When you think of Fleetwood Mac, what’s the first musical moment you go to? For some it’s that infectious topline (or the twinkling intro) of Everywhere, for others it’s Stevie Nicks’ vocal on Rhiannon. But there’s one that we’d wager the majority of people would immediately point at. A heart-stopping bass riff that still has the power to electrify listeners decades on.
The Song: Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
The Magic Moment: 03:04 - John McVie’s sublime bassline
The Origin
The Chain was written during the sessions for Fleetwood Mac's 1977 masterpiece, Rumours. The foundations of it were being worked on in the studio early in the sessions, in 1976.
The band - then consisting of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie - developed what would become The Chain from an enmeshed array of solo material and fresh musical ideas.
It grew from a Christine McVie song, originally dubbed Butter Cookie (Keep Me There). As the band cycled through various arrangement strategies, with little success, Mac's bassist, John McVie, suddenly carved out an insistent and cycling bass riff.
That riff stopped the members in their tracks - as it would countless listeners in decades to come.
Suddenly a new way forward for the track became clear.
Or rather, a way backwards; “They ran through it one day and John McVie did that incredible bassline - just like that it just came to him,” co-producer Ken Caillat told us in 2012. “What a part! Next, the band began playing the tag at the end, that big rocking section. Amazing. Then, out of nowhere, Lindsey played a screaming guitar solo. Really exciting stuff.”
The E minor-keyed riff, became the song’s nucleus, yet the band knew that the journey to reach this heart-stopping summit had to be earned.
A whole new initial section had to be created at the front of the track, before the instrumentalists could have their rock-out section, driven by this impervious bass part.
This introductory section was marked out -in reverse - by the rigid 4/4 beat of Fleetwood’s bass drum.
This new first half of the song melded a re-arranged acoustic guitar picking framework from the track Lola (My Love) (a track which originated from 1973’s Buckingham Nicks album), with fresh (and emotionally charged) lyrics supplied by Stevie Nicks.
“The Chain basically came out of a jam,” Mick Fleetwood recalled. “It was put together, as distinct from someone literally sitting down and writing a song. It was very much collectively a band composition.”
And thus, the whole band contributed to make these distinct sections marry together, with divine three-part harmony vocals locking tightly within this verse section.
Despite being the first track worked on for the album, The Chain was the last to be completed, as Ken Caillat told us, “three weeks before we wrapped the album, Lindsey figured out how to connect everything. He took the verses apart, played a Dobro [resonator guitar] and asked Mick to play a straight quarter-note beat on the kick. Next, Lindsey rewrote the chorus and put a whole new rhythm to it. Everything clicked.”
Why It's Brilliant
Firstly, it's the tone. McVie’s bassline - recorded using a 1976 Alembic Series 1 fretless bass - lands with such an immense effect.
It's wiry yet thunderous at the same time, perhaps down to the choice to string the bass with flatwound strings, but play it with a plectrum.
But it’s really more than just the tone. The fact this inspired piece of music ended up shaping the creation of one of Fleetwood Mac’s most beloved songbook entries gives it a power all of its own.
Though the song has been structured around setting it up - it still arrives like a fracture through the first half’s more folkier, wistful leaning.
It grabs the track, and hurls it into its glorious, faster-paced rock-out section, with Buckingham’s searing lead parts vying for attention. It sets the pace for The Chain's galloping conclusion.
It’s also the sound of spontaneous invention - and a distilled example of a musician at the top of his game.
The Chain is also one of the few songs which credits the whole band as songwriters - all of whom contributed to the developing arrangement.
It has of course, subsequently become a popular culture reference point (not least for its use as the BBC’s Formula 1 music), and one of the most recognisable riffs of all time.
We’d argue it’s the Fleetwood Mac magic musical moment.
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