Albatross (instrumental)

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Use British English|date=July 2012}} {{Infobox song | name = Albatross | cover = Albdut.jpg | alt = | caption = Dutch single reissue: L–R: Kirwan, Green, McVie, Fleetwood (back), Spencer (front) | type = single | artist = Fleetwood Mac | album = | B-side = Jigsaw Puzzle Blues | released = 22 November 1968 | recorded = October 1968 | studio = CBS, London<ref>{{Cite journal |date=February 1969 |title=BI's Chart Fax |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Beat-Instrumental/Beat-Instrumental-1969-02-OCR.pdf |journal=Beat Instrumental |issue=2 |page=17}}</ref> | venue = | genre = * Instrumental rock<ref>{{cite web |first=Allison |last=Rapp |date=April 8, 2021 |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-gilmour-fleetwood-mac-albatross/ |title=Watch David Gilmour Perform Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross' |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=April 20, 2021 |quote=Steel guitar for a performance of Fleetwood Mac's instrumental classic 'Albatross'{{nbsp}}...}}</ref> * exotica<ref name="Ewing 2006">{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Ewing |date=September 9, 2006|url=http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2006/09/fleetwood-mac-albatross/#debug5|title=Fleetwood Mac - "Albatross"|website=Freaky Trigger |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref> * lounge<ref name="Ewing 2006"/> *post-psychedelia<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Alexis |last=Petridis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/19/fleetwood-mac-ranked-30-best-songs |title=Fleetwood Mac's 30 greatest songs – ranked! |magazine=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> * blues<ref>{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/01/christine-mcvie-quietly-led-fleetwood-mac-to-the-most-hits|title=Thinking About Tomorrow Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=Slate|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=January 14, 2023|access-date=February 10, 2023}}</ref> | length = 3:07 | label = Blue Horizon (BH 57-3145)<ref name="500 Number One Hits">{{cite book| first= Jo| last= Rice| year= 1982| title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits| edition= 1st| publisher= Guinness Superlatives Ltd | location= Enfield, Middlesex| page= 123| isbn= 0-85112-250-7}}</ref> | writer = Peter Green<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/> | producer = Mike Vernon<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/> | prev_title = Need Your Love So Bad | prev_year = 1968 | next_title = Man of the World | next_year = 1969 }}

"'''Albatross'''" is a guitar-based instrumental by Fleetwood Mac, released as a single in November 1968,<ref name="Cat">{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/573145|title=Fleetwood Mac - Albatross|access-date=1 June 2021|website=45cat.com}}</ref> later featuring on the compilation albums ''The Pious Bird of Good Omen'' (UK)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-pious-bird-of-good-omen-mw0000633709|title=The Pious Bird of Good Omen - Fleetwood Mac &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> and ''English Rose'' (US).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/english-rose-mw0000455164|title=English Rose - Fleetwood Mac &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> The piece was composed by Peter Green and became Fleetwood Mac's only number one single on the UK charts. In 1973, the song was re-issued as a single and reached number two in the UK. Danny Kirwan's instrumental "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" was chosen for the B-side in most territories.<ref name="Cat"/>

==Composition== Green specifically cited Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" and "The Last Meal" from Eric Clapton{{'s}} time with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers as inspirations for "Albatross".<ref name="Fifty">{{Cite magazine|last=Weingarten |first=Christopher|display-authors=etal|date=2 May 2022 |title=Fleetwood Mac's 50 Greatest Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/fleetwood-macs-50-greatest-songs-192324/albatross-112628/ |access-date=27 September 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> He took a liking to the Hawaiian-inspired guitar playing on the song and wanted to instill those stylistic choices into "Albatross" with a "blues feel". Martin Celmins mentioned in Green's biography that an early inspiration for "Albatross" was "a group of notes from an Eric Clapton solo, played slower."<ref name="Celmins">{{cite book | last= Celmins|first= Martin |title = Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac |year = 1995|publisher= Castle|pages=72–75 |isbn = 1-898141-13-4 }}</ref>

Green said he developed the title for "Albatross" after reading the poem, ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' and took further inspiration from the midsection found on the Traffic song, "Hole in My Shoe", which features dialogue from a girl about "climb[ing] on the back of a giant albatross".<ref name="Celmins"/> The composition also resembles Chuck Berry's 1957 instrumental "Deep Feeling", itself derivative of the 1939 recording "Floyd's Guitar Blues" by Andy Kirk and his 12 Clouds of Joy, featuring guitarist Floyd Smith.<ref>{{cite book|last = Kutner|first = John|year = 2010|title =1000 UK Number One Hits| publisher = Omnibus Press |page = 264|isbn = 978-0857123602}}</ref>

Green had been working on the piece for some time before the addition to the band of 18-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan.<ref name="vaudeville">{{cite AV media notes|others=Fleetwood Mac |title=The Vaudeville Years |title-link=The Vaudeville Years |type= CD booklet notes |year= 1998 |publisher= Receiver Records }}</ref> According to Green, he wrote parts of the song while on an aeroplane and said that he "composed in the way musicians do, by feeling it out over time".<ref name="Celmins"/> Slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer was not generally inclined to work with Green, who had felt unable to realise the overall effect that he wanted.<ref name="vaudeville"/> With Kirwan's input, who assisted with some of the harmonies,<ref name="Celmins"/> Green completed the piece and it was recorded just two months after Kirwan joined, without Spencer present.<ref name="vaudeville"/> Green later commented that "he wouldn't have done 'Albatross' without Danny."<ref name="Celmins"/>

Fleetwood Mac spent two days recording and mixing "Albatross", which was a considerable amount of time to spend on one song according to Mike Vernon, who served as the band's producer.<ref name="Vernon">{{cite AV media notes|title = The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967–1969|others = Fleetwood Mac|year =1999|last =Vernon|first =Mike|author-link =Mike Vernon (record producer)|type =Boxed set booklet|publisher =Sire Records|id =73003-2|location = New York City |pages=8–9}}</ref> The sessions took place at CBS's During the first day of the recording session, which occurred on 6 October 1968, Mick Fleetwood played his drum kit using timpani mallets, which were then panned to the left and right channels by Mike Ross, who engineered the session. The initial tracking also consisted of John McVie on bass guitar along with Kirwan and Green on guitar. Cymbals and additional guitars were overdubbed the same day after the basic track was established.<ref name="Hjort">{{Cite book |last=Hjort |first=Christopher |url=https://archive.org/details/strangebrewericc00hjor/page/196/mode/2up|url-access=registration |title=Strange Brew: Eric Clapton and the British Blues Boom |publisher=Jawbone Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-906002-00-8|page=197 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The bass guitar was also double tracked.<ref name="Celmins"/> Kirwan commented that the band did not approach "Albatross" with the intention of releasing it as a single. He explained that their approach was to record a series of songs and later determine "if there was a single among them", which is what occurred with "Albatross".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dawbarn |first=Bob |date=14 December 1968 |title=Guitarist with no wrinkles |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/68/Melody-Maker-1968-1214.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025 |magazine=Melody Maker |page=12 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>

This composition is one of only a few tracks by the original line-up of Fleetwood Mac that is included on their later "greatest hits" and "best of" compilations. "Albatross" is the only Fleetwood Mac composition to inspire at least two Beatles songs, "Sun King" from 1969's ''Abbey Road'' and the single "Don't Let Me Down".<ref name="Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Guide to Their Music">{{cite book |last = Rooksby |first = Rikky | year = 2004 | title = Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Guide to Their Music | publisher = Omnibus Press |page = 17 | isbn = 1-844494-27-6 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Everett |first=Walter |title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-19-509553-7 |location=New York, NY |pages=222-223}}</ref> George Harrison commented in a 1987 interview that the Beatles used "Albatross" as a starting point to construct a new song. "At the time, 'Albatross' (by Fleetwood Mac) was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, 'Let's be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.' It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac... but that was the point of origin."<ref>{{cite web | work=The Beatles Interview Database | year=2009 | title=Abbey Road – 'Sun King' | url=http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/dba11road.html | access-date=4 April 2021}}</ref>

==Commercial performance== Vernon recalled that the song first gained traction when it was played during the end credits of a ''Top of the Pops'' segment.<ref name="Vernon"/> CBS had initially attempted to secure the song a place on ''Top of the Pops'', but the program was hesitant to play the song over their belief that it lacked commercial viability. The program later found an open 45-second slot during the end credits and opted to fill it with an audio clip of "Albatross". The next day, CBS received an influx of orders for the single.<ref name="Celmins"/> Fleetwood Mac was subsequently booked for an interview with Simon Dee, granting the band further exposure, and the song's appearance in a documentary further bolstered its sales numbers.<ref name="Celmins"/><ref name="Vernon"/> The song was a success in several countries and remains Fleetwood Mac's only number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart, spending one week at the top in January 1969.<ref name="Official">{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/albatross/|title=Albatross &#124; full Official Chart History|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> At its commercial peak, the song was selling 60,000 copies per week.<ref name="Vernon"/>

In a 1970 interview with ''Record Mirror'', Fleetwood commented that the single "altered people's opinions of the band. Before we were more or less a straight blues band, but now people have had to get used to us playing what we feel like – and not necessarily the blues." He also said that the song's success encouraged them to place more value in releasing singles.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Partridge |first=Rob |date=6 June 1970 |title=Fleetwood Mac: Falling Victim To An Epidemic |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/fleetwood-mac-falling-victim-to-an-epidemic/ |access-date=2 March 2025 |work=Record Mirror |via=Rock's Backpages}}</ref>

"Albatross" was re-released in the United Kingdom in April 1973 as part of a CBS Records series entitled "Hall of Fame Hits",<ref name="Reissue">{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/cbs8306|title=Fleetwood Mac - Albatross|access-date=1 June 2021|website=45cat.com}}</ref> and enjoyed a second UK chart run, peaking at number 2.<ref name="500 Number One Hits"/><ref name="Official"/> Archived footage of the band was aired on ''Top of the Pops'' to accompany the audio clip of "Albatross", during which the host mistakenly announced that the band had since broken up.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Evans|first1=Mike|title=Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History|date=2011|publisher=Sterling|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4027-8630-3|page=98}}</ref>

==Critical reception== Writing for ''New Musical Express'', Derek Johnson thought that "Albatross" was a musical departure from the band's previous single, "Need Your Love So Bad". He described "Albatross" as a "slow and brilliantly descriptive instrumental" and a "technically exemplary guitar duet" that evoked the song "Sleep Walk". Johnson concluded the review by proclaiming that the song had little chart potential.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Johnson |first=Derek |date=7 December 1968 |title=Top Singles Reviewed By Derek Johnson - Fleetwood Mac: Albatross (Blue Horizon) |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1968/NME-1968-12-07i.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025 |magazine=New Musical Express |page=6 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> Following the song's entry into the top ten, Tony Wilson of ''Melody Maker'' wrote that the "Albatross" was "a rather surprising hit, being an instrumental and not the familiar heavy blues feel of the Mac's music."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wilson |first=Tony |date=11 January 1969 |title=Peter Gets a Touch of Those Homesick Blues|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/69/Melody-Maker-1969-0111.pdf |access-date=11 May 2025 |magazine=Melody Maker |page=9 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>

Several publications have included "Albatross" on their lists ranking the best Fleetwood Mac songs. ''The Guardian'' and ''Paste'' ranked the song number 12 and number 28 respectively on their lists of the 30 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs. Alexis Petridis of ''The Guardian'' thought that the song's "flawlessly becalmed atmosphere" "transcended its era" and Matt Mitchell of ''Paste'' said that the song was not the "flashiest early Mac song by far, but it's one of the sweetest to revisit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/19/fleetwood-mac-ranked-30-best-songs|title=Fleetwood Mac's 30 greatest songs – ranked!|first=Alexis|last=Petridis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |work=The Guardian|date=19 May 2022|accessdate=18 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/fleetwood-mac/30-best-fleetwood-mac-songs|title=The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs|first=Matt|last=Mitchell|work=Paste|date=7 August 2023|accessdate=18 September 2023}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' also ranked the song number 19 on their list of the band's 50 greatest songs.<ref name="Fifty"/>

==B-sides== The 1968 B-side to "Albatross" was "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues", a non-album track written by Danny Kirwan. He took inspiration from a clarinet solo played by Jimmy Dorsey on a 1933 composition of the same name written by Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti. Kirwan then repurposed the clarinet solo for guitar and recorded the song on 6 October 1968 at CBS Studios in London, the same day as "Albatross".<ref name="Hjort"/><ref name="All the Songs">{{Cite book |last=Roubin |first=Olivier |title=Fleetwood Mac: All The Songs |last2=Ollivier |first2=Romuald |date=1 April 2025 |publisher=Black Dog Leventhal Publishers |isbn=978-0-7624-8630-4 |location=New York |pages=92–94}}</ref> Green felt that his approach to the song was unsatisfactory and opted not to play on the studio recording.<ref name="Celmins"/> Similar to "Albatross", Spencer also sat out of the recording sessions for "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues".<ref name="All the Songs"/> As such, Kirwan played all of the guitars himself on "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues".<ref name="vaudeville"/> John Peel, a disc jockey for BBC Radio 1, opted to play "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" on his ''Top Gear'' radio programme instead of its A-side.<ref name="Celmins"/> Fleetwood Mac's cover of "Need Your Love So Bad" was selected as the B-side for the 1973 re-release of "Albatross".<ref name="All the Songs"/>

==Personnel== *Peter Green – guitar *Danny Kirwan – guitar *John McVie – bass guitar *Mick Fleetwood – drums

==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Chart (1968–1969) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{single chart|Australia|11|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Flanders|19|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Wallonia|35|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- | Canadian Singles Chart<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5923.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - March 31, 1969}}</ref> | align="center"| 45 |- | Canadian AC Chart<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5929.pdf| title=RPM Top 40 AC Singles - March 24, 1969}}</ref> | align="center"| 16 |- {{single chart|Ireland2|5|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Dutch100|1|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Norway|2|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Sweden|4|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- {{single chart|Switzerland|4|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross}} |- | UK Singles Chart<ref name="Official"/> | align="center"| 1 |- | US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles | align="center"| 4 |- | US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite magazine|title=''Cash Box'' Top 100|magazine=Cash Box|page=4|date=22 March 1969|volume=XXX|issue=34|location=New York, NY|issn=0008-7289}}</ref> | align="center"| 98 |- {{single chart|West Germany|19|artist=Fleetwood Mac|song=Albatross|songid=72|year=1969}} |}

{| class="wikitable" ! Chart (1973 UK re-release) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{single chart|Ireland2|8|song=Albatross}} |- | UK Singles Chart<ref name="Official"/> | align="center"| 2 |}

{| class="wikitable" ! Chart (1989 UK re-release) ! Peak<br/>position |- | UK Singles Chart<ref name="Official"/> | align="center"| 96 |}

{| class="wikitable" ! Chart (2020–2023) ! Peak<br />position |- | UK Physical Singles Chart<ref>{{Cite web|title=Official Physical Singles Chart 27 April 2023 - 3 May 2023|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-singles-chart/20230428/1/|access-date=26 August 2023 |website=Official Charts}}</ref> | align="center"|8 |- {{singlechart|UKdownload|54|date=20200731|access-date=26 August 2023}} |- | UK Singles Sales Chart<ref>{{Cite web|title=Official Singles Sales Chart 27 April 2023 - 3 May 2023|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-sales-chart/20230428/7509/|access-date=26 August 2023 |website=Official Charts}}</ref> | align="center"|17 |- | UK Vinyl Singles Chart<ref>{{Cite web|title=Official Vinyl Singles Chart 27 April 2023 - 3 May 2023 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/vinyl-singles-chart/20230428/897/|access-date=26 August 2023 |website=Official Charts}}</ref> | align="center"|8 |}

==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Fleetwood Mac|title=Albatross|award=Platinum|relyear=1968|certyear=2025|source=radioscope|access-date=8 November 2025}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Fleetwood Mac|title=Albatross|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2025|id=354-1472-1|access-date=8 November 2025}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==Legacy== One of the earliest uses of the tune was on the soundtrack for the Rainer Werner Fassbinder sci-fi virtual reality film ''World on a Wire'' (1973). It was featured (along with "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues") in 1979's ''Rock 'n' Roll High School''. Mick Fleetwood told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine that it was also used by the BBC on a wildlife program before it was a hit.<ref>{{cite magazine | title=The True Life Confessions of Fleetwood Mac | date=24 March 1977 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-true-life-confessions-of-fleetwood-mac-120867/ | magazine=Rolling Stone | access-date= 28 July 2020}}</ref> The piece was also used as the background music to Marks & Spencer's 2005 advertising campaign. The song was used again by Marks & Spencer in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/marketing/mands-revives-its-famous-food-porn-ad-campaign/592038.article|title=M&S revives its famous 'food porn' ad campaign|first=Marianne|last=Calnan|date=3 April 2019|website=The Grocer|access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref>

In March 2005, ''Q'' magazine placed "Albatross" at number 37 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks".<ref>{{cite magazine|title= 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever! |date= March 2005 |url= http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Guitar%20Tracks |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060224054627/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Guitar%20Tracks |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 24 February 2006 |magazine= Q Magazine |publisher= Rocklist.net |access-date= 20 February 2014}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Fleetwood Mac}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albatross (instrumental)}} Category:1960s instrumentals Category:1968 songs Category:Fleetwood Mac songs Category:Rock instrumentals Category:UK singles chart number-one singles Category:Songs written by Peter Green (musician) Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Vernon (record producer)