We watched a TV prog the other night on the making of the LP of this name by Fleetwood Mac. I feel that it was one of the most complete pop records ever made. Great melodies, varied instrumental leads, varied rhythms, meaningful words, etc. And seeing how it was put together, accompanied by snatches of the songs, brought this all back to me. It topped the US charts for 6 months and sold 30 million copies. Not bad.
But what emerged from the programme was the emotional turmoil the five members of the group were in. The two partnerships were both breaking down and the fifth member, Mick Fleetwood, had recently gone through a painful divorce. The McVeighs only spoke to each other when absolutely essential.
Despite all this they focused on composing and recording for 15 hours a day over a six month period in a cramped and windowless studio. They were also well fuelled with the drugs of the day. They realised that they were dealing with their emotions obliquely through their songs and hence the title of the LP. Quite a story.
And then I remembered from the cover picture that I probably had a copy of the LP.
Yes, and many more, sitting obsoletely in a cupboard upstairs. No wonder I don't listen to music much these days. All the good stuff is trapped in old technology which would cost £100s to digitise in any way. And the music companies fret about downloads. Who has been ripped off here?
We came across this hamlet on a walk yesterday. It is tiny, but what a history!
It is situated on a spring at the foot of the chalk Hog's Back ridge and is thought to have been first settled in 8000 BC (no mistype) for this reason. It has a mini church (44 feet x 18feet internally) dating from 1060, the largest medieval barn in Surrey dating from 1388, and a Manor House dating from 1150 - all AD, of course. Oh, and there was a Roman temple nearby where £2million of coins were looted using metal detectors in 1985.
The manor - an estate - is recorded in the Domesday Book (1083) which mentions that it had belonged to two brothers of King Harold in Saxon times. The present stone church is believed to have replaced a wooden Saxon church on the site.
The manor changed hands over the years and into the ownership of the Cistercian (i.e. Roman Catholic) monks based at Waverley Abbey in 1130 to provide them with grain, fish and wool.
Henry VII's anti RC dissolution dissolved the Abbey in 1536 (G&D, remember visiting the ruins?) and ownership of the manor passed into secular hands. At one time a Quaker family owned it and, not having use for churches, they used the building as a carpenter's shop. The church was restored and re-opened in 1861. Two of Prime Minister Asquith's children are buried in the small church yard.
During World War II the Manor House was taken over by the Special Operatives Executive (SOE) which apparently features in Ted Allbeury' s spy books. Here agents from the Continent were trained in methods of disruption - an equivalent of terrorist training camps - before returning to their own countries' to join resistance movements.
There is more detail on the place, especially the Barn which has to be viewed internally, in Wiki or by googling. Here are two pictures of the church, taken in 2008 AD.
We watched a TV prog the other night on the making of the LP of this name by Fleetwood Mac. I feel that it was one of the most complete pop records ever made. Great melodies, varied instrumental leads, varied rhythms, meaningful words, etc. And seeing how it was put together, accompanied by snatches of the songs, brought this all back to me. It topped the US charts for 6 months and sold 30 million copies. Not bad.
