The Chain
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For other uses, see The Chain (disambiguation).
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| "The Chain" | |||||||||
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| Song by Fleetwood Mac from the album Rumours | |||||||||
| Released | February 4, 1977 | ||||||||
| Recorded | 1976 | ||||||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||||||
| Length | 4:28 | ||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||||||
| Writer | Lindsey Buckingham Mick Fleetwood Christine McVie John McVie Stevie Nicks |
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| Producer | Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat & Richard Dashut | ||||||||
| Rumours track listing | |||||||||
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"The Chain" is a song from Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album Rumours. "The Chain" is the only song credited to all five members of the Rumours-era lineup: Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks.
According to interviews on the writing of Rumours, the final section of "The Chain"—beginning with a bass progression—was created by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune. To complete the song, Lindsey Buckingham recycled the intro from an earlier song from his duo with Nicks, "Lola (My Love)", originally released on their self-titled 1973 album. Thanks to its use as a popular TV theme tune (for the BBC's Formula One coverage),[1] the ending bass line is highly recognisable, and although not released as a single, it does get air play.
The song itself has a basic rock structure, although it has two distinct portions: the main verse and chorus, and the outro. The song shows influences of hard rock, folk, and country. The song also uses a banjo to play the famous riff.[2][not in citation given]
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Personnel [edit]
- Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, banjo, vocals
- Stevie Nicks – vocals
- Christine McVie – keyboards, backing vocals
- John McVie – bass guitar
- Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Re-releases [edit]
- In 1992, Warner Bros released a 4-CD Fleetwood Mac retrospective boxed set titled 25 Years - The Chain.
- In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called The Dance, which featured the reunion of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
- In 2002, Warner Bros. released the 2-CD set The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, including "The Chain".
- On 29 March 2009, "The Chain" entered the UK Chart at #94 through downloads, following confirmation from the BBC that it would be used in the title sequence of their Formula One coverage, having regained broadcasting rights from ITV.
- On 20 March 2011, "The Chain" reached #81 in the UK chart due to a campaign on Facebook to try to get the song to number 1 for the start of the 2011 Formula One season.
Cover versions [edit]
- In 1993 The Hardcore (or Hardhouse) artist Maxman covered this song. It was released on White Label and later featured on the featured on the album Energy Rush 3.
- In 2004, Kentucky hard rock band Tantric covered this song on their second album After We Go. It was also released as one of their singles.
- In 2009, Three Days Grace originally recorded "The Chain" for their album Life Starts Now but was one of the few not put on the record. However, it was put on their Lost in You EP, and since September 22, 2009, they have been playing "The Chain" at their concerts throughout their tour. The band also performed it at IHeartRadio in December 2009.
- Shawn Colvin performed a cover of the song for Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.
- 1980s rock band Shark Island included a cover of "The Chain" on their 1989 album Law of the Order, notable for not including the famous bass solo in the song.
- Canadian heavy metal band Kick Axe performed a cover of "The Chain" on Rock the World, their third studio album, released in 1986.
- The hard rock band Taking Dawn performed a cover of "The Chain" on their 2010 debut album titled "Time to Burn (Taking Dawn album)". They regularly perform the song as part of their live sets.
- Country music band Little Big Town has performed a cover of "The Chain" at live concerts.
- Florence and the Machine performed a cover of "The Chain" at the Glastonbury Festival 2010. Introducing the performance, Florence Welch stated that it was a one-off and that they would never play it again.
- The band Puscifer (Maynard James Keenan) covered The Chain during their 2011 tour.
- In their stopover tour of Sydney and Melbourne in 2012 Mumford and Sons played the song alongside support acts Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Willy Mason to finish the show
Television [edit]
- The ending bass line and guitar solo of "The Chain" was used as the theme song for the BBC's Formula One coverage (the programme was called Grand Prix) from 1978 until the BBC's loss of TV rights to ITV Sport in 1997. ITV did not continue its use as the opening theme. However, "The Chain" returned in 2009 as the F1 theme song after the BBC regained the broadcasting rights to Formula One from ITV.[3] The full programme of Grand Prix was broadcast worldwide, and thus "The Chain" is associated with F1 not just in Britain but across the world.
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- The ending bass line was also featured in a British advertisement for the Fiat Supermirafiori in 1982, perhaps in recognition of the popularity of the song on BBC Sports programmes.[4]
- A cover of the song by the band Tantric was used as the theme song for the HBO Documentary series Family Bonds.[5]
Other uses [edit]
- This song was sampled by rap artists Bone Thugs-n-Harmony in the song "Wind Blow" off their album Strength and Loyalty, and rapper Project Pat used the bass line in the last section of the song on his song "Don't Save Her" off his album Mista Don't Play.
- "The Chain" is also sampled in Sway DaSafo's debut single titled "Up Your Speed".
- Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie have a feature on their BBC Radio show called The Chain which is a list of songs, each track having something in common with the one before it, beginning with "The Chain" and introduced each time with the bassline from the song.
- Hurt included a short reference to the song in their single "Ten Ton Brick" by including the lyrics "I could never break the chain" and a melody nearly identical to the original.
- A tune heavily based on the ending bass line (and BBC F1 theme) was used in the video game Formula One Grand Prix.
- Glee used "The Chain" as background music during their Fleetwood Mac themed episode "Rumours" in 2011
- Eddie Jordan played drums on 'The Chain' with his band "Eddie & The Robbers", live on the BBC's F1 forum after the 2012 British Grand Prix to a crowd of well over 200 people. It was part of the BBC's F1 after party for the fans.
References [edit]
- ^ "BBC Formula One coverage to bring back Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain'". Daily Telegraph. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ Garbarini, Vic (March 1998). "Interview with Lindsey Buckingham". Guitar World. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ "BBC unveils 2009 F1 coverage – and return of The Chain". crash.net. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ http://gramourshots.com/2008/12/28/timing-chain-keep-us-together/[dead link]
- ^ Zahlaway, Jon Tantric takes another swing on U.S. club circuit LiveDaily.com (August 26, 2004). Retrieved March 22, 2008.
External links [edit]
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