Future Games is the fifth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 3 September 1971. It was recorded in the summer of 1971 at Advision Studios in London[3] and was the first album to feature Christine McVie as a full member. This album was also the first of five albums to feature American guitarist Bob Welch. “He was totally different background – R&B, sort of jazzy. He brought his personality,” Mick Fleetwood said of Welch in a 1995 BBC interview. “He was a member of Fleetwood Mac before we'd even played a note.” [4]

Future Games
Studio album by Fleetwood Mac
Released	3 September 1971
Recorded	June–August 1971
Studio	Advision Studios, London, England
Genre	Folk rock pop
Length	42:22
Label	Reprise
Producer	Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Kiln House (1970) Future Games (1971) Bare Trees (1972)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[2]

The album peaked at number 91 on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 18 December 1971.[5] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2000.[6]

Background

Without the 1950s leanings of departed guitarist Jeremy Spencer, the band moved further away from blues and closer to the melodic pop sound that would finally break them into America four years later. After the band completed the album and turned it in, the record label said that it would not release an album with only seven songs, and demanded that they record an eighth. "What a Shame" was recorded hastily as a jam to fulfill this request.

Welch's primary guitar at the time was a Gibson ES-345, which he played on the record along with a Fender Stratocaster.[7]

Track notes

There is an early version of "Morning Rain" with the title "Start Again", as recorded in a BBC session on 5 January 1971.[8]

"What a Shame" featured saxophone from Christine McVie's brother John Perfect whose son Dan later co-produced and featured as guitarist/co-writer on McVie's 2004 album In the Meantime.

The title track, written by then-newcomer Bob Welch,[9] was later re-recorded for his 1979 solo album The Other One and again for His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond in 2003. The original version is featured in the 2000 movie Almost Famous.

A heavily edited version of "Sands of Time" (b/w "Lay It All Down") was an unsuccessful single in the United States and some other territories. An alternate version of "Lay It All Down" appeared on the 1992 compilation 25 Years – The Chain. The single edit of "Sands of Time" was released on the deluxe edition of the 50 Years – Don't Stop compilation in 2018 and later as a bonus track on the 2020 remastered reissue of Future Games. Also included on the remastered Future Games release were alternate mixes of "Sometimes" and "Show Me a Smile", an extended version of "Lay It All Down", the full jam of "What a Shame", plus an acoustic demo of another Welch song, "Stone".[10]

Artwork

Early UK and American releases of this album, along with some other country's issues, have a yellow background to the picture of the two children and cover text. All subsequent releases have a green background. The 2013 vinyl reissue by Warner/Rhino available in the Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1972 4-LP box set restores the original yellow background to the album artwork, and it was released as a standalone LP two years later.

Release and reception

Charts and commercial performance

Future Games debuted at number 186 on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 30 October 1971.[11] The album reached its peak at number 91 on the chart dated 18 December 1971, after being on the chart for eight weeks.[5] The album ultimately spent a total of 12 weeks on the chart.[12] On 4 October 2000, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[6]

Track listing

Note: The song timings listed here are not as indicated on all CDs, since some of the timings on some releases are inaccurate. On some versions of the album (depending on the country of issue), the notes state that the track "Woman of 1000 Years" runs for 8:20, when in fact it runs for 5:28. Similarly, "Morning Rain" is listed as 6:22 and runs for 5:38, while the track "Sometimes" is listed to run for 6:25 and only runs for 5:26.[13]

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

• Danny Kirwan – guitar, vocals
• Bob Welch – guitar, vocals
• Christine McVie – keyboards, vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• John Perfect – saxophone on "What a Shame"

Production

• Producer: Fleetwood Mac
• Engineer: Martin Rushent
• Studio: Advision
• Sleeve design: John Pasche
• Cover photo by Sally Jesse
• Group photos by Edmund Shea

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

На других языках

[it] Future Games (album)