Christine McVie: Songbird (A Solo Collection) (Vinyl)

Christine McVie was not only the songwriter and vocalist on some of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits (“Don’t Stop,” “Everywhere” and “Little Lies”), but also released some stunning solo albums during her Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame career. Rhino puts those recordings front and center on the first-ever compilation highlighting McVie as a solo artist.

The compilation features songs remastered by legendary producer Glyn Johns. He worked closely with McVie on the project. “SONGBIRD” includes a selection of songs from two of her solo albums – 1984’s “Christine McVie” and 2004’s “In The Meantime” – as well as two previously unreleased studio recordings, including “Slowdown,” originally written for the 1985 film “American Flyers.”

McVie says of “Slowdown,” “I was asked to write a song for a movie about a cycling competition. So I thought we’d give it a try. That’s why the lyrics are a mix of love song and cycling. It turned out really well, but they didn’t use the song in the end. We thought that was a shame and a waste, so now it’s here.”

Another song that was never released is “All You Gotta Do” – a duet Christine recorded with George Hawkins while working on the album “In The Meantime.” The track was never finished and Johns added Ricky Peterson on Hammond organ and Ethan Johns on drums and guitar.

Another unreleased song is a new orchestral version of “Songbird” from the Fleetwood Mac album Rumors. The song has become one of McVie’s signature songs. The new version combines McVie’s iconic vocals from the original recording with a beautiful new string arrangement by six Grammy award-winning composer and arranger Vince Mendoza.

“SONGBIRD” goes back to 1984 for a selection of tracks by Christine McVie, on which she is accompanied by several legendary musicians. “The Challenge” features backing vocals from her Fleetwood Mac bandmate Lindsey Buckingham, as well as Eric Clapton on lead guitar. “Ask Anybody” is a song McVie co-wrote with Steve Winwood, who contributed backing vocals and piano.

The bulk of “SONGBIRD” comes from the album “In The Meantime,” released in 2004. Highlights include the Top 40 hit “Friend” and “Sweet Revenge,” one of several songs on the record that McVie co-wrote with her nephew Dan Perfect, who also helped produce the album.

For the liner notes that accompany “SONGBIRD,” McVie had a conversation with acclaimed English radio DJ and broadcaster Johnnie Walker, in which they talked about each song from the collection.


Tracklist:


1. Friend
2. Sweet Revenge
3. The Challenge
4. Northern Star
5. Ask Anybody
6. Slowdown
7. Easy Come, Easy Go
8. Giving It Back
9. All You Gotta Do
10. Songbird – Orchestral Version