Fleetwood Mac ~ England

Jumping At Shadows (1969 / 1985)

This archival concert from Boston is taken from the Then Play On tour with excellent sound. The first half is very good and energetic hard rock with raw guitar from Peter Green and crew. It bogs down into straight blues by the end. Nothing at all here would indicate this band would release Rumours one day.

Source: 1985 Varrick (LP)

9/11/24 (review)

Then Play On (1969 / 1970)

It's always interesting to hear a band's recognized classic album this late in the game. For most folks, Fleetwood Mac is associated with Stevie Nicks and their two mid 70s albums Fleetwood Mac and Rumours. I've spoken of my history with those albums already, and to this day, I still feel that I'm a bit young to appreciate them. Thrifting has given me the opportunity to hear some of their pre Stevie works such as Mystery to Me, Penguin, and Kiln House, each worse than the last. The curve ball here is Bare Trees which has some interesting, and very good, material on it. Again, I've covered off on most of these already.

But what about Then Play On? For deep divers - and for younger folks coming along way later than me - Then Play On is their best album. It has no chance of ever outranking Rumours, because iconic albums such as that get a free pass on analytical criticism, for a variety of reasons including nostalgic remembrance and group think. Problem is, because of its underground "cool" status, finding it on LP isn't easy like the others. 

My initial reaction wasn't overly positive. 'Coming Your Way' is a great hard rocking opener, but starting with 'Closing My Eyes', I was beginning to wonder what the big deal was. It's not bad or anything, just sort of ordinary blues rock. Things get interesting with the meandering psychedelic 'Underway' which is followed by the album's centerpiece 'Oh Well'. Another odd aspect of Then Play On is that none of the tracks on here were FM radio staples. At least not by the late 70s. I bring that up here at 'Oh Well' because I did recognize this song. It just wasn't by Fleetwood Mac, but rather a band called The Rockets, who covered only the rockin' part of the track in 1979. I remember it well, and enjoyed hearing it on the radio back then. Never knew who they were until now - or the source of the song. What's great about 'Oh Well' is not the rocking first third, but rather the rest, which drifts off into the pastoral countryside for the remainder.

And this is how good albums suck you in. It's subtle with Then Play On, but the album continues without rhyme or reason. The 'Madge' tracks are fantastic west coast styled psychedelic ramblers and 'Rattlesnake Shake' is a good jamming hard rocker. Well really, I could go on and on here, but there's no cohesiveness to this album whatsoever. And therein lies its charm. To me, it's amazing Fleetwood Mac ever got that far in their recording career. They were on their 11th album by the time 'Rhiannon' became a massive hit. How many great musical acts never got past one album? And here's Fleetwood Mac with a pile of mediocre to very good, but unfocused albums to their credit, before it all came together. It's like one of those football head coaches who string together many years of 8 and 8 records, only to win the Super Bowl twice in a row afterward. Obviously the talent was there all along. 

Whatever the case, glad I finally heard this one. I'll be keeping it. 

Some significant release details: The original 1969 release is different than the 1970 (& beyond) repress. And that's significant because 'Oh Well' is not on the originals. And that doesn't even get me started on the differences between the US and UK pressings, much less other countries. And then the CDs came along and mashed them all up together, but again without rhyme or reason. Like the album itself haha.

Ownership: 1976 Reprise (LP). Gatefold; Reprise (CD). 90's pressing

8/1/22 (review)

Kiln House (LP)

Finally, a new-to-me Fleetwood Mac album. But unfortunately I'm already pining for Stevie Nicks and crew. Wow - I really don't like this album. It has more in common with Bill Haley than it does anything from the 60s and 70s. Which is fine if you enjoy that sort of thing, but I don't. Kirwan doesn't get a chance to shine much here, though the one saving grace is his composition 'Tell Me All the Things You Do', the album's easy highlight. Where is Bob Welch when you need him? Great cover belies its musical content.

Source: 1970 Reprise (LP)

7/3/21 (review)

 

Bare Trees (1972)

It appears that one of my favorite pastimes is to buy Fleetwood Mac albums at thrift shops so that I can bash them here. And I always seem to find the same ones, so I never get to hear anything new. Like with Supertramp, even their most commoditized albums go for ten bucks at record shows, and even more for Rumours. In any case, this is my second go round with Bare Trees. One last try before it too finds its inevitable way to the show bin. Then a funny thing happened. I found myself actually enjoying it. Finally a Fleetwood Mac album that doesn't make me feel like a mature adult. Once it began to capture my imagination, I decided to research the history. And then it all comes together. There are three songwriters here, each very different. And that's the story of the album itself - a true transition album going from their bluesy, but loosey goosey past, onto their MOR years that the band is most known for. One is Christine McVie, the blues gal that continued (along with her then-husband John) onto to fame and fortune with the band. Her two tracks are my least favorite here. Then there's Bob Welch, the Californian whose mature songwriting foreshadowed their later work, even though he didn't stick around long enough for the big time. 'Sentimental Lady' is a great example of this, and he was able to gain some fortune for the song - but as a solo artist five years later. His other contribution is 'The Ghost', which is about as close to prog as Fleetwood Mac ever gets, and is the highlight of the album. Some fine flute helps with that perception. The other half belongs to a one Danny Kirwan, as mercurial an individual as they come, and this would be his swan song for Fleetwood Mac. And he's all over the place when it comes to style. Unfocused and unhinged. And therein lies the allure. All of his compositions are really good, without any cohesion between them. 'Danny's Chant' is downright acid rock. What?

Ownership: 1977 Reprise (LP)

5/3/21 (review)

 

Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Here's the beginning of the classic lineup with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Last year I wrote in detail my thoughts of this era of Fleetwood Mac, after hearing Rumours again. This album is even more mature than that one. I presume they're playing this in Senior Centers now? I'll never be old enough to listen to this. Average at best. I just don't get it.

Source: 1975 Reprise (LP)

12/21/20 (review)

Mystery to Me (1973) 

What's a mystery to me is why Fleetwood Mac are so popular - at least after they dumped the blues. More adult contemporary music for those who are more mature than me (I sense a theme here...). I do admit to really enjoying 'Hypnotized', perhaps a luck-out track on their part. Opener 'Emerald Eyes' is good too. The rest you can have.

Source: 1973 Reprise (LP)

11/2/20 (review)

  

Rumours (1977)

It was the beginning of 1977 that I first began to listen to FM radio intently. With my new all-in-one Sanyo stereo including tape deck, the idea that I could actually tape what was on the radio was mind blowing, and given my organizational nature (even back then), I would spend hours listening for the best songs to put on compilation tapes. I think that's why my parents bought it for me. No more Genius Hans to worry about! Here's dinner under the door....

If Rumours wasn't the album played most in 1977, it certainly was in the running for top spot. The music here was really too mature for what I was looking for back then. I was all of 12, and it seemed to be massively popular not with the kids I went to school with, but rather those 3 to 10 years older. By the time I got to high school in 1979, the music world was a-changin', and Rumours was just music for older people as far as I saw it. But that didn't stop the radio from playing the hits from this album over and over. And here we are some 42 years later, and the radio still plays these songs as if that's all we want to hear. Like they locked in their play list in 1978 and refused to budge. The heyday of FM radio I guess. Similar to Watergate and investigative journalism. They want that moment in time back.

I don't and never did...want that time back, that is. Had I heard this album all the way through before? Oh probably - may have even taped it in full (ooh, Mick Fleetwood would not have liked that, no sirree). I didn't rate it, because I can't honestly say I'd heard it in recent times (recent = last 20 years).

It seems I've heard this album anyway - just through pure inculcation. Thank you K*** 105 and W*** 98, etc... For the known tracks - the inescapable ones - I would say my opinion hasn't changed much since I was 12. Guess I haven't evolved much huh? Well I know that's not true, but maybe it is with MOR records. So for my DNA, 'The Chain' is still great, and 'Dreams' I can listen to without cringing. The rest - make it stop. As for the few unknown tracks, I did find myself enjoying the last 2. Not enough to keep the album mind you. I'm not going to say this is a bad album - that's crazy. The songs are well written, but they just don't resonate with me at all. Probably how my parents felt about Elvis.

The bottom line: I'm just not old enough to listen to this. Even now.

Ownership: Warner Bros (MC). Always tempted to keep the LP's I find but this cassette is all I need.

9/14/19 (review)

9/14/19 (new entry)