Mystery to Me 50th Anniversary
 

If the release date on Wikipedia is correct, today is the 50th anniversary of Mystery to Me. Both fans and band members generally regard this as one of the best pre-Buckingham/Nicks albums, and I certainly agree with that sentiment.

• "Emerald Eyes" is a sublime opener and one of the few Fleetwood Mac songs that utilizes an odd time signature (6/4).
• "Believe Me" features incredibly melodic bass playing from John McVie. The bass guitar essentially serves as another lead instrument.
• "Just Crazy Love" was dusted off for McVie's 1984 tour and it was a welcome addition to the set.
• "Hypnotized" was one of the few pre-Buckingham/Nicks songs to receive any airplay in the United States and features an airtight drum groove from Fleetwood.
• "Forever" could be the first time that Fleetwood Mac ever used a drum machine, and they wouldn't do so again until Tango in the Night.
• "Keep on Going's" string arrangement is innovative and adds an interesting dimension to the song.
• "The City" is a psychedelic rocker and arguably the heaviest song on the album.
• "Miles Away" is yet another song with a strong bassline from John McVie.
• "Somebody" is a fun track that makes use of a jawbone/vibraslap.
• "The Way I Feel" is an understated ballad
• "For Your Love" is a wonderful cover that I prefer to the original
• "Why" is one of the strongest songs on the album. I listened to it extensively after the passing of Christine McVie.

This is what Mick told about MTM in his first book:

Mystery to Me was probably the best Fleetwood Mac album since Peter Green had left the band three years earlier, and was also the biggest hit we had in the early 1970s. Bob Welch wrote most of the record, including the album's best-known song.

" 'Hypnotized' was originally written for Dave Walker as a 6/8 blues screamer," Bob says. "After Walker was fired I rewrote the piece in Christine's kitchen so I could sing it instead. At the time I was very influenced by the books I was reading, like Carlos Castaneda and material on the Bermuda Triangle that whole area where the paranormal intrudes upon reality. The other influence on that song was the general atmosphere at Benifold, which was rather spooky and strange, even in the summertime. There was an odd, ethereal mood around those grounds all the time, and a feeling that anything could happen. I was reading about, as the Iyric says, 'a place down in Mexico where man can fly over mountains and hills,' and one night I had a vivid dream that a UFO piloted by a Navajo shaman landed on our overgrown grass tennis court one moonlit night. That was the feeling that went into 'Hypnotized.' Chris helped a lot with the new tempo and the mood. I remember listening to the playback with her. She looked at me and said, 'It gives me the willies, Bob.' I felt the same way, even after a hundred playbacks."

Bob wrote most of the album, whose title comes from a phrase in his song "Emerald Eyes." He also authored "In the City," "Somebody," a great tune called "Miles Away," and "Keep On Going," which Chris sang. We had another track as well, "Good Things," but it was dropped for a version of the Yardbirds' "For Your Love" at Bob Weston's suggestion. We were very laissezfaire in those days, and said what the hell.

I wonder if “Just Crazy Love” was about her fling with Martin Birch?

You've got a sweet, sweet way
You know you'll always be the only one

It’s very similar to the sentiment on “You Make Loving Fun” about her fling with Curry Grant.

You, you make loving fun
And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one

possibly. although i think sometimes she just needed a word that rhymed.

i do think her affairs helped give her a sunnier outlook after a particularly bad run w john. but she always went back to him... in some way, at some point.

damn alcohol really did a number on them.

-Lis

I've always wondered. Is there a 2/4 bar before the first verse?

as in... 1..2. then 4/4 at the start of the lyric, "Emerald Eyes...."

6/4 INTRO OF COURSE

To my understanding, the intro and verses alternate between a bar of 6/4 and a bar of 4/4 (so you could alternatively classify it as 10/4 time). The chorus is entirely in 4/4.

Ok!! 10/4 did make sense to me. Now, you're gonna make me go and count it. :laugh:

Brilliant album
Thanks for remembering
Thanks for posting

Its the 50th anniversary of the Excorcist release too

Mystery to Me is still one of my all time favorite Fleetwood Mac albums.I always preferred the Bob Welsh years with and without Danny Kirwan over the Peter Green/Jeremy Spencer years.

I too always preferred the WelCh years over the Green years. It's just more my type of music.

LOL! Like Mick understands time signatures. :laugh:

I Sing for the Flings

Oh no you didn't!


John probably had troubles performing, other than on bass. Is "whiskey bass" a thing? ;)

Flingwood Mac???

Indeed.....poor Chris did say by 1974 their marriage was pretty much kaput...' we were still living together, but no......because of ( mimes drinking).'


I'm sure John appreciated her sharing that bit of info...! But she obviously remembered...


-Lis

I think you just say... 3.. 4..or 5 with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4PNme7vpCY

I love this guy's reaction to hearing Hypnotized for the first time.

"all right welcome back to another video everybody tonight we are diving into one of my favorite bands however I only know like 10 songs from them and that's all I listen to but the band is Fleetwood Mac"

There's a nice bit of sweet ignorance there!


"just like foreplay for your ears"

"you're on the brink of like eargasm material right now this is I love it"

Ah, youth of today. I so hope that there's a major film or TV series out there that's going to use Hypnotized and bring Bob's legacy to a whole new audience. Wouldn't that be great? Another Running up that Hill moment..

Ahhhhh what a great album it is...It's a very nice time to hear it, as I discovered it one day in an old october...
Emerald Eyes is definitely a great beginning. I love it, I love the vocals, the lyrics, everything.
Forever is the song everybody dislikes, so I LOVE it. It's funny, is happy...It's a good tune! I like the drums, an unusual sound for those times I guess...
Why is the song everybody loves...So I dislike it :D I can't find the maginc of other Chris' songs. Sorry.

I think there's an album divided in two. Until Forever, and then until Why. After a very happy song, the rest is different than the songs from the first part. The City, Miles Away, they sound more rock than other songs there!

It was the last of the 1970-74 albums I bought. Not sure why I waited, especially since I was familiar with Hypnotized from the Bob Welch and friends, which I saw on MTV in 1982. I also knew it would be a Welch-dominated album, which caused me some dread. (I initially thought Heroes was too murky and weird.)

But when I listened to it, I was amazed at how bright, warm, and accessible it was. I didn’t dig the engineering (music too close to the speakers, not enough reverb)—a disappointing contrast to the sound of Penguin. But the actual songs and arrangements were really good. My favorites emerged almost instantly: Emerald Eyes, Hypnotized, Keep On Going, Miles Away, and Why. I still feel this way.