Once upon a time, there was a blues band in London who were just starting to make a name for themselves as Fleetwood Mac. However, this wasn't the band that everyone is familiar with today that has Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham leading the band but instead blues extraordinaires Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. In 1968 the band put out its first album Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac that was actually pretty successful despite the fact it lacked a hit single.
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a pretty straight up blues album. However, you really do have to appreciate the warmth and musical nuances it contains. Green's guitar playing really is on a whole other level and rivals his peers of the time. The songs are a mix of blues covers as well as songs written by Green and Spencer; both of whom shared vocal duties.
Shake Your Money Maker is about as basic blues patterns as you can get (as it is a cover of an Elmore James song), and Spencer's slide guitar absolutely kills it. The whole band truly is on fire in this upbeat swing of a tune and you can tell that they were having fun with it. Their youthful energy really does bring the blues to life in a whole new way that at the time could only really be done by Englishmen and Jimi Hendrix.
Hellhound on My Trail has to be my absolute favorite song from this album. Despite it's just piano and vocals, this reinterpretation of a Robert Johnson classic is full of pleasant relaxed warmth despite the subject matter of the lyrics. I just wish that Spencer would have been able to remember all the lyrics to the song because he finishes it up only halfway through. Be that as it may, it's still my favorite cover version of the song.
If you're looking to get into the blues, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a great place to start. It's like a 35 minute guitar lesson in the most fun ways possible. Plus, it gives you a great introduction to some blues classics that you can go and find the original versions of whenever you have a few minutes to spare and an internet connection to use to get to YouTube. I can't recommend this album enough. It's way better than anything from Rumours.
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac receives 4 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. My Heart Beat Like a Hammer
2. Merry Go Round
3. Long Grey Mare
4. Hellhound on My Trail
5. Shake Your Money Maker
6. Looking For Somebody
7. No Place to Go
8. My Baby's Good to Me
9. I Loved Another Woman
10. Cold Black Night
11. The World Keep on Turning
12. Got to Move
Buy the album on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Greens-Fleetwood-Mac-FLEETWOOD/dp/B00030607O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443733537&sr=8-1&keywords=Peter+Green%27s+Fleetwood+Mac
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