Givin' it back (Christine McVie) (LP 3194 - 3196)

Christine Perfect  Christine Perfect (Vinyl, Blue Horizon Records, 1970) ***  

Christine McVie  Christine McVie (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1984) ***  

Christine McVie In The Meantime (CD, Rhino Records, originally 2004, 2023 reissue) ***

Genre: Pop, blues rock 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Love Will Show Us The Way (Christine McVie)

Gear costume: No Road Is The Right Road (Christine Perfect)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors:  Christine has appeared in posts before - because she was an integral member of Chicken Shack (here and here), and Fleetwood Mac (here and here). I've also already covered her 2017 collaboration with Lindsey Buckingham.

Yes, it's true - I have a thing for Christine. She sings in a unique way that constantly astounds me, she writes brilliant songs, and she plays blues licks like no other. She's a goddess!

So, my opinion may be a bit suss when I consider her solo albums. Just sayin'.

She wasn't prolific as a solo artist. I guess she had creative outlets enough elsewhere, most notably with Fleetwood Mac.

Her bluesy voice was her big asset initially, although she did contribute a couple of key songs to the first two Chicken Shack albums. Her first solo album was under her maiden name, even though she'd married John McVie in 1968. The standout song is the one she'd done while in Chicken Shack - I'd Rather Go Blind. She wrote roughly half of the songs on the debut, and No Road Is The Right Road is a second standout performance.

Fourteen years later came her second album, this time using her married name, even though they'd divorced in 1976! Strange brew. It's again an album of its time - 1984 - so with bright shiny eighties pop songs replacing the bluesy feel of her debut. Although fresh from an ill-fated relationship with Dennis Wilson, she is in a bouncy mood throughout.

Another jump - this time 20 years! In the early 200os she made In The Meantime with her nephew, Dan Perfect. It's a tougher sound than the eighties album (she'd had another failed relationship to write about) and shows off her melodic strengths well. The only problem is that the album skips by without that many songs lingering long in the memory. Favourite song: Friend.

Where do they all belong? Sadly, there is no more Christine to collect. BTW, Songbird - the biography that's just been published, is a good read.