''Heroes Are Hard to Find'' is the ninth studio album by the British-American rock band
Fleetwood Mac, released on 13 September 1974. This is the last album recorded with
Bob Welch, who left the band at the end of 1974. It was the first Fleetwood Mac studio album recorded in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
The album was recorded during a low point for the group, with
Bob Weston
Bob Weston (born 1965) is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason AnkenyAnkeny, Jason. " Bob Weston: Overview from Allmusic.com declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over th ...
's affair with drummer
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...
's wife causing a temporary disbandment, which led to subsequent legal problems when manager
Clifford Davis organized a completely new lineup using the Fleetwood Mac name to fulfill their remaining tour dates. When the situation was being settled, the original band reformed and Welch was persuaded to return for one more album, but left permanently by the end of 1974.
The title track was edited and issued as a single but it failed to chart. ''
Cash Box'' said of the title song that "tight sweet harmonies back
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Bob Welch later re-recorded "Angel", "Bermuda Triangle" and "Silver Heels" for ''His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond'' (2003). A re-write of "Silver Heels", titled "Hustler", with explicit lyrics appeared on ''Bob Welch Looks at Bop'' (1999).
Reception
Heroes are Hard to Find received mixed reviews upon its release. Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
believed that ''Heroes are Hard to Find'' "stacked up as a pleasant album", and singled out "Prove Your Love" as "exquisitely pretty" and "Come a Little Bit Closer" as "a gorgeous tune reminiscent of the Beach Boys".[ Robert Christgau criticized the band for succumbing to pop cliches of the early 1970s, specifically their use of a string synthesizer, pedal steel, and "half-assed horns". He dismissed Welch and McVie for sounding bored and "less than perfect" respectively and labeled ''Heroes are Hard to Find'' as their worst album to date.] Retrospective reviews were more positive, with Hal Horowitz of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
complimenting the songwriting abilities of Welch and McVie and praising the album for being both cohesive and diverse.
Track listing
Personnel
Fleetwood Mac
* Bob Welch – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...
, lead vocals, backing vocals
*Christine McVie
Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac.
McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...
– keyboard, ARP String Ensemble, lead vocals, backing vocals
*John McVie
John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...
– bass guitar
*Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...
– drums, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
Additional personnel
*Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (August 20, 1934 – January 6, 2007) was an American country-rock musician. He is best known as a member of the band The Flying Burrito Brothers and as a session musician playing pedal steel guitar for such ar ...
– pedal steel guitar on "Come a Little Bit Closer"
*Nick DeCaro – horn and string arrangement
Production
*Fleetwood Mac – producers
*Bob Hughes – engineer, producer
*Doug Graves – engineer, assistant engineer
*Lee Herschberg – remastering
*Desmond Strobel – design
Charts
References
{{Authority control
Fleetwood Mac albums
1974 albums
Reprise Records albums
Albums produced by John McVie
Albums produced by Mick Fleetwood
Albums produced by Christine McVie
Albums produced by Bob Welch (musician)