Skies the Limit

"Skies the Limit" is a song by British-American band Fleetwood Mac from their album Behind the Mask. It was written by Christine McVie and Eddy Quintela. In the US, the song was released as the album's second single in July 1990. Four months later, the song was issued as the album's third single in the UK.^[1] While the single did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, it did reach number 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The moderate success of "Skies the Limit" and "Save Me" helped to push their parent album into the US and Canadian top 20, albeit only briefly.^[2]

"Skies the Limit"
Single by Fleetwood Mac
from the album Behind the Mask
B-side	"The Second Time" "Lizard People"
Released	July 1990[1]
Genre	Rock
Length	3:44
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Christine McVie Eddy Quintela
Producer(s)	Greg Ladanyi Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac singles chronology
"Save Me" (1990) "Skies the Limit" (1990) "In the Back of My Mind" (1990)

"Skies the Limit" was the only track from Behind the Mask included on The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac 2-CD set in 2002.^[3]

Background

McVie wrote "Skies the Limit" as an upbeat song with the intention of offsetting some Behind the Mask tracks that she thought sounded too depressing. "Everything was getting to the point of where it was a downer album. It sounded like this was a potential suicide band, which it wasn't. I decided to write a song that was really up, it was a rally song."^[4]

GQ labeled "Skies the Limit" as one of the ten best post-Rumours songs, saying that "the misspelled opening from the album" is "a belter, the only truly memorable song from the album".^[5]

Track listings

US 7-inch vinyl and cassette single (7-19867, 9 19867-4)^[6][7]

A. "Skies the Limit" – 3:42

B. "The Second Time" – 2:30

German 7-inch single (5439-19740-7)^[8]

A. "Skies the Limit" – 3:45

B. "Lizard People" – 4:48

German maxi-CD single (7599-21709-2)^[9]

1. "Skies the Limit" (LP) – 3:45
2. "Little Lies" (live) – 4:14
3. "The Chain" (live) – 5:12

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

• Christine McVie – keyboards, synthesizer, lead vocals
• Stevie Nicks – backing vocals
• Billy Burnette – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Rick Vito – lead guitar, backing vocals
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, tambourine, congas, wind chimes

Additional personnel

• Steve Croes – additional keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 155 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 26 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[12] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[13] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 48 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 10 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 40

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] 75

References

1. Fleetwood, Mick (1993). My 25 years in Fleetwood Mac. Hyperion. ISBN 0-297-81336-6.
2. Giles, Jeff (10 April 2015). "How Fleetwood Mac Moved On Without Lindsey Buckingham For 'Behind the Mask' Read More: How Fleetwood Mac Moved On Without Lindsey Buckingham For 'Behind the Mask'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
3. Erlewine, Stephen. "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac [Reprise]". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
4. Italie, Hillel (22 July 1990). "Christine Talks to Tulsa World (July 1990)". The Blue Letter Archives. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
5. Allen, Ben (11 April 2020). "The best Fleetwood Mac songs after Rumours". British GQ. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
6. Skies the Limit (US 7-inch vinyl disc). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1990. 7-19867.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. Skies the Limit (US cassette single sleeve). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1990. 9 19867-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Skies the Limit (German 7-inch vinyl disc). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1990. 5439-19740-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Skies the Limit (German maxi-CD single liner notes). Fleetwood Mac. Warner Bros. Records. 1990. 7599-21709-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. "Bubbling Down Under". www.bubblingdownunder.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1341." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
12. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1328." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
13. "Tipparade-lijst van week 34, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
14. "Fleetwood Mac – Skies the Limit" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
15. "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
16. "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
17. "Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2020.