Albatross (instrumental)



"Albatross" is a guitar-based instrumental by Fleetwood Mac, released as a single in November 1968, later featuring on the compilation albums The Pious Bird of Good Omen (UK) and English Rose (US). It was a major hit in several countries and became Fleetwood Mac's only Number 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart, spending one week at the top. It was re-released in the UK as a single in 1973, and peaked at Number 2 in the charts. The piece was composed by Peter Green. The single has sold over 900,000 copies in the UK.

Composition
Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" (1959) reportedly inspired Peter Green for his 1968 instrumental "Albatross", although 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.

The composition and its arrangement suggest a relaxing sea setting, with cymbals imitating the sound of waves (Mick Fleetwood played his drum kit using timpani mallets to give a muted sound) and a dreamy solo from Green's guitar. It contains four chords, E, Emaj7, A, and F#m, played by Green on his Fender Stratocaster into an Orange Matamp OR100. Green had been working on the piece for some time before the addition to the band of 18-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan. Slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer was not generally inclined to work with Green, who had felt unable to realise the overall effect that he wanted. With Kirwan's input, Green completed the piece and it was recorded just two months after Kirwan joined, without Spencer present. Although he was not a part of the recording sessions, Spencer was shown in video material miming to Green's slide guitar parts. Kirwan's instrumental "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" was chosen for the B-side in most territories. "Albatross" has been re-released many times as a single in various countries, with many different B-sides.

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. Many of their compilations only focus on hits from the 1970s and 1980s. However, other compositions from that period have gone on to become classic recordings in the hands of other performers – "Black Magic Woman" as recorded by Santana for example. Another example, "Oh Well" has gone on to become a rock standard. "Albatross" is the only Fleetwood Mac composition with the distinction of having inspired a Beatles song, "Sun King" from 1969's Abbey Road.

One of the earliest uses of the tune was on the soundtrack for the Rainer Werner Fassbinder sci-fi virtual reality film Welt am Draht (usually translated as World on a Wire). It was featured (along with "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues") in 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School. It was also used by the BBC as the theme music to a long running travel programme in the 1960s and '70s.

The piece was used as the background music to Marks & Spencer's 2005 advertising campaign. In March of that year, Q magazine placed it at number 37 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Apart from being used in Welt am Draht (World on a Wire), the track can also be heard in the film Man on Wire about Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center.

The distinctive slide guitar motif is a recurring theme on The KLF's 1990 album Chill Out.

The tune was covered by a German ambient musical project B-Tribe on their album Suave Suave in 1995.

Side notes
Fleetwood Mac became associated with this piece in the British public consciousness despite having numerous other well-received singles. In other territories, however, the greater iconic body of Fleetwood Mac hits came after the departure of Peter Green in 1970 and other line-up changes took place (including the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in 1975). This is particularly true of North America, where "Albatross" was a minor hit.

While the tune influenced an entire generation of guitarists, "Albatross" was a clear influence on Pink Floyd's David Gilmour's playing style, from the single-string three note bends, the rhythmic pulsing bass and harmony guitars, to its spacey ambience. On numerous occasions Gilmour has acknowledged the influence of Green on his style, and performed "Albatross" on Jools Holland's BBC Radio 2 show on 10 November 2008.

Personnel

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