Fleetwood Mac will re-release the four CD box set 25 Years – The Chain on June 11th on Reprise.

25 Years – The Chain was originally released in 20 years ago and compiles seventy-two tracks spanning the band’s history from their formation in 1967 to 1992. In addition to a number of their defining songs – Go Your Own Way, The Chain, Tusk, Little Lies, Rhiannon, Don’t Stop and Everywhere – the release also compiles a number of alternate mixes, outtakes and live performances.

Like the Rod Stewart Storyteller reissue from late last year, 25 Years – The Chain will be available at a bargain price (less than £12 on amazon) and comes in new packaging – a double ‘fat box’ CD with a sixty-eight page booklet and outer slip-case.

Full track listing below:


CD1
1. Paper Doll
2. Love Shines
3. Stand Back (live)
4. Crystal
5. Isn’t It Midnight
6. Big Love
7. Everywhere
8. Affairs of the Heart
9. Heart Of Stone
10. Sara
11. That’s All For Everyone
12. Over My Head
13. Little Lies
14. Eyes of the World
15. Oh Diana
16. In The Back Of My Mind
17. Make Me A Mask

CD2
1. Save Me
2. Goodbye Angel
3. Silver Springs
4. What Makes You Think You’re The One
5. Think About Me
6. Gypsy
7. You Make Loving Fun
8. Second Hand News
9. Love In Store
10. The Chain
11. Teen Beat
12. Dreams
13. Only Over You
14. I’m So Afraid
15. Love Is Dangerous
16. Gold Dust Woman
17. Not That Funny

CD3
1. Warm Ways
2. Say You Love Me
3. Don’t Stop
4. Rhiannon
5. Walk a Thin Line
6. Storms
7. Go Your Own Way
8. Sisters of the Moon
9. Monday Morning
10. Landslide
11. Hypnotized
12. Lay It All Down
13. Angel
14. Beautiful Child
15. Brown Eyes
16. Save Me a Place
17. Tusk
18. Never Going Back Again
19. Songbird


CD4
1. I Believe My Time Ain’t Long
2. Need Your Love So Bad
3. Rattlesnake Shake
4. Oh Well, Pt. 1
5. Stop Messin’ Round
6. The Green Manalishi
7. Albatross
8. Man Of The World
9. Love That Burns
10. Black Magic Woman
11. Watch Out
12. String-A-Long
13. Station Man
14. Did You Ever Love Me
15. Sentimental Lady
16. Come A Little Bit Closer
17. Heroes Are Hard To Find
18. Trinity
19. Why

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00822KWME/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00822KWME/?tag=imwan-21

Aamzing as I was just thinking about this set the other day! I never got it, but is it worthwhile, especially at a budget price? The collector's prices were a turnoff anyway, but the track selection is kind of a mish-mash, and didn't have enough of the classic Blues era, but did at least represent it. I did like some of the new songs.
Can anyone comment on the booklet, sound and overall quality of this box set?

12 pounds is about all its worth. Sounds ok, precious looking but useless booklet and a shite programed song selection.
So sad the Warner/Rhino has become nothing but a budget release company. Whatever happened to the 4 disc Rumors box set that was on their release schedule 5 years ago?

I always meant to get this but I was a bit put off by the sequencing. Ironically, I recall reading that they used some kind of special software to sequence the discs in a way that was supposed to be pleasing. I wish they had just gone chronologically, considering the group's long and varied history. Still, at least this set acknowledged that the group existed pre-Buckingham Nicks.

At the time, I didn't have much FM in my collection, so this was a nice way to have some of the catalog.

There's a smattering of rarities, but I don't think a hardcore FM fan would need this.

If they had changed the name to 45 Years..., they could have gotten Jimbo to buy it again.

I've always like this set. It has some flaws, but I find it refreshing to hear all this material in a completely different sequence, the packaging is excellent, and I always thought the sound was very good. It's a great buy for the uninitiated, an enjoyable indulgence for the FM fan who has everything else, and it has a couple of rarities for the completist.

I also liked this box a lot at the time. I wasn't that familiar with the pre-Buckingham/Nicks era, so I found it a good intro. I also particularly Nicks' "Paper Doll" track, and, I think it was the first place to find "Silver Springs" on cd, though I could be wrong about this. I just wish they had put more b-sides on it, including "You and I, Part 1," (from the "Tango" era), which I much prefer to Part II. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since this first came out!

I don't have a lot of Mac in my collection so if the price on this gets low enough I just might bite.

I still own my original. I've always enjoyed it, & especially the Peter Green era disc is a very nice best of for that period. Originally, the #1 reason for purchase was it was the 1st cd release of Silver Springs.

Same here. By the time that I'd decided to buy it, I couldn't find it anywhere and just happened upon it in some little store in a real out of the way mall.

This is a good box, however, with just a little effort they could have tweaked it to make it great.

BUT if they are never going to release a definitive box set, then reissuing this ‘as is’ is the lazy man’s way out. This box is essentially 3 CDs of the Lindsey/Stevie era, ½ a CD of the Peter Green era, and ½ a CD of the Bob Welch era.

At a minimum, the Peter Green and Bob Welch eras deserve one 20 track CD each (and one could easily argue for more than that). To which they should add a CD of rare and unreleased tunes, plus the original (Mirage era?) version of Smile At You, a few Buckingham Nicks tunes, and at least 4 BN tracks from their 2nd unfinished/unreleased album. A definitive 6 (or 7) CD box…

Or, separately release a “definitive best of” 2 or 3 CD set of the Peter Green era (studio, live, rare, unreleased, although there's probably a slew of them out there already), and the same for the Bob Welch era (as has been stated many times before). And while I’m here, a Buckingham Nicks box as well.

We’re not getting any younger here, and the longer they wait the less $$ they’ll get.

I know, dream on…

Until SS came out (I think on Steve's 2nd best of?? & on the Rumors 2 Disc) this was selling for a fortune.

Their is a very nice UK PG era set, Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac CBS UK 015529. It's priced $4.73 & up new on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000075AJ1/?tag=imwan-20

I agree -- I have this UK set and it's just about all I could want from that era, and it sounds good, too. Very nicely done. If we could just get a decent remaster of Then Play On, I'd be set.

The FM box does come up short on the pre-Buckingham Nicks era, but it's obviously targeted at the majority of fans who came aboard in the mid-'70s. Nice box sets of the Green and Welch eras would be very cool, but I'd be happy just to get some good remasters. I'd probably go for a huge Fleetwood Mac box that covers everything more thoroughly, but I doubt we'll ever see anything like that.

For the PG era, I have that best of & Then Play On. For Welch, I've got the amazingly underrated/overlooked Bare Trees, Mystery To Me + the box in this thread; & I'm pretty much good.

It was originally released along with Mick Fleetwood's book, My Twenty-Five Years in Fleetwood Mac.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1562827766/?tag=imwan-20

That's for sure. I had the original 45 and didn't feel the need to spend the money that most people were asking for this thing. I got very lucky however when I found it.

This box set has lots of bonus tracks.

I used to own that box. It's really well mastered, & the music isn't bad, but I found the large amount of studio chatter (& I mean there was a lot of it) irritating & distracting. I remember thinking if the chatter had only been on a couple bonus trax at the end of each disc it would have been ok, but it was too much for me to enjoy it.

I know what you mean and completely understand. As a fan of any band though, I like to have as much as possible, even to the point of monotony.

Word on the street is that Jimbo is buying this again because they added a semicolon to the liner notes.

You can never have enough 4 CD Fleetwood Mac box sets.