From across many nations, generations, and genres they came, all united in a common love. Brave men and women grasp hands across the divide of arbitrary coolness to stand tall and say as one, “I don’t care if you don’t think they’re punk rock! Nor if my mom — and classic rock/adult contemporary stations with names like 88.1 The Fox or 98.4 The Bear or 102.5 The Honeybadger — love them! Fleetwood Mac wrote some of the greatest rock songs of the 1970s and I’m proud to say that I’m a Mac fan!” Because it’s hard out there sometimes for a Mac fan of a certain musical persuasion. Either the punk rock bartender at your usual waterin’ hole is shaking his head at you for picking “Rhiannon” on the jukebox, or you’re about to drown in pastel velour and middle-aged women in shitty capes at the Ren Fest. But my Rhiannon-loving friends, take heart! There’s a place for us now. And by “place” I mean indie-skewing Fleetwood Mac tribute compilation.
The songs of Buckingham, Nicks, McVie, and co. get a makeover on Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, a new comp from Hear Music/Concord due August 14. Have you ever wondered what the Mac would sound like with Washed Out’s chillwave gloss? Under Lykke Li’s Scandinavian pop lens? With a Lee Ranaldo avant-garde twist? Under Best Coast’s sweet, lo-fi surgical knife? Well, respected film and TV music supervisor Randall Poster along with Gelya Robb (the team that put together last year’s Grammy-nominated Rave On Buddy Holly comp) have asked some of indie music’s leading names to take classic Fleetwood Mac tracks from the band’s entire 45-year career and give them a new spin. Poster, who has worked with Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, and Todd Haynes (and many many more!), describes how “the story of Fleetwood Mac has always intrigued me. And we’ve tried to tell that story through the arc of music we’ve recorded. Working with some of our favorite artists and performers, the magical musical legacy of Fleetwood Mac shows itself to be alive and well.” So there you have it, my fellow Fleetwood Mac fans. All your dreams of Bethany Cosentino crooning about Welsh witches are crystal visions no more. They’re real. So stand tall and stand proud and Just Tell Me That You Want Me.
Tracklisting:
01. Lee Ranaldo Band (ft. J Mascis) - “Albatross”
02. Antony - “Landslide”
03. Trixie Whitley - “Before the Beginning”
04. Billy Gibbons & Co. - “Oh Well”
05. Best Coast - “Rhiannon”
06. The New Pornographers - “Think About Me”
07. Marianne Faithfull - “Angel”
08. Lykke Li - “Silver Springs”
09. Karen Elson - “Gold Dust Woman”
10. Matt Sweeney & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - “Storms”
11. Washed Out - “Straight Back”
12. Tame Impala - “That’s All For Everyone”
13. Craig Wedren (ft. St. Vincent) - “Sisters of the Moon”
14. The Kills - “Dreams”
15. Gardens & Villa - “Gypsy”
16. The Crystal Ark - “Tusk”
17. MGMT - “Future Games”
• Fleetwood Mac: http://www.fleetwoodmac.com
• Hear Music/Concord: http://www2.concordmusicgroup.com/labels/hear-music
