Station Man
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Station Man" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Fleetwood Mac | |
| from the album Kiln House | |
| A-side | "Jewel Eyed Judy" |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Studio | De Lane Lea, London |
| Length | 5:52 |
| Label | Reprise |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Fleetwood Mac |
"Station Man" is a song by British rock group Fleetwood Mac, which was released as the second track from their 1970 Kiln House album. The song is credited to Danny Kirwan, Jeremy Spencer, and John McVie,[1] although Spencer said in a 2010 interview that Christine McVie was more responsible for the song than John McVie.[2] Kirwan, Christine McVie, and Spencer wrote the song's lyrics at the band's communal house in the English countryside, where Kirwan also developed the song's arrangement.[2][3]
"Station Man" was sung as a duet between Kirwan and Christine McVie, who at the time of the recording had yet to officially join Fleetwood Mac due to contractual reasons.[3][4] The song features an extended fade-in, slide guitar playing by Spencer, and conga overdubs from Mick Fleetwood.[5] In 1971, it was issued as the B-side to "Jewel Eyed Judy, another song from the Kiln House album. "Station Man" was included in the band's setlist until 1977, several years after the departure of Kirwan and Spencer.[1] Footage from a rehearsal was included in the Black, White and Blues documentary released in 1971 and directed by Revel Guest.[5]
"Station Man" was also performed live by the Kiln House lineup of Fleetwood Mac, with a few recordings from 1970 and 1971 appearing on the Madison Blues album.[6] In 1971, The Spectrum student newspaper identified "Station Man" as one of the songs in the band's setlist when Peter Green performed a few shows with Fleetwood Mac after Spencer left a few weeks into the accompanying Kiln House tour to join a religious sect.[7]
According to Fleetwood in his 2014 memoir Play On, "Station Man" was the first song that Fleetwood Mac performed live with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, when the lineup made their live debut in El Paso, Texas on 15 May 1975.[8] At the time, Buckingham and Nicks only had material from their 1973 Buckingham Nicks album and 1975 Fleetwood Mac album to pull from, which required them to cull earlier songs from the band's discography for live performances.[9] The song was also retained for the first leg of the band's 1977 Rumours Tour, but it was later dropped from the setlist by the end of March.[1]
