The Fleetwood Mac song that Peter Green passed on to Lindsey Buckingham: A Tale of Evolution and Resilience
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy / Press)
Tue 4 November 2025 20:30, UK
It might sound sacrilegious to some part-time Fleetwood Mac fans, but my favorite song of theirs isn't on their iconic album Rumours. In fact, my favorite Fleetwood Mac isn't even Rumours, which in the modern world of their cultural folklore seems disallowed. But the truth is, I believe their record that preceded Rumours, the one that first showcased this new lineup that would come to dominate the discourse of their legacy, is the best one.
Their 1975 self-titled record welcomed Stevie Nicks' songwriting into the fold, which, without them knowing it, was a hugely welcomed addition. Initially recruited as a part of a two-for-one deal proposed by Buckingham, she quickly shrugged off any idea that she was here to play a supporting role and instead delivered some of the band's very best songs. On that record, she delivered 'Rhiannon' and 'Landslide', two instant classics, with the latter becoming one of the most treasured songs in all of music.
But it was a stark departure from what had come before and so took some adjusting. While history sometimes says otherwise, this was actually Fleetwood Mac 2.0. This was Mick Fleetwood and John McVie's second crack at chart domination, after coming so close with Peter Green as their enigmatic leader. Because before Buckingham and Nicks joined, turning the band into a dream-rock powerhouse, they were a blues outfit, honing their craft in the heady London scene.
Peter Green's songwriting and guitar playing began to garner a strong reputation, with records like 'Then Play On' and more specifically, songs like 'Oh Well'. 'Awestruck—everybody was awestruck by Peter,' his bandmate Christine McVie explained. Adding, 'Except for Eric [Clapton], there was only Peter […]. We all thought he was just a superlative genius.'
But just before it all got going for the band, and Green skyrocketed them into greatness, he left the band due to a drug-induced spiral, and so the echoes of his greatness tormented the band before Buckingham and Nicks came in to resurrect it. But one song lingered, and ended up evolving into a hit that would epitomise this new harmonic style of Fleetwood Mac, and also become my favorite Fleetwood Mac song of all time.
'World Turning' is a swirling representation of the band's three-part harmonies, fluttering above a menacing rock arrangement that almost sounds like the new band figuring itself out in real time. 'Lindsay had this lick and didn't know what to do with it. We knocked around some vocal ideas, and it happened very quickly – about half an hour,' McVie explained. The lick builds with every new verse, encouraging the rhythm sections to grow bolder at every turn before fully descending into a full-blooded rock-out that blows the lid off the underlying promise of the band.
But it was Green who gave them the killer blow. His song 'The World Keeps on Turning' was used as an initial title for the jam, before McVie and Buckingham decided that, in this new era of the band, it needed a rehashing. Where Green's version was initially a blues hit that mused over the longing for a lover, 'World Turning' flipped the meaning and turned it into an anthem of motivation and resilience. Which, in many ways, was the perfect song for this bold new era.
Related Topics
