Christine McVie

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
"Sea Foam" Green LP: Rhino.com

Christine McVie releases her first-ever solo compendium.  Songbird (A Solo Collection), available in CD, 180-gram vinyl, and digitally, is a lean 10-track anthology remastered by producer Glyn Johns who worked in tandem with McVie on the release.  Songbird is mainly drawn from 2004's In the Meantime with two selections from 1984's Christine McVie: "The Challenge," featuring background vocals by Lindsey Buckingham and lead guitar by Eric Clapton; and "Ask Anybody," co-written by McVie and Steve Winwood, who sings backgrounds and plays piano.  (No material has been culled from her 1970 debut Christine Perfect.)  While Christine McVie's chart-topping hit "Got a Hold on Me" (No. 1 AC/No. 1 Rock/No. 10 Pop) is curiously absent along with its moderately successful follow-up "Love Will Show Us How" (No. 32 AC/No. 24 Rock/No. 30 Pop), the collection includes the top 40 AC hit "Friend" from In the Meantime.  It also premieres two previously unreleased songs.  "Slowdown," originally written for director John Badham's 1985 film American Flyers, is now available on digital/streaming services.  "All You Gotta Do" was recorded for In the Meantime with late bassist George Hawkins.  It was unfinished at the time, but Ricky Peterson (Hammond organ) and Ethan Johns (drums and guitar) have fleshed out the track. The set concludes with a new, previously unreleased Orchestral Version of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird," melding McVie's original vocal for the Rumours track with a new orchestral arrangement by Vince Mendoza (Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell).