Fleetwood Mac
Live in Boston

THE REVIEW

After reviewing the first act of the legendary concert held by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac at the Boston Tea Party theater in February '70, to which I refer for completeness and introduction, it is necessary to continue the analysis of this monumental contribution to the rock-blues music by the complex founded by the legendary Peter Green.

The sweet opening arpeggio couldn't have a more fitting title, "World in Harmony," which automatically leads one to think: "if only things really went this way on this troubled earth," so persuasive is the Green-Kirwan duet, who perhaps realizing they had somewhat lulled the audience decided to switch to stronger methods with one of the most famous pieces of their enviable repertoire: "Oh Well," which after McVie's splendid entrance, tell me if the gritty vocal intervention doesn't remind you of Zappa, with whom they were certainly in contact at the time? When you tire of replaying the track from the group's absolute masterpiece "Then Play On," and not accidentally included in the introductory vinyl edition of the concert (the "modest" one containing only 7 tracks), rest assured that what follows will take you directly to paradise, the Paradise of music lovers, naturally! Clearly, I'm writing about "Rattlesnake Shake" version two, in the sense that a memorable version is already contained on the first CD, so those wanting to quickly delve into the album, considering the track's length, might commit the Sacrilege of skipping it, perhaps because they've already heard the first version: now this would be a COLOSSAL MISTAKE! On the contrary, to understand what this group was, little-known in our country, which at the time was quite backward (alas) and still taking its first steps (literally those early steps), but of absolute worth, you MUST listen to the second version of the "Rattlesnake Shake" (that red, white, and black striped, slightly venomous snake, if you catch my drift), which besides Green's hypnotic leading theme is another musical argument of such quality as to confirm, should you have any doubts (perhaps remnants after listening to the first album, who knows), that: "God really exists!" The only thing I add is to wish you the fortune to witness something like this live: a truly endless piece, whose finale is something to pass on to future generations, and it fills me with pride to be able to review it, so much so that I'd end here, moved.

Instead, after such a beginning, namely three tracks of such quality and lasting 33 minutes, it seems difficult to continue, in every sense. The path chosen by Green and company, it seems to me, was the right one, namely relying on their guiding spirit, their muse Elmor James, resurrecting two captivating rhythm & blues tracks "Stranger Blues" and "Red Hot Mama," certainly much appreciated by the audience whose involvement at this point would have had to reach its peak. So, to break the tension a bit, Fleetwood Mac introduces a truly amusing and slightly unconventional piece, the playful and mocking "Teenage Darling" penned by Jeremy Spencer, the backing guitarist (forgive the term, but how else could I title someone who stood beside Green, who was already dueting with Kirwan?), whose contribution to these concerts is truly noteworthy, and incidentally, he too would leave the group shortly after Green, leaving the remaining lineup significantly weakened.

Another stark contrast is the transition to the wild "Keep A-Knocking," a rock & roll by another father of American rhythm & blues: Richard Wayne Penniman, and then "Jenny Jenny," another r&r laced by Green as if it were a painting to give a second perspective, a second life, something I'd say he manages quite well, taking you with him to the School of Guitar, where Clapton was also present as a pupil, who will be given a small role in the concluding "Encore Jam," an instrumental piece over 13 minutes long composed and improvised by all three guitarists (Kirwan, Spencer, and Green) and which, in my humble opinion, represents a pinnacle of the genre, or to put it in practical terms, a conversation between virtuosos of the instrument as rarely heard before (and also in the future, I believe, unless any of you can indicate something on this level that I would be delighted to compare). In short, a jam session (literally = a jam of sounds) to conclude, I won't write in beauty, but more: in wonder for your ears, another legendary album! It is clear that after such abundance, the minimum standard is to desire to delve into the third chapter of the saga, am I wrong? Almost prompted by the faded closure of the last track, for reasons I don't know, but which can be traced back to it being recordings in an era when stereophony was still in its diffusion............ Nonetheless, the technical quality of the CD, or rather HDCD, is remarkable, in fact, it amazes the writer, particularly fond of the repetitive graphics of this album compared to the first though with different colors.