Mick Fleetwood to pay tribute to Christine McVie on new album with ukulele maestro
Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood has announced details of his new album, Blues Experience, which has seen him team up with Hawaiian ukulele maestro Jake Shimabukuro.
The forthcoming record is set for release on October 18th through Forty Below Records and contains nine tracks, plus a poem, that are exceptionally close to Fleetwood’s heart. In addition to featuring new takes on classic tracks such as Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, Gary Moore’s ‘Still Got The Blues’, and Procol Harum’s ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’. Poignantly, Fleetwood also pays tribute to his former bandmate, Christine McVie, with an instrumental version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird’.
The penultimate track on Blues Experience is the aforementioned song, written by McVie, and the closing effort is a poem of the same name, written by Fleetwood.
After McVie sadly passed away, the drummer referenced ‘Songbird’ and shared: “This is a day where my dear sweet friend Christine McVie has taken flight. And left us earthbound folks to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that ‘song bird’… reminding one and all that love is all around us to reach for and touch in this precious life that is gifted to us.”
The grief of losing McVie has been challenging for Fleetwood. In a recent interview, he said it has been a “strange time” in his personal life following the death of “sweet Christine” which he described as “catastrophic”. He continued, “And then, in my world, sort of losing the band too. And I (split) with my partner as well. I just found myself sort of licking my wounds.”
Blues Experience marks the first collaboration between Shumabukuro and Fleetwood, but they have known each other for many years. They first met at the Hawaiian Music Awards before later getting reacquainted at a Fleetwood Mac show in Nashville, which sowed the seed for the new album.
While Shimabukuro isn’t an expert in the field of blues to the same degree as Fleetwood, he said of the album: “I’ve always wanted to do a blues album, and when Mick and I started talking about working together, I thought who better to work with than Mick Fleetwood?” says Shimabukuro.
Shumabukuro has nothing but praise for Fleetwood, who he recorded the album alongside over two three-day sessions in Maui, noting, “Mick’s energy when he plays is so infectious. He’s such an intense musician. He pushes everyone around him, and it’s inspiring to see his facial expressions and watch his movement and the way he hits the drums.”
To tease Blues Experience, the pairing have shared their version of the blues standard ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin” which has previously been recorded by Jeff Beck, Cream and Muddy Waters. “Jake and I had a full let-it-all-go moment on this one!! Jake let his hair down. A blues standard being given a wake-up call,” Fleetwood said of the track.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.