Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in /home/penguin/mysql_connect.php on line 14
Reviews Submitted by Donnie Swinton
Go Back - View Songs - Latest Updates - Search the Discography - The Penguin
Donnie Swinton has contributed 12 reviews to The Penguin: Everything That is Fleetwood Mac:

Behind The Mask (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Deserves listening!
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, February 9th, 2006

The first full album of new songs with Billy Burnette and Rick Vito as the guitarists of FM. Despite Lindsey's absence, they did a wonderful job throughout the album, especially on "In the Back of My Mind", "Save Me", and "Freedom." Their back-and-forth vocals on "When the Sun Goes Down" are awesome, and I love all the drum work on here. "Hard Feelings" and "Do You Know" are not the best love songs ever made by FM, but they did the album justice. Some of Stevie's best vocals are on here with "Freedom" and "Affairs of the Heart", while Christine really shows her stuff on the title track and "Save Me." Quite a good one.

Time (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
Incredibly underrated!!!
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, February 9th, 2006

This is one of my most favorite albums of Fleetwood Mac. Hell, it might as well be my favorite. Every song is awesome!! They are all quite melodic and the album flows really well. Christine's contributions to this album, though it would be her final studio one, were excellent, especially my fave song of all the FM songs, "Nights In Estoril." The harmonies and the musical arrangements on every song are wonderful. Dave Mason's "I Wonder Why" and "Blow By Blow" were excellent contributions, and he and Billy Burnette made and excellent duo. Mick's drumwork is absolutely perfect and McVie's bass work is fantastic. Bekka Bramlett made a great addition to this never-ending band - which is not a bad thing -and I wish that we would've been able to experience another album from this lineup.

Mirage (3/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.0)
It's Alright
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, February 8th, 2006

Ok. I disagree with the a couple of these reviews. Mirage is a nice album, but it isn't up to Rumours' level. The best songs off this album are "Book Of Love", "Gypsy", "Hold Me", "Oh Diane", and "That's Alright." Other than "Gyspy", "Hold Me" and "That's Alright" - a song going back to Stevie and Lindsey's country roots - nothing really grabs your attention in this album. It doesn't suck, but it's definitely not it's best. Their respective material from Tusk was much better.

Tango In The Night (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Better Than Mirage...
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, February 8th, 2006

The songs are a lot more attractive than those of Mirage. "Isn't It Midnight", "Everywhere", and "Seven Wonders" have emerged as my faves, with Lyndsey's awesome solo at the end of "Isn't It Midnight." A very good album.

Fleetwood Mac (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
The Change
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 30th, 2006

After listening to HAHTF, you can definitely hear the impact of Welch's departure and Stevie and Lindsey's arrival. All the songs are quite good, with Warm Ways, Blue Letter, Crystal, Rhiannon, and I'm So Afraid being my favorites. Crystal was song either from or left off of the Buckingham-Nicks album and Christine's snyths at the end make it the perfect slow country-rocker. Bravo for their first showing with the McVies and Mick.

Rumours (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
AWESOME!!!
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 30th, 2006

Go FM!!! Definitely one of the best albums ever made!!! And it was such a struggle for the band to make! At some points they had no idea they were going to have to remake masters of some of the songs. I have the version that includes Stevie's "Silver Springs", which is absolutely wonderful. The album flows very well and all the songs can get stuck in your head at any time. I love "I Don't Want To Know", "Songbird","Oh Daddy" and "The Chain" is one of my all time favorite songs. They are all wonderful, but I have become quite fond of some of the songs that were not released as singles. "Gold Dust Woman" is a great song to end the album, with its rocking outro and Stevie's wails. Just fantastic.

Tusk (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Love it!
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 30th, 2006

Though it did not do as commercially well as Rumours, Tusk is a wonderful album. I love bands that allow themselves to expand their horizons and take risks with the music they create. Most of Lindsey's songs are similar to the up and coming New Wave style of the 80s and are short and to the point. Not saying anything against Stevie and Christine. I prefer all of their songs over Lindsey's nine as the ones I'd put on repeat. "Over and Over", "Brown Eyes", and "Never Forget" run through my head quite often, as well as Stevie's perfect "Sara", "Angel", and "Beautiful Child". "Beatiful Child" is one of my favorite songs from any FM album. Good job, FM.

Penguin (3/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.0)
The Second/Third Time Around...
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 27th, 2006

The night I bought Penguin was the same night I bought The White Album and Time. After listening to it, I certainly did not think of it as a good or bad album, just okay. However, once listening to again, you realize that the songs for this one time only lineup were pretty darn good. Revelation is abosolutely awesome. John's bass work is definitely one of my favorite basslines in all of FM songs. I love Remember Me, though the vocal structure sounds very similar to Disastisfied. Though only on two songs, Dave Walker did both Road Runner and The Derelict quite well, the second one being my fave of his vocals. Overall, this is a really good album to put and just listen, rather than analyzing it every time you hear it.

Bare Trees (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Look out for the ghost...
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 27th, 2006

A great album. This was the first album I listened to before the White Album version of FM began. I love Danny, Bob, and Christine's work on this one. My faves are Dust, Homeward Bound, and Sentimental Lady. This lineup, though only for two albums, was really good. Danny was asked to leave because of his refusal to play on some tour shows that year, so I don't blame Mick and the guys.

Future Games (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
Awesome!
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 27th, 2006

Future Games is absolutely great. The title track, Woman of 1.000 Years, Morning Rain, and Show Me A Smile are my favorites, but the whole thing is great nevertheless. Some albums flow well and this is definitely one of them.

Mystery To Me (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Quite a good one.
Review written by Donnie Swinton from South Carolina, January 27th, 2006

Bob Welch's material dominated this album, but that's definitely not a bad thing. I love his Emerald Eyes and Hypnotized. Christine finally received room for at least four songs on an album and they are all great, especially Believe Me and Why. This isn't the best album FM has had, but it's definitely worth buying/downloading/whatever else.

Heroes Are Hard To Find (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Love it...
Review written by Anonymous from South Carolina, January 27th, 2006

HAHTF is great. I love the fact that it was not an album of just one style of music. That's how my own band is. I love Come A Little Bit Closer, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. And Bob Welch's Beach Boys-like "She's Changing Me" is fantastic. The Safe Harbour instrumental was a nice way to end the last album of the Bob Welch era. I wonder what FM would've been like if he stayed during the White Album era...