Fleetwood Mac

In some ways the four "bonus tracks" which augment The Original Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1971) are actually as interesting as the Blue Horizon label material the compilation is centered on. Die-hard enthusiasts wishing to explore this seminal incarnation are advised to direct their attention to the six-disc Complete Blue Horizon Sessions: 1967-1969 (1999). The casual listener however should find this collection provides an apt representation of those sides. Prior to the addition of Danny Kirwan (guitar/vocals) in August of 1968, the Mac were a quartet featuring John McVie (bass/guitar), Mick Fleetwood (drums), Peter Green (guitar/vocals), and Jeremy Spencer (guitar/piano/vocals). With the exception of Spencer, the rest of the Mac had (at one time or another) been part of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. While further exploring the textural variations of their respective blues origins, it was Green who quickly emerged as the leader, even though McVie and Mick Fleetwood retained the band's namesake. As these cuts exemplify, it was Green's stellar fretwork and composition that coalesced this unit. Evidence abounds on the derivative "Drifting" and "First Train Home," which retains much of the vibe heard on the Chicago-influenced "Rambling Pony No. 2" -- an unabashed overhaul of Muddy Waters' classic "Rollin' and Tumblin'." The slightly trippy "A Fool No More" and the jammed-out instrumental "Fleetwood Mac" are uniformly inspired, more so than the rote reworkings of Lafayette Leake's "Love That Woman" or Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "Mean Old Fireman." The latter is otherwise notable however for Green's acoustic contributions. The first "bonus track" is a spirited diversion into rockabilly on Spencer's "Mighty Cold." Although it is certainly the least bluesy selection on the CD, it serves up a much-needed distraction . The concert recording of Duster Bennett's "Jumping at Shadows" sounds identical to either of the readings found on the 1969 archival Live in Boston, Vol. 1 (2003) or Live in Boston, Vol. 3 (2003). Indeed they may be one in the same as the credits state it hails from "...America in 1969." All of these fall short of Spencer's punky rabble-rousing and attitude-laden "Somebody's Gonna Get (Their Head Kicked in Tonight)" -- a song that would be revisited to greater effect by the Rezillos nearly a decade later. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide