Fleetwood Mac (1968 album)

On 19 April 1967, John Mayall, the frontman of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, gave his bandmate Peter Green free studio time at the Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London to use as he wished. Four songs came out of the recording sessions, one of them being an instrumental called "Fleetwood Mac", named after the rhythm section, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The other three songs recorded that day were "First Train Home", "Looking for Somebody" and "No Place to Go".[7][8][9] After this recording session, Green approached Fleetwood and McVie with the idea of forming a new band.[7] While Fleetwood, who had been fired from The Bluesbreakers,[10] was willing to join immediately, McVie was initially hesitant. Green was sure that McVie would join his band, so he advertised in Melody Maker for a temporary bassist.[7] Bob Brunning answered the ad and was told that they would play at the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival in a month.[7]

Green was adamant about recruiting a second guitarist in Fleetwood Mac to divert some of the spotlight away from him. 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.[7] The guitarist's name was Jeremy Spencer, who had formed his own band called the Levi Set Blues Band in the mid 1960s. Vernon played Green a demo tape of the band to show Spencer's guitar playing. Green later stopped by a Levi Set's gig in Lichfield, and informed Spencer that he was a member of Fleetwood Mac.[7]

By the time of the Windsor Festival, Green had already gained recognition for replacing guitarist Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which helped boost the band's profile.[11] Shortly after Fleetwood Mac's live debut, McVie became disenchanted with the Bluesbreakers, and left following Mayall's decision to add a horn section to the lineup. McVie subsequently joined Fleetwood Mac, replacing Brunning.[7]

The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the British charts.[12] Upon release, Barry Gifford (writing for Rolling Stone) praised the album, and described it as "potent enough to make the South Side of Chicago take notice".

Modern attitudes to the album are also largely positive, and many critics argue the album is one of the highlights of the British blues bloom. TeamRock describes it as a "marvellous debut that established the group as the best British blues band of the day".[13] Writing for Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso described the album as a "stellar debut" and "maybe the best album from the British blues boom". He also ranked it as the 4th greatest Fleetwood Mac album.[14] The Telegraph has described the album as a "classic sixties London 12-bar blues rock debut", while also calling it "raw, physical, high spirited and blessed with the exceptional playing of Peter Green".[15] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music describes the album as "seminal".[16]

"ThoughtCo." described the album as an " inspired mix of blues covers", and placed it in the top 10 "The Best Blues-Rock Albums of the 1960s".[1] "Guitarist" (UK magazine) placed the album in "101 Essential Guitar Albums", and John Tobler considered the album to be one of the "100 Great Albums of the 60s".[17]

It was voted number 435 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[18]

Note

• Asterisk (*) denotes a bonus track

Fleetwood Mac

• Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Jeremy Spencer – vocals, slide guitar, piano
• John McVie – bass guitar on all tracks except "Long Grey Mare", "Hellhound on My Trail" and "The World Keep on Turning"
• Mick Fleetwood – drums
• Bob Brunning – bass guitar on "Long Grey Mare"

• "British Hit Albums" Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice, Jonathan Rice (Guinness Publishing, 5th edition, 1992)