Fleetwood Mac (1968 album)

Fleetwood Mac
Studio album by Fleetwood Mac
Released 24 February 1968 (1968-02-24)
Recorded November–December 1967
Studio CBS Studios, London
Genre British blues, blues rock
Length 35:10
Label Blue Horizon
Producer Mike Vernon
Fleetwood Mac UK chronology
Fleetwood Mac
(1968)		 Mr. Wonderful
(1968)
Fleetwood Mac US chronology
Fleetwood Mac
(1968)		 English Rose
(1969)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone(positive) [2]

Fleetwood Mac, also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, is the debut album by the band Fleetwood Mac, released in 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.

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. The album barely made the charts in the US, reaching No. 198. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there. As of June 2015, the album has sold over 150,000 copies in the US.[3]

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

Background

In 1967, John Mayall, the frontman of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, gave his bandmate Peter Green free studio time to use as he wished.[4] One of the songs that came out of the recording sessions was an instrumental called Fleetwood Mac, a song he named after his favorite rhythm section, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie[4] After this recording session, Green approached Fleetwood and McVie with the idea of forming a new band.[4] While Fleetwood, who had been fired from The Bluesbreakers,[5] was willing to join immediately, McVie was initially hesitant.[4] Green was sure that McVie would join his band, so he advertised in Melody Maker for a temporary bassist.[4] Bob Brunning answered the ad and was told that they would play at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival in a month.[4]

In addition to a guitarist, drummer, and bassist, Green was also adamant about recruiting a second guitarist in Fleetwood Mac. As Green didn't want to be seen as the leader of the group, he hoped that a second guitarist would help take the spotlight away from him.[4] Fleetwood Mac's producer, Mike Vernon told Green of an "amazing slide guitarist" while searching for new bands to add to the label's roster.[4] The guitarist's name was Jeremy Spencer, who had formed his own band called the Levi Set Blues Band in the mid 1960s. The band sent in an audition tape that was so bad, Vernon didn't bother playing the tape to his colleagues. He did, however, shown the tape to Green, so he could hear Spencer's guitar playing.[4] Green was so impressed with Spencer that he drove over to Lichfield where the Levi Set were playing and outright told him that he was joining Fleetwood Mac. [4]

By the time of the Windsor Festival, Green had already gained recognition for replacing guitarist Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and impressed audiences with his guitar playing.[6]

Reception

The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the British charts.[7]

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "My Heart Beat Like a Hammer"  Jeremy Spencer 2:55
2. "Merry Go Round"  Peter Green 4:05
3. "Long Grey Mare"  Green 2:15
4. "Hellhound on My Trail"  Robert Johnson 2:00
5. "Shake Your Moneymaker"  Elmore James 2:55
6. "Looking for Somebody"  Green 2:50
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "No Place to Go"  Chester Burnett 3:20
2. "My Baby's Good to Me"  Spencer 2:50
3. "I Loved Another Woman"  Green 2:55
4. "Cold Black Night"  Spencer 3:15
5. "The World Keep On Turning"  Green 2:30
6. "Got to Move"  James, Marshall Sehorn 3:20
1999 re-release
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "My Heart Beat Like a Hammer" (Take 2 – master version with studio talk*)Spencer 3:31
2. "Merry Go Round" (Take 2 – master version with studio talk/remix*)Green 4:19
3. "Long Grey Mare"  Green 2:12
4. "Hellhound on My Trail" (Take 1 – complete master version/remix*)Johnson 2:04
5. "Shake Your Moneymaker" (Master version with studio talk*)James 3:11
6. "Looking for Somebody"  Green 2:49
7. "No Place to Go"  Burnett 3:20
8. "My Baby's Good to Me"  Spencer 2:49
9. "I Loved Another Woman"  Green 2:54
10. "Cold Black Night"  Spencer 3:15
11. "The World Keep On Turning"  Green 2:27
12. "Got to Move"  James, Sehorn 3:18
13. "My Heart Beat Like a Hammer" (Take 1*)Spencer 3:18
14. "Merry Go Round" (Take 1 – incomplete*)Green 0:54
15. "I Loved Another Woman" (Take 1 – incomplete*, take 2*, take 3 – false start* and take 4 – incomplete*)Green 6:08
16. "I Loved Another Woman" (Take 5 – complete master version/remix* and take 6 – incomplete*)Green 5:08
17. "Cold Black Night" (Takes 1–5 with false starts, take 6 – complete master version/remix*)Spencer 5:28
18. "You're So Evil" (*)Spencer 3:05
19. "I'm Coming Home to Stay" (*)Spencer 2:27
* Bonus track

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

References

  1. ↑ Fleetwood Mac at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Gifford, Barry (10 August 1968). "Records". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  3. ↑ THE BEACH BOYS, BEE GEES and FLEETWOOD MAC USA album sales - Endless Juke Joints - Greasy Lake Community
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History. 397 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016: Sterling. pp. 24, 27–33. ISBN 978-1-4027-8630-3.
  5. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits (5th ed.). 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595: Billboard Books. p. 466. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
  6. ↑ Black, Johnny. "Fleetwood Mac: "Green's the best blues guitarist the UK's produced"". Team Rock. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Fleetwood Mac: Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
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