Additionally, the studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it debuted at number 94 in the UK. The rendition of 'The Chain' reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. 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. Buckingham and Nicks were ending their years long relationship at the same time that John and Christine McVie's marriage broke down, as did that of Fleetwood and his wife, Jenny Boyd. Subsequent analysis of 'The Chain' has also led many to cite it as one of the most evocative expressions of the internal fracture among various band members at the time. Rumours garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release. The song is in E minor, which is the relative minor key of G major.

The Dobro, a type of resonator guitar, supplies the verse riff. Influences of hard rock, folk, and country are also present.

The finished song has a basic rock structure, although it has two distinct portions: the main verse and chorus, and the outro. ĭue to the spliced nature of the record (the drums and guitar were the only instruments recorded in each other's company) and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, 'The Chain' is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time. To complete the song, Buckingham recycled the intro from an earlier song from a duet with Nicks, 'Lola (My Love)', originally released on their self-titled 1973 album. Other elements were worked in from an early project of Christine's called 'Keep Me There', which removed the blues-style motif, but retained the chord progression. 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. Īccording 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. The song has attained particular fame in the United Kingdom, where the instrumental section has been used as the theme tune for the BBC and Channel 4's television coverage of Formula One. It was featured as the opening track on The Dance, a 1997 live concert CD/DVD release, as well as several of the band's greatest hits compilations. įollowing the critical and commercial success of Rumours, 'The Chain' has become a staple of the band's live shows, typically the opening song. The song was assembled, often manually by splicing tapes with a razor blade, at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, with engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. 'The Chain' was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie. It is the only song from the album with writing credits from all five members ( Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood). ' The Chain' is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album Rumours.

Fleetwood mac albums from first to last