Penguin
Studio album by
Fleetwood Mac
ReleasedMarch 1973
RecordedJanuary 1973
StudioRolling Stones Mobile Studio, Benifold, Hampshire
Genre
Length35:46
LabelReprise
ProducerFleetwood Mac & Martin Birch
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Bare Trees
(1972)		 Penguin
(1973)		 Mystery to Me
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
The Daily VaultB+[3]

Penguin is the seventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on March 1, 1973. It was the first Fleetwood Mac album after the departure of Danny Kirwan, the first to feature Bob Weston and the only one to feature Dave Walker.

The penguin is the band mascot favoured by John McVie. His fascination with the birds originated when he lived near London Zoo during the early days of his marriage to Christine McVie. He was a member of the Zoological Society and would spend hours at the zoo studying and watching the penguins.[4]

Background

After Kirwan was fired following an altercation with the other band members during the Bare Trees tour, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker (formerly of Savoy Brown and The Idle Race) in September 1972. Weston was well known for playing slide guitar and had known the band from his touring period with Long John Baldry. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Rather than record Penguin in a London studio, they hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and brought it to Hampshire in order to record their next album within the domestic atmosphere of Benifold, their communal house. The album was subsequently mixed at AIR Studios in London.

The album's artwork was painted by Chris Moore and the gatefold photo was shot on location at Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells in Hampshire, according to Dave Walker in an online Q&A interview.[5] For the first time on a Fleetwood Mac album, Mick Fleetwood was credited in the album's liner notes with playing both drums and percussion, even though he did both on previous albums, although uncredited.

The subsequent tour seemed to go well, and Penguin was the highest charting Fleetwood Mac album in the US at the time, clawing its way into the Top 50. However, during the recording of their next album, Mystery to Me, it was mutually agreed upon that Walker's vocal style and attitude "did not fit in" with Fleetwood Mac and by June 1973 he had left. If anything was ever recorded by Walker for Mystery to Me it was not used.

Walker was featured on only two tracks on Penguin in the end, namely his own composition "The Derelict" and a cover of Junior Walker's hit "(I'm a) Road Runner" on which he also played harmonica solos.

Track notes

  • "Remember Me" was performed live by Christine McVie at Bob Welch's Roxy concert in 1981. This version appeared on the 2004 CD Live from the Roxy.
  • "Revelation" was re-recorded by Bob Welch for His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond in 2003.
  • "Did You Ever Love Me" was released as a single but did not chart.
  • "Night Watch" features a brief guitar contribution from Fleetwood Mac's founder Peter Green at the end, as well as organ by Steve Nye.
  • "Caught in the Rain", an instrumental, was the only track on a Fleetwood Mac record where Bob Weston received the sole writing credit.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Remember Me"Christine McVieC. McVie2:41
2."Bright Fire"Bob WelchWelch4:32
3."Dissatisfied"C. McVieC. McVie3:43
4."(I'm a) Road Runner"
Dave Walker4:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."The Derelict"WalkerWalker2:43
6."Revelation"WelchWelch4:55
7."Did You Ever Love Me"
  • C. McVie
  • Welch
C. McVie (with Bob Weston)3:39
8."Night Watch"WelchWelch6:17
9."Caught in the Rain"Westoninstrumental2:35

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

Additional personnel

  • Steve Nye – organ on track 8
  • Ralph Richardson – steel drums on track 7
  • Russell Valdez – steel drums on track 7
  • Fred Totesant – steel drums on track 7
  • Peter Green – additional lead guitar on track 8[8]

Production

  • Producer: Fleetwood Mac and Martin Birch
  • Engineer: Martin Birch
  • Sleeve design: Modula / John Watkins (front cover) / Chris Moore
  • Inside photo by Barry Wentzell
  • Recorded in Hampshire on Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
  • Mixed at AIR Studios, London

Charts

1973 weekly chart performance for Penguin
Chart (1973) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 53
US Billboard 200[10] 49

References

  1. ↑ Penguin at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ Bowling, David (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Penguin". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "The McVie Story". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Dave Walker Q&A Session, October 2000". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bob Welch Q&A Session, November 1999". www.fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Saulnier, Jason (30 December 2011). "Dave Walker Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bob Welch, August 4 - 17, 2003". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4862". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July, 2023.
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