Currently on another reunion tour through America, the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup of Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsay Buckingham, and John McVie have released their first new studio material in over a decade.
The perfunctory titled Extended Play, currently available exclusively through iTunes, contains four brand news songs and is Fleetwood Mac’s first new release since their 17th studio album, 2003’s Say You Will. ‘Sad Angel’, ‘It Takes Time’, and ‘Miss Fantasy’ are all credited as being written by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, while ‘Without You’ is a revamped version of a track originally belonging to Stevie Nicks and Buckingham’s early 70s catalogue.
The reworked vintage tune has been a regular on the band’s current reunion tour, along with new track and Extended Play opener ‘Sad Angel’, both of which harken back to the band’s 80s output, closer in tone and style to 1982’s Mirage and 1987’s Tango In the Night than the band’s popular Rumours-era output.
The EP release also follows after Buckingham announced onstage at the band’s performance in Philadelphia last Saturday that fans could expect brand new material “in a few days,” reports Rolling Stone. “It’s the best stuff we’ve done in a long time,” Buckingham announced during the introduction to ‘Sad Angel’ (watch some tasty fan footage here). “It’s the best stuff we’ve done in a long time.” – Lindsey Buckingham
The band’s current North American tour came after months of on-off speculation from the popular West Coast pop/rock legends, before eventually confirming last July that 2013 would see the band getting back together for another reunion tour with ‘everyone on board, following the completion of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham’s respective solo tours.
Of particular excitement to Australian fans was last December’s news that the wheels set in motion for Fleetwood Mac’s latest global trot would be greased to head Down Under. Stevie Nicks revealed in an interview that: ”If everything goes well we’ll be in Europe doing festivals this summer. Then we’ll actually tour Europe, which is different than just doing festivals. Then we might do fifteen or so shows in Australia.”
A return to Australia would mark the band’s first visit down under in nearly half a decade, featuring the same classic four-piece lineup as their 2009 Unleashed Tour in Nicks, Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie (with his wife and fifth member Christine McVie retiring from band duties in 1998). “It’s the perfect time to go back out,” said Nicks. “2013 is going to be the year of Fleetwood Mac.”
Even with the release of the new four-track EP, Buckingham has noted that there’s still a focus on the band’s extensive catalogue of hits. ”We always have to play ‘Dreams,’ ‘Rhiannon,’ ‘Don’t Stop,’ ‘Tusk,’ ‘Big Love,’ ‘Landslide’ and all our most famous songs,” he told Rolling Stone at the end of last year.
“When you’ve gone through all your must-do’s, that’s 75% of your potential setlist. I think with the other 25%, there are areas of our catalog that are more under-explored,” continued the guitarist.
The news of “fifteen or so” dates in Australia is encouraging news considering comments made by Mick Fleetwood earlier in the year, concerned that the moment for the band had passed. “I don’t believe Fleetwood Mac will ever tour again, but I really hope we do,” he told Playboy in March, noting that it was Nicks’ extensive solo tour that was holding them back.
Luckily, Nicks didn’t go her own way for too long, leaving the schedule open for Fleetwood Mac’s 2013 world tour – and though there are no further dates or details at this stage, Tone Deaf will be sure to announce the news as it emerges.
The artwork and tracklisting for Extended Play – available now on iTunes – is below, along with brand new single ‘Sad Angel’.
Tracklisting:
1. Sad Angel
2. Without You
3. Miss Fantasy
4. It Takes Time
Fleetwood Mac 2013 USA Tour Dates
04-08 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
04-09 Washington, DC – Verizon Center
04-11 Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
04-13 Chicago, IL – United Center
04-16 Toronto, Ontario – The Air Canada Centre
04-18 Boston, MA – TD Garden
04-20 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
04-23 Ottawa, Ontario – Scotiabank Place
04-24 Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
04-26 Pittsburgh, PA – CONSOL Energy Center
04-28 St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
04-30 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
05-01 Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
05-03 Little Rock, AR – Verizon Arena
05-12 Winnipeg, Manitoba – MTS Centre
05-14 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Credit Union Centre
05-15 Edmonton, Alberta Rexall Place
05-17 Calgary, Alberta – Scotiabank Saddledome
05-19 Vancouver, British Columbia – Rogers Arena
05-20 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
05-22 San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion
05-25 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
05-26 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Arena
05-28 Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
05-30 Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
06-01 Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
06-04 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
06-05 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
06-07 Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum
06-08 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
06-10 Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
06-12 Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
06-14 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
06-15 Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
06-18 Montreal, Quebec – Bell Center
06-19 Albany, NY – Times Union Center Arena
06-21 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
06-22 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
06-24 Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
06-26 Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Center
06-29 Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena
06-30 Portland, OR – Rose Garden Arena
07-03 Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
07-05 San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
07-06 Sacramento, – CA Sleep Train Arena
