Top 10 Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac Songs

Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac Songs

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Our Top 10 Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac Songs looks at the time period between September 1971 and September 1974 when Bob Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac. During his years with Fleetwood Mac, Bob Welch recorded five albums with the group. These included Future Games (1972), Bare Trees (1973), Penguin  (1973), Mystery to Me (1974), and Heroes Are Hard to Find (1974). These were the years between the original Fleetwood Mac blues years and the mega-selling Nicks Buckingham years. It’s a period that is often overlooked in the band’s history. That’s a shame because the albums that Welch released with Fleetwood Mac are simply stunning. Here are 10 of our favorites from those early 1970s years.

Top 10 Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac Songs

#10 – Good Things (Come to Those Who Wait)

Originally, “Good Things (Come to Those Who Wait)” was supposed to be featured on the album Mystery to Me in 1973. This 1965 original from The Yardbirds was a song Bob Welch covered as Fleetwood Mac’s lead vocalist. It wouldn’t be until a remastered version of Mystery to Me would include Bob Welch’s song. This didn’t come about until 2020, eight years after his death. An altered version of this song was performed by Welch when he became a solo artist. As “Don’t Wait Too Long” this song was featured on his 1979 album, Three Hearts. After years of being shelved since its 1973 live performance, “Good Things” finally found its way on an album as a recording. The compilation album Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1974 would finally end the wait as fans wanted to hear this song from Bob Welch in its original format.

#9 – Bermuda Triangle

“Bermuda Triangle” was one of the final songs Bob Welch performed while he still sang as Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer. He was the band’s sole guitarist when they recorded Heroes Are Hard to Find in 1974. Of all the songs on the album, “Bermuda Triangle” was the most successful, and for good reason; like “Hypnotized,” the musical narrative took on a mystical yacht-like approach that significantly influenced the songs that took mainstream radio stations by storm. Welch was a big fan of the occult and the paranormal at the time. Putting together a song about the infamous body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami, and San Juan was just too irresistible for Welch to pass up. With his jazzy influence as a guitarist and singer, this song added depth to an album that saw Fleetwood Mac undergoing their own version of a “Bermuda Triangle” themselves.

#8 – Future Games

With Bob Welch in the Fleetwood Mac lineup at the same time as Danny Kirwan, he often dueled with his bandmate as a guitarist. This was evident in “Future Games” as he and Kirwan seemed to chase each other in about eight minutes of jazzy rock. In the meantime, Welch performed as the group’s lead vocalist in a song that proved his value as a singer-songwriter. This also became one of Welch’s signature songs and was recorded on his 1979 solo album, The Other One. This happened again in 2003 with His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond. The original “Future Games” was featured in the 2000 Kate Hudson comedy Almost Famous. Recorded and released as the title track to Future Games, it marked the debut of Welch as a newcomer to a lineup that was on the verge of realizing superstardom.

# 7 – The City

“The City” came about after Bob Welch and Fleetwood Mac found New York City too busy for their liking. There wasn’t anything political about it, but it did point out there was something spiritually wrong about the place they could feel. This came when Welch and his bandmates were going through a transition that wasn’t easy. As a songwriter, Welch was deeply sensitive to so many issues that were going around him. New York City has always been a busy place.

For people who prefer a calmer environment, that’s not the city to go to. Welch realized this while there; he was also into the paranormal then. If you want a city loaded with an occult-like vibe, New York has abundant it. Welch could feel that which was loud and clear in his lyrics. He knew there was more to the place than its cityscape. Was it as evil as his song seemed to suggest? In truth, demographics don’t dictate this. It’s the manipulation of the human psyche that does.

# 6 – Revelation

Bob Welch’s “Revelation” while singing as lead singer for Fleetwood Mac lyrically discussed God and his power. This song came from Penguin, a 1973 release with Bob Welch seemingly caught in a spiritual transition. He and his Fleetwood Mac bandmates were indeed going through some changes. This applied to their personal lives as well as musical direction as artists. Lineup changes played a factor, as well as how the music industry was reacting to the trends that were going on at the time. Like Welch, Fleetwood Mac was caught in the middle in an attempt to cope with all the changes that were taking place in what sometimes felt like the world grew too cold for comfort.

# 5 – Night Watch

“Night Watch” was a Bob Welch song on Penguin’s tracklist, released in 1973. Welch wrote this Fleetwood Mac gem of a tune when he and the group were experiencing a psychedelic phase in their career. Welch was a fan of the supernatural, which is evident in the lyrics referencing magic shadows. Speaking as a fan, it seemed as if the dark realm of depression played a factor in a song that suggested a man was trying to scratch his way out of a situation that felt too lonely for comfort.

# 4 – Bright Fire

Mystery to Me was a 1973 work of art demonstrating how well Fleetwood Mac could play even without Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and star guitarist Danny Kirwan. “Bright Fire” was one of the highlights of the album’s tracklist as a Welch-era favorite. The beauty behind “Bright Fire” was the refusal to let evil get in the way of sound in a world that continually sends out mixed messages. This song of encouragement, sung by Bob Welch, struck a powerful chord among fans.

# 3 – Emerald Eyes

Bob Welch had a knack for progressive rock. He also had a niche for ballads, as he performed as if a man’s heart was genuinely sympathetic. “Emerald Eyes” brought out the best in Welch as a singer as one of the highlight songs from the 1973 album Mystery to Me. Regarded as heavenly and sinister at the same time, Welch’s combined performance as vocalist and guitarist made this song a true gem.

The title was part of a line from another song featured on the album, “Mystery to Me.” When factoring “Emerald Eyes” as a tune that gives way to “Believe Me,” the match-up between these two songs shows Welch’s progressive songwriter style. “Emerald Eyes” was about a woman Welch regarded as a source of serenity. If you’re looking for a great song to address that special lady in your life with appreciation, this would be it.

# 2 – Hypnotized

“Hypnotized” was a single recorded and released by Fleetwood Mac in 1973. Bob Welch sang as lead vocalist to one of the group’s most popular songs. It came from Fleetwood Mac’s eighth studio album, Mystery to Me. The song felt hypnotic as Mick Fleetwood’s metronomic drumming complimented Welch’s vocal performance well enough to make it a fan favorite. Even after Welch left the group, the fans loved the song so much that his replacement, Lindsey Buckingham, performed it often in concert.

“Hypnotized” became a timeless classic that still receives airtime on radio stations today. Initially, this was released on the B-side of a record with “For Your Love” released as a single. While Welch’s cover of “For Your Love” was great, ” Hypnotized ” won over the fans. This jazzy number included an excellent guitar solo performed by Bob Weston while he was part of the Fleetwood Mac lineup. According to Welch, the inspiration behind the song came from a spooky summer experience at the Benifold Mansion in Hampshire, England.

# 1 – Sentimental Lady

In 1972, “Sentimental Lady” was a song performed by Bob Welch while he was a lead singer for Fleetwood Mac. From the album Bare Trees, this became Welch’s signature song. When he parted ways with Fleetwood Mac to embark on a solo career, he re-recorded it for his own album, French Kiss. Even though he was no longer technically with Fleetwood Mac as a regular band member, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie worked with him to produce this album in 1977.

“Sentimental Lady” came to Welch while he was staying in New York City, using his experience with his first wife as a source of inspiration to write out the lyrics. The Fleetwood Mac version featured Christine McVie as the backing vocals as Welch sang the lead. She’d do this again, along with Lindsey Buckingham, in the 1977 recording. Also, like the 1972 original, Mick Fleetwood’s drum talent was performed in Welch’s 1977 solo.

What Welch accomplished with “Sentimental Lady’ was edging Fleetwood Mac closer to a softer style of music. This was a commercially favorable move in the eyes of the music industry as Welch’s vocal talent was smooth enough to win over an audience. This ballad glorified the best qualities of a woman who kept her heart on her sleeve, a trait Welch admired as he performed this song. While Fleetwood Mac’s version of this song didn’t become an official hit on the charts, Welch’s solo version did. It was a number eight hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and a number ten hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It was even more popular in Canada as it peaked as high as number three on its RPM Singles Chart and number four on its Adult Contemporary chart.

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