Never Get Away from the Sound: Fleetwood Mac Expands Quintet-Era ‘Greatest Hits’ Set

Rhino is revisiting the first compilation of Fleetwood Mac’s “classic” quintet era – a push, it appears, ahead of a long-awaited, as-yet unreleased documentary on the band.
1988’s Greatest Hits will be reissued on July 31 in a new double-disc edition on CD and vinyl. In addition to the plethora of smash hits like “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” “Tusk,” “Gypsy,” “Little Lies” and “Everywhere” – as well as the then-new tracks “As Long As You Follow” and “No Questions Asked” – the set now includes a bonus disc of 10 songs from the same era/line-up; three were on certain CD pressings of the original set, and the rest include “Landslide,” “The Chain” and the sole chronological outlier, the live version of “Silver Springs” from 1997 live album The Dance.
In just over a decade between 1975 and 1987, Fleetwood Mac radically reinvented themselves from cult-favorite U.K. blues band to world-conquering pop/rock act. Band c0-founders Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass) and John’s then-wife Christine McVie (keyboards/vocals) joined up with singer/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks, adding up to three talented singer/songwriters with a tremendous instrumental interplay. Of course, most know that after the relative success of the band’s 1975 self-titled album, the band endured incredible personal strife – namely the breakups of Fleetwood’s and the McVies’ marriage and Buckingham and Nicks’ relationship – and created 1977’s Rumours, packed with four U.S. Top 10 hits and seller of tens of millions of copies. The band reconvened several times in the late ’70s and ’80s, even as Buckingham’s, Nicks’ and Christine McVie’s solo careers started to take off; the chapter closed when Buckingham departed the group after the release of 1987’s Tango in the Night. (The group soldiered on in various line-ups – the two new tracks here feature Fleetwood, the McVies, Nicks and guitarists Rick Vito (lead) and Billy Burnette (rhythm) – but the quintet reconvened for tours in 1997-1998 and 2014-2018.)
Despite being inactive for nearly four years – Buckingham was ousted again in 2018 (replaced by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn), and Christine McVie died in 2022 – it’s strangely as if Fleetwood Mac never left. Rumours has rarely left the Billboard 200 in recent months; as of this writing, it’s spending its 688th total week on that chart at No. 23. “Dreams” went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic after TikTok creator Nathan Apodaca filmed himself skateboarding to work while lip synching the song and swigging a bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice. The performance of “Silver Springs” from The Dance routinely goes viral thanks to Nicks’ thunderous presence in the live video, singing the song of wounded rejection directly to the ex-partner who inspired its writing. The duo’s long out-of-print Buckingham Nicks, which got them on Fleetwood Mac’s radar, was reissued last year (making its CD debut) and sold exponentially more than it ever did on first release – just missing the Top 10 in America. (Buckingham even hinted that more ice had thawed between the oft-estranged duo than fans might assume.)
All of this – and the reissue of Greatest Hits – all seems to gear up for the eventual release of an authorized documentary including participation from those five classic members. The feature, made in partnership with Apple and directed by Frank Marshall, will more than likely premiere next year, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Rumours. In the meantime, Greatest Hits is back out in expanded form on July 31 and can be pre-ordered below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition) (Warner/Rhino, 2026)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com (clear vinyl)
CD/LP 1: Original compilation (released as Warner Bros. 25801, 1988)
- Rhiannon
- Don’t Stop
- Go Your Own Way
- Hold Me
- Everywhere
- Gypsy
- As Long As You Follow
- Say You Love Me
- Dreams
- Little Lies
- Sara
- Tusk
- No Questions Asked
CD/LP 2: Additional tracks 1975-1997
- Landslide
- Big Love
- Over My Head
- Oh Diane
- You Make Loving Fun
- The Chain
- Think About Me
- Seven Wonders
- Never Going Back Again
- Silver Springs (Live @ Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, CA – 5/23/1997)
Disc 1, Tracks 1 and 8 and Disc 2, Tracks 1 and 3 from Fleetwood Mac – Reprise MS 2225, 1975
Disc 1, Tracks 2-3 and 9 and Disc 2, Tracks 5-6 and 9 from Rumours – Warner Bros. BSK 3010, 1977
Disc 1, Tracks 4 and 6 and Disc 2, Track 4 from Mirage – Warner Bros. 23607, 1982
Disc 1, Tracks 5 and 10 and Disc 2, Tracks 2 and 8 from Tango in the Night – Warner Bros. 25471, 1987
Disc 1, Tracks 7 and 13 exclusive to this compilation
Disc 1, Tracks 11-12 and Disc 2, Track 7 from Tusk – Warner Bros. 2HS 3350, 1979
Disc 2, Track 10 from The Dance – Reprise 46702, 1997. Original studio version from “Go Your Own Way” single – Warner Bros. WBS 8304, 1977







…..do WONDER at WHAT point though at least the BETTER-known Bob Welsh-era songs, will be INCLUDED as part of any subsequent collections – don’t believe either “Hypnotized” NOR “Sentimental Lady” – to say NOTHING of “Silver Heels”, have ever appeared on ANY compilation albums to date…..that this VITAL band member who arguably KEPT them ‘BREATHING’ as a band – until Stevie & Lindsey arrived, WASN’T part of their HOF induction ceremony is truly VILE.
I know that you promote ‘new’ releases here but when the reasoning is ‘Value for Money’ i would recommend the 2cd-version of ‘The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac’ from 2002 which focuses on the same 5-piece line-up but has 36 songs on it and should include everything that casual listeners already know and some more.
I’m not sure if it is currently still in print but it should also be widely available via resellers usually for less than a tenner.
Well…I won’t use the overused term “cash grab,” as I suppose any record company will try to maximize their profits any way they can. Especially from a now defunct band. That’s their right. But with all of the Mac compilations already out there, this “expansion” seems pretty pointless. Fleetwood Mac’s devoted fan base (of which I’m a part) already has all of these tracks, probably many times over. And for those just getting into the group, or those who’d like a convenient package of their hits, other comps are available which include more songs per disc and thus, more bang for your bucks.
Aside from hoping they eventually release “Extended Play” on CD, I feel like I already have all there is to have from one of my favorite bands. ✌🏼