The Dance (Fleetwood Mac album)

The Dance
Live album by Fleetwood Mac
Released	August 19, 1997
Recorded	Warner Brothers Studios, Burbank, California; May 23, 1997
Genre	Rock
Length	79:11
Label	Reprise
Producer	Lindsey Buckingham and Elliot Scheiner
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Time (1995) The Dance (1997) The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002)

The Dance is a live performance by Fleetwood Mac, released on Cassette, CD and VHS in 1997, and later on DVD. It hailed the return of the band's most successful line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie and Stevie Nicks, who had not released an album together since 1987's Tango in the Night. It was the first Fleetwood Mac release to top the US album charts since 1982's Mirage. Debuting at #1 in the Billboard 200, The Dance became the fifth best-selling live album of all time in the United States, with over 5 million copies sold there.

The concert was recorded for Fleetwood Mac's MTV The Dance special at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California on May 23, 1997, and features the University of Southern California Marching Band who perform on the tracks "Tusk" (having played on the original studio recording) and "Don't Stop".

Although predominantly a live greatest hits package, The Dance also features new material written by each of the primary songwriting members of the band (two from Buckingham) as well as popular album tracks. For example, "Bleed to Love Her" was a previously unreleased track when this album was released, although the song was later recorded during the Say You Will sessions. No tracks from the Mirage album were included on the CD, although "Gypsy" is included in the video and DVD versions. However, "Gypsy" is available as a special edition single along with "Gold Dust Woman" on iTunes. "Little Lies", one of the band's biggest hits, is absent as well.

The album cover, taken by David LaChapelle, has Mick Fleetwood recreating his pose from the cover of Rumours, the band's most successful album and Lindsey Buckingham holding the cane used on the cover of the Fleetwood Mac album.

This album spawned two singles; "Landslide" and "Silver Springs".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated The Dance two-and-a-half out of five stars. In his review, he stated that "the new songs interrupt the flow" and, like the older songs, "aren't given the full-fledged production they deserve." However, he said that "that isn't enough to prevent [the album] from being an entertaining listen".

CD track listing

1. "The Chain" (Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks) – 5:11
2. "Dreams" (Nicks) – 4:39
3. "Everywhere" (C. McVie) – 3:28
4. "Rhiannon" (Nicks) – 6:48
5. "I'm So Afraid" (Buckingham) – 7:45
6. "Temporary One" (C. McVie, Quintela) – 4:00
7. "Bleed to Love Her" (Buckingham) – 3:27
8. "Big Love" (Buckingham) – 3:06
9. "Landslide" (Nicks) – 4:28
10. "Say You Love Me" (C. McVie) – 5:00
11. "My Little Demon" (Buckingham) – 3:33
12. "Silver Springs" (Nicks) – 5:41
13. "You Make Loving Fun" (C. McVie) – 3:50
14. "Sweet Girl" (Nicks) – 3:19
15. "Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham) – 5:00
16. "Tusk" (Buckingham) – 4:22
17. "Don't Stop" (C. McVie) – 5:31

Video track listing

The DVD video in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo

1. "The Chain" (Buckingham, Fleetwood, McVie, McVie, Nicks)
2. "Dreams" (Nicks)
3. "Everywhere" (McVie)
4. "Gold Dust Woman" (Nicks) *
5. "I'm So Afraid" (Buckingham)***
6. "Temporary One" (McVie, Quintela)
7. "Bleed to Love Her" (Buckingham)
8. "Gypsy" (Nicks) *
9. "Big Love" (Buckingham)
10. "Go Insane" (Buckingham) * **
11. "Landslide" (Nicks)
12. "Say You Love Me" (McVie)
13. "You Make Loving Fun" (McVie)
14. "My Little Demon" (Buckingham)
15. "Silver Springs" (Nicks)
16. "Over My Head" (McVie) *
17. "Rhiannon" (Nicks)
18. "Sweet Girl" (Nicks)
19. "Go Your Own Way" (Buckingham)
20. "Tusk" (Buckingham)
21. "Don't Stop" (McVie)
22. "Songbird" (McVie) *

* Exclusive to the VHS/DVD version

** "Go Insane" was later released on the 2CD USA version of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, along with this version of "Big Love"

*** "I'm So Afraid" was later released on the 2CD USA version of The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, although a shorter version.

Credits

Fleetwood Mac

• Stevie Nicks – vocals, tambourine
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, banjo on "Say You Love Me", vocals
• Christine McVie – keyboards, piano, vocals, accordion on "Tusk", tambourine on "Say You Love Me", maracas on "Everywhere"
• John McVie – bass, background vocals on "Say You Love Me"
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Brett Tuggle – keyboards, guitar, background vocals
• Neale Heywood – guitar, background vocals
• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Sharon Celani – background vocals
• Mindy Stein – background vocals
• U.S.C. Trojan Marching Band, Dr. Arthur C. Bartner – Director

CD production

• Producers: Lindsey Buckingham, Elliot Scheiner
• Engineers: Guy Charbonneau, Barry Goldberg, Elliot Scheiner
• Assistant Engineers: Charlie Bouis, John Nelson
• Mastering: Ted Jensen
• Mixing: Elliot Scheiner
• Technical assistance: Ted Barela, David Gallo, Eric Johnston
• Digital editing: Paul DeCarli, Scott Humphrey
• Photography: David LaChapelle, Neal Preston

Video production

• Producers: Lindsey Buckingham, Elliot Scheiner
• Director: Bruce Gower
• Photography: David LaChapelle, Neal Preston
• Recording: Barry Goldberg, Elliot Scheiner
• Mixing: Elliot Scheiner
• Director, USC Marching Band: Dr. Arthur C. Bartner

Charts

Album

Chart (1997)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	1
UK Albums Chart	15
Top Canadian Albums	19

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1997	"The Chain"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	30
1998	"Landslide"	Adult Contemporary	10
1998	"Landslide"	Adult Top 40	26
1998	"Landslide"	Billboard Hot 100	51

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA) DVD edition	Platinum	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)	5× Platinum	5,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

Preceded by No Way Out by Puff Daddy

Billboard 200 number-one album September 6–12, 1997

Succeeded by No Way Out by Puff Daddy