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.