"Crystal" is a song by the British-American rock band
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
from their 1975 ''
eponymous album''. Written by
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...
, the song originally appeared on her and
Lindsey Buckingham’s studio album, ''
Buckingham Nicks'' (1973). Two years later, after joining Fleetwood Mac, it was re-recorded and released for a second time. In 1998, Nicks re-recorded the song with herself on lead vocals for the ''
Practical Magic'' soundtrack.
Background
“Crystal” first appeared on ''Buckingham Nicks'', an album recorded by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1973 prior to their time in Fleetwood Mac.
In her book ''Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams & Rumours'', Zoë Howe stated that the Nicks wrote "Crystal" with her father and grandfather in mind. Despite being written by Nicks, the song was instead sung by Buckingham partially because producer
Keith Olsen believed that his vocal
timbre suited the song better.
This version also featured an oboe at the end of each chorus.
Following the additions of Buckingham and Nicks in Fleetwood Mac, the band opted to record another version for their 1975 eponymous release, again with Buckingham on lead vocals. For this recording,
Christine McVie recorded the keyboard solo on a
multimoog
The Multimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1978 to 1981. Derived from the earlier Micromoog (internally, it consists of a stock Micromoog circuit board with the extra circuitry on a second board), the Multim ...
synthesizer. "It wasn't even mine, though. There was some mad little professor guy running around twiddling all the knobs for me while I played it. I think he slept with the damn thing". The band previewed the song during their
Fleetwood Mac Tour
After the release of the band's tenth album ''Fleetwood Mac'' in July 1975, the band, along with their new line-up of Lindsey Buckingham on guitar and vocals and Stevie Nicks on vocals, set off on a tour of the US and Canada to promote the album. ...
prior to the album’s release.
In 1998, Nicks recorded another version of the song for the ''
Practical Magic'' soundtrack, this time with herself on lead vocals. Bob Aguirre, who played drums in a band with Nicks during the early 1970s, said that he was “floored by the way she sang it” and gave Nicks a phone call to compliment her vocal performance.
Personnel
;Fleetwood Mac version
*Lindsey Buckingham – lead vocals, guitar
*Mick Fleetwood – drums
*Christine McVie – keyboards
*John McVie – bass guitar
*Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
References
{{Fleetwood Mac
1975 songs
Songs written by Stevie Nicks
Fleetwood Mac songs
Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen