Christine McVie, a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, died suddenly last November; even her bandmate Stevie Nicks had no idea she was ill. The tributes flooded in, and they haven’t stopped since. McVie would have turned 80 today, and Rhino has announced plans to republish two of her three solo albums, her self-titled debut in 1984 and The Meantime in 2004. (McVie’s first solo album, Christine Perfect, was released in 1970, before joining Fleetwood Mac and marrying bandmate John McVie; it is not included in the reissue campaign.)
As stated in an article by Stereogum.com, Christine McVie reissues were in the works before her death, and the new version of The Meantime features “Little Darlin’,” a previously unreleased outtake that has now been added as a bonus track. Today is the release date for the song. It’s a beautiful, seductive midtempo rocker with hints of reggae and a buttery lead vocal. Few people could create music with this much richness and character. “Little Darlin'” can be heard below.
Along with the release news, McVie’s longtime bandmate Mick Fleetwood teamed up with ukulele expert Jake Shimabukuro for a primarily instrumental performance of “Songbird,” a 1977 s song that McVie penned and sung. Fleetwood plays the drums and sings love notes to McVie during the song’s opening and outro. It’s an odd, emotional piece of music that you may hear below.
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