Fleetwood Mac, also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, is the debut studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in February 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. It is the only album by the band without any involvement of keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie.
The release of the album brought the band overnight success; in the UK Albums Chart, the album reached No. 4 and stayed on the chart for 37 weeks, despite the lack of a hit single. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there.[1] The album barely made the chart in the US, reaching No. 198 in the Billboard 200. As of June 2015, the album has sold over 150,000 copies in the US.[2][better source needed]
On 19 April 1967, John Mayall, the frontman of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, gave his bandmate Peter Green free studio time at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, to use as he wished. Four songs came out of the recording sessions. One of them was an instrumental called "Fleetwood Mac", which was named after the musicians in the rhythm section – Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The other three songs that were recorded on that day were "First Train Home", "Looking for Somebody", and "No Place to Go".[3][4] After the session concluded, Green approached Fleetwood and McVie with the idea of forming a new band.[3] Fleetwood, who had been fired from the Bluesbreakers,[5] was willing to join immediately, although McVie was hesitant as he was already earning sufficient income through the Bluesbreakers.[6]
Green advertised in Melody Maker for a bassist; Bob Brunning answered the ad, but contacted the wrong phone number due to a misprint in the newspaper. Undeterred, he reached out to Melody Maker to receive the correct contact information and traveled to west London for his audition. Brunning secured the role as the bassist for Fleetwood Mac on the understanding that he would leave if McVie changed his mind and agreed to join, and was informed by Green that their first performance would be at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival.[3]
While searching for new bands to add to the Blue Horizon roster, Mike Vernon had travelled to Lichfield to see a performance by the Levi Blues Set, a band formed by guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Spencer recalled that Vernon was pleased with their performance, which prompted the producer to invite the band to Decca for a recording session.[7] Vernon informed Green of an upcoming Levi Blues Set gig alongside John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and played him some demo tapes from the Levi Blues Set to showcase Spencer's playing.[3] Green subsequently travelled to the Levi Blues Set gig and successfully recruited Spencer for Fleetwood Mac.[3]
On 9 September Vernon granted the band access to Decca Studios for a secret recording session late at night unbeknownst to Decca. The songs "I Believe My Time Ain’t Long", Rambling Pony" and "Long Grey Mare" emerged from those sessions.[7] Shortly after Fleetwood Mac's live debut, McVie left the Bluesbreakers following Mayall's decision to add a horn section to the lineup. McVie subsequently joined Fleetwood Mac, replacing Brunning, whose bass parts were unused on the final album with the exception of "Long Grey Mare". However, "I Believe My Time Ain't Long" was issued as a non-album single with "Rambling Pony" as its B-side, both of which feature Brunning's bass playing.[3]
On 22 November 1967 the band travelled to CBS Studios on New Bond Street in London and recorded "Merry Go Round", "Hellhound on My Trail", "I Loved Another Woman", "Cold Black Night", "The World Keeps on Turning", "Watch Out", "A Fool No More", "You’re So Evil" and "Mean Old Fireman"; several of these songs later appeared on the band's 1968 eponymous release. An additional recording session took place on December 11 that yielded "My Heart Beat Like a Hammer", "Shake Your Money Maker", and "Leaving Town Blues", although the latter song did not make the album. Most songs required no more than two takes, which engineer Mike Ross attributed to Fleetwood Mac's disciplined approach when recording with Vernon, who Ross described as "a strict producer". However, Vernon recalled that the band's antics were sometimes "infuriating".[7]
The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Albums Chart.[13] 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".[10]
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".[14] 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.[15]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".[16]The Encyclopedia of Popular Music describes the album as "seminal".[17] AllMusic noted the influence of Elmore James on Spencer's compositions and wrote that Green's "inspired playing, the capable (if erratic) songwriting, and the general panache of the band as a whole placed them leagues above the overcrowded field."[9]
In 2023, the album received renewed attention after "I'm Coming Home to Stay", a bonus track featured on the 1999 re-release, was used in the third episode of the HBO television series The Last of Us.[18]
Accolades
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".[8] The album was voted number 435 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[19]
Peter Green – lead vocals ("Merry Go Round", "Long Grey Mare", "Looking for Somebody", "No Place to Go", "I Loved Another Woman", "The World Keep On Turning"), electric guitar, harmonica
Jeremy Spencer – lead vocals ("My Heart Beat Like a Hammer", "Hellhound on my Trail", "Shake Your Moneymaker", "My Baby's Good to Me", "Cold Black Night", "Got to Move"), slide guitar, piano
John McVie – bass guitar on all tracks except "Long Grey Mare", "Hellhound on My Trail" and "The World Keep on Turning"
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
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