Bob Welch was a guitarist and vocalist in Fleetwood Mac from 1971-1974. He wrote this song and it was released in 1973. The song was on the album Mystery To Me album.
The song did not chart which surprises me. It was released as the B-side to Fleetwood Mac’s cover version of For Your Love…Hypnotized proved to be the more popular song out of the two. It won an ASCAP award for 35 years on consecutive worldwide radio airplay.
This was right before the Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham era Fleetwood Mac. After leaving Fleetwood Mac, Welch went on to have a couple big radio hits as a solo artist, “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes.”
The album Mystery To Me peaked at #67 in the Billboard Album Charts and #82 in Canada.
Bob Welch: “What I remember about the Mystery to Me sessions is almost everything, so let me be selective. It was a cold winter, and we used the Rolling Stones’ mobile unit to record. I had to re-write all of my songs, because, for instance, ‘Hypnotized’ was intended to be sung by Dave Walker, who was ‘let go’ (there really is no nice way to say it) because, although he was a great singer, we (belatedly) realized that he just stylistically didn’t fit FM.”
“Those two guys in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker had just reported on a major UFO encounter, and it was all over the TV for a while. Part of that went into ‘Hypnotized.’ Mick copied my Maestro Rhythm Machine part for ‘Hypno’ almost exactly … Mick’s sense of tempo, in this day before drum machines, was almost perfect … ‘Hypnotized’ was primarily inspired by [Carlos] Castaneda’s books, the Hickson Pascagoula UFO sighting, some stories told to me by friends, and some personal experiences.”
Hypnotized
It’s the same kind of story
That seems to come down from long ago
Two friends having coffee together
When something flies by their window
It might be out on that lawn
Which is wide, at least half of a playing field
Because there’s no explaining what your imagination
Can make you see and feel
Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized
Now it’s not a meaningless question
To ask if they’ve been and gone
I remember a talk about North Carolina
And a strange, strange pond
You see the sides were like glass
In the thick of a forest without a road
And if any man’s hand ever made that land
Then I think it would’ve showed
That’s why it seems like a dream
Got me hypnotized
And I know that’s right
Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized
They say there’s a place down in Mexico
Where a man can fly over mountains and hills
And he don’t need an airplane or some kind of engine
And he never will
Now you know it’s a meaningless question
To ask if those stories are right
‘Cause what matters most is the feeling
You get when you’re hypnotized
Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized
Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized
Seems like a dream
They got me hypnotized
Got me hypnotized
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
This is some old school Mac! Wow
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think they had 40 different versions of that band lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha a rotating carousel of people Max!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never heard this before in my life! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t guess it was played in the UK…I don’t believe the album charted over there. It still gets played here on classic rock radio.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welch kept Fleetwood Mac together being the only constant, before their real success arrived. Welch quit the band because he was burnt out and bored, struggling to keep a marriage together and to get through life.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hate the way his life ended. Him and Green would show up at Fleetwood Macs later recording sessions from time to time…the band was almost like a high school with reunions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
a great song. In retrospect, probably the first Fleetwood Mac song I heard, although I didn’t pick up on their name or tie it in to the ‘Rumours’ band until later on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know that probably is the same with me. This shows they were going toward pop before Stevie and Lindsey joined.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this beautiful song. I know some people are divided as to which version of Fleetwood Mac was the best, but I like all of their various incarnations. Each has its own unique sound and vibe, all stellar in their own way.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I do like all of them. It’s really like different bands but all good. Lately I have been listening to Green’s version.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you keep posting songs like this I’m never going to get around to watching the election results come in!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is that a bad thing? lol.
Glad you like this one Bruce!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like this one and Welch’s other solo hits. They have a real good jam going on in the live video.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never seen Welch with Fleetwood Mac on video before…so that was a pleasant surprise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me neither! Thanks for sharing it today, Max.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard that he had an affair with Fleetwood’s wife, which killed that lineup.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would do it…then Mick had his own affair with a future member.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some unheralded gems in that second phase of Fleetwood Mac.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have Mystery to Me on vinyl. Great album!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like me some Bob Welch. Ebony Eyes is a huge fave of mine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fleetwood Mac to me sounds better without Stevie Nicks. No offense to her stage percentage however.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know many people who feel the same.
LikeLike