The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

I’m keeping this record becuz I am tired of returning poor quality vinyl from Amazon. Side 3 huge blemish/smudge? That side also snap, crackles, and pops. Also, not 180 grams, more like 70g a piece. However, heavy records are overrated and these are both flat. They were not warped. Overall, two stars for the music selected for the song selection. There are no versions of Jumping at Shadows but the last song is Amazing. It’s a newer re-recording of Albatross and I found it both enduring and sonically dreamy. Peter Green might have been the best of the bunch from England. (I mean British, not Hendrix). His tone, phrasing, and feedback were sweet! If you want to hear Peter Green and the Mac. Get CD from 1999 entitled “Shrine 69’”. Also seek out Volumes 1-3 at Boston Tea Party. There was also a double CD from 1998 “Live at the BBC”. The studio albums did have some hidden gems. If u don’t know, before the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin these guys could play one song for 30 minutes and make it exciting with crescendos and Climax’. Tons of feedback and guitar solos galore with a very underrated drummer who could just absolutely bring it, by the name of Mick Fleetwood. The drummer Mick would go one to play in three more incarnations of Fleetwood Mac with the most popular line up being the last. Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham. Pretty far out, one could make the argument for best band ever. “Oh Well”, I’ll stick with Greenie!

Billed as : " Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Featuring Jeremy Spencer " this exciting blues based band were voted the most popular band in England ( Yes, they even bested the Beatles in many poles in 1968-69. ) Today's version of Fleetwood Mac bears no comparision to this the ORIGINAL band, Led by Peter Green , Fresh from his stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac debut album was released in Feb 68 and climbed the charts reaching #4 in the UK. In the era of the Grateful Electric Airplanes this debut record of Raw Blues remained in the British Album charts for an astonshing nine months. Guitar duties were shared with Peter by Jeremy Spencer. An avid devotee of bluesman Elmore James, Jeremy's vocals and stinging slide Guitar make their mark on many cuts featured here. John McVie handled Bass Guitar Duties and a Six-foot six maniac named Mick Fleetwood bashed away on a special built oversized Drum Kit. In concert this band earned a reputation for blowing away any other band that dared get in their way. And yes they could jam on a tune like " The Green Manalishi " for 30 minutes at a go ( See the Boston Tea party tapes for live proof . ) What you have here are 18 of the most popular of all early Fleetwood Mac recordings. At 78 minutes there's alot of music jammed on this disc making this a good value for your buck. The highlights here are of course " Black Magic Woman " , " Alabatross " , " Man of the World " , " Oh Well " , " Shake Your Moneymaker ", Rattlesnake Shake " , The Green Manalishi ( With the Two Pronged Crown ) and " Need Your Love So bad. There's a tune by the band " Chicken Shack " called " I'd Rather Go Blind" featuring the singing talents of a certain " Christine Perfect " later to marry John McVie and change her name and by 1971 was a full time member of the band . The last cut on the disc is a remake of Albatross By Chris Coco featuring " Peter Green " and it's a liitle more "spacey " and two minutes longer than the original version but it"s good and proves that Peter Green is indeed still with us here on this planet . If you are a big Stevie Nicks fan this is not for you. But if you are into the Blues and like late sixties British Rock a bit on the Hard Side you will love this great collection by the original Fleetwood Mac.

Nice compilation with most of the great early Mac stuff. There are many high points: the complete Oh Well, Albatross, Green Manalishi, Rattlesnake Shake and Black Magic Woman are all staples, and for straight blues, Rollin' Man, Merry Go Round, Worried Dream, Stop Messin' Around,and Need Your Love So Bad are all wonderful examples of the fantastic and eminently tasteful guitar work of Peter. Talk about feeling, sensitivity, restraint, emotion....PG had it in spades. Looking for Somebody features a very tasty acoustic harp turn from consummate blues man Peter. Danny Kirwan was a very talented singer and songwriter who helped develop a more melodic approach in the band; you almost got the impression that PG would have liked to have seen this come from Jeremy, but it never happened, as the diminutive slide player preferred to ape Elmore James and '50's Elvis-style rock and rollers. Danny sings his Something Inside of Me, with absolutely stunning lead playing from Pete. Dragonfly is the epitome of Danny K: sweetly lyrical and understated. Other reviewers have questioned why topnotch tunes like Show Biz Blues and Jumping At Shadows are missing, and it's a valid point. Glad to see only a few Jeremy Spencer/Elmore homages are here, and those that are here are among Jeremy's best efforts. Tucked in at the end are I'd Rather Go Blind, sung by Christine Perfect McVie, at the time in Stan Webb's Chicken Shack, and an updated version of Albatross, with Chris Coco and PG himself. We can forever dispel the notion that FM had three lead players. Peter always did the heavy lifting, and toward the end he and Danny really did develop some fabulous interplay on their live jams (to wit: the extended versions of some of their stuff on the Boston Tea Party albums, and Then Play On). But Jeremy was never a fully functioning and creative contributor to the band. He did not really add anything other than the interesting (and admittedly, very accomplished) Elmore copying, and the often humorous and raunchy R&R diversions. They called themselves a vaudeville blues band, and that term, though self-deprecating and dismissive, is not far from the truth. But what is absolutely true is that the Peter Green of the late sixties/early seventies was certainly one of the greatest guitarists and singers who ever lived. His best efforts are showcased here.

I think it's clear by the title of this cd ("The Best of PETER GREEN's Fleetwood Mac") that this is not the AOR mega-band led by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks that gave us radio hit after hit beginning in 1975, but in case anyone is looking for that lineup, I would recommend the 2-disc compilation "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac". THIS cd focuses on the more blues-based original lineup of the band led by guitarist-singer-songwriter Peter Green, vocalist/2nd guitarist Jeremy Spencer and the rhythm section that would provide the band name, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. While the later lineup led by Buckingham-Nicks would lead them to new heights beginning in 1975, the 60's-era lineup led by Peter Green first put them on the map and this cd is a good document of why. This lineup released not one but two albums in 1968 that both cracked the top 10 as well as a couple of singles that cracked the top 40 (and one that went all the way to #1), so despite the more recognizable hits that would come from the Buckingham-Nicks led Mac a decade later, it's not like this early lineup struggled. Their success was an impressive feat considering that by 1968, the peak of blues-based rock bands led by the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (in which Green served prior to forming Fleetwood Mac) had mostly come and gone, but the Mac nevertheless managed success during the brief time they were together. A third album would be released in 1969 before Green left the group in May of 1970. Green himself was no doubt the centerpiece of the initial incarnation of this great band, with a guitar tone B.B. King himself described as "the sweetest tone I ever heard," and songwriting chops that led artists as diverse as Santana, Gary Moore, Aerosmith, Tom Petty and Judas Priest to cover his songs. And yet 2nd guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Spencer added a lot and the rhythm section of Fleetwood/McVie has itself become legendary, so this is more than a one-man show... Highlights here include the instrumental "Albatross" (which reached #1 in early 1969), the soulful "Need Your Love So Bad," (another charting single), the original version of "Black Magic Woman" (which Carlos Santana and band would later make a huge hit) as well as the initial take on "Oh Well", which the Buckingham-Nicks led lineup would make a minor radio hit of when they featured it on their 1980 "Fleetwood Mac Live" album. The original take featured here is labeled as "Part I & Part II" with Part I being the main song the band featured live in 1980 and Part II being a mellow guitar workout that seems a little out of place as a coda to such a rocking song as "Oh Well", but... it (mostly) works. Other highlights include the moody and atmospheric "Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)". Collectively this is more than mere "blues" or "blues rock", but a great foundation of rock classics that would be built upon by other artists for decades to come. Other songs like "Rollin' Man" and "My Heart Beat Like A Hammer" and "Something Inside Of Me" are more standard and straightforward blues styled songs as are covers of songs by B.B. King ("Worried Dream") and Elmore James (the classic "Shake Your Moneymaker"), but throughout them all Green's guitar playing commands attention. Frankly, I had this cd on my "wish list" for months and months but was hesitant to pull the trigger, but I'm glad I finally did. Closing out the CD are two worthwhile tracks that are actually not by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, so perhaps should have been relegated to "Bonus Tracks" if included at all, but Oh Well. The first is a cover of the Etta James hit "I'd Rather Go Blind" as recorded by Chicken Shack, an early band featuring keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie who would of course later join Fleetwood Mac. It's a great song and McVie's vocals are fine, but she falls short of Etta James' majestic vocal performance on her version of this song (who wouldn't?), so I personally tend to skip this one. Closing the disc is a Chris Coco re-recording of the Mac's early hit "Albatross" with guitar by Peter Green. With Green on board, the track merits inclusion here, but there's nothing like the original and I doubt many fans will prefer this newer version over the first take cut in 1968. It is nevertheless interesting and worthwhile and certainly doesn't detract from what is overall a great CD. Collectively, this is a solid testament to the importance of the early Fleetwood Mac and the talent of its first leader, Peter Green. Definitely recommended for fans of blues and/or classic or blues-based rock.

Peter Green was an amazing guitarist, songwriter. He inspired so many guitar players. Quality British blues. Highly recommended!

This, quite simply, is a wonderful and concise sampling and "best of" the first phase of Fleetwood Mac, in all of its Blues Roots glory. Peter Green remains a grossly under appreciated guitarist, and here he is clearly the equal of Clapton or Page, when it comes to channelling and interpreting the Blues. This compilation features both original and cover "hits," prior to the band's next incarnation, which itself was yet to become the arena-filling pop juggernaut known to most who hear the name "Fleetwood Mac." Blues fans, and those who dig John Mayall, The Yardbirds, Early Stones, The Animals, et.al., will really love this, and those who are curious about both The Mac before platinum rained from the cocaine-clouded skies, and the history of British Electric Blues, will bask in these sonic delectations. This generous CD (20 cuts) at a bargain price, includes a nice insert, with an appreciation written by Neil Slaven, and a detailed track listing. The audio quality is excellent, and while, as with all projects of this type, one could complain about an omission or two, this disc represents a fantastic representation of the band, in all of its glory and guitar-ripping mastery (as well as monumental rhythm section support,) as one could hope for in a single disc. Unless you are thinking of buying several of the original complete albums, this is a stellar selection, and a clear choice. Enjoy!

Great album

This is a must have for Rock & Roll Aficionado's & of fan's of "Fleetwood Mac" of the 70's to see where this bands roots were set! Song's penned by Peter Green like "Black Magic Woman", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)", " Rattle Snake Shake" & "Albatross" would eventually be as covered by other band's as the American Blue's artist that inspired the early Powerhouse Blue's Band known as "Fleetwood Mac" or as often referred to as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac"! As well as their awesome original material you also get there incredible cover version's of song's by the bands Blue's hero's like Elmore James's "Shake Your Money Maker" & as a bonus you get to hear Christen Perfect's cover of the Eta James Classic "I'd Rather Be Blind" a rare treat from her not so successful band "The Chicken Shack". Christine Perfect would become a better known member of "Fleetwood Mac" after marrying Bassist John M cVie becoming Christine McVie. You also get the classic Rock standard penned by Peter right before leaving the band called "Oh Well parts 1 & 2 " If you don't remember the song by its title you may remember it by its opening lines( Can't help it Bout the shape I'm in , can't sing I ain't pretty & my legs are thin) & then the song breaks into a scathing guitar riff as memorable as the lyrics!!! With Drummer Mick Fleetwood & Bassist John McVie making up one of Rock & Roll's tightest bottom Rhythm section's ever, Peter Green & Jeremy Spencer & the addition of Danny Kirwan allowed for twin lead's & solid rhythm that helped make the early "Fleetwood Mac" sound so appealing that it would earn them a solid fan base in the U.K. at a time of giant competitors like "The Yardbirds" not to mention "The Beatles " & "The Rolling Stones" all of which were covering their American Blues hero's music... churning out what would become the British Invasion!!! I strongly recommend this particular collection of song's as a companion to "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" a 2 disc set covering the band's 70's line up & capturing that incarnation of Fleetwood Mac's song catalogue quite nicely bringing you right up to their most recent material! By purchasing both you get 5 decades covering the progression & growth of this very influential & timeless Band that gave the world of Rock & Roll so much great music! I know that there are a lot of Fleetwood Mac fans that are unfamiliar with the very first incarnation of the band & this collection of song's is hands down the best offering available so please get acquainted with the "Fleetwood Mac" America missed out on with this "The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac" Not only does it capture the best of their songs but it gives you the rare chance to hear "The Chicken Shack's" Best song!