Fleetwood Mac
Then Play On

THE REVIEW

The story of Fleetwood Mac is made up of two fundamental periods, very different from each other, that left a burning mark on British and then American music between the 60s and 70s. In this review I will focus on the period I prefer, namely the first one, with Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer leading the group artistically. Green had played in Hard Road by John Mayall and shortly after decided to form a quartet with drummer Mick Fleetwood and Mayall's trusty bassist, John McVie (from which the band gets its name), and with slide virtuoso Spencer, a fan of Elmore James. The band's early albums were characterized by a strong stylistic rigor towards urban blues, almost a philological research, but already in "English Rose" the instrumental "Albatross" and "Black Magic Woman" (which was also made famous by Santana) hinted that Peter Green could go beyond the blues.

The album I am examining, which I consider the great masterpiece of the early Fleetwood Mac, is "Then Play On" from 1970. First of all, it’s important to note the addition of the third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, who contributes his creative support also in composition and the compositional leadership of Green. The change of label is also important, from Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon, one of the great promoters of British Blues, to Reprise.

The creative and most interesting peaks of the album are certainly the experimental "Oh Well" with its bluesy start but that soon transforms into a nine-minute composition of intense acoustic guitar exploring territories beyond blues and beyond rock in an instrumental crescendo joined by Christine Perfect's piano, McVie's wife and future band member. Not to mention the nervous and energetic "Rattlesnake Shake" or "Showbiz Blues" with just Green's slide and voice. The new blond guitarist Kirwan composes the excellent opener "Coming Your Way" with prominent percussion, and the sinuous "Although the Sun is Shining". The instrumentals "My Dream", with its sinuous pace, and the rock "Searching For Madge", composed by Mick Fleetwood, with a superb solo guitar by Green, are particularly noteworthy.

After this album, Peter Green will leave due to a mystical crisis that will last many years and some time later will be followed by Spencer who will join a sect called Children of God and Fleetwood Mac will change course, introducing Fleetwood's wife, Stevie Nicks as singer and Christine Perfect as keyboardist, breaking into rock-pop in America, but this is not the place to talk about that. Ultimately a fundamental album for the British blues movement but not only, given the excellent experimentation seeking a way beyond the faithful transposition of classical blues.