Hypnotized (Fleetwood Mac song)
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}{{Infobox song
| name = Hypnotized
| cover = Fleetwood Mac Hypnotized.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Cover of the "For Your Love" single
| type = single
| artist = Fleetwood Mac
| album = Mystery to Me
| A-side = For Your Love
| released = {{Start date|1973|10|15|df=y}}
| format =
| recorded = Mid-1973
| studio = Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
| venue =
| genre =
- Soft rock{{cite web | url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/05/the-20-best-fleetwood-mac-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 | title=The 20 Best Fleetwood Mac Songs of All Time | work=Paste | date=May 29, 2014 | access-date=February 25, 2016 | author=Gleason, Holly | archive-date=3 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303023842/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/05/the-20-best-fleetwood-mac-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 | url-status=dead }}
- psychedelic rock{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/01/christine-mcvie-quietly-led-fleetwood-mac-to-the-most-hits|title=Thinking About Tomorrow Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=Slate|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=January 14, 2023|access-date=February 10, 2023}}
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=48}}
| label = Reprise
| writer = Bob Welch
| producer = Fleetwood Mac & Martin Birch
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
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}}
"Hypnotized" is a song written by Bob Welch. The song originally featured on Fleetwood Mac's 1973 album Mystery to Me. The track was released on a single as the B-side of "For Your Love" and has been described as "gorgeous and lyrically strong", and referred to as the album's best track.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&dq=%22Hypnotized+(Fleetwood+Mac+song)%22&pg=PA413|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|first1=Vladimir|last1=Bogdanov|first2=Chris|last2=Woodstra|first3=Stephen Thomas|last3=Erlewine|date=1 June 2002|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780879306533|accessdate=1 June 2021|via=Google Books}}
Background and style
The song features triple time rhythm on the drums by Mick Fleetwood and combines with acoustic guitar and electric keyboards.{{cite book| author = Rooksby, Rikky| title = Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Guide to Their Music| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YR2oy8rhUTcC&q=Hypnotized+fleetwood+mac&pg=PA47| date = 2004-12-01| publisher = Omnibus Press| isbn = 978-1-84449-427-9| pages = 47–48 }} Fleetwood played the drum track straight through without any overdubs.{{cite web|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa7.htm|title=Bob Welch Q&A Session, November 1999|website=www.fleetwoodmac.net|access-date=2023-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026115815/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa7.htm|archive-date=2017-10-26|url-status=dead}} Welch draws upon the use of jazz fourth chords in the song, playing in a minor key, and also features a guitar solo by Bob Weston covering many octaves.
Hypnosis and dreaming are specifically referred to in the lyrics, and Welch also draws upon references to places such as Mexico and North Carolina. According to Welch, the atmosphere of the song was heavily influenced by his residence at the Benifold Mansion in Hampshire, England, a place he described as "rather spooky and strange even in summertime".
In 1978, the song was covered by the Pointer Sisters on their album Energy.{{Cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/45478?sort=title|title=Original versions of Hypnotized by The Pointer Sisters | SecondHandSongs|website=secondhandsongs.com|accessdate=1 June 2021}}
Reception
Donald Brackett, in his 2007 book Fleetwood Mac, 40 Years of Creative Chaos, discussed the album Mystery to Me and the song "Hypnotized", which he described as "a gentle yet compelling hit for Welch on this record".{{cite book| author = Brackett, Donald| title = Fleetwood Mac: 40 Years of Creative Chaos| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6VCNZcqay8oC&q=Hypnotized+Fleetwood+Mac&pg=PA82| date = September 2007| publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn = 978-0-275-99338-2| page = 82 }} In discussing Fleetwood Mac's change in direction in 1972 and 1973, he describes their stylistic changes as being better received at concerts in the United States, as at the time Americans were more open to them than the British, who were still in heavy demand for blues-oriented rock. Hal Horowitz describes the song as "the highlight of the Mystery to Me album, and undoubtedly one of Bob Welch's most fully realised songs for the band".{{cite web|title=Hypnotized|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/hypnotized-t2599876|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-04-26}} The Guardian praised the instrumentation as "musical gold" and posited that the song could have been commercially successful if it was released as an A-side.{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=25 July 2024|title=Hard rock, ambient weirdness and UFOs: exploring the greatness of early 70s Fleetwood Mac |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jul/25/early-70s-fleetwood-mac |access-date=2 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
In 1999, Welch received an award from ASCAP recognising 25 consecutive years of airplay for "Hypnotized" and "Sentimental Lady".{{Cite web |url=http://top40-charts.com/news/Rock/Ex-Fleetwood-Mac-Man-Bob-Welch-Returns-From-30-Year-Vacation/42206.html |title=Ex-Fleetwood Mac Man Bob Welch Returns from 30 Year Vacation @ Top40-Charts.com - Songs & Videos from 49 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 30 Countries |access-date=2011-04-23 |archive-date=2011-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204202046/http://top40-charts.com/news/Rock/Ex-Fleetwood-Mac-Man-Bob-Welch-Returns-From-30-Year-Vacation/42206.html |url-status=dead }}
Personnel
- Bob Welch – lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
- Bob Weston – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
- Christine McVie – Hohner Pianet N II, keyboards, backing vocals
- John McVie – bass guitar
- Mick Fleetwood – drums
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=zIdQ-EJ4TrUC&dq=Hypnotized+%28Fleetwood+Mac+song%29&pg=PA16 Hypnotized ranked 643rd in the top 1,000 rock songs, Thompson, Dave. 1000 Songs that Rock Your World. Krause Publications, 2011]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&dq=hypnotized+%22fleetwood+mac%22+%22mystery+to+me%22&pg=PA413 All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul, p. 413]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=pPSPe0DWrioC&dq=hypnotized+%22fleetwood+mac%22+%22mystery+to+me%22&pg=PA70 My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses]
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Category:The Pointer Sisters songs