Beyond Fleetwood Mac: Christine McVie’s Solo Work You’ve Probably Never Heard

Christine McVie was one of the most underrated members of Fleetwood Mac. Not only was she a talented musician, but she was also an experienced singer/songwriter with some significant solo work under her belt. If you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan but haven’t dipped into the individual members’ works outside of the band, you might not know about these four stunning Christine McVie solo and non-Mac songs. Let’s take a look at some tracks that we’d consider essential listening!

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1. “When The Train Comes Back”

McVie was amazing at crafting pop-friendly songs for Fleetwood Mac throughout the 1970s, but her work as part of Chicken Shack was also pretty stellar in the late 1960s. “When The Train Comes Back” is one incredible cover she did with the blues rock band.

Despite being so young, McVie’s vocals have a gritty, smoky sound to them that is just addicting to hear. It’s kind of surprising that her pre-Fleetwood Mac band didn’t get very popular.

2. “I’d Rather Go Blind”

“I’d Rather Go Blind” is another cover that McVie took on with Chicken Shack, which she later included on her debut solo album Christine Perfect in 1970. McVie really doesn’t get enough credit for how beautifully her voice fits with blues songs, particularly very soulful and sad songs like this Etta James classic.

3. “Got A Hold On Me”

This Christine McVie solo work comes from her second solo album and was released in 1984. It’s one of McVie’s most successful works outside of Fleetwood Mac. “Got A Hold On Me” climbed the Billboard charts and peaked at no. 10 on the Hot 100 upon its release.

It’s a sweet, happy little love song that technically features part of Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey Buckingham contributed a guitar track to the recorded version.

4. “Feel About You”

“Feel About You” came about in 2017 a few years after McVie decided to come out of retirement and get back together with Fleetwood Mac. This song is technically not a Fleetwood Mac song; it was a collaborative effort between McVie and Buckingham. In fact, the pair recorded an entire album together, and it’s quite an impressive late-career feat.

These two aren’t talked about much in the context of one another; both of them had their respective love affairs with other Fleetwood Mac members. Because of this, their chemistry with one another was often overlooked.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns

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