Tusk

Following Rumours was never going to be an easy task, but rather than taking the safe option and producing a ten or eleven track album in the same style they decided to go for a double album for their twelfth studio release (the third with the classic line-up of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood), with a style that new and old fans alike would either love or compare to the classic tracks on Rumours.

I think a lot of people are divided on this album, but it's all about giving it a chance. Yes, it's far less commercial than Rumours and a lot of the songs aren't so immediate, yet if you give the tracks time to blossom in your mind you come to realise what a brilliant collection of songs this is.

Released in October 1979, Tusk is a massive twenty tracks long and it starts with Over & over, a Christine McVie track that is somewhere between an upbeat pop song and a ballad. She gives a good performance but like much of the album it needs time to grow. The Ledge is a short, two minute, instantly infectious little ditty that is indicative of what Lindsey Buckingham will mostly be doing on this album. Think about me is a better Christine McVie track than the opener, although Lindsey's vocals are also prominent and you can also hear Stevie. It's a good little pop/rock song that was also a single, I think. Save me a place is Lindsey again and is simple and melodic, with a folk-like catchy chorus. Like The Ledge it has you instantly hooked, and is also short at under three minutes long.

A Stevie Nicks masterpiece is next. Sara is by now one of her most famous, and best, songs, having been released as a single and included on the 1988 Greatest Hits and the Best of's. You need the full six and a half minute definitive version of this rather than the four minute single edit that it was replaced with on earlier versions of the CD. There's not much more to say about this really, except it has gotten right under my skin and I absolutely adore it.

Side two, track one is What makes you think you're the one, another joyously catchy Buckingham track and I've come to notice an air of New Wave about his songs on here. Sandwiched in between two of his though is another absolute treasure of a ballad by Stevie Nicks, Storms is one mighty grower and it has slowly become one of my favourite songs of hers. It's basically about the end of a relationship (possibly hers and Lindsey's). That's all for everyone is Lindsey again, and one of his strongest tracks on here. Quite a haunting melody, it sounds like he's about to up and leave the band in the lyrics - maybe it was time to go off and make his debut solo album, which he did in between this and Mirage. Not that funny was a single in the U.K., although it wasn't a hit. Lindsey manages to make some dark lyrics into a jolly sounding folk rock song, which is insanely catchy and really should've been a hit. Sisters of the moon was the fourth single in America and peaked at #86. The song takes a bit of time to grow, but there are some fantastic haunting instrumentals on here and the vocals show off Stevie's classic mystical side.

Stevie Nicks kicks off the second half with Angel (not the same song as was featured on Heroes are hard to find), which is another brilliant grower and the most upbeat Stevie song on the album, although again quite haunting. That's enough for me is the shortest track on the album at less than two minutes, and like most of Lindsey's songs on here it is short, sharp and effective, instantly hooking and reeling you in. Brown eyes follows, and it seems ages since we last heard from Christine. This is probably as seductive as she ever gets on record, and the lyrics suggest that she is asking for sex. The song is quite dreamy and charming with few lyrics, but definitely one to chill out to. Never make me cry is also Christine's and is short, heart-rending, effective, lovely and has a dreamy chorus that is like a lullaby - probably her best track on here. Lindsey Buckingham gets the synthesizers in on I know I'm not wrong (they've probably been on other tracks but I haven't noticed them) and the harmonies sound brilliant on this catchy piece of energetic pop.

They've saved a lot of the best 'til last on this album as side four is my favourite and it starts with Honey hi, another of Christine McVie's dreamy, catchy tracks, although this is more of a simple love song and just being in love than some of the breaking up songs they have been better known for lately.

Beautiful child would easily be in my top ten of all-time Fleetwood Mac songs, it is simply gorgeous. Stevie Nicks makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end on this beautiful ballad, which has some lovely haunting melodies. I could listen to this over and over again for hours and it sometimes brings tears to my eyes listening to it. It's a toss up between this and Sara as to what is my favourite Stevie Nicks song on the album, but at the moment I'll plump for this.

Filling the slot between the emotional Beautiful child and the fast title track nicely is Walk a thin line, a Lindsey Buckingham piece of brilliance that is reminiscent of Tusk, the song, in the instrumental sections, especially the drumming, then you've got a gorgeous harmonious vocal that instantly grabs you and makes for one of the more immediate brilliant tracks on the album.

Tusk, the title track, is written by Lindsey and is definitely a one-off - nothing like this had ever been done by them before, and nothing has since. But then there is nothing like it, it's one of the most unique songs I've ever heard in my life and that isn't easy to do. From the time the drumming starts you know this is going to be special, and it never fails to disappoint, slowly building up into something magical. No wonder it was a top ten hit - it should have been a #1. A rock masterpiece!

Finishing off the album perfectly, and the only song that could follow Tusk, is Never forget, a nice, upbeat Christine McVie track which has a positive feel to it. After so much darkness it's nice to bow out with this.

To sum up, this is a very long album but also a consistently good one. Some of the tracks won't be instantly memorable on first listen, and it may feel like a bit of a slog sitting through twenty tracks when you only know a couple, but stick with it and you will be rewarded greatly. It is an experimental album for the band, especially on Lindsey's tracks, but the tracks flow together at just the right pace and everything is in just the right place. Maybe not as commercially good as Rumours, but it's definitely worth investing in as much as Bad was after Thriller.

Rumours

Rumours, considered by many as the pinnacle album by Fleetwood Mac, was first released on the fourth of February 1977 and was the band's eleventh studio album. It is one of the biggest selling albums of all-time and has spent nearly 500 weeks in the U.K. album charts, most recently earlier this year after a whole episode of Glee was devoted to it, which has hepled to move the album's appeal down to yet another new generation.

You probably all know that most of the songs here were written about relationships breaking down. John and Christine McVie were by now divorced, and Stevie and Lindsey weren't in a good place relationship-wise. The fact that the songs were written 'from the heart' is testament to how good they are and how they have stood the test of time.

I first came across this album in 1986 when I was thirteen. Somehow I had acquired some old c60 tape recordings of old albums, one of which turned out to be Rumours (although I didn't know who it was until after I got into Tango in the night the following year) and I was in total awe of the tracks on side one especially. Never had I heard anything like it - well there was nothing remotely like it in the charts at the time. I have been a fan of the band ever since.

You probably know all the songs but I'll say my piece about each one anyway! Second hand news is a classic Lindsey Buckingham opener in the same vein as Monday morning, in that it's a catchy piece of pop infused soft rock.

Dreams is not only my favourite Stevie Nicks song and my favourite Fleetwood Mac song, but it's my favourite song of all-time by any artist. The track is pure genius and took my breath away from the very first hearing, and I have never ever grown remotely bored of hearing it which is rare. Although it reached #1 in the U.S. it only got as high as #24 in the U.K., but still managed to be the biggest hit off the album. This just proves to me that the band have always been an albums band and the singles are strong enough for people to want the whole album. It must be a popular track in the U.K. because it was the one that broke The Corrs over here, back in 1998, although their version had more of a celtic folk feel to it. Their version is worth getting, but nothing is ever going to come close to Stevie's jaw-dropping vocals on this.

Lindsey Buckingham strikes gold again on Never going back again, another instantly catchy pop/rock tune with an infectious riff. Then we come to Don't stop, written by Christine but here she and Lindsey share the vocals and they slot together like they were made for each other. This is one of those songs that is known by everybody, old and young alike, and is one of the catchiest songs the band ever did. It's a bit of an anthem now actually, and well deserved of that accolade.

We're in a run of first class moments now as Go your own way is next, and this is possibly Lindsey's most famous song ever. It's a classic rock song, a classic driving song, the classic break-up song - a classic in every sense of the word. You can feel the hurt in his voice on this and it makes you think that some of the songs on here must have been really hard to sing at the time. It's true that the best songs come from a broken heart.

Probably one of the most enduring, emotional love songs of all-time is the stunningly beautiful Songbird, a Christine McVie masterpiece that has become one of the band's most famous and popular songs despite never being a single, although Eva Cassidy did have a bit of success with her version that is probably equally as famous now and just as captivating as the original. I still always go back to the version on here though, and don't think it can ever be bettered - Christine really makes my hairs stand on end on this.

Like Songbird before it, The Chain is one of Fleetwood Mac's most famous songs despite never being released as a single, although it has charted on download sales recently. The song is credited to all five members of the band and is such an anthemic rock song, beginning with a crowd pleasing 'scream your lungs out' vocal section and then breaking into one of the best and most famous riffs of all-time (although it's notoriety is down to its use by the BBC as the theme for Formula One).

One that was a single was Christine's You make loving fun, which like the others is still played regularly on the radio today. This is one of the more optimistic songs on the album and is catchy as hell. Another Christine McVie stand-out moment, which was incidentally recorded by Cyndi Lauper in 1977 as her debut single.

I don't want to know was written by Stevie and is sung as a duet between her and Lindsey, although his vocals are more prominent here. It's an upbeat, catchy song of hope for the couple and leaves us feeling a bit more optimistic for them. Also, it's the song that replaced the brilliance that is Silver springs, but I won't hold that against it as it's still a great song (Thank God we at least have both on CD now).

The fourth and final Christine McVie composition on here is Oh Daddy, which is dismissed by many fans but I think it's one of the most heart-felt and tragic songs she ever did. I suppose it gets overshadowed by Songbird but it's still a great song in its own right and deserves more recognition I feel. Then Gold dust woman finishes off the show, and like the previous album is one of only two solo performances by Stevie Nicks. Consequently it is overshadowed by Dreams, but if you don't compare the two then this is a great performance and has a mystical feel to it. Apparantly even Stevie herself has admitted that she doesn't know what it's about, but who cares? Like most of her songs you can make your own interpretations.

And so comes to a close the classic that is Rumours, an album that is deserved of a place in every music lover's collection as there really isn't a bad song to be found here. Having listened to it with a fresh ear I would say that it is probably the band's ultimate album, although I don't like to go with the obvious sometimes albums are so popular for a reason.

Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Released in July 1975, it's hard to believe that there are only seven years separating this, their tenth studio album, from their debut of the same name. They have already lost four mega-talented singer songwriters and have a repertoire of songs and albums that most artists don't achieve throughout their entire career, however this is only just the point where it starts for many fans (myself included up until a few months ago). In case you didn't know, this is the first album to feature Lindsey Buckingham and the legend that is Stevie Nicks, who join Christine and John McVie and Mick Fleetwood in making the band a five-piece again, which is how they would remain until Lindsey Buckingham leaves for the first time in 1987 after Tango in the night's release.

Monday morning is Lindsey Buckingham's signiature song on here, it's a fun, upbeat, catchy start to the album and has a bit of a folky feel. I'd always assumed it was a single as it was included on their 2002 best of, but it turns out that it wasn't. It should've been.

Warm ways was the actual first single to be released, in October 1975 (I don't know why they waited that long), although it was only out in the U.K. where it wasn't a hit - this shouldn't matter though as a very small handful of their singles were ever as big a hit as you would imagine they were now. It's a stunning Christine McVie bluesy ballad which leaves you feeling all fuzzy inside.

I never realised Blue letter was a cover until now, it just sounds so much like a Lindsey Buckingham record. Apparantly though it was written and first recorded by the Curtis Brothers (although they did team up with Buckingham Nicks when they were a duo to record the demo). Anyhow, it is a fantastic piece of country infused rock that Lindsey really makes his own.

Words cannot describe how I feel about the next track. It is of course the magnificent masterpiece that is Rhiannon, and the only time Stevie Nicks would ever get any better is on Dreams. I do have a live version from Buckingham Nicks, as the song was originally intended for their second album, and it is considerably faster. The version on here is the definitive though, and it has become one of the band's most famous songs, despite the fact that it missed the U.K. top forty altogether, which is more proof that the charts are not a good indicator of the best music around.

Christine McVie's Over my head was the lead single in America, becoming their first ever big hit over that side of the pond. I would say that there were better songs to release as the lead single but it's nice that both the U.K. and the U.S. got one of Christine's songs as she is often forgotten about when you think of the Buckingham/Nicks era of Fleetwood Mac. The song itself is good enough to be a single, although it's not a stand-out track for me amongst some of the brilliance here.

Now I just love Crystal, it is one of their more under-appreciated tracks and deserved of so much more praise than it gets. Written by Nicks, but sung by Buckingham on both this and the Buckingham Nicks album where it first appeared, she later did her own version for the film Practical Magic. The version on here is more polished than the original, but that version sounds more raw and heartfelt to me so I would edge towards the original. Nicks' own version comes third for me (sorry Stevie, I normally prefer your vocals but Lindsey sounds great on this). It's one of those songs that just gets better and better with each listen.

Easily the most famous song on here (along with Rhiannon, and possibly now Landslide) is the classic that is Say you love me. Christine is more rocky than usual on this and it's easily the best thing she's done up to this point - only on Songbird, Little lies and Everywhere does she ever surpass herself more. This would still probably be in my all-time Fleetwood Mac top ten though.

I mentioned Landslide a minute ago, and it comes next. It is one that has grown over the years to become one of Stevie's staple songs, and it's use on the TV show Glee has certainly helped to seal its popularity, although the Dixie Chicks brought it to people's attention as long ago as 2002. It's another one that grows on you with each listen and one that I have to admit I didn't fully appreciate properly until recently. Stevie has been broken in gently on this album, with only two lead vocals to Lindsey's five.

Lindsey and Christine have a go at a duet on World turning, a rocking bluesy number which is a welcome hark back to the band's early days. I just love this, it's one to really let your hair down to.

Christine has her fourth and final solo outing of the record on Sugar daddy, which is another quite upbeat performance from her. It may not be one of the best tracks on the album but it is worthy of a place here nonetheless, and I love her little laugh as the song fades out.

The final track is I'm so afraid, which is one of Lindsey Buckingham's most powerful and awe-inspiring vocals ever. The song really gives you goosebumps and the guitar section at the end is equally powerful, sealing his place amongst the elite of Fleetwood Mac's history.

I seriously find it hard to choose between this album and Rumours. There are at least eight potential singles here, but none are disposable and any album that includes both Rhiannon and Say you love me already has the best possible start. It's easy to forget the Fleetwood Mac that came before when you put this on, but thankfully you get a sharp reminder on World turning. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie don't get much of a mention, but with seven first-class singer songwriters now having been on their books, something should surely be said of their talent for spotting talent like no other.



Heroes Are Hard To Find

Heroes are hard to find was their ninth studio album and was released in September 1974. The band are now back to a four-piece with Bob Welch, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, and the burden firmly fell on Bob's shoulders here as he composed and performed seven of the eleven tracks, Christine contributed the remaining four.

Maybe it was down to this reason why Bob left the band in December of that year after suffering with exhaustion, although every cloud has a silver lining and on the next album we were to be treated with the first sounds of 'new' Mac as Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were recruited to take the band forward.

I don't want to get too carried away with the next album yet though as I don't want it to take any of the focus away from this one, which is a lot different in sound from anything that came before or after it. The first track is called Heroes are hard to find and is one of Christine McVie's efforts. It's an upbeat, catchy, poppy track which is a great start to the album - it was also released as a single but I'm surprised they hadn't given up with those by this stage as it didn't exactly set the charts on fire.

The next three are credited to Bob Welch, with the largely instrumental track Coming home next, which is a spacey, hypnotic sounding track and one which takes a couple of listens to get into. Angel is better, it's still quite trancey but a lot rockier and easier to get into. Then we have Bermuda triangle, following Bob's new found love of the unknown (which might account for the spacey feel of his tracks on this album) this is somewhere between the last two tracks in terms of that space vibe sound and is quite a good effort.

Christine brings things back to Earth with the gorgeous Come a little bit closer, one of her best tracks ever I'd say and proving why she's a worthy link between this Fleetwood Mac and the one on the next album and beyond, which people are always saying is a completely different band. For those people I would say that this, and a lot of her others from earlier albums, would sit nicely on any of the next few albums.

There's another beauty next in the shape of She's changing me, a Bob Welch number that caught my ear on the first listen. Here he manages to mix his experimental rock style with a country edge and makes for an instantly catchy song. Christine goes the other way on Bad loser, and has obviously been affected by some of Bob's hypnotic vibes as this sounds like it should be one of his. It's still a worthy song though and bridges the gap between the two vocalists sounds on this album.

Probably the most infectious, upbeat, catchy track on this album is Silver heels, on which Welch mentions Paul McCartney and Etta James in the lyrics. This would have been a massive hit if they had been more well known at that point and is another of those lost treasures that we are going to need a large chest to store them all in soon.

Christine gives her final performance on the album with another belter called Prove your love. This is summery with a positive feel, but yet strangely trancey. It's definitely thumbs up for this one though. Not so for Born enchanter, another eerie hypnotic Bob Welch track which isn't one of his most memorable, and the same can be said of the album closer, Safe harbour, which is a haunting instrumental, but for a few lyrics at the end. Maybe those last two tracks need more listens but they didn't really grab me after a couple.

A difficult album to sum up really. Christine is the bridge between this and the next album and delivers a couple of her best tracks to date, while Bob has gained an obsession for things strange and takes the sound into a futuristic phase, which works on some tracks more than others. There are some definite gems to be found on here though, although on the final track I'm thinking that Stevie arrived in the Nick of time.



Mystery To Me



As we get nearer to the more commercially successful albums we come to Mystery to me, the band's eighth studio album, released in October 1973. It's the second and final album to feature guitarist Bob Weston, who became the latest member to be fired from the band after it emerged he had been having an affair with Mick Fleetwood's wife. Bob Welch takes on a much heftier percentage of the songwriting, with six of his own compositions appearing, and Christine McVie does her bit too, penning four tracks. The two Bobs and Christine join John McVie and Mick Fleetwood as the then current line-up of Fleetwood Mac.

Bob Welch gets the album off to a flying start with the mighty Emerald eyes, which is one of the best things he ever did with the band. From this track we get an instant feeling that Bob is moving them in a more experimental rock direction, with the help of Bob Weston on guitar. Christine delivers a belter next with the upbeat track, Believe me, which is rockier than some of her later pop/rock numbers and it suits her voice. She follows that with the slightly less inspiring Just crazy love, but it's still not bad by any means.

Hypnotized is another big jewel in Bob Welch's songbook. Although only a B-side (to For your love) it is probably the most instant track on the album and the most well known too, with the Pointer Sisters adding to that by doing a rather cool version on their 1978 album Energy. Following on the experimental style of Emerald eyes, this apparantly came about after an intense dream about UFOs. The sound actually reminds me a bit of Freakpower, who wouldn't be around for another twenty years yet. If you only download one track off this album then make it this one.

Forever is a joint composition by the two Bobs and John McVie, and mixes the experimental prog-rock style with a reggae-infused sounding instrumental making another winning formula. Keep on going is the title of the next track, written by Bob Welch but sung by Christine McVie, and isn't as immediate as some of the tracks on the album but a grower nonetheless.

Three great Bob Welch penned and sung songs are up next, all of which fuse his prog-rock style vocals with amazing guitar work that make for a sound that never sounds dated. The City is first and is one of the few songs I've heard about New York that slags it off, although apparantly his then fiance had been mugged there so that could explain it. It's a real lost treasure though, as is Miles away, which you could imagine The Who doing.The song is one of the best I've heard from Welch on what is shaping to be his best album yet with the band. Somebody is in the same vein and is another groovy rock track (for want of a better description). Three out of three there.

Then Christine slows things down on a ballad called The Way I feel, which is pleasant enough, although not one of her most memorable. A cover of The Yardbirds' classic 1965 hit For your love follows that, and Bob Welch's vocals really work well with the song and make it fit in with his other tracks here. It actually replaced another song of his, Good things (come to those who wait) at the last minute, although this was later recorded by him on his solo album Three hearts but was renamed Don't wait too long. Having heard this song it's obvious it was intended for this album, but I'll get round to reviewing that eventually.

Christine rounds off the album with a song simply titled Why. It's one that is highly spoke of amongst other reviews I've read, and is definitely up there with some of her finer moments, tugging at the heart-strings. Apparantly her relationship with John was already going through rocky times so it may be safe to assume that she was writing about that on here.

To summarise then, Mystery to me is Bob Welch at his peak and his moment to prove his worth with the band and move the sound in a different direction with the help of Bob Weston's amazing guitar work, providing some of the big highlights to be had here. Christine delivers too and edges her songs a bit more towards the Buckingham/Nicks era sound, which is only two albums away now, and it all comes together with something for every fan.

Penguin

I won't do any pick-up-a-penguin jokes here! No, Penguin was released in March of 1973 and was the seventh studio album by Fleetwood Mac. Bob Welch and Christine McVie are very much the front players now for John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, who are joined by new member Bob Weston as lead guitarist alongside Bob Welch. Dave Walker also joins the band, singing vocals on two tracks, although this was to be his first and last album with them as they mutually agreed that his vocal style didn't fit with the band and he left by June of the same year.

Christine takes on lead vocals for a third of the album's nine tracks, starting with the opener, Remember me, a jolly catchy tune which is classic McVie. It was released as a single, although failed to chart like everything else from that era. It's a great start to an album that I wasn't expecting a great deal from the first time I heard it.

Bob Welch also leads on three tracks, and Bright fire is a great little song about hope. I don't know if he was singing this for anybody in particular but it's another catchy number and from the first two tracks you realise that he and Christine are more than capable of helping the band forward.

Dissatisfied is another Christine McVie track, and despite the lyrics is another quite feel-good pop/rock song. It seems she has settled into the band and found her niche as she is singing the type of songs that will go on to make her a household name.

The album then goes in a rather sudden change of direction with a cover of the old Junior Walker and the All-stars Motown classic, (I'm a) Road runner, featuring Dave Walker on lead vocals. I love the original and this is a competent enough version with more of a rock tone, although you can still feel the soul of the original. It does seem a bit unlikely though, Fleetwood Mac doing Motown and stands out like a sore thumb. Maybe Dave was trying to take the band in a new direction after the recent departures of Peter, Jeremy and now Danny, who knows.

Dave delivers his own track straight after, The Derelict has the feel of Bob Dylan doing folk (think The Times they are a-changing) and it's actually a great song, although again it is unlike anything else I've heard Fleetwood Mac do. The harmonica and banjo give a good feel to the track, and I really can't fault anything about it, however I can see why they felt his vocal style didn't fit in with the band and I think they all chose the right paths to take.

Bob Welch delivers his Revelation next, a great thought-provoking progressive rock sounding song. It wouldn't have sounded out of place on Future Games, although it's a song that's hard to pigeon-hole. Did you ever love me follows and is a joint Christine McVie and Bob Welch composition, although Christine's voice can be heard most on the song, which also features some vocal harmonies by Bob Weston. There are steel drums in this one, which just sound fantastic, especially if you've got good speakers.

Night watch is Bob Welch's final offering here and features one Peter Green on guitar. At over six minutes it is the longest track on the album, and is a nice mellow tune which goes into an atmospheric instrumental phase about half way through. The instrumental guitar rock-fest at the end is my favourite part of the track though. Then the album finishes with Bob Weston's sole composition, Caught in the rain, a haunting instrumental track. The keyboard section sounds quite familiar but I can't place it.

So, Penguin is a real mixed bag of styles, with Christine and Bob Welch carrying the main songwriting duties well between them. Both are true assets to the band, and Christine will only get stronger in her many years to come with them. Dave Walker adds a different element to the band on the two tracks that he sings, with Bob Weston easing himself in on the closing instrumental track. All in all a good listen.

Bare Trees

The sixth studio album release by Fleetwood Mac was Bare Trees, released in April 1972. The line-up is the same as on Future Games (Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie, Bob Welch, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood), with most of the songwriting placed firmly on Danny's shoulders. He actually wrote five out of the nine songs, with Christine and Bob responsible for two each, but sadly this was to be the last album that he would feature on as he was fired from the band shortly after. Consequently it saddens me every time I hear this brilliant album, although it just makes the album even more poignant and special, rather than ruining it.

Danny dives straight in with Child of mine, a country tinged soft rock belter where he tugs at the heart-strings with references to his father who left him as a child. This is the Eagles with hard rock guitars playing. He really is on top form here, and throughout the album. The other contributers do well also, first with Bob Welch's folk-rock The Ghost, which is immediately catchy. Christine McVie delivers on Homeward bound, which hints that she would rather be at home than on the road. It's more rock than some of her later stuff, but a mere glimmer of the brilliance that was to come from her.

Sunny side of heaven is a Kirwan instrumental, the first of two on here, but don't let that put you off as it is a haunting and wholly captivating piece of music which is all the more poignant when you think of the whirlpool of distress that Danny was sinking into. He delivers again on Bare trees, the title track, which is soft rock with a hard edge and instantly memorable.

Bob Welch delivers his masterpiece next, Sentimental lady is a truly heart-felt ballad which features Christine on backing vocals. He re-recorded it on his 1977 debut solo album, French kiss and also released it as a single, which I've yet to hear but this version stands up against 10cc's I'm not in love and Eric Clapton's Wonderful tonight as one of the best rock ballads of the seventies and definitely deserves a lot more recognition.

Danny's chant is the second instrumental here, although during it Danny and Christine deliver some nice melodic chanting. I prefer the first instrumental in terms of pulling at your heart-strings, but this is funky and catchy and fits nicely with the soft rock country folky feel of the rest of the album. There's some classic Christine McVie next on Spare me a little of your love, which is the kind of deliciously catchy tune she would be doing later in the decade and wouldn't have sounded at all out of place on albums like Rumours or Tusk.

More poignancy next as we come to the final actual song on the album, and what turns out to be Danny's farewell piece with the band is the deep and meaningful Dust. The lyrics were taken from a poem by Rupert Brooke, who himself died young, and is about the subject of dying. It really touches the heart and stands alone as a great piece of work, regardless of the subject matter. Surely one to be played at his funeral, although I hope he really has found his inner peace long before that day comes.

Thoughts on a grey day is an apt poem which is read out as the last track by an elderly lady from Hampshire called Mrs. Scarrot. I'm not quite sure how this came about but it certainly ends the album on a subdued note, although nothing much else could have followed Dust.

I've listened to this album a few times now and each time it touches me a bit more. Every one of the nine actual tracks is single material and as a body of work I would rank it amongst my favourite albums ever by any artist. Danny has really come into his own, and who knows what he might have done had he not lost his way with the world. Maybe one day he will get the recognition normally saved for people like John Lennon and Eric Clapton, but that Danny Kirwan is just as worthy of in my opinion.

I haven't forgotten Bob Welch and Christine McVie's contributions to this remarkable piece of work either, both played their part in the songwriting greatness that all adds up to an album that needs to be heard by the whole world. If you're a fan of later Mac, or even early Mac, this is one to help bridge the gap between the two.

Greatest Hits (1971)

With only six hit singles to their name by November 1971 when this compilation was released, and none of them appearing on any of their five studio albums to date (unless you count Oh well, which had been included on a re-released version of Then play on. Albatross, Black magic woman and Need your love so bad had all been featured on The Pious bird of good omen, and the former two also on English rose), it is safe to argue that Fleetwood Mac were more of an albums act in the beginning - and probably always have been really.

This album is definitely worthy of a mention as it includes all of those six hits, plus another stand-alone single called Dragonfly which wasn't a hit, making three songs that hadn't featured on any Fleetwood Mac album at that point. The rest of the playlist is made up of two tracks from Mr. Wonderful, and one each from Fleetwood Mac and Then play on. Oh well is listed in two parts, making it a twelve track album. Nothing is featured from Kiln house or their latest album at that time, Future games.

Track one on side one is the brilliant The Green Manalishi (with the two prong crown) which was written by Peter Green during his final months with the band. Released as a single in May 1970 it got as high as #10 in the charts in the U.K. and was unlike anything the band had done before, or since. It is psychedelic rock at it's very best and was apparantly written after Green experienced a drug-induced dream featuring a green dog that he understood to represent money. A whole album of this style would have been interesting, had he stayed with the band.

Oh well is best listened to as one long track in all of its nine minute glory. This Peter Green composition was a single in November 1969, which reached #2 in the U.K. and due to it's success was included on a re-issued version of Then play on in the U.S.. On the single, part one was the A-side and part two the B-side, but if you listen to them together you get a hard rock bluesy style Peter Green vocal for the first three minutes or so, followed by six minutes of pure instrumental rock genius that Led Zeppelin would be in awe of. I first heard this song as a house-dance version in 1989 by a group who were also called Oh Well, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original. A stomping hard rock classic.

Not an easy one to follow, but Shake your moneymaker sits well after Oh well. The only inclusion from the Fleetwood Mac 1968 album, it's the best of all the Elmore James songs they covered and an obvious choice here. Need your love so bad is next, which I spoke about on the Pious Bird album and never tire of hearing, then we get Rattlesnake shake as the only track from Then play on. My first thought was that there were better songs they could have included from that particular album (One sunny day, Coming your way, Before the beginning), but I have to say that I'm feeling this song more now and it rounds off side one nicely. I've only just realised it's about masturbation too.

Side two opens with a Danny Kirwan single that was never a hit (despite Peter Green describing it as the best thing he ever wrote), called Dragonfly. Danny wrote the music but took the lyrics from a poem by W.H. Davies, and it came out after Kiln House in 1971. The song is haunting, melodic and wonderful and it hooks you after a few listens. It's also the only track on here that was recorded after Peter had left the band.

The classic hit singles Black magic woman and Albatross follow and sound just as fabulous on here, and then you get a song which was inexplicably left off the Pious Bird album, despite it being a massive #2 U.K.hit earlier that year. The song in question is the magnificent Peter Green ballad, Man of the world, a sombre, emotional song telling how he has everything money could buy, but has yet to find true love. It starts off as a blues ballad, then builds up into a blast of heavy rock, before calming down again, and is a real rollercoaster ride of a song. Possibly my favourite ever Peter Green composed song.

The album ends with two rather random tracks from Mr. Wonderful. Stop messin' round has already appeared on three Mac albums, although it stands up rather well on here, and then Love that burns, which ends the album on a good strong emotional ballad - I'll forgive them for not including two of the better songs from that album (or an extra one from the first instead) as everything sounds great on here and nothing out of place.

Overall then, that was a first-class three quarters of an hour's listening that filled me with nothing but pleasure. If you're not familiar with any of the Peter Green stuff and are interested in dipping your toe in the water to find out what it's all about then I would highly recommend this album as a starting point. It may be hard to get hold of on CD now (I think I used to have a copy on tape) but it would be no bother to get the mp3s and make yourself a playlist. A great retrospective into the great works of the early Fleetwood Mac.

Future Games

The fifth studio album released by the band in Spetember 1971 was Future Games, a far cry from the rock and roll sound of Kiln House and the blues rock of earlier albums, this falls somewhere between the progressive rock sound of Yes and Pink Floyd to the soft California rock sound of the Buckingham Nicks era that they would become more famous for.

It's the first album since Jeremy Spencer's departure, who left to join the Children of God religious group, and he is replaced by American singer-guitarist Bob Welch and Christine McVie (she is now a full-time member). Danny Kirwan, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood make up the rest of the band, now a five-piece again. There are only eight tracks on offer here, although two of them are over seven minutes long (with one being over eight minutes).

Danny Kirwan shows he is on top form with the album opener, Woman of 1000 years, an impressive rock ballad that immediately makes you want to listen on. Morning rain is the first of Christine McVie's two offerings, and the female vocals add a new dimension to the previously male orientated band. The song is great and not a million miles away from her Rumours classic You make loving fun, although the guitar section rocks like a Who classic.

There is an instrumental track next called What a shame, which is credited to all five band members. At 2:20 minutes long it is a short blast of rock brilliance. The first Bob Welch vocal for the band is an eight minute long extravaganza of progressive rock which places him firmly in the ranks. It is the title track, Future games, which was also written by him, and he also re-recorded it later for his solo 1979 album, The other one, although that version was much shorter. I still need to check that one out, but anyway this track starts off mellow and builds up into a Yes-style chorus that is just magical.

Sands of time is another long one at nearly seven and a half minutes. Don't let that put you off though because it is simply one of the best songs Danny ever did (if not the best) and is just brilliant. There are hints of Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues in his vocal, and if I had to compare the song with anything it would be his Forever Autumn from the War of the worlds soundtrack. An edited version was released as a single in the U.S. but failed to chart, it so should have been a massive hit though.

Danny's top form continues with his third and final track on the album, Sometimes. The guitars and pianos in the introduction to this song could sit on Rumours or any of those later albums, then when the vocal starts you can easily imagine Christine or Lindsey singing this. It then leads into another fantastic chorus, making it a hat-trick for Danny here.

One of the best songs on this album is Bob Welch's second and final offering, Lay it all down. He delivers another powerful performance on a track which has more of a hard rock feel than most of the album, with a brilliant head-banging guitar section in the middle. Then the album closes with a first class Christine McVie ballad called Show me a smile, which is up there with some of her best.

Future games is an album that grows on you a little more with each listen until you are well and truly hooked in its grasp. Every track is great and there are a couple of near-masterpieces thrown in, so it's almost unbelievable that the album bombed. With Christine McVie and Bob Welch on board it's easy to forget about the loss of Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green, especially with Danny Kirwan producing some of his best work to date. This is a real lost classic and my favourite album so far in this marathon.

The Original Fleetwood Mac

Another interruption to the studio album releases now with this collection of songs by the original four members of the band, recorded between 1967 and 1968 and finally released in May 1971. Before Peter Green could convert John McVie to joining the band in 1967 he had Bob Brunning on bass, who features on the track Rambling pony No.2 instead of John.

The CD release is another hash-up of different takes and false starts, but with extra tracks. Thankfully I also managed to find a copy of the original recording which was released on CD in 1994, and that is what I am reviewing here.

Peter Green wrote and sung vocals on the first four tracks: Drifting has a great instrumental lead and is nice and chilled, with a steady pace all the way through. It is also featured on the re-issue of Fleetwood Mac in Chicago. Leaving town blues is absolutely brilliant, with a country blues feel it is easily my favourite track on the album and one of my favourite Green tracks overall. There is then an early studio version of Watch out, which sounds a lot different from the version on Blues Jam at Chess but is just as good. A fool no more is a bit of a slow burner but a grower nonetheless.

The first song to feature Jeremy Spencer is a cover of the Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup track Mean old fireman, which is a lot different to the Elmore James style he became fond of, but moves along at a nice steady pace. Then there's the more rock and roll guitar sound of Can't afford to do it, written by Homesick James and sung by Jeremy it's a short catchy number.

The self-titled Fleetwood Mac is a Peter Green instrumental, on which he features on harmonica as well as guitar. It's a groovy piece of music and stands up against some of the instrumentals that did make it onto albums. Worried dream is a B.B. King track that Peter does justice, and you also get an early taster of Christine Perfect on piano too.

Jeremy takes a strong lead on the Lafayette Leake penned track, Love that woman, and that is followed by his own composition Allow me one more show, which I love. The final two tracks are Peter Green compositions, First train home is a blues-fest piece of excellence and Rambling pony No. 2 is a different take on the track from Pious Bird. It sounds more infectious on here and is a mix of folky-country blues.

This stands alone as a great album which showcases the blues vocals and instrumentals of the band's early days like no other album, apart from the debut. It features some of Peter Green's best compositions in my opinion and I'm so glad they finally saw fit to issue these songs. It's also nice to hear from Peter again.

Kiln House

Kiln House is the fourth studio album by Fleetwood Mac, released in September 1970 and recorded earlier that year. The band were now a four-piece and consisted of Jeremy Spencer (who was back on board but this was to be his last album with the band), Danny Kirwan, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Christine McVie was also present during recording and provided backing vocals as well as doing the cover art, though she did not become a full-time member of the band until after the album was completed.

Peter Green had left the band earlier in the year to join a religious cult, and with him went any of the blues style that had dominated the early work. Instead for this album they opted for a mix of different styles from influences that clearly included Elvis, Buddy Holly and the Beatles.

The album is their first to only feature ten tracks, which help to make it an easy listen. Jeremy Spencer proves he has done the Elmore James stuff to death and instead opts for a sound that is more reminiscent of early Elvis, Buddy Holly or Eddie Cochran on his compostion This is the rock, the album opener. Maybe with Peter Green gone they were finding their feet and trying out new styles, but it's a refreshing change and the song wouldn't sound out of place on any fifties rock and roll compilation.

For the first time in their career you can hear Christine's angelic vocals quite clearly in the background on Station man, an infectious track penned by Danny, Jeremy and John which gave a nod to the Beatles and other big sixties bands. I'm not sure what to make of the track that follows, Blood on the floor, which is a Jeremy Spencer song where he sounds like he is trying to impersonate Elvis' voice. This kind of detracts a bit from the song itself, making it sound more like a Stars in their eyes performance. On the plus side, it's the first time I've heard Fleetwood Mac do country and western.

Hi ho silver isn't the song from eighties series Boon, but is a fine cover of a fifties rock and roll song by Big Joe Turner which was originally called Honey hush. Then we get Jewel eyed Judy, written by Danny, Mick and John and a real stand-out track on the album. It screams of the Beatles, especially the chorus, and you could also imagine Elton John belting this out later in the seventies. Classic.

Buddy Holly gets his own tribute on this album in the form of Buddy's song, which is credited to his mother Ella, although it's been said that the song is Peggy Sue got married with alternative lyrics by Jeremy Spencer. Whatever, I like it. Then we get Danny Kirwan's instantly memorable instrumental piece, Earl Gray, which gives nods towards the Shadows.

I can't speak highly enough of the next track. Easily the best thing Jeremy Spencer wrote for the band, and by far the best on here, One together is up there with the very best of Fleetwood Mac. It's another Beatles-esque number this time in the vein of Here comes the sun, and you can hear George Harrison like qualities to Spencer's voice here. A real lost classic which needs introducing to more people.

Tell me all the things you do is a great Danny Kirwan track, although there's not much in the way of lyrics. The guitars make up for it though and produce a much rockier vibe than on the rest of the album, making this the nearest thing on here to their previous sound. The album closes with a William Michael & Jesse D. Hodges penned track called Mission bell, which was a US hit for Donnie Brooks in 1960 - it was also recorded by P.J. Proby in 1965. This sits nicely at the end of the album and is one of the stand-out tracks.

Kiln House, then, the first album without Peter Green, and the first from the 'forgotten years' as I call them. Well the Green years are heavily covered on compilations, as is the Buckingham/Nicks era, but there are many treasures to be found amongst the six studio albums that were released in between, if you can be bothered to look. There are a number of such treasures on here (One together, Jewel eyed Judy, Station man to name but a few) and Kiln House is an album that I would describe as a fine pick-and-mix of styles, including rock and roll, sixties pop, rock and country. You may forget at times that you're listening to a Fleetwood Mac album but it's still a refreshing listen after so much blues.

Blues Jam At Chess (Double Album)

The result of a recording session in January '69 at Chess Records in Chicago, this was Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, John McVie & Mick Fleetwood) with some of their Chicago blues mentors (which I won't bother listing as they're plainly laid out on the sleeve for all to see). It was released on the Blue Horizon label in December of the same year and failed to reach the UK charts. The US received this under the name of "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago" in a plain black sleeve with the title as a logo, and it was then reissued in 1970 as two separate volumes called "Blues Jam in Chicago, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2". In 2004 it was re-released in CD form with extra tracks, but at 22 tracks here I feel I have enough to be getting on with.

Volume one, side one, kicks off with a Peter Green composition called Watch out, which wouldn't have sounded out of place on the first album. It's definitely a predominately blues album, although there is some fantastic guitar playing on this track. Ooh baby isn't listed on every version of the album that I've seen on the net but I'm assuming it was on the original, anyhow it's a Howlin' Wolf number sung by Peter Green and instantly infectious. Walter Horton plays harmonica on some of these tracks, including his own composition, South Indiana, which is included here in two separate takes, one after the other. The second take begins with about a minute's worth of talking and debating, but both are equally funky and memorable.

Peter Green picks up the vocals again on a Little Walter Jacobs hit from 1954 called Last night. It's another one about a lover who has run off and left him, though not as sombre as some of the others from other albums with the same theme. Still a great song though and definitely my favourite from volume one, and possibly the whole album. I'm not sure if they did this as a tribute to Walter, who died the previous year, or not.

Another instrumental follows, and Peter Green really lets go on his Red hot jam, although at six minutes is slightly on the long side. Then follows that familiar guitar riff from Mr. Wonderful on Elmore James' song I'm worried, which he wrote in 1960. Jeremy Spencer gives a great vocal on this and it's pretty catchy. Another three Elmore tracks follow, each sung by Jeremy, and starting with I held my baby last night which is a better version of the song that is included on the remastered CD version of Mr. Wonderful. Jeremy gives strong vocals throughout here, not least on Madison blues which is a fun piece, and then I can't hold out which uses that old riff once more.

I need your love is a Walter Horton track which he himself sings vocals on here, after a couple of false starts and much debating. With Green and Kirwan on guitars, this is a funky piece of blues which is a welcome change after so many Elmore James numbers. Walter again sings on the final track from volume one, I got the blues, which he also wrote. To begin with it sounds flat and horrible, but luckily he is quickly halted and the vocals sound far more soulful on the actual track.

That's volume one over and I have to say that it was too much to listen to volume two in the same sitting, so for the next part of the review I listened with a fesh ear.

The world's a tangle is a strong start to volume two. Written by blues singer Jimmy Rogers, it is sung here by Danny Kirwan and it is just a great, understated ballad. Danny's own composition, Talk with you, follows and is another strong track. Like it this way isn't so instant but it's Danny again and the guitars are more noticeable here, I'm really feeling this volume so far.

After that it starts to go a bit downhill. American blues musician Otis Spann, who sadly died the following year from liver cancer aged just 40, sings vocals on two consecutive tracks, Someday soon baby and Hungry country girl, both of which move along at a slow pace and don't really go anywhere. At 7:37 and 5:46 minutes long too they are more than a bit long.

Then John Thomas Brown sings vocals on his Black Jack blues, about a man who loses all his money on Black Jack and is afraid of going home to his wife. John actually died before the album was released, aged 51. It's an OK track but I'm waiting for the Mac to get back on vocals now. Jeremy Spencer returns to the front next on a Memphis Slim track from 1947 called Everyday I have the blues, it's a welcome relief as is the following Spencer penned instrumental, Rockin' boogie, which is quite funky and the title is apt.

Peter Green returns to the vocal forefront on the final two tracks, the first of which, Howlin' Wolf's Sugar Mama is a blues standard dating back to 1934. It takes a couple of minutes to get properly started but it's not bad. The final track, Homework, saves the day on this lacklustre second volume though. Written by Al Perkins, Dave Clark and Otis Rush, Green makes it his own and is instantly memorable.

So the second volume didn't quite live up to the first, but there are two or three stand out tracks there, and over the whole course of both volumes I would say that there are six to ten tracks that I would immediately listen to again. I would definitely recommend buying this in some form, but don't try and do the whole thing in one sitting unless you're a blues fanatic.

Then Play On

And now we come to the third album proper. Released in September 1969, the band members to feature on this record are Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood - Jeremy Spencer was still in the band but chose not to contribute on this album, except for some piano playing on Oh well, which was only added to the album later after becoming a hit single. I'll have to do the Greatest Hits to review that song as I'm only concentrating on the original UK vinyl version of this album here. For anybody waiting for the Stevie Nicks stuff, in the words of one of her songs, "It's a real long way to go", but there is plenty of great stuff to discover along the way as I have done myself.

This was their first album with the Reprise label, owned by Warner who the band remain with to this day. Previously they were with Blue Horizon, which I probably should have mentioned before (sorry about that, I'm new to this reviewing game). The two songs featured on English Rose did not appear on the US version of this album and they're criminally left off the CD too, which messes with the track-listing and includes Oh well (and generally gave me a headache - why not keep albums as they were originally intended?). At 14 tracks it's their longest album so far.

Kirwan's Coming your way is a strong start, showing that the band are still blues influenced but now more progressive rock based. The guitar solo at the end of the song is addictive and will have you rocking. On Closing my eyes, Peter Green manages to pre-date Bill Withers' Ain't no sunshine by two years and there are definite similarities, not only to the theme of the song but also to the tune of the verses. This is a real heart-wrencher and Green's haunting vocals touch the heart like you wouldn't believe. One of a few lost gems on this album.

Fighting for Madge is the first of two instrumental jams on the album and is 2:49 minutes of the band letting their hair down, which is no bad thing. When you say was later that year recorded by Christine Perfect (McVie) for her debut solo album, which I intend to get to eventually. Danny Kirwan wrote the song and it's another fine example of his composition and vocal skills. Green's Show-biz blues harks back to the first album (only released the previous year), and then there's Kirwan's pleasant enough, though not jaw droppingly spectacular, instrumental, Underway.

One sunny day sounds magnificent on here. Although the US got it first it one hundred per cent belongs on this album. I would go as far as to say that this is one of the best things the band had done to that point, although there are some more belters to come on side two. It certainly proves Danny Kirwan to be an underrated songwriter in the vein of Peter Green, Ray Davies and even Lennon and McCartney on some tracks.

Though there are some gems on side one, side two is easily the better of the two. Although the sun is shining picks up the proceedings and is another Kirwan winner, and another heart-wrencher. Green's Rattlesnake shake is a feast of bluesy rock and roll, and sounds like another leftover from the first two albums. Like One sunny day, Without you definitely belongs on this album and, like Green's Closing my eyes, is Kirwan yearning and pining for a lover that is no longer with him.

Jam #2 on this album is Searching for Madge, which has been moved to be alongside Fighting for Madge on the CD. At nearly seven minutes long this is a whole banquet of musical styles - blues, good old rock 'n' roll, prog-rock, orchestral music and even a hint of classical. This is followed by a proper instrumental, Kirwan's My dream, which is just lovely. It's the tunes that hit singles were once made of and you can imagine the Shadows doing this at the time, I could happily sit and listen to this for ages. A million times better than Underway, this is almost as good as Albatross.

You then get a long giggle on the original album, and then the final Danny Kirwan track, Like crying, which is another guitar based piece of brilliance and another lost gem. This is the beauty of listening to old albums, you

discover some real hidden classics which the majority of people will never hear, which links us neatly to the absolutely brilliant final track. Before the beginning is Peter Green at his absolute finest, a bluesy ballad where he sounds like a tortured soul and he is pouring his heart out like it's nobody's business. It really gives me goose-bumps to listen to it and could be his way of saying goodbye to a band that started out as his, but this was sadly to be his last studio album with them - you haven't quite seen the last of him yet though.

Then play on, then, is a far cry from their debut and a defining chapter in the ever evolving story of Fleetwood Mac. Danny Kirwan proves he is going to be an asset to the band (until his shock firing three years later) with his well crafted songwriting skills, jaw dropping vocals and brilliant guitar playing. Here we have a diverse mix of musical styles, with blues still very much in the frame but different rock styles having crept in and now taking centre stage.