Fleetwood+mac

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American band formed in 1967, in London. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. In 1998, selected members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

Over the years, there have been a surplus of Fleetwood Mac compilations but prior to 2018's 50 Years: Don't Stop, very few have attempted to tell the band's story from beginning to end. There was only one, actually: 25 Years-The Chain, released two years into the Mac's uncertain post-Lindsey Buckingham era. Buckingham rejoined the band in 1997 but he was kicked out prior to the November '18 release of 50 Years: Don't Stop, his departure coloring the perception of the triple-disc compilation in the sense that Fleetwood Mac's story doesn't belong to him. 50 Years proves this through its chronological sequencing, which underscores the group's evolution from blues-rockers to album rock titans and, finally, to pop superstars (its accompanying single disc of highlights, in contrast, is deliberately front-loaded with hits, so it's not as instructive).

Though they ultimately made their name as a blues-rock band, and Peter Green's admiration of artists like Jerry Garcia eventually found its way into their music, Fleetwood Mac began as a straight-ahead blues band. A bunch of Brits devoted to the music of Chicago and the Delta, Green and company couldn't help but put their own twist on the blues, but they were simultaneously reverential towards it. This is the situation presented in this 1968 live recording. While the sound quality is less than stellar, it's good enough to make the guitar talents of Green and Jeremy Spencer obvious, as they work up effective solos over "Got To Move," "Vuzz Me" and others. Unlike their peers, who used blues as a vehicle to something larger and louder, Mac circa '68 stuck close to their roots and made it work. The live setting proved even more inspiring for the two guitarists, whose blistering lead work is the central focus throughout this album.

Rumours is the kind of album that transcends its origins and reputation, entering the realm of legend – it's an album that simply exists outside of criticism and outside of its time, even if it thoroughly captures its era…

As far as odds and ends packages go, Original Fleetwood Mac (1971) is an undeniably strong collection culled primarily from the band's first incarnation, featuring John McVie (bass/guitar), Mick Fleetwood (drums), Peter Green (guitar/vocals), and Jeremy Spencer (guitar/piano/vocals). As evidenced by the material, this quartet are an unmistakably blues-based combo. Early on they distinguished themselves as not only interpreters of traditional fare, but skilled composers, especially Green, who penned the vast majority of these selections…

Fleetwood Mac's debut LP was a highlight of the late-'60s British blues boom. Green's always inspired playing, the capable (if erratic) songwriting, and the general panache of the band as a whole placed them leagues above the overcrowded field…

More than any other Fleetwood Mac album, Tusk is born of a particular time and place – it could only have been created in the aftermath of Rumours, which shattered sales records, which in turn gave the group a blank check for its next album…