Fleetwood Mac - 1969 *Then Play On*

This is a truly classic recording — from the band's finest hour.

It's no "Rumours" — and that's a good thing!

Start - Title - Length

00:00 Coming Your Way -- 3:47

03:47 Closing My Eyes -- 4:51

08:38 Showbiz Blues -- 3:52

12:30 My Dream -- 3:30

16:00 Underway -- 2:51

18:51 Oh Well -- 8:56

27:47 Although the Sun Is Shining -- 2:23

30:10 Rattlesnake Shake -- 3:32

33:42 Searching for Madge -- 6:56

40:38 Fighting for Madge -- 2:45

43:23 When You Say -- 4:32

47:55 Like Crying -- 2:21

50:16 Before the Beginning -- 3:28

* Peter Green -- vocals, guitar, harmonica

* Danny Kirwan -- vocals, guitar

* John McVie -- bass

* Mick Fleetwood -- drums

and

* Jeremy Spencer -- piano on "Oh Well" {Pt 2}

* Christine Perfect (McVie) -- piano

* Big Walter Horton -- harmonica

Remember when Fleetwood Mac was still a blues band? Before Buckingham and Nicks came along to water down the group's sound into a syrupy pop outfit that cranked out one album of lowest common denominator top 40 music after another? For anyone who has never heard the band in the early years, nearer their origins, the experience could come as a shock. There's a lot to be said for the argument that the band should have changed their name when they took that radical turn into pop music...

But this album is near the beginning, and it's a joyful experience. The amazing Peter Green (guitar, vocals), the steady rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass), all fresh from some serious schooling in the ranks of the legendary John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, formed Fleetwood Mac in 1967, joined by guitarist Jeremy Spencer, and, just before this set was recorded, guitarist Danny Kirwan. Their first couple of albums were well-received by critics and fans alike in their native UK — with "Then Play On", the band began to expand their songwriting horizons, while remaining true to their blues roots.

The guitar work from the triumvirate of Green/Spencer/Kirwan is stunning, as are their vocals — each infusing his own compositions with a unique personality, yet fitting into the overall sound of the band at the same time. There are some memorable unbeat, rockin' tunes here — but what stands out for me after all of these years are the slower, moodier pieces — vocals and instrumentals alike.

Green's 'Closing my eyes', the second track on the album, is one of the most heartfelt expressions of loneliness and despair I've ever heard — but it's not maudlin. He can sing '...one day I'll die — maybe then I'll be with you' and it doesn't come across as trite for even a second. Danny Kirwan contributes three tunes in this laid-back but strongly emotional vein as well: 'Although the sun is shining' has an achingly beautiful, unusual chord progression — 'When you say' and 'Like crying' are gems as well. The instrumentals — Kirwan's 'My dream', Green's 'Underway', are things of beauty, and the two jams 'Searching for Madge' and 'Fighting for Madge' allow the bandmembers to stretch out a bit in a more upbeat vein.

There are rockers here as well — notably two classics from Peter Green, the classic 'Oh well' (presented here in its entirety, it didn't even appear on the original lp except as a bonus 7″ included in early copies) and the playfully nasty 'Rattlesnake shake' (I remember that the 'underground' FM station in my home town wouldn't even play this track — they were SO adventurous).