''Penguin'' is the seventh studio album by British-American rock band

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

, released in March 1973. It was the first Fleetwood Mac album after the departure of

Danny Kirwan Daniel David Kirwan (né Langran, 13 May 1950 – 8 June 2018) was a British musician and guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues rock, blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a solo artist from ...

, the first to feature

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 t ...

and the only one to feature Dave Walker. The

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

is the band mascot favoured by

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 drummer ...

. His fascination with the birds originated when he lived near

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

during the early days of his marriage to

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...

. He was a member of the Zoological Society and would spend hours at the zoo studying and watching the penguins.

Background

After Kirwan was fired following an altercation with the other band members during the '' Bare Trees'' tour, the band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker (formerly of Savoy Brown and

The Idle Race The Idle Race were a British rock group from Birmingham who in the late 1960s and early 1970s had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of signif ...

) in September 1972. Weston was well known for playing slide guitar and had known the band from his touring period with

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

. Fleetwood Mac also hired Savoy Brown's road manager, John Courage. Rather than record ''Penguin'' in a London studio, they hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and brought it to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in order to record their next album within the domestic atmosphere of Benifold, their communal house. The album was subsequently mixed at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The album's artwork was painted by Chris Moore and the gatefold photo was shot on location at Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells in

, according to Dave Walker in an online Q&A interview. The subsequent tour seemed to go well, and ''Penguin'' was the highest charting Fleetwood Mac album in the US at the time, clawing its way into the Top 50. However, during the recording of their next album, '' Mystery to Me'', it was mutually agreed upon that Walker's vocal style and attitude "did not fit in" with Fleetwood Mac and by June 1973 he had left. If anything was ever recorded by Walker for ''Mystery to Me'' it was not used. Walker was featured on only two tracks on ''Penguin'' in the end, namely his own composition "The Derelict" and a cover of

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist) and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a sess ...

's hit "

(I'm a) Road Runner "(I'm a) Road Runner" is a hit song by Junior Walker & the Allstars, and was the title track of the successful 1966 album '' Road Runner''. Written by the team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was released on the Tamla (Motown) label in 1966 a ...

" on which he also played harmonica solos.

Track notes

* "Remember Me" was performed live by Christine McVie at Bob Welch's Roxy concert in 1981. This version appeared on the 2004 CD '' Live from the Roxy''. * "Revelation" was re-recorded by Bob Welch for '' His Fleetwood Mac Years & Beyond'' in 2003. * " Did You Ever Love Me" was released as a single but did not chart. * "Night Watch" features a brief guitar contribution from Fleetwood Mac's founder Peter Green at the end, as well as organ by

Steve Nye Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists. Career Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him. There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-known ...

. * "Caught in the Rain", an instrumental, was the only track on a Fleetwood Mac record where Bob Weston received the sole writing credit.

Critical reception

Contemporary reviews of ''Penguin'' were generally positive. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that ''Penguin'' "may be the band's best album yet". They highlighted the album's "softer, more melodic sound", "expert" musicianship, and "strong vocals". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' believed that the album had several potential singles and predicted that the LP would receive substantial airplay on FM Radio. They also thought that ''Penguin'' was "possibly their best release in several years." '' Cashbox'' noted the change in musical direction that the band took on ''Penguin'' and singled out "I'm a Roadrunner" as "a potential breakthrough single for the sextet." After the release of ''Penguin'', certain band members levied criticism against the album. Mick Fleetwood told ''

Hit Parader ''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 198 ...

'' in a 1977 interview that ''Penguin'' one of his least favourite releases from the band and thought that it "didn't flow that well as a whole." In a 1982 interview with '' Sounds'', Christine McVie expressed her belief that ''Penguin'' was the band's worst album up to that point. She also said that she enjoyed some her songs on the album and showed interest in re-recording some of them.

Track listing

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac * Bob Welch – guitar, vocals, bass guitar on track 6 *

– lead guitar,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

on track 1,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

and harmonica on track 5, harmony vocals on track 7 *

– keyboards, vocals * Dave Walker – vocals on tracks 4 and 5, harmonica on track 4 *

– bass guitar *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John Mc ...

– drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Additional personnel *

–

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

on track 8 *Ralph Richardson –

steel drums The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...

on track 7 *Russell Valdez – steel drums on track 7 *Fred Totesant – steel drums on track 7 * Peter Green – additional lead guitar on track 8 Production *Producer: Fleetwood Mac and

Martin Birch Martin Phillip Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock and metal bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow ...

*Engineer: Martin Birch *Sleeve design: Modula / John Watkins (front cover) / Chris Moore *Inside photo by Barry Wentzell *Recorded in

on Rolling Stones Mobile Studio *Mixed at

Charts

References

{{Authority control Fleetwood Mac albums 1973 albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Reprise Records albums Albums produced by John McVie Albums produced by Mick Fleetwood Albums produced by Christine McVie Albums produced by Bob Welch (musician) Albums recorded in a home studio Albums recorded at AIR Studios