Greatest Hits is a
greatest hits album by British-American
rock band
Fleetwood Mac, released on 21 November 1988 by
Warner Bros. Records.[3] It covers the period of the band's greatest commercial success, from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s.
It is different from the similarly titled
1971 release by the
Peter Green incarnation of the band and contains a different track listing. The 1988 album draws only on recordings from after
Stevie Nicks and
Lindsey Buckingham joined the group in 1975, omitting earlier hits such as "
Albatross" and "
Oh Well".
The album has proven to be a major success since the time of its release. It peaked at number 14 on the US
Billboard 200[4] and sold steadily over the years since its release, and has to date been certified 8× platinum for shipping eight million copies there. In the United Kingdom, it reached number three upon release and has returned several times to the UK album chart[5] and has been certified triple platinum for shipping 900,000 copies there.
Background
The album contains two new tracks, "
As Long as You Follow" (which was released as a
single to promote the album), and "
No Questions Asked". The track listing for the US release differs slightly from that of other territories. It includes the 1975 track "
Over My Head" but omits the 1987 track "
Seven Wonders" (despite it being a
top 20 hit in the US) as well as the 1982 track "
Oh Diane" (which failed to chart there in 1983, but was a top-ten hit in the UK).
Rick Vito, who was one of the two guitarists to replace
Lindsey Buckingham, described the compilation album as "a presentation of the new band" and "the ushering in of a new era".[6]
A number of sources state that this album was the last to be commercially released as an
8-track tape by a major label.[7]
"As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked" were new tracks at the time of the album's release. The former was released as a single to promote the album in December 1988, peaking at No. 66 in the UK and No. 43 in the US. "Hold Me" was also re-released in the UK with "No Questions Asked" as its B-side in February 1989.
"You Make Loving Fun", "Big Love", "Oh Diane" and "Seven Wonders" are not included on the UK vinyl version, but are included on the cassette and CD formats. The LP contained 13 tracks.
Personnel
Fleetwood Mac
Lindsey Buckingham – lead and backing vocals, guitars, additional keyboards, percussion (except "As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked"), banjo ("Say You Love Me")
Stevie Nicks – lead and backing vocals, additional keyboards ("Sara")
Billy Burnette – rhythm guitar, backing vocals ("As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked")
Rick Vito – lead guitar, backing vocals ("As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked")
Christine McVie – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizer
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 6 July 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Fleetwood Mac" in the "Artista" field, type "Greatest Hits" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
^"The Music Australia Loved". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link)