Then Play On

Fleetwood Mac's previous albums had been recorded live in the studio[8] and adhered strictly to the blues formula.[9] For the recording of Then Play On, editing and overdubbing techniques were used extensively for the first time.[10] Green had recently introduced improvisation and jamming to the band's live performances and three of the tracks on the album including "Underway", "Searching for Madge", and "Fighting for Madge", which were compiled by Green from several hours of studio jam sessions.[8]

Green, the de facto band leader at the time, delegated half of the songwriting to bandmate Danny Kirwan so he could sing more lead vocals. Music journalist Anthony Bozza remarked that Green “was a very generous band leader in every single way. And Peter gave Danny all of that freedom. You just don’t hear about things like that.” Jeremy Spencer, the band's other guitarist, did not play on any of the album's original tracks.[11] Green and Spencer had planned to record a concept album — “an orchestral-choral LP” — about the life of Jesus Christ, although the album never came to fruition.[12] Instead, Spencer released a solo album in 1970 with the members of Fleetwood Mac as his backing band.[13]

Although "Oh Well" was a hit in the UK, it was not the group's first single released in America. Instead, Clifford Davis, who was Fleetwood Mac's manager at the time, selected "Rattlesnake Shake" to be released in the US. While Davis thought "Rattlesnake Shake" would become a big hit, it failed to chart anywhere.[14] After the failure of "Rattlesnake Shake", "Oh Well" was chosen as the second single for the US market. The second single fared much better, becoming the band's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[15]

The painting used for the album cover artwork is a mural by the English artist Maxwell Armfield.[16] The painting was featured in the February 1917 edition of The Countryside magazine, which noted that the mural was originally designed for the dining room of a London mansion.[17][18]

Contemporary reception of the album was mixed. Writing for Rolling Stone magazine, John Morthland said Fleetwood Mac had fallen "flat on their faces", and later dismissed the album as mostly "nondescript ramblings".[19] On the other hand, Robert Christgau was more positive. He described the album's mixing of "easy ballads and Latin rhythms with the hard stuff" as "odd" but "very good".[20]

However, more recent reviews of the album are highly positive; The New Rolling Stone Album Guide labeling the album as a "cool, blues-based stew"[6] and considered it the second best Fleetwood Mac album. The Telegraph described Then Play On as a "musically expansive, soft edged, psychedelic blues odyssey".[21] Clark Collins of Blender magazine gave the album five stars out of five, and described "Oh Well" as an "epic blues-pop workout".

Fleetwood Mac

• Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica, six string bass, percussion, cello on "Oh Well (Part 2)"[22]
• Danny Kirwan – vocals, guitar
• John McVie – bass guitar
• Mick Fleetwood – drums, percussion
• Jeremy Spencer – piano on "Oh Well (Part 2)"

Additional personnel

• Christine Perfect – piano[23] - uncredited
• Sandra Elsdon – recorders on "Oh Well (Part 2)"[24]

Production

• Fleetwood Mac – producers
• Martin Birch – engineer
• Dinky Dawson – sound consultant