The Dance is a live album and video/DVD by Fleetwood Mac released in 1997. It marked the reunion of the band's highly successful Rumours line-up. This made it the first full Fleetwood Mac album to feature Lindsey Buckingham as a member since Tango in the Night (1987) and the first to feature Stevie Nicks since Behind the Mask (1990). So far it is also the last to feature Christine McVie who left the group in 1998. She returned in 2014 but no new album has been released under the Fleetwood Mac name since that time.
The concert was an MTV special to celebrate the reunion. It featured 22 songs, 17 of which came out on the CD.
The show introduced four new tracks: Christine McVie's Temporary One, Nicks' Sweet Girl and Buckingham's Bleed to Love Her and My Little Demon. A studio version of Bleed to Love Her would later appear on Say You Will (2003). It marked the first performance of the acoustic version of Big Love in the context of a Fleetwood Mac show as well as a similarly acoustic rendering of Buckingham's solo track Go Insane. The performance of Say You Love Me featured Buckingham playing banjo and bassist John McVie doing a muted backing vocal.
Tusk was performed with the USC Marching Band who had also played on the original studio recording. They stayed on to play on Don't Stop, the first time the band had ever attempted the song with a brass section. Rhiannon featured an extended vocal and piano introduction, not previously featured on any commercially released version of the song and Silver Springs made its return to the live setlist after a twenty-year absence enforced by its being confined to a b-side. Nicks expressed her joy at being able to resurrect the song.
It also marked the first appearance with the group of sidesmen Neale Heywood and Brett Tuggle who would continue with the band for some time afterwards. As at 2018, Heywood is still working with Fleetwood Mac while Tuggle is now with Lindsey Buckingham's touring band.
Full set list[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Studio version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Chain | Fleetwood/McVie/McVie/Buckingham/Nicks | Rumours (1977) |
| 2 | Dreams | Stevie Nicks | Rumours (1977) |
| 3 | Everywhere | Christine McVie | Tango in the Night (1987) |
| 4 | Gold Dust Woman | Stevie Nicks | Rumours (1977) |
| 5 | I'm So Afraid | Lindsey Buckingham | Fleetwood Mac (1975) |
| 6 | Temporary One | Christine McVie/Eddy Quintela | none |
| 7 | Bleed to Love Her | Lindsey Buckingham | Say You Will (2003) |
| 8 | Gypsy | Stevie Nicks | Mirage (1982) |
| 9 | Big Love | Lindsey Buckingham | Tango in the Night (1987) |
| 10 | Go Insane | Lindsey Buckingham | Go Insane (1984) (Lindsey Buckingham solo album) |
| 11 | Landslide | Stevie Nicks | Fleetwood Mac (1975) |
| 12 | Say You Love Me | Christine McVie | Fleetwood Mac (1975) |
| 13 | You Make Loving Fun | Christine McVie | Rumours (1977) |
| 14 | My Little Demon | Lindsey Buckingham | none |
| 15 | Silver Springs | Stevie Nicks | B-side of Go Your Own Way (1976) |
| 16 | Over My Head | Christine McVie | Fleetwood Mac (1975) |
| 17 | Rhiannon | Stevie Nicks | Fleetwood Mac (1975) |
| 18 | Sweet Girl | Stevie Nicks | none |
| 19 | Go Your Own Way | Lindsey Buckingham | Rumours (1977) |
| 20 | Tusk | Lindsey Buckingham | Tusk (1979) |
| 21 | Don't Stop | Christine McVie | Rumours (1977) |
| 22 | Songbird | Christine McVie | Rumours (1977) |
CD track listing[]
- The Chain
- Dreams
- Everywhere
- Rhiannon
- I'm So Afraid
- Temporary One
- Bleed to Love Her
- Big Love
- Landslide
- Say You Love Me
- My Little Demon
- Silver Springs
- You Make Loving Fun
- Sweet Girl
- Go Your Own Way
- Tusk
- Don't Stop
Fleetwood Mac[]
Mick Fleetwood - drums, percussion
John McVie - bass, additional backing vocal on Say You Love Me
Christine McVie - vocals, keyboards, maracas on Everywhere
Lindsey Buckingham - vocals, lead guitar, banjo on Say You Love Me
Stevie Nicks - vocals, tambourine
Additional personnel[]
Brett Tuggle – keyboards, guitar, background vocals
Neale Heywood – guitar, background vocals
Lenny Castro – percussion
Sharon Celani – background vocals
Mindy Stein – background vocals
USC Trojan Marching Band directed by Dr Arthur C. Bartner