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Fleetwood Mac · S2 E6
Heroes Are Hard to Find
The last Bob Welch album. A decent record, modest sales, and a band running out of road
Late 1974, Los Angeles. Bob Welch tells Mick Fleetwood he is leaving, and for the first time in this band's history, the man walking out the door is the calmest person in the room.
Bob Welch, "Ebony Eyes" (French Kiss, 1977). Three years after leaving Fleetwood Mac, Welch proves he had hit material in him all along. A slick, confident pop-rock single that reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“When Bob said he was leaving, I understood completely. There was no anger. He had given us everything, and we both knew the next chapter required something neither of us could quite name yet.”
— Mick Fleetwood, "Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac," 1990
California
The band has moved permanently to Los Angeles, and Heroes Are Hard to Find is the cleanest record they have ever made. Christine McVie is now the dominant songwriter and lead voice, writing the title track and most of the album's strongest material. It reaches #34 on the Billboard 200, their highest chart position, but the numbers feel like a ceiling, not a launch pad.
TAP TO REVEAL: Why did Bob Welch leave Fleetwood Mac right when things were looking up?
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Bob Welch: The Final Count
Bermuda Triangle (Fleetwood Mac)
A Bob Welch deep cut from Heroes Are Hard to Find that connects directly to his "Hypnotized" obsession with the unexplained. Where "Hypnotized" drifts and floats, this one grooves, with Welch spinning a paranormal mystery over a tight rhythm section. The last glimpse of his particular brand of weird, dreamy rock before he walks out the door.
Bermuda Triangle, Fleetwood Mac (1974)
Read the lyrics while you listen. Welch spinning a paranormal mystery into song, the last trace of his particular brand of weird before he walks out.
The guitarist is gone and Mick Fleetwood needs a replacement, again. Next: a recording studio in Van Nuys, a demo tape left on the console, and a voice that changes everything.
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