Maps of Music

Penguin (1973)

Where the lyrics of Penguin take you, and where it was really made.

The album takes its name from the band mascot, a penguin, which came from John McVie's hours of watching the birds at London Zoo.

Key places

Mixing and overdubs at AIR Studios (1973)

Recording site AIR Studios — The album was mixed at AIR Studios in London, where extra overdubs were also recorded. Peter Green also stopped by the studio to add a guitar track to Night Watch. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Gatefold photo at Ludshott Common (1973)

Album cover Ludshott Common — 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. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Penguin: seventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac
• Released March 1973
• First Fleetwood Mac album after Danny Kirwan's departure
• First album with Bob Weston, and the only album with Dave Walker
• The penguin is the band mascot favoured by John McVie
• McVie's fascination began when he lived near London Zoo early in his marriage to Christine McVie
• He was a member of the Zoological Society and spent hours at the zoo watching the penguins

Background

• Kirwan was fired after an altercation with other band members during the Bare Trees tour
• Guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown and The Idle Race, joined in September 1972
• Walker already knew the members because Savoy Brown had shared bills with Fleetwood Mac
• Weston had toured with Long John Baldry
• Savoy Brown's road manager John Courage was hired around the same time
• Clifford Davis suggested adding Walker, as he wanted the band to have a frontman

Recording

• The band hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio instead of recording in a London studio
• The mobile studio was brought to Hampshire, so the album was recorded at Benifold, the band's communal house
• Walker expected the arrangement to encourage spontaneity and flexibility
• Walker was featured on two tracks, his own "The Derelict" and a cover of "(I'm a) Road Runner", where he also played harmonica solos
• The album was mixed at AIR Studios in London, where extra overdubs were also recorded
• Peter Green dropped by AIR Studios to add a guitar track to "Night Watch"
• Steve Nye, then a tape operator at AIR Studios, played organ on the same song

Cover

• The artwork was painted by Chris Moore
• The gatefold photo was shot on location at Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells in Hampshire

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in July 1967 by Peter Green after leaving John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, with Mick Fleetwood on drums.
• The name combines Fleetwood's surname with bassist John McVie, who joined in 1967.
• Early line-up was primarily a British blues band; "Albatross" reached UK No. 1 in 1968.

Members

• Core members over time: Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham.
• Buckingham and Nicks joined at the end of 1974 and drove the band's global success.

Career

• Rumours (1977) is one of the best-selling albums of all time and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1978.
• The band has sold more than 120 million records worldwide.
• Received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1979 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Received the MusiCares Person of the Year award in 2018.
• Christine McVie died in 2022; Stevie Nicks later said she saw no reason to continue the band.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Record World said Penguin "may be the band's best album yet"
• Record World praised the album's "softer, more melodic sound", "expert" musicianship, and "strong vocals"
• Billboard thought the album had several potential singles and predicted substantial FM airplay
• Billboard also called it "possibly their best release in several years"
• Cashbox noted the change in musical direction and singled out "I'm a Road Runner" as a potential breakthrough single
• Tony Stewart of New Musical Express felt the album solidified the band's status as a soft rock group
• Stewart named "Night Watch" the most impressive piece of writing on the album

Reappraisal

• Robert Christgau loved the cover of "I'm a Road Runner" and Christine McVie's husky laments, but was less favourable about Welch's compositions
• William Ruhlmann of AllMusic found that the album showed little of the band's blues-rock influences
• Ruhlmann said Welch's hypnotic melodies and McVie's romantic sentiments were more prominent
• Mojo ranked the album 17th out of 20 on its list of Fleetwood Mac studio albums
• Mick Fleetwood told Hit Parader in 1977 that it was one of his least favourite releases and that it "didn't flow that well as a whole"
• Christine McVie told Sounds in 1982 that it was the band's worst album up to that point

Records

• Penguin was the highest charting Fleetwood Mac album in the US at the time, clawing into the Top 50
• The subsequent tour went well and the album had a strong US chart run

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Walker recalled that the session for "I'm a Road Runner" was completed quickly
• "Did You Ever Love Me" was released as a single in both the UK and the US and is the only Fleetwood Mac song to feature steel drums
• "Caught in the Rain", an instrumental, is the only track on a Fleetwood Mac record where Bob Weston received the sole writing credit
• Walker said his strained marriage distracted him during the sessions, and he spent time at a local pub until the band called him in
• Penguin is named after the penguin mascot that John McVie loved from his London Zoo days

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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