Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Arizona

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac

Blue Horizon, 1968

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/06/2007

People tend to think that a band first came into existence when it had its first successful album. In the case of Fleetwood Mac, it may surprise casual fans that the band, in fact, did not come into existence in 1975 with its self-titled release. In fact, the group was almost a decade old by that time.

What might further shock them would be to play them a selection or two off Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, the band’s actual first release. Nowhere would be heard the light pop of tracks like “Rhiannon” or “Go Your Own Way.” Instead, listeners would be hit with the blues, pure and simple. Have some fun: watch their facial expressions when you tell them who they’re listening to.

Historically, Fleetwood Mac came in at the tail end of the blues revolution in Great Britain. Bands like the Rolling Stones, who had started with R&B roots, were moving into other areas, like pure rock and psychedelia. John Mayall had already helped spawn others into the blues field with his Bluesbreakers, such as Eric Clapton (who himself was moving into a rock-oriented vein) and a good portion of Fleetwood Mac at this time -- namely, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green.

Enough history, you say, how is this disc? First, you need to leave all your knowledge of Fleetwood Mac at the door, meaning you ignore their pop-rock history and take this disc at face value. Yes, it’s tough to do at times, but it proves to be worth the effort.