Today we’re taking a look at the best Fleetwood Mac covers of their famous song Landslide. The song Landslide is a song written by Stevie Nicks and is usually performed with her group Fleetwood Mac. The song 1st made an appearance on the band’s self-titled 1975 album Fleetwood Mac and has been performed live ever since. It’s one of those songs which has only grown in popularity over the years & is a favorite amongst many musicians.
Amongst some of the musicians or acts who covered Landslide to date are Dixie Chicks, BUSH, Tori Amos, The Smashing Pumpkins, Glee, Britta Phillips, Gardiner Sisters, Chloe Kohanski. Before we get to those, let’s remind ourselves what the original sounds like so you can better compare.
Fleetwood Mac – Landslide (1975)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
Here’s the original version as sung by Stevie Nicks. The song represents a period of uncertainty in her life as her music career wasn’t getting off the ground and she was having relationship issues with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham (hence the reference to Landslide to represent everything falling apart around her). The song is contemplating returning to School or continuing trying to forge a music career with him. She made the right decision as the two would later join Fleetwood Mac & the rest is history.
The Covers..
Onto the Landslide covers. Each puts a twist and their own unique mark on it, the solo in the song is something a few have really made their own which is nice to see. If you’re going to cover something at least try and do it better!
1. Dixie Chicks (2002)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
The Dixie Chicks are a multi grammy award winning country act formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, US. This Landslide cover from their 2002 album Home was a huge hit for the Dixie Chicks being certified Gold and matching the same level of success as the original version.
2. BUSH (2011)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
Bush are rock band from London, England, formed in 1992. The video for this one is a live version which is better than the live version on the album. The little guitar solo in the mid section is fantastic & Gavin Rossdale captures the emotion of the song in his vocal. This cover appeared as a bonus track on their 2011 album The Sea of Memories (Deluxe Version).
3. Tori Amos (1997)
Album on Amazon
Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter and pianist whose career has spanned 4 decades. She frequently performs the song as part of her set live. This cover of Landslide was a B-side that appeared on a compilation album called Y-100 Sonic Sessions Volume 1.
4. Smashing Pumpkins (1994)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alt rock band from Chicago, Illinois, US. Formed in 1988 & still going strong today. This cover from their album Pisces Iscariot was a huge hit for the Pumpkins & even got approval from Stevie Nicks herself leading to friendship with Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan.
5. Glee (2011)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
This version for an episode of the popular Glee TV show featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Naya Rivera, and Heather Morris on vocals. Stevie Nicks attended the filming of the song and stated that it was a “beautiful mix” of the original and Dixie Chicks version. This cover prompted renewed interest in the original Fleetwood Mac version & the Dixie Chicks version & brought them back into the charts again.
6. Britta Phillips (2016)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
With a music career of 30+ years behind her Britta is better known as being in the band Luna & later one half of the musical duo Dean & Britta. She has more recently launched a solo career and her debut offering 2016 album Luck or Magic contains this Landslide cover. This cover is closer to the original Stevie nicks version & the vocals are quite similar to hers in style.
7. Gardiner Sisters (2018)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
The Gardiner Sisters are a family musical group from North Carolina in the US. They’ve been around for over a decade & have amassed over 200 million listens across various platforms online. Quite folksy sounding this one. The 5 sisters do a good job of splitting the vocals up between them and harmonising different parts. It’s a nice cover. The cover appears on their album titled Covers, Vol. 1.
8. Chloe Kohanski (2017)
Album on Amazon | Apple Music
Chloe Kohanski is a singer from Nashville, Tennessee, now known as “chloe mk”. She was a contestant in the thirteenth season of the TV series The Voice (US Version). This cover of Landslide was well received & helped her on her way to eventually win the competition.
This cover appears on The Voice Season 13 Collection.
What is the best Landslide cover? It’s a hard one I think. My favorite was the Pumpkins version for years and then BUSH covered it and I had a new favorite but now several years later I’m torn between which I would choose. If I had to pick one I’d go with BUSH.
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Chloe Kohanski from The Voice sang it beautifully too, one of the most heartful renditions I’ve seen in my life.(If I’m not mistaken even Stevie Nicks complimented her on social media for the version)
Thanks for your comment! She is good. I just had a listen to both the voice performance & the studio version & I have to say I prefer the studio one. I think Chloe deserves a place on the list so i’ll add her later.