Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the British and American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 21 November 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. It covers the period of the band's greatest commercial success, from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s.
Other than the identical title, it is completely different from the 1971 "Greatest Hits" album (which covers the early Peter Green incarnation of the band) and the two releases have no tracks in common. The 1988 album draws only on recordings from after Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the group in 1975, omitting earlier hits such as "Albatross" and "Oh Well".
The album has proven to be a major success since the time of its release. It peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200[ Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits (1988) chart peaks (Billboard.com)] and sold steadily over the years since its release, and has to date been certified 8× platinum for shipping eight million copies there. In the United Kingdom, it reached number three upon release and has returned several times to the UK album chart and has been certified triple platinum for shipping 900,000 copies there.
Background The album contains two new tracks, "As Long as You Follow" (which was released as a single to promote the album), and "No Questions Asked". In the United States, "Big Love", "Over My Head", and "You Make Loving Fun" were exclusive to cassette and CD versions of the album. The track listing for the US release lacks the 1987 track "Seven Wonders" and the 1982 track "Oh Diane", both of which were included on European and Australian copies of the album.
This was the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature contributions from Rick Vito and Billy Burnette, who joined the band in 1987. Vito described the compilation album as "a presentation of the new band" and "the ushering in of a new era".
A number of sources state that this album was the last to be commercially released as an 8-track tape by a major label. from . Accessed 11 November 2006
Track listing
US release "Rhiannon" from Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks) – 4:11 "Don't Stop" from Rumours (Christine McVie) – 3:12 "Go Your Own Way" from Rumours (Lindsey Buckingham) – 3:38 "Hold Me" from Mirage (C. McVie, Robbie Patton) – 3:45 "Everywhere" from Tango in the Night (C. McVie) – 3:42 "Gypsy" from Mirage (Nicks) – 4:24 "You Make Loving Fun" from Rumours (C. McVie) – 3:31 "As Long as You Follow" (previously unreleased) (C. McVie, Eddy Quintela) – 4:10* "Dreams" from Rumours (Nicks) – 4:14 "Say You Love Me" from Fleetwood Mac (C. McVie) – 4:10 "Tusk" from Tusk (Buckingham) – 3:30 "Little Lies" from Tango in the Night (C. McVie, Quintela) – 3:38 "Sara" from Tusk (Nicks) – 6:22 "Big Love" from Tango in the Night (Buckingham) – 3:38 "Over My Head" from Fleetwood Mac (C. McVie) – 3:34 "No Questions Asked" (previously unreleased) (Nicks, Kelly Johnston) – 4:40*
One US reissue by WB as #R1 25801, does not include tracks 7, 14 or 15, and the order of the tracks on the back side is different.
European and Australian releases "Rhiannon" – 4:11 "Go Your Own Way" – 3:37 "Don't Stop" – 3:11 "Gypsy" – 4:22 "Everywhere" – 3:41 "You Make Loving Fun" – 3:31 "Big Love" – 3:38 "As Long as You Follow" – 4:11* "Say You Love Me" – 4:09 "Dreams" – 4:15 "Little Lies" – 3:37 "Oh Diane" from Mirage (Buckingham, Richard Dashut) – 2:33 "Sara" – 6:25 "Tusk" – 3:26 "Seven Wonders" from Tango in the Night (Sandy Stewart, Nicks) – 3:33 "Hold Me" – 3:44 "No Questions Asked" – 4:41*
"As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked" were new tracks at the time of the album's release. The former was released as a single to promote the album in November 1988, peaking at No. 66 in the UK and No. 43 in the US. "Hold Me" was also re-released in the UK with "No Questions Asked" as its B-side in February 1989. "You Make Loving Fun", "Big Love", "Oh Diane" and "Seven Wonders" are not included on the UK vinyl version, but are included on the cassette and CD formats. The LP contained 13 tracks.
Personnel Fleetwood Mac Lindsey Buckingham – lead and backing vocals, guitars, additional keyboards, percussion (except "As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked"), banjo ("Say You Love Me") Stevie Nicks – lead and backing vocals, additional keyboards ("Sara") Billy Burnette – rhythm guitar, backing vocals ("As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked") Rick Vito – lead guitar, backing vocals ("As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked") Christine McVie – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizer John McVie – bass guitar Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
Charts
Weekly charts + 1988–1989 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1988–1989) Peakposition Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 11 European Albums (Music & Media) 4 Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) 6 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Fleetwood Mac" in the "Artista" field, type "Greatest Hits" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca". 19
+ 1997 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1997) Peakposition
+ 2006 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2006) Peakposition
+ 2012 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2012) Peakposition
+ 2019–2026 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2019–2026) Peakposition Greek Albums (IFPI) 3 Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) 5 Hungarian Vinyl Albums (MAHASZ) 4
Year-end charts + 1988 weekly chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1988) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 39 UK Albums (Gallup) 27
+ 1989 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1989) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 31 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 62 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 8 European Albums (Music & Media) 53 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 43 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 19 US Billboard 200 72
+ 2015 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2015) Position US Billboard 200 71
+ 2016 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2016) Position US Billboard 200 173
+ 2018 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2018) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 78
+ 2019 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2019) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 45
+ 2020 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2020) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 17
+ 2021 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2021) Position Irish Vinyl Albums (IRMA) 6 US Billboard 200 135 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 16
+ 2022 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2022) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 118
+ 2023 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2023) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 129 US Billboard 200 135 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 28
+ 2024 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2024) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 138 US Billboard 200 158
+ 2025 year-end chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2025) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 154
Certifications
References