"Landslide" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and performed by Stevie Nicks. The song was first featured on the band's self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975). The original recording also appears on the compilation albums 25 Years – The Chain (1992), The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002) and 50 Years – Don't Stop (2018), while a live version was released as a single 23 years later from the live reunion album The Dance (1997). "Landslide" reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Landslide" was certified gold in October 2009 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. According to Nielsen Soundscan, "Landslide" sold 2,093,186 copies in the United States as of 2017.[2]
"Landslide" | |
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Song by Fleetwood Mac | |
from the album Fleetwood Mac | |
Released | July 1975 |
Recorded | 1975 |
Genre | Folk rock[1] |
Length | 3:19 |
Label | Reprise |
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Nicks |
Producer(s) |
|
Audio sample | |
In 2021, the song was listed at No. 163 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]
The song is written and composed in the key of B-flat major and is set in a 2
2 time signature (alla breve) with a tempo of 80 beats per minute.[4]
History
editNicks has said that she wrote the song while contemplating either going back to school or continuing on professionally with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Nicks wrote "Landslide" while she was financially supporting both herself and Buckingham by taking up jobs as both a waitress and a cleaning lady.[5] Following the release of their debut album Buckingham Nicks, they had been dropped from their recording contract by Polydor Records before they could release a follow-up. Nicks wrote the song while visiting Aspen, Colorado, sitting in someone's living room "looking out at the Rocky Mountains pondering the avalanche of everything that had come crashing down on us ... at that moment, my life truly felt like a landslide in many ways."[6]
The song is one of Fleetwood Mac's most frequently performed during tours. Nicks has sung it on every Fleetwood Mac tour since joining the band, with the exception of the Shake the Cage tour, and has performed it on all of her own solo tours from 2005 onwards.[7] A live performance of "Landslide" recorded on 27 June 1980 at the London Wembley Arena was included on Live.[8]
While "Landslide" was never issued as a single on its initial release in 1975, Fleetwood Mac did release a live version from Fleetwood Mac's 1997 album The Dance; it peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's 24th entry on the chart. "Landslide" also reached the top 30 on both the US and Canadian adult contemporary charts. Other live recordings of "Landslide" also appear on Live in Boston (2004), Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (2007) (with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), The Soundstage Sessions (2009), Soundstage, and the Live in Chicago DVD.
Critical reception
editIn a contemporary review, Rolling Stone wrote that Nicks seemed "lost and out of place" on "Landslide" and that her voice sounded "callow and mannered".[9] Retrospective reviews have been more positive, with certain publications such as The Guardian and Paste ranking "Landslide" amongst the band's best work.[10][11] AllMusic described "Landslide" as a traditional song "built on a very simple (and very effective) country-folk-inspired chord progression".[12]
Personnel
edit- Stevie Nicks – vocals
- Lindsey Buckingham – guitars
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[21] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[23] | Gold | 500,000 ^ / 2,093,186[2] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Cover versions
editThe Smashing Pumpkins
edit"Landslide" | |
---|---|
Song by the Smashing Pumpkins | |
from the album Pisces Iscariot | |
Released | 4 October 1994 |
Length | 3:10 |
Label | Virgin |
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Nicks |
Producer(s) | Billy Corgan, Ted de Bono |
Music video | |
"Landslide" on YouTube |
Alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins recorded an acoustic arrangement of the song that was featured as the B-side to their 1994 single "Disarm" and later on their B-side collection Pisces Iscariot.
The group's arrangement went on to be one of the rock band's most-beloved tracks and even had the approval of Nicks herself. As she told fans during a 1998 online chat with SonicNet, "There's nothing more pleasing to a songwriter than [someone else] doing one of their songs. ['Landslide'] also led me to being friends with Billy Corgan and the possibility that we'll work together," she said of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman. "Over this song, there's been this incredible connection ... he reached out ... I believe that my poetry is really meant for everyone, no matter what age."
The new version was a hit, making it to the top three on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States that year and No. 30 on the US Airplay charts. The song was also featured on the US version of their greatest hits album Rotten Apples. It was later used in the TV show Alias on season 1 in the episode Page 47.
Charts
editChart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] | 47 |
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[25] | 30 |
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[26] | 3 |
Dixie Chicks
edit"Landslide" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Dixie Chicks | ||||
from the album Home | ||||
Released | 26 August 2002 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:50 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Nicks | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Dixie Chicks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Landslide" on YouTube |
American country music group the Dixie Chicks released a cover of "Landslide" on 26 August 2002 as the second single from their 2002 album, Home. Lead singer Natalie Maines said she was attracted to the song because she was then the same age that Nicks was when she first performed it. The band performed the song with Nicks at VH1 Divas Las Vegas in 2002.[citation needed] The music video for the song was directed by Jim Gable and edited by Scott C. Wilson.[citation needed]
This version, featuring the band's two- and three-part harmonies, reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[27][28] On the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, it is the band's only number-one single.[29] After Maines publicly criticised President George W. Bush and the imminent Allied invasion of Iraq, triggering a backlash, it fell to number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in one week and left the chart a week later.[30]
Outside the United States, "Landslide" reached number two in Canada and became the band's only top-10 hit in Australia, where it reached number six.[31][32] It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[33][34]
Track listings
editUS and Canadian CD single[35][36]
- "Landslide" (album version) – 3:49
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix) – 3:47
Australian CD single[37]
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix)
- "Landslide"
- "Landslide" (live from the Kodak Theater)
- "Landslide" (video version)
European maxi-CD single[38]
- "Landslide" (album version) – 3:49
- "Long Time Gone" – 4:08
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix) – 3:47
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix—video) – 3:45
UK CD single[39]
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix) – 3:47
- "Landslide" (album version) – 3:49
- "Landslide" (live from the Kodak Theater) – 4:07
- "Landslide" (the Sheryl Crow remix—video version) – 3:45
Charts
edit
|
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[34] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[33] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
editRegion | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 26 August 2002 | Country radio | [53] | |
28 October 2002 | [54] | |||
18 November 2002 | Contemporary hit radio | [55] | ||
Australia | 24 March 2003 | CD | [56] | |
United Kingdom | 7 April 2003 | Columbia | [57] |
Glee version
editThe cast of Fox Broadcasting Company's musical television program, Glee, performed the song in Season 2, Episode 15, "Sexy". Gwyneth Paltrow, Naya Rivera, and Heather Morris are featured on vocals for this version. Stevie Nicks attended the filming of the song and stated that it was a "beautiful mix" of the original and the Chicks version.[58]
Other cover versions
edit- Antony Hegarty recorded the song for the tribute album Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac.[59]
- Harry Styles performed this song with Nicks during his show at the Troubadour in May 2017.[60]
- The Japanese House recorded a cover of this song for Spotify Singles, released 26 July 2017.[61]
- Parodied by Lucy Lawless (in character as Stevie Nicks) in 17 October 1998, episode of Saturday Night Live.[62]
- On 12 March 2019, Australian pop singer Conrad Sewell recorded a cover of the song for Australian bank Westpac, in a campaign designed to target families dealing with separation and the resulting financial consequences.[63][64] Branding in Asia described the rendition as "powerful",[65] while The Music Network's Jake Challenor praised Sewell's performance as "soulful and emotionally charged".[64]
- Gus Dapperton released a cover in 2022 to mark his signing to Warner Brothers Records.[66]
- Brittany Snow (as "Bobby-Lynne") and Scott Mescudi (as "Jackson") performed a cover in the Ti West period slasher film X (2022), which is set in 1979, four years after the original song had been released.[67]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Allen, Jim (14 June 2016). "Dixie Chicks Return to Madison Square Garden". CMT News. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Digital Songs Chart Week Ending October 5, 2017" (PDF). Nielsen SoundScan. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ Landslide
- ^ Anderman, Joan (4 February 2014). "Stevie Nicks, Just Following Her Muse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ See Crystal Visions... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks (insert) (2007)
- ^ The Past Tour Pages Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Fleetwood Mac Legacy
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac / Live box set – SuperDeluxeEdition". 10 February 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Scoppa, Bud (25 September 1975). "Music - Fleetwood Mac". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (19 May 2022). "Fleetwood Mac's 30 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Mitchell, Matt (7 August 2023). "The 30 Greatest Fleetwood Mac Songs". Paste. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Landslide by Fleetwood Mac". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3522." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History". Billboard Rock Digital Songs for Fleetwood Mac. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. 26 December 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 55.
- ^ "Danish single certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Landslide". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "British single certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Landslide". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "American single certifications – Fleetwood Mac – Landslide". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2694." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ a b "The Chicks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ a b "The Chicks Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ a b "The Chicks Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ Smith, Grady (19 November 2015). "Is country music ready to forgive the Dixie Chicks?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ a b "The Chicks Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Dixie Chicks – Landslide". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ a b "American single certifications – The Chicks – Landslide". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ^ Landslide (US CD single liner notes). Dixie Chicks. Open Wide Records, Monument Records, Columbia Records. 2003. 38K 79857.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Landslide (Canadian CD single liner notes). Dixie Chicks. Open Wide Records, Monument Records, Columbia Records. 2003. 38K 3373.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Landslide (Australian CD single liner notes). Dixie Chicks. Open Wide Records, Monument Records, Columbia Records. 2003. 673292.2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Landslide (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Dixie Chicks. Open Wide Records, Monument Records, Columbia Records. 2003. COL 673292 5.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Landslide (UK CD single liner notes). Dixie Chicks. Columbia Records. 2003. 673739 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Dixie Chicks". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ "Dixie Chicks – Landslide". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Dixie Chicks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "The Chicks Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "The Chicks Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "Hot Country Songs: 2002". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2003". ARIA. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2003". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 52. 27 December 2003. p. YE-80. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Country Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 11, no. 51. 19 December 2003. p. 38.
- ^ "The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 11, no. 51. 19 December 2003. p. 14.
- ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1467. 23 August 2002. p. 24. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1476. 25 October 2002. p. 27. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1479. 15 November 2002. p. 22. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 24th March 2003" (PDF). ARIA. 23 March 2003. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2003. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 7 April 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 April 2003. p. 19. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Glee: Behind the Glee: Sexy". Fox Broadcasting Company. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (29 July 2012). "First Listen: 'Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac'". NPR. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (20 May 2017). "Watch Harry Styles Duet With Stevie Nicks During Secret Show at L.A.'s Troubadour". Billboard. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Graves, Shahlin (11 August 2017). "Listen: The Japanese House covers Fleetwood Mac's 'Landslide'". Coup De Main Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ King, Don Roy (8 October 2018). "SNL Transcripts: Lucy Lawless: 10/17/98". SNL Transcripts Tonight. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Jardine, Alexandra (12 March 2019). "A family copes with divorce in this poignant Australian banking ad". Ad Age. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b Challenor, Jake (21 March 2019). "Sync Watch: Conrad Sewell covers Fleetwood Mac for Westpac". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ McGill, Bobby (18 March 2019). "Touching ad follows boy dealing with his parent's[sic] separation". Branding in Asia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Wass, Mike (24 August 2022). "From 'Supalonely' to 'Landslide': Gus Dapperton Signs With Warner Records, Releases Fleetwood Mac Cover (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Abercrombie, Dana (23 March 2022). "Brittany Snow and Jenna Ortega on The Themes of X and The Meaning of Landslide". The Koalition. Retrieved 2 September 2022.