This was the second album by Fleetwood Mac, released in September 1968 with the same line-up of Green, Spencer, McVie and Fleetwood, although a certain Christine Perfect (at the time with Chicken Shack and later to become the legend that is Christine McVie) plays keyboard on the album.
And so the album kicks off with the rather cool bluesy Peter Green and Clifford Adams number, Stop messin' round. Apparantly this was covered by Aerosmith, which I would be interested to hear. It sounds better after a few listens which is true of the album in general. Jeremy Spencer's I've lost my baby takes longer to start, with over 40 seconds instrumental leading up to something that is not as immediate as anything on the debut but goes along at a steady pace. Very much OK so far.
Rollin' man is a bit rockier than anything so far and is a welcome change here. It's still very much blues influenced though, with the instrumental at the end being the best part. Dust my broom was originally recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936, and it carries on the rockier blues sound which is obviously where they're going now. Again the instrumental parts rock good, but vocally there's nothing different though.
The Green/Adams ballad Love that burns is an acoustic number which has also been covered by Gary Moore. It's fine as an album track but there are no stand out hits five tracks in. Then we come to the rather good Doctor Brown, which has the same guitar riff as Dust my broom, but it is my favourite track on side one.
Spencer's Need your love tonight has the exact same riff again, and is almost a carbon copy of Doctor Brown. I do like it though, although the whole thing is getting a bit samey and I'm waiting for the album to finish now. This would have been the most obvious hit on the album though, had any singles been released from it.
If you be my baby chugs along nicely. The Peter Green tracks are easily noticeable on this album as they are generally more mellow. Spencer's Evening boogie is a welcome delight though. It is the first instrumental to appear on a Fleetwood Mac album and the title says all there is to know really, as all you will want to do is get down and boogie to it. Green's Lazy poker blues also has a lot of instrumental, although it has a more rocky feel. The thing is, none of these tracks would sound out of place on the debut, but all together it's almost too much to sit through in one listen.
Elmore James' Coming home follows and it's that riff again. To be honest it feels a bit much now, it just seems a bit lazy using the exact same riff on four songs with the calibre of musicians that are present. Rant over. Trying so hard to forget rounds the album off and Peter Green takes it to a totally different level with this tender acoustic ballad. Although rather solemn it's actually a refreshing change and finishes the album off nicely.
So there you have it. It's not a bad album by any means, it's just not as good as the debut. The worst thing about the songs here is that they suffer from repetitiveness with the over-use of the Elmore James riff, although a couple more listens and I could be hooked. I'm not quite there yet though.
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