Can one song make an album?…

Hypnotized, a song by Fleetwood Mac from their 1973 album Mystery to Me is a song I came regrettably late to. When I first heard it I was immediately struck by the jazz feel given by the acoustic guitar and the wonderful use of octaves by guitarist Bob Weston. Fans of early Fleetwood Mac will recognise the shift in sound from their blues/rock days in the late sixties under Peter Green towards a more radio-friendly approach with Bob Welch (1945-2012) and Christine McVie and what would prove to be the catalyst for their enormous success later in the decade with Buckingham and Nicks.

This song really struck the proverbial chord with me and I was eager to discover more of the same, it is a style of music I particularly like but upon closer inspection it would prove to be something of a one-off on a fairly mediocre album.

What it made me consider was the upside of music platforms such as Spotify. Back in the day when I saved all month to buy a vinyl album I would have had little choice but to buy an entire album based largely on pot luck. Had I heard Hypnotized back then I would certainly have bought the LP and soon realised that my hard earned cash had been wasted on a one-hit wonder. Now I love vinyl and have done for decades but I have also had my share of bad buys with often only a solitary song to make amends. If only I could say that about The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request which, even by Keith Richards own admission is a total duffer. So has Spotify and the rest done we, the consumer, a huge service by allowing us to filter out the wheat from the chaff or should we take it on the chin and accept it all in good grace?

Personally I would opt for the latter, music is incredibly personal and seldom can a band please everyone all of the time. Musicians want their music to be heard in its entirety and often wanting a song to be heard within the context of the rest of the album so I shall remain part of the pre-download generation and if I see a copy of this album will get it for the pleasure of hearing such a great track how it was meant to be heard in all of its glory.