone, has written liner notes, which are informative and concise. The book also includes selected discography, chart placements, and credits.

The enhanced material (on Disc 1) is adequate, though it may a challenge to play on your computer. (QuickTime for the studio stuff and Windows Media Player for everything else seemed to work). The behind-the-scenes footage is probably the only real interest here, as much of the other material has been available previously. The footage takes you through a beautiful Bel Aire mansion, where the band is recording a new album, 2003’s Say You Will, practice sessions, and short interviews about the recording process without Christine McVie, who retired from the music business.

The other material on the CD, like “the vaults” (which has to be accessed through the Internet), is a bit disappointing, particularly the selection of performance clips. Two tracks are culled from the 1982 Mirage concert video (“The Chain,” “Go Your Own Way”) and one from The Dance (“Don’t Stop”). The CD has the music video for “Seven Wonders,” but surprisingly none of the singles from Tango in the Night, like the Top 5 hit “Little Lies.” The rarest material is the classic Rosebud documentary performance of “Rhiannon.” (The Rosebud film was restored for the super deluxe edition of Rumours , which was released on January 29, 2013.)

The international edition condenses the collection to a single disc and adds three Peter-Green-era tracks.