Go Your Own Way

For the album by Gareth Gates, see Go Your Own Way (album). For the airline slogan, see Independence Air.
"Go Your Own Way"
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Rumours
B-side "Silver Springs"
Released December 1976
Format 7-inch single
Recorded Record Plant, Sausalito; Wally Heider Studios, Los Angeles; Criteria Studios, Miami, 1976
Genre Rock
Length 3:34
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Lindsey Buckingham
Producer(s) Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat
Certification Gold (BPI)
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Say You Love Me"
(1976)		 "Go Your Own Way"
(1976)		 "Don't Stop"
(1977 UK)
"Dreams"
(1977 USA)
Rumours track listing
Audio sample
file info · help

"Go Your Own Way" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released as a single in December 1976. Written by Lindsey Buckingham, it was the first single from the group's 1977 album Rumours.

Composition

Large, wooden building with a brown door (showing woodland animals play musical instruments) located in the bottom, centre left, and the large numbers "2200" painted in white above the door, centre-right. Asymmetrical trees with hanging foliage frame the building on all sides, while on the asphalt in the foreground, there are parking spaces and a disabled person sign.
Like many other tracks off Rumours, "Go Your Own Way" was largely recorded in Sausalito's Record Plant, a wooden structure with few windows, located at 2200 Bridgeway.

The song was written on a vacation in Florida in a house the band rented. By this point, the members of Fleetwood Mac were not getting along very well. Mick Fleetwood, the band's drummer, remembers the tense atmosphere during this time:

It was hardly a vacation. Aside from the obvious unstated tension, I remember the house having a distinctly bad vibe to it, as if it were haunted, which did nothing to help matters…and that's where Lindsey played some of his stuff for the album. It was rough but it was great, though the setting didn't do it justice..."[1]

The band didn't hear any of these early recordings until they returned to Sausalito.

Buckingham had heard "Street Fighting Man" by The Rolling Stones, and he thought that type of drum approach would work well for the song. Ken Caillat, remembers that Mick Fleetwood initially had a difficult time with the drums. "I remember watching him guide Mick as to what he wanted – he'd be so animated, like a little kid, playing these air tom fills with his curly hair flying. Mick wasn't so sure he could do what Lindsey wanted, but he did a great job, and the song took off."[2]

The guitar solo was assembled in numerous takes at Criteria Studios by Ken Caillat, who was Fleetwood Mac's producer. "It was a completely comp'd solo, and on the 24-track it's still in its original form, with all the separate guitars, and you still have to mix that way. I remember, I'd gone away for Christmas vacation and got snowed in at Lake Tahoe, and when I finally returned I got a midnight call telling me to come to the studio because they'd been trying to mix that song and couldn't build the guitar solo. So I drove there and did the solo, using mutes and faders while also having two solos play simultaneously for certain parts, such as one toward the end where he does this slide."[3]

Lyrics

The song is about the complicated relationship that Buckingham and fellow Fleetwood Mac member Stevie Nicks were having. None of the members knew they were writing songs about each other until the album was released.[4]

Stevie Nicks asked Buckingham to remove the lyrics "Packing up, shacking up is all you wanna do", but Buckingham refused. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Nicks gave her thoughts on the matter. "I very much resented him telling the world that 'packing up, shacking up' with different men was all I wanted to do. He knew it wasn't true. It was just an angry thing that he said. Every time those words would come onstage, I wanted to go over and kill him. He knew it, so he really pushed my buttons through that. It was like, 'I'll make you suffer for leaving me.' And I did."[3]

Release and initial response

Although the release date for Rumours was set for February 1977, Fleetwood Mac wanted a single out by Christmas. "Go Your Own Way" was chosen to fill that role, and began its rise up the charts. This marketing move would prove to be very successful. Before the album's release, pre-orders had reached 800,000 copies, the biggest advance sale in Warner Brothers' history at the time.[5]

B. Mitchel Reed, a popular DJ in LA in the 70s, was underwhelmed when he first played the single on his program. After the song had finished, he said dismissively to millions of listeners: "I don't know about that one". Afterwards, Buckingham contacted Reed, demanding to know what the problem was. Reed told Buckingham that he could not find the beat. Both Fleetwood and Buckingham took the blame for this issue. Buckingham attributed the problem to the acoustic guitar track that he added late into production. While he felt that the acoustic guitar glued the whole piece together, its unusual entrance created confusion over the location of beat one.

As soon as I came up with the acoustic part, the whole song came to life for me because it acted as a foil for the vocals and a rhythmic counterpoint…so when it comes in, you don't have a reference point for where the "one" is, or where the beat is at all. It's only after the first chorus comes in that you can realize where you are – and that's what that deejay was confused about.[6]

Fleetwood on the other hand blamed his drumming:

"Go Your Own Way"s rhythm was a tom-tom structure that Lindsey demoed by hitting Kleenex boxes or something...I never quite got to grips with what he wanted, so the end result was my mutated interpretation. It became a major part of the song, a completely back-to-front approach that came, I'm ashamed to say, from capitalizing on my own ineptness.[6]

Despite this, Fleetwood has said in an interview that "Go Your Own Way" is one of his favorite songs to play. "I love playing this song. It's one of my favorites because I get to kick the hell out of my drums, and it's got that wonderfully primal part. It's a great 'let loose' stage song, in which I can revert to my old animal ways and not be quite so polite. Lindsey is a full-on rock 'n' roller on this song, and that I love."[7] Jeff Porcaro of the band Toto and Boz Scaggs complimented Fleetwood's drumming on "Go Your Own Way". On nights when Boz Scaggs opened for Fleetwood Mac, Porcaro would watch Fleetwood from the side of the stage. Porcaro once asked Fleetwood about his unorthodox drumming:

I've watched, I've tried to understand it. Nothing you do up there makes sense, but it sounds beautiful. What's your method? What are you doing in that last fill of "Go Your Own Way"? I can't figure it out! I've been watching every night. What do you do in the last measure on that last beat? Is the snare ahead or behind? Is the hi-hat off by two quarters or is a little more than that?[8]

Jeff Porcaro was initially dubious, and found it hard to believe that Fleetwood, a drummer he admired, had no clue what he was doing. "It was only after we continued to talk that Jeff realized I wasn't kidding around. We eventually had a tremendous laugh about it, and when I later told him that I was dyslexic, it finally made sense."[9]

Commercial performance

Like many of the singles released off of the previous album Fleetwood Mac, "Go Your Own Way" was very successful. The song peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's first top-ten hit in the U.S.[10] In the UK, the single was not as successful; it barely scraped into the top 40. However, the song became quite popular in the U.K. over a longer period as Rumours received more radio airplay and it re-entered the singles chart on many occasions. This led to the song selling gradually over the years. In 2013, it was certified Silver in the UK for digital sales over 200,000 copies. In 2016, it was certified Gold for digital sales of over 400,000 copies. The song also hit the top 40 in many other countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, where it hit No. 1.

Critical reception

"Go Your Own Way" has received critical praise upon release. Daryl Easlea of BBC called Buckingham's compositions the best tracks on Rumours, "Go Your Own Way" included.[11]Matthew Greenwald (of AllMusic) noted the song's folky sound, reminiscent of pre-Beatles bands like The Everly Brothers. He also heavily praises the lively chord changes and bombastic choruses. "All of these factors, plus a great performance from the band (especially Buckingham's exquisite guitar solo) helped make the song one of the band's biggest and most timeless hits, ever."[12] It is ranked No. 120 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[13] and is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[14]

Track listing

US Vinyl (Warner Brothers Records - WBS 8304)[15]
  1. "Go Your Own Way" 3:34
  2. "Silver Springs" 4:33
UK Vinyl (Warner Brothers Records - K 16872)[16]
  1. "Go Your Own Way" 3:34
  2. "Silver Springs" 4:33

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[17] 10
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[18] 10
U.S. Adult Contemporary 45
UK Singles Chart[19] 38
New Zealand Singles Chart[20] 23
Dutch Top 40[21] 1
ARIA Charts[22] 20
Canadian Singles Chart[23] 11
Germany Top 100 Singles[24] 11
Ultratop 50 Singles [25] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1977) Rank
Canada[26] 109
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] 94
U.S. Cash Box[28] 86

Personnel

Other appearances

Three years after its first appearance on Rumours, it was included on Live. This performance was recorded in Cleveland in 1979, and featured Ray Lindsey (Buckingham's guitar tech) on rhythm guitar. Its next appearance on a live album was 1997's The Dance. Seven years, later the song appeared on both the DVD and CD of Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston.

Throughout the years, "Go Your Own Way" has made its way onto numerous compilations, including Greatest Hits in 1988, 25 Years - The Chain in 1992, and The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac in 2002.

In addition to albums, "Go Your Own Way" has appeared in a couple of video games. In 2008, the song was included on both Rock Band 2[30] and Guitar Hero World Tour. [31]

Cover versions

"Go Your Own Way" has been covered by several artists, including NOFX,[32] The Lumineers,[33] Vomit Launch,[34] Seaweed,[35] The Cranberries,[36] Jellyfish,[37] Jennifer Brown,[38] Wilson Phillips,[39] Biffy Clyro,[40] Carrie Underwood,[40] Boy George,[40] Kate Ceberano,[41] Silverstein,[40] Keane,[42] Lea Michele,[43] Lissie,[6] Head and the Heart,[44] Colbie Caillat,[40] Art of Dying [6] and Rawr Vanity.

Canadian artist Karl Wolf sampled the refrain from the song in his single "Go Your Own Way" with additional music and lyrics. The single appears on his album Stereotype.[45]

References

  1. ↑ Fleetwood, Mick; Bozza, Anthony (October 2014). Play On (First ed.). New York, NY: Little Brown and Company. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-316-40342-9.
  2. ↑ Bosso, Joe. "Fleetwood Mac's classic album Rumours track-by-track". Musicradar. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Buskin, Richard. "Fleetwood Mac 'Go Your Own Way'". SOS. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ CNN: Mac's Buckingham, Nicks still have tension, love Retrieved 2013-07-17
  5. ↑ Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac - The Definitive History. New York, NY: Sterling. pp. 154–155. ISBN 978-1-4027-8630-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Robbins, Patrick. "Five Good Covers: Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)". Cover Me. Cover Me. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ Bosso, Joe. "Mick Fleetwood: my 11 greatest recordings of all time - Go Your Own Way". musicradar. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  8. ↑ Fleetwood, Mick; Bozza, Anthony (October 2014). Play On: Now Then & Fleetwood Mac. 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104: Little, Brown and Company. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-316-40342-9.
  9. ↑ Fleetwood, Mick; Bozza, Anthony (October 2014). Play On: Now Then & Fleetwood Mac. 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-316-40342-9.
  10. ↑ Go Your Own Way at AllMusic
  11. ↑ Easlea, Daryl. "Fleetwood Mac Rumours Review". BBC. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  12. ↑ Greenwald, Matthew. "Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way". AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac, 'Go Your Own Way' - 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  14. ↑ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". infoplease. Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (UK Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac: Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  19. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  20. ↑ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. "charts.org.nz - Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac in New Zealand Charts". charts.org.nz. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  21. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl - Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac in Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl. November 9, 2009.
  22. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  23. ↑ "Results-RPM-Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  24. ↑ Musicline. "Musicline.de - Chartverfolgung - Fleetwood Mac" (in German). musicline.de. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts - Fleetwood Mac". Ultratop. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Pop Singles" Billboard December 24, 1977: 64
  28. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  29. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "More Cowbell Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  30. ↑ Stubbs, Kenneth. "Rock Band 2 Cheats, Codes & Guides". GamesRadar. Future US, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Guitar Hero World Tour full set list revealed". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  32. ↑ "NOFX cover of Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way". WhoSampled. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  33. ↑ Filbin, Patrick. "The Lumineers Cover Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way'". Paste Magazine. Paste Media Group. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Vomit Launch - Go Your Own Way Live". last.fm. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Go Your Own Way By Seaweed on Sub Pop Records". Sub Pop. Sub Pop Records. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  36. ↑ "The Cranberries - Go Your Own Way". Last.fm. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Video Jellyfish - Go Your Own Way - Live in Frankfurt, Germany". 2K music. 2K14. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Jennifer Brown "Go Your Own Way" Lyrics". Lyrics Box. LyricsBox. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  39. ↑ Gabel, Sue. "Wilson Phillips performing for one night only at the Snoqualmie Casino Ballroom". axs. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 "Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac Statistics". setlist.fm. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Video Kate Ceberano "Go Your Own Way"". 2Kmusic. 2K14. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Keane - Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac) - Live on BBC Radio 2 (2010-05-10)". Youtube. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  43. ↑ Marsi, Steve. "Glee Sneak Peek: Lea Michele Belts Out "Go Your Own Way"". TV Fanatic. TV Fanatic. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  44. ↑ "The Head & The Heart cover Fleetwood Mac". Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  45. ↑ YouTube KarlWolfVEVO channel - "Go Your Own Way"

External links

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