The Visitor (Mick Fleetwood album)

After Fleetwood Mac's Tusk Tour, the band agreed to take an extended hiatus to pursue individual projects.{{cite book|last=Evans|first=Mike|title=Fleetwood Mac – The Definitive History|date=2011|publisher=Sterling|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-4027-8630-3|pages=181–182, 187}} Fleetwood had expressed interest in making a record rooted in African music in 1978,{{Cite AV media notes |title=Tusk (2015 Remastered Deluxe Edition) |title-link=Tusk |others=Fleetwood Mac |year=2016 |first=Jim |last=Irvin |page=15|type=Liner Notes |publisher=Warner Bros. Records Inc. |id=Publisher Warner Bros #2HS-3350 |location=Los Angeles}} although this idea was not fully realized until he travelled to Ghana. During the trip, he formulated the idea of collaborating with local musicians in Ghana to perform a mixture of Western and traditional African songs.{{cite magazine|title=Ghana's Drumbeats Strike a Fleetwood Nerve |magazine=Billboard|date=12 September 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-09-12.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|page=50 |via=World Radio History}} Fleetwood asked Warner Brothers to finance the project, but the record label turned him down as they were unwilling to give him three hundred thousand dollars to fly the necessary equipment out to Ghana and arrange for the recording sessions. Upon reaching out to RCA Records, the label's president, Robert Summer, met with Fleetwood for lunch and agreed to fund the project.{{cite magazine|last=Shruers|first=Fred|title=Ghanaian Encounters: Mick Fleetwood and the Drums of Africa |magazine=Rolling Stone|date=28 May 1981|pages=60, 62 |url=https://www.proquest.com/rsa/docview/2518077342/fulltextPDF/7250F8FA2193430CPQ/ |access-date=5 January 2025 |url-access=registration|via=ProQuest}} Summer received an acknowledgment in the liner notes, reading "special thanks for believing."{{cite news|title=Mick Fleetwood's African Odyssey |work=Scene|date=September 1981 |url=https://archive.org/details/mick-fleetwoods-african-odyssey |access-date=5 January 2025|page=7 |via=Internet Archive}} Fleetwood told Cary Darling of Billboard that he was not disappointed about the refusal of Warner Bros to fund the project and was pleased that RCA accepted his offer. Once the financing of the album was settled, Fleetwood flew out to Accra, the capital of Ghana, where Fleetwood and his manager Mickey Shapiro scouted the area for musicians.

Fleetwood's original plan was to send mixing desks and tape machines to local musicians in Ghana so they could record in their home localities, although he decided against this as the road conditions in the country rendered it impossible to transport the equipment. Fleetwood instead arranged for studio sessions with Faisal Helwani, who had the only functioning professional studio in Accra.{{cite book |last1=Fleetwood |first1=Mick |last2=Bozza |first2=Anthony|title=Play On: Now Then & Fleetwood Mac|date=October 2014|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-316-40342-9|pages=253–254}} He also consulted with Craig Woodson, a musicologist and professor at UCLA, who played him various tape recordings to prepare Fleetwood for his trip.{{cite magazine|title=Ghana's Drumbeats Strike a Fleetwood Nerve |magazine=Billboard|date=12 September 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-09-12.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|page=50 |via=World Radio History}} In return, he also asked Woodson if it would be appropriate to straddle English words onto existing African songs, but decided against this as he was concerned that it would be culturally insensitive to do so. He told the musicologist that he wanted to "play around with the material" while still remaining faithful to the song structures.

Fleetwood had originally asked Bob Welch, a former member of Fleetwood Mac, to appear on The Visitor, but Welch was too busy to participate. Instead, George Hawkins accompanied him on the trip. He later appeared on Fleetwood's I'm Not Me album from 1983 as a member and co-lead vocalist of Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa8.htm|title=Bob Welch, November 8 - 21, 1999 - Section 8|website=The Penguin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820215403/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa8.htm|archive-date=20 August 2016|access-date=12 July 2023}}

Fleetwood departed from the United States to Ghana with ten tons of recording equipment. While travelling to Ghana for the recording sessions, Fleetwood's credit card was cut off in part due to his financial problems with property investments.{{cite book|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|title=Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Illustrated History|year=2017|publisher=Voyageur Press|page=141|isbn=978-1627889759}} Fleetwood, Hawkins, Todd Sharp, and Richard Dashut stayed at the Star Hotel in Accra, where they commuted from to record at Ghana Film Studios. Fred Shruers of Rolling Stone, who visited the Star Hotel to interview Fleetwood, described their living quarters as a "small, drum-cluttered 'chalet' where the members lived "dorm-style". Hawkins said that the group was sick with dysentery and that one person also came down with malaria. Fleetwood had contracted an intestinal for over a week during his stay in Accra. They were assigned a houseboy who according to Hawkins, stole their beer and underwear; in one instance the houseboy also "caught the kitchen on fire".{{Cite web |title=George Hawkins Question and Answer Session - April 4 - 19, 2000 |url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/georgehawkins_qa1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513081925/http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/georgehawkins_qa1.htm |archive-date=13 May 2019 |access-date=20 February 2024 |website=The Penguin}} The musicians's union in Ghana was paid a sum of $10,000 upfront and all musicians who appeared on the album received full composer's and musician's royalties. In total, over 200 musicians participated in the recording sessions.

Following the seven-week recording session in Ghana, Fleetwood returned to England for mixing and overdubbing. These sessions took place at a studio situated in a mill that was owned by Jimmy Page.{{Cite book |last1=Fleetwood |first1=Mick|last2=Davis|first2=Stephen|title=Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac |publisher=William Morrow and Company |year=1990 |isbn=0-688-06647-X |location=New York |pages=248–249}} Fleetwood acknowledged in an interview with Billboard that he expected some members of Fleetwood Mac to question the commercial viability of the album, but said that he wanted The Visitor to be "accessible" to the general public. He reckoned that the album "would have sat on the shelf in some little record store" if he had pursued a purely African record. In total, the album cost between $400,000 and $500,000 to make, and Fleetwood failed to recuperate those losses through album sales.{{cite magazine|last=Dalton|first=David|title=A Lavish Launch For Fleetwood |magazine=Music Week|date=6 June 1981|page=1|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1981/Music-Week-1981-06-06.pdf|access-date=3 January 2025 |via=World Radio History}}

Two tracks on The Visitor were covers of Fleetwood Mac songs: "Rattlesnake Shake" was originally recorded for the 1969 album Then Play On, and "Walk a Thin Line" first appeared on the 1979 album Tusk. Peter Green sang lead vocals and played lead guitar on "Rattlesnake Shake", and was credited as Peter Greenbaum.{{cite magazine |last=Rea |first=Steven X. |title=Mick Fleetwood: The Visitor |magazine=High-Fidelity|date=October 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/80s/High-Fidelity-1981-10.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|page=96|via=World Radio History}} Fleetwood selected "Walk a Thin Line" for inclusion to his belief that the song "went unnoticed on Tusk." His former brother-in-law, George Harrison, also appeared on "Walk a Thin Line".{{cite book|last1=Leng|first1=Simon|title=The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps|date=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|location=7777 Bluemound Road, P.O. Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213|isbn=1-4234-0609-5|page=159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjY3kg2umEQC&q=george+harrison+walk+a+thin+line&pg=PA159|access-date=September 1, 2023}} Hawkins recalled that Fleetwood gave Harrison a phone call and asked him to visit Page's recording studio. Once Harrison arrived, they played "Walk a Thin Line" for him, who recommended the addition of a slide guitar. Hawkins said that Dashut had Harrison "set up and ready to go in about ten seconds before he had a chance to change his mind."

Fleetwood decided to cover "You Weren't in Love with Me" after hearing the song in an Australian bar with Dashut prior to their trip to Ghana. They approached the bar owner, who told them that the song's composer, Billy Field, had brought the song in specifically to play at the bar. "You Weren't in Love With Me" was still a demo at the time Fleetwood and Dashut heard it, but the song still piqued their interest, prompting them to research Field's musical work the next day. On The Visitor, "You Weren't in Love with Me" carried the truncated name, "You Weren't in Love". Sharp created the title for "Don't Be Sorry, Just Be Happy" from various slogans dispersed around Accra.

The Visitor debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 140 in July 1981 and later reached its peak of number 43 on the week dated 29 August 1981.{{cite magazine|title=Top LPs and Tape |magazine=Billboard|date=18 July 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-07-18.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|pages=79, 81 |via=World Radio History}}{{Cite magazine |title=Mick Fleetwood Chart History|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/mick-fleetwood/ |access-date=5 January 2025|magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}} Stevie Nicks, who was Fleetwood's bandmate in Fleetwood Mac, had recently released her debut solo album, Bella Donna, which ascended to number two the same week The Visitor peaked at number 43.{{cite magazine|last=Grein|first=Paul|title='Satisfying' Solo Projects By Group Members Grow |magazine=Billboard|date=5 September 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-09-05.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|pages=3, 66–67 |via=World Radio History}} On 5 September 1981, The Visitor remained at number 43 for a second consecutive week, while Bella Donna hit number one.

Upon the album's release, Shapiro commented that the album "was not received with a great deal of enthusiasm by commercial recording interests in the US." Stereo Review was relatively positive on the album, saying that the album's production is "more loving than slick, an approach that commands respect."{{cite magazine|title=Mick Fleetwood: The Visitor |magazine=Stereo Review|date=November 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFI-Stereo-Review-1981-11.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|page=103|via=World Radio History}}

A film crew was present at Ghana Film Studios to document the recording sessions. There were tentative plans in September 1981 to release a special on PBS using footage captured by the film crew; a documentary on The Visitor produced by the BBC was ultimately aired on MTV the following month.{{Cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/mick-fleetwood-mtv-1981 |title=MTV 10/4/81 SPECIAL - MICK FLEETWOOD "THE VISITOR" DOCUMENTARY 30 MIN |date=10 April 1981 |type=Documentary |language=en |publisher=MTV |via=the Internet Archive}} A CED videodisc was later issued by RCA containing various visual footage from the recording sessions.{{cite magazine|last=Foti|first=Laura|title=Cable Watch: N.Y.'s Group W Offers the Sound of the City |magazine=Billboard|date=4 September 1981 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1982/BB-1982-09-04.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|page=9 |via=World Radio History}} High Fidelity magazine reported that the videodisc possessed some synchronisation errors with the audio and visuals.{{cite magazine|title=High Fidelity Sounds Comes to Video Recordings |magazine=High-Fidelity|date=June 1983 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/80s/High-Fidelity-1983-06.pdf |access-date=5 January 2025|pages=57, 59–60|via=World Radio History}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Performed by

| title1 = Rattlesnake Shake

| writer1 = Peter Green

| length1 = 3:49

| title2 = You Weren't in Love

| writer2 = Billy Field

| length2 = 3:55

| title3 = O' Niamali

| writer3 = Nii Amartey

| length3 = 2:47

| title4 = Super Brains

| writer4 = A. B. Crentsil

| note4 = instrumental

| length4 = 4:07

| title5 = Don't Be Sorry, Just Be Happy

| writer5 = Todd Sharp

| length5 = 4:24

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| total_length = 37:57

| title1 = Walk a Thin Line

| writer1 = Lindsey Buckingham

| length1 = 3:19

| title2 = Not Fade Away

| writer2 = {{hlist|Buddy Holly|Norman Petty}}

| length2 = 2:22

| title3 = Cassiopeia Surrender

| writer3 = George Hawkins

| length3 = 4:34

| title4 = The Visitor

| writer4 = C. K. Ganjo

| length4 = 4:05

| title5 = Amelle (Come on Show Me Your Heart)

| writer5 = Amartey

| length5 = 4:35

}}

Band

• Mick Fleetwood – drums {{Small|(1–3, 5–9)}}, percussion {{Small|(1, 6)}}, extra percussion {{Small|(1)}}, water gong {{Small|(5)}}
• George Hawkins – lead vocals {{Small|(2, 5–8)}}, bass guitar {{Small|(1–3, 5–8, 10)}}, piano {{Small|(2, 6, 9)}}, guitar {{Small|(6)}}, organ {{Small|(8, 10)}}
• Todd Sharp – guitars {{Small|(1, 2, 5, 7)}}, rhythm guitar {{Small|(4)}}, lead guitar {{Small|(8)}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Additional musicians

• Lord Tiki – congas, hand drums {{Small|(1, 2, 7)}}, percussion {{Small|(7)}}
• Ebaali Gbiko (children's drum ensemble) – hand drums {{Small|(1, 8)}}, backing vocals {{Small|(1)}}
• The Ghana Folkloric Group – vocals and instrumentation {{Small|(9)}}
• Superbrains – instrumentation {{Small|(4)}}
• Adjo Group – vocals and instrumentation {{Small|(3, 10)}}, backing vocals {{Small|(6, 7)}}, hand drums {{Small|(7)}}, percussion {{Small|(7)}}
• Dicky Dash and the Clapettes (Richard Dashut) – extra percussion {{Small|(1)}}
• Tony Todaro – extra percussion {{Small|(1)}}
• Accra Roman Catholic Choir – backing vocals {{Small|(2)}}
• Sara Recor – backing vocals {{Small|(6)}}{{col-2}}

Guest musicians

• Peter Greenbaum – lead vocals {{Small|(1)}}, guitar {{Small|(1, 4)}}
• George Harrison – twelve string guitar {{Small|(6)}}, slide guitar {{Small|(6)}}, backing vocals {{Small|(6)}}
• Ian Bairnson – lead guitar {{Small|(7)}}, rhythm guitar {{Small|(8)}}
• Mike Moran – Prophet-5 synthesizer {{Small|(9)}}
• Andrew Powell – string arrangements{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Production

• Mick Fleetwood; Richard Dashut – producers
• Mickey Shapiro – executive producer
• Andrew Powell; Mike Moran – arrangers {{Small|(1–2, 5)}}
• Richard Dashut; Richard Aaron; Mick Fleetwood (Sx 70) – photography
• Richard Dashut; Mick Fleetwood – album concept
• James Campus; Anthony Cohen – album design{{col-2}}

Technical crew

• Richard Dashut – engineer
• Bill Youdelman – engineer in Ghana
• Randy Ezratty – engineer, recording equipment and coordination
• Jim Barnes – production coordinator in Ghana
• Tony Todaro – road and equipment manager{{col-end}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.discogs.com/master/121941-Mick-Fleetwood-The-Visitor The Visitor] at Discogs (list of releases)

{{Mick Fleetwood}}

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Category:Mick Fleetwood albums

Category:1981 debut albums

Category:RCA Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Mick Fleetwood

Category:Albums produced by Richard Dashut

Category:Song recordings produced by Richard Dashut