Review Summary: A good effort, but light years behind the best blues bands' efforts of the time.
Fleetwood Mac... now this is a band with a LOT of changes. Both in the line-up and in the general approach of their music through the years. Here I am going to review the band's debut album, with guitarist - singer Peter Green. A hardcore blues record, it is a lot different compared to the band's 70's efforts, with mighty blues soloing and a genuine dirty atmosphere that the genre’s fans will love. Don’t expect great songwriting, though, as the members of the group are still rooted in the blues, after all.
‘’ My Heart Beat Like A Hammer’’ is a great opener with slide leads that will surely leave any listener satisfied with the quality of these guitar passages. Apart from this, Green delivers his vocals convincingly and full of passion.’’Merry-Go-Round’’ is a slower blues number with some extraordinary guitar phrases and chords. The atmosphere is similar, of course, but it’s a blues record anyway, so I won’t bother repeating that during the review. The drums and bass support the lead guitar very well, with little fill-ins and crescentos that enhance the guitar solo’s already emotional state. ‘’Long Grey Mare’’ features a harmonica responding to Peter Green’s bluesy vocals and then giving us an alright solo. An alright song,although somewhat short. ‘’Hellhound On My Trail’’ opens with a piano introduction full of bluesy power that accompanies Green’s delivery. The song is very short, too, but this time it shouldn’t have been any longer. ‘’ Shake Your Money Maker’’ is a ferocious rocker with a fun attitude and some heavenly blues playing by Green. The great bass line of ‘’ Looking For Somebody’’ really gets the song grooving and apart from some nice harmonica soloing, the song doesn’t offer much else. ‘’No Place To Go’’ is kinda better with a fantastic interplay between the harmonica and the guitar. The song is actually a somewhat different rendition of Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘’ How Many More Years’’.
The next song ‘’ My Baby’s Good To Me’’ is a good enough boogie but isn’t particularly breathtaking in any way. ‘’I Loved Another Woman’’ has a GREAT rhythm reminiscent of ‘’Black Magic Woman’’- I mean even the melody reminds that song a bit. However, the guitar part is different in many places, and the song is indeed a highlight. ‘’Cold Black Night’’ is again a slide-driven slow blues and at this point in the album, even the most hardcore blues fan might feel somewhat uninterested in the generic feel of the song. However, the next song has some interesting acoustic guitar playing and the atmosphere the vocals and guitar give to the record are intimate.It feels like Peter Green is singing the tune next to you. Another highlight of the album. Finally, the album finishes off with another blues shuffle that has an acoustic slide solo and a really fun attitude ( Got To Move) .
The album, while being an honest offering from the original line-up of Fleetwood Mac , lacks seriously as far as songwriting goes, and then, even as strictly as a hardcore blues release, lacks the fun and inventiveness of other bands of the time, namely Cream etc. Still, it is a fine album but never raises over your typical blues album.
