The Pious Bird Of Good Omen

Another compilation album, this being the UK equivalent to English Rose, it was released in August 1969 and there are five tracks that the two albums share in common. Pious Bird consists of their first four UK singles (for some reason not included on either of their studio albums), three B-sides, two tracks from Mr. Wonderful, one from their debut album and two which were by blues artist Eddie Boyd with backing music by Fleetwood Mac.

I have the original album version, not the awfully repackaged and sawn apart CD re-release from 2002. I'm not sure why I would need five different recordings of Need your love so bad, however great the song is. Like English Rose the main members of the band are Green, Spencer, Kirwan, McVie and Fleetwood, although Eddie Boyd takes the lead for two of the tracks.

For the life of me I can't understand why they omitted the beautiful Something inside of me and the brilliant One sunny day and Without you, in favour of the three album tracks that we already had. At least the latter two were later included on Then play on I suppose.

Anyhow, the album begins with the brilliant Need your love so bad, a song that was foolishly left off English Rose, which was written by Mertis John Jr. in 1955. It was first recorded by his younger brother, Little Willie John (thanks to Wikipedia for that piece of information). Fleetwood Mac released their cover as a single in 1968, and heaven only knows why it wasn't included on Mr. Wonderful as it's beautiful. Easily one of their best tracks from the Peter Green blues era, and his vocals sound absolutely stunning on this.

Unfortunately the rest of side one doesn't live up to that opening. Coming home is repeated once again and actually sounds better than it did on English Rose, Rambling pony was the B-side to their first single and is pretty average, Eddie Boyd's The big boat sounds good, but with only his vocals it would have sounded out of place on one of their studio albums. I believe my time ain't long was the first single from 1967 and is actually the same song as Dust my broom from Mr. Wonderful, although Spencer's vocals sound a lot more polished on this version. The sun is shining, written by Elmore James, rounds off side one carrying on the same blues sound that has run throughout.

Side two starts off with the thoroughly welcome Albatross, of which I haven't got anything to add that I haven't already said (see my review of English Rose), but needless to say it sounds glorious here and came just at the right time. Black magic woman follows, and again you can read my last review but it is another classic.

Just the blues is the second Eddie Boyd track here and it sounds like something that would be playing in a piano bar. It's not a bad thing though, the guitars from the band combine well with Boyd's nimble piano playing, although at 5:41 it's by far the longest track on the album. After that, the short instrumental Jigsaw puzzle blues is quite nice, at least it sounds better than it did on English Rose. I can see why it was the B-side to Albatross.

The odd inclusion of Looking for somebody from their debut (it's not one of the obvious choices on that album) actually sounds great here, and then the album closes as the previous two began, with Stop messin' round. Not much I can really add about that one really.

And so, what we have here is a slightly odd combination. I can see why the singles and B-sides would be here, but not the old album tracks - although if they were then I would have included Shake your moneymaker or I loved another woman from the first album, and Need your love tonight or Trying so hard to forget from the second.

The only thing that makes this album worth buying is Need your love so bad, otherwise I would say just get English Rose. If you combine the two albums and just keep the 'new' tracks then the tracklisting would be something like:

Need your love so bad

Jigsaw puzzle blues

The big boat

Something inside of me

I believe my time ain't long

Rambling pony

Black magic woman

The sun is shining

One sunny day

Without you

Just the blues

Albatross

And that would have been the ultimate third album in the Fleetwood Mac discography.

 

English Rose

More of a compilation than an actual album, but as I am a completist I'm going to review it anyway. Released January 1969 in the US only, half of this release consists of songs from Mr. Wonderful (which wasn't released over there), two songs were UK non-album single releases, one was a B-side to one of those singles, two were new songs which would later appear on the UK version of Then play on, and one unreleased track. The band at this stage still consisted of Green, Spencer, McVie and Fleetwood, but a young guitarist called Danny Kirwan had now joined the ranks, making the band a five-piece.

The album starts the same as Mr. Wonderful with Stop messin' round and is followed by a short (1:38), pleasant enough instrumental piece called Jigsaw puzzle piece which was the B-side to Albatross. Doctor Brown follows, and then we get a Danny Kirwan composition called Something inside of me which I really like, and can't believe it wasn't included on a UK release. The guitar playing is great and sounds like it could be off an Eric Clapton record or something. I'd say it was acoustic rock with a blues edge. Love it.

Evenin' boogie sounds even better for some reason on this album, and then side one is rounded off with Love that burns. The Mr. Wonderful tracks actually grow on you with each listen so maybe I should review it again in a year's time when I'm more familiar with the tracks.

The first real classic on this album comes on the start of side two with the epic Peter Green hit Black magic woman. This was a minor UK hit in 1968 and then became more famous for Santana's version, two years later. I think this is the better version, although I am a bit biased, and it's Green's vocals on this haunting ballad that make this song for me. After this we get I've lost my baby from Mr. Wonderful, which sounds better on here.

Danny Kirwan proves he deserves his place among the great songwriters in the band with One sunny day, which would later appear on the UK version of Then play on. This is just great, it's summery, feel-good guitar music reminiscent of the Kinks. So catchy it could have been a hit, and he's singing "Help me take my blues away", which perhaps is an indication of where the band is headed. I would certainly say that this track was more rock than blues.

Likewise, Without you would appear on Then play on in the UK. It's not the Nilsson/Badfinger classic but another Danny Kirwan composition, which isn't as immediate as the previous track but is a heartfelt acoustic ballad about a man who's woman cleared off and left him in the night. Coming home sounds much better here as the riff hasn't been overdone so much.

Now imagine you are lying on a beach watching the waves crashing against the sand. Albatross closes the album and it is a truly magnificent piece of music which is up there with the best instrumentals ever. It's also their only UK number one single to date, and the first Fleetwood Mac song to get a full 5 stars from me - although there will be a lot more to come. It's unlike anything else on an album which is a bit of a hotch-potch of different styles, but overall a good listen.

I would say that this album as a whole is better than Mr. Wonderful because of the inclusions of Albatross, Black magic woman and One sunny day, which are three epic pieces. With Without you as well, side two is definitely the better side of the record.

Mr. Wonderful

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.

Fleetwood Mac (1968)

The debut, released in February 1968 when Fleetwood Mac consisted of Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (with Bob Brunning playing bass on Long grey mare). This was retitled Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac for the CD, presumably to avoid confusion with the 1975 album of the same name. We'll forget the CD version though and it's messing around putting different takes of the tracks on it, here I am reviewing the original album cuts as they appeared on the vinyl, a few years before I was born I have to add!

The album kicks off in style with the feel-good My heart beats like a hammer, a Jeremy Spencer composition that immediately dispelled my beliefs that blues music had to have you reaching for the nearest razor blade. The song leaves you hungry for more, and Peter Green's Merry go round satisfies that hunger despite being not so upbeat. His track Long grey mare follows suit and then you are hit with the more sombre Hellhound on my trail, which was originally recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937 who died a year later aged just 27 (courtesy of Wikipedia) and is just beautifully sung here.

After that you're left wanting something more uptempo, and that comes full throttle in the form of Shake your moneymaker. This catchy as hell song was originally recorded by Elmore James in 1961 (wikipedia again). It rocks along like a goodun' and I can guarantee you won't stay still while it's on. Green's Looking for somebody finishes off side one a bit more slowly, but still at a pace that will have you shaking your stuff to the instruments. I have to say here that I really know nothing about blues, as is probably evident, but I know what sounds good and that is all of this album so far.

Side Two kicks off in the same bluesy vein with a Howlin' Wolf number called No place to go, then there's the Spencer composed My baby's good to me. I've listened to this album a few times now and the songs really do get better with each listen. I've also noticed that in most of the songs the title is repeated quite a few times throughout, this is no exception.

The real jewel in the crown is with Peter Green's I loved another woman, a blues ballad which is easily my favourite song on the album. This is in the same vein as their hit 'Need your love so bad' and I do feel that this could have been a big hit had it been released as a single. Proof if it were needed that Green was as much of an asset to Fleetwood Mac in the early days as Buckingham/Nicks were later on.

Jeremy Spencer was an asset also, and his Cold black night is another great blues number. I've noticed that his tracks have a familiar ring to them on this album, which is no bad thing. These should all really be blues standards now. Green's final offering on the album is the rather good The world keeps on turning, and then we end on a real high with another Elmore James classic in the shape of Got to move. This is catchy as hell and sounds like something the Rolling Stones would have done back then.

All in all there is not one duff track here, and is a must for any serious Fleetwood Mac fan - if only to see how it all began. It's a real insight if you only know the Buckingham/Nicks era stuff. There are no hit singles but don't let that put you off as there are a few tracks that could have been, especially in the 60's when this sort of blues rock was popular.