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Fleetwood Mac (1968 album)

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Fleetwood Mac
Studio album by
Fleetwood Mac
ReleasedFebruary 1968 (1968-02)
Recorded19 April, November–December 1967
StudioCBS and Decca, London
GenreBlues rock
Length35:10
LabelBlue Horizon
ProducerMike Vernon
Fleetwood Mac chronology
Fleetwood Mac
(1968) 		Mr. Wonderful
(1968)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[1]
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone(Positive)[3]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]

Fleetwood Mac, also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, is the debut studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in February 1968. The album is a mixture of blues covers and originals penned by guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, who also share the vocal duties. It is the only album by the band without any involvement of keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie.

The release of the album brought the band overnight success; in the UK, the album reached No. 4 and stayed on the charts 37 weeks, despite the lack of a hit single. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there. The album barely made the charts in the US, reaching No. 198. As of June 2015, the album has sold over 150,000 copies in the US.[6]

An expanded version of this album was included in the box set The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions.

Background

On 19 April 1967, John Mayall, the frontman of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, gave his bandmate Peter Green free studio time at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, to use as he wished. Four songs came out of the recording sessions, one of them being an instrumental called "Fleetwood Mac", named after the rhythm section, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The other three songs recorded that day were "First Train Home", "Looking for Somebody" and "No Place to Go".[7][8][9] After the session, Green approached Fleetwood and McVie with the idea of forming a new band.[7] While Fleetwood, who had been fired from The Bluesbreakers,[10] was willing to join immediately, McVie was hesitant as he was already earning a sufficient income through the Bluesbreakers.[11] Green advertised in Melody Maker for a temporary bassist hoping that McVie would eventually join as a full-time member. Bob Brunning answered the ad, but contacted the wrong phone number due to a misprint in the newspaper. Undeterred, he reached out to Melody Maker to receive the correct contact information and traveled to west London for his audition. Brunning secured the role as the temporary bassist for Fleetwood Mac and was informed by Green that their first performance would be at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival.[7]

While searching for new bands to add to the Blue Horizon roster, producer Mike Vernon came across a demo tape of the Levi Set Blues Set, a band formed by guitarist Jeremy Spencer. After Vernon played Green a demo tape of the band to showcase Spencer's guitar playing, Green travelled to a Levi Set gig in Lichfield where he successfully recruited Spencer for Fleetwood Mac.[7]

By the time of the Windsor Festival, Green had already gained recognition for replacing guitarist Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which helped boost the band's profile.[12] Shortly after Fleetwood Mac's live debut, McVie left the Bluesbreakers following Mayall's decision to add a horn section to the lineup. McVie subsequently joined Fleetwood Mac, replacing Brunning. Most of Brunning's bass parts recorded in the studio were replaced by McVie, although Brunning does appear on "Long Grey Mare".[7]

Reception and legacy

The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the British charts.[13] Upon release, Barry Gifford (writing for Rolling Stone) praised the album, and described it as "potent enough to make the South Side of Chicago take notice".

Modern attitudes to the album are also largely positive, and many critics argue the album is one of the highlights of the British blues bloom. TeamRock describes it as a "marvellous debut that established the group as the best British blues band of the day".[14] Writing for Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso described the album as a "stellar debut" and "maybe the best album from the British blues boom". He also ranked it as the 4th greatest Fleetwood Mac album.[15] The Telegraph has described the album as a "classic sixties London 12-bar blues rock debut", while also calling it "raw, physical, high spirited and blessed with the exceptional playing of Peter Green".[16] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music describes the album as "seminal".[17]

In 2023, the album received renewed attention after "I'm Coming Home to Stay", a bonus track featured on the 1999 re-release, was used in the third episode of the HBO television series The Last of Us.[18]

Accolades

"ThoughtCo." described the album as an " inspired mix of blues covers", and placed it in the top 10 "The Best Blues-Rock Albums of the 1960s".[1] "Guitarist" (UK magazine) placed the album in "101 Essential Guitar Albums", and John Tobler considered the album to be one of the "100 Great Albums of the 60s".[19]

It was voted number 435 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[20]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Heart Beat Like a Hammer"Jeremy Spencer2:55
2."Merry Go Round"Peter Green4:05
3."Long Grey Mare"Green2:15
4."Hellhound on My Trail"Robert Johnson2:00
5."Shake Your Moneymaker"Elmore James2:55
6."Looking for Somebody"Green2:50
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."No Place to Go"Chester Burnett3:20
2."My Baby's Good to Me"Spencer2:50
3."I Loved Another Woman"Green2:55
4."Cold Black Night"Spencer3:15
5."The World Keep on Turning"Green2:30
6."Got to Move"James, Marshall Sehorn3:20
1999 re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Heart Beat Like a Hammer" (Take 2 – master version with studio talk*)Spencer3:31
2."Merry Go Round" (Take 2 – master version with studio talk/remix*)Green4:19
3."Long Grey Mare"Green2:12
4."Hellhound on My Trail" (Take 1 – complete master version/remix*)Johnson2:04
5."Shake Your Moneymaker" (Master version with studio talk*)James3:11
6."Looking for Somebody"Green2:49
7."No Place to Go"Burnett3:20
8."My Baby's Good to Me"Spencer2:49
9."I Loved Another Woman"Green2:54
10."Cold Black Night"Spencer3:15
11."The World Keep on Turning"Green2:27
12."Got to Move"James, Sehorn3:18
13."My Heart Beat Like a Hammer" (Take 1*)Spencer3:43
14."Merry Go Round" (Take 1 – incomplete*)Green0:54
15."I Loved Another Woman" (Take 1 – incomplete*, take 2*, take 3 – false start* and take 4 – incomplete*)Green6:08
16."I Loved Another Woman" (Take 5 – complete master version/remix* and take 6 – incomplete*)Green5:08
17."Cold Black Night" (Takes 1–5 with false starts, take 6 – complete master version/remix*)Spencer5:28
18."You're So Evil" (*)Spencer3:05
19."I'm Coming Home to Stay" (*)Spencer2:27

Note

  • Asterisk (*) denotes a bonus track

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

  • Mick Fleetwood – Drums
  • Peter Green – Lead vocals ("Merry Go Round", "Long Grey Mare", "Looking for Somebody", "No Place to Go", "I Loved Another Woman", "The World Keep On Turning"), electric guitar, harmonica
  • Jeremy Spencer – lead vocals ("My Heart Beat Like a Hammer", "Hellhound on my Trail", "Shake Your Moneymaker", "My Baby's Good to Me", "Cold Black Night", "Got to Move"), slide guitar, piano
  • John McVie – Bass guitar on all tracks except "Long Grey Mare", "Hellhound on My Trail" and "The World Keep on Turning"
  • Bob Brunning – Bass guitar on "Long Grey Mare"

Charts

1968 weekly chart performance for Fleetwood Mac
Chart (1968) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[21] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 4
US Billboard 200[23] 198

References

  1. ^ a b Keith, Reverend. "The Best Blues-Rock Bands of the 1960s". Thoughtco.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  2. ^ Fleetwood Mac at AllMusic
  3. ^ Gifford, Barry (10 August 1968). "Records". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  4. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  5. ^ Colin Larkin (30 September 2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. p. 89. ISBN 9781448132744. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  6. ^ "THE BEACH BOYS, BEE GEES and FLEETWOOD MAC......USA album sales". Greasy Lake Community. 19 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History. New York: Sterling. pp. 24, 27–33. ISBN 978-1-4027-8630-3.
  8. ^ [1] Archived 7 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Lewry, Pete (1999). Fleetwood Mac The Complete Recordings 1967/1997. Blandford. p. 128. ISBN 0-7137-2724-1.
  10. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 466. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
  11. ^ "Modern Drummer: Hot Products! Great Gear For '03" (PDF). Modern Drummer: 118. June 2023.
  12. ^ Black, Johnny (28 November 2013). "Fleetwood Mac: "Green's the best blues guitarist the UK's produced"". Team Rock. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Fleetwood Mac: Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  14. ^ "The Top 30 British Blues Rock Albums of All Time". TeamRock.com. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimateclassicrock.com. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Fleetwood Mac's albums: from worst to best". The Telegraph. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  17. ^ Larkin, Colin (30 September 2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. Random House. ISBN 9781448132744 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ "The Last of Us soundtrack: Full list of songs in HBO series". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  20. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 159. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  21. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Fleetwood Mac Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  • "British Hit Albums" Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice, Jonathan Rice (Guinness Publishing, 5th edition, 1992)
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