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 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 the 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 hesitant as he was already earning a sufficient income through the Bluesbreakers.[11] Green advertised in Melody Maker for a temporary bassist hoping that McVie would eventually join as a full-time member. 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 temporary bassist for Fleetwood Mac and was informed by Green that their first performance would be at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival.[7]

While searching for new bands to add to the Blue Horizon roster, producer Mike Vernon came across a demo tape of the Levi Set Blues Set, a band formed by guitarist Jeremy Spencer. After Vernon played Green a demo tape of the band to showcase Spencer's guitar playing, Green travelled to a Levi Set gig in Lichfield where he successfully recruited Spencer for 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.[12] On September 9, 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.[13] 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. Brunning's bass parts recorded in the studio were unused on the final album with the exception of "Long Grey Mare", although "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.[7]

On November 22, 1967, the band travelled to CBS Studios in New Bond Street, 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". An additional recording sessions 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.[13]

The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the British charts.[14] 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".[15] 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.[16] 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".[17] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music describes the album as "seminal".[18]

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.[19]

"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".[20]

It was voted number 435 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[21]

Note

• Asterisk (*) denotes a bonus track

Fleetwood Mac

• Mick Fleetwood – Drums
• 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"
• Bob Brunning – Bass guitar on "Long Grey Mare"

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