Fleetwood Mac, also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, is the debut studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in February 1968. The album is a mixture of blues covers and originals penned by guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, who also share the vocal duties. It is the only album by the band without any involvement of keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie.

The release of the album brought the band overnight success; in the UK Albums Chart, the album reached No. 4 and stayed on the chart for 37 weeks, despite the lack of a hit single. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there. The album barely made the chart in the US, reaching No. 198 in the Billboard 200.

An expanded version of this album was included in the box set The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions.

Background

On 19 April 1967, John Mayall, the frontman of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, gave his bandmate Peter Green free studio time at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, to use as he wished. Four songs came out of the recording sessions. One of them was an instrumental called "Fleetwood Mac", which was named after the musicians in the rhythm section – Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. The other three songs that were recorded on that day were "First Train Home", "Looking for Somebody", and "No Place to Go". After the session concluded, Green approached Fleetwood and McVie with the idea of forming a new band. was willing to join immediately, although McVie was hesitant as he was already earning sufficient income through the Bluesbreakers.

Green advertised in Melody Maker for a bassist; Bob Brunning answered the ad, but contacted the wrong phone number due to a misprint in the newspaper. Undeterred, he reached out to Melody Maker to receive the correct contact information and traveled to west London for his audition. Brunning secured the role as the bassist for Fleetwood Mac on the understanding that he would leave if McVie changed his mind and agreed to join, and was informed by Green that their first performance would be at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival. Shortly after Fleetwood Mac's live debut, McVie left the Bluesbreakers following Mayall's decision to add a horn section to the lineup. McVie subsequently joined Fleetwood Mac, replacing Brunning, whose bass parts were unused on the final album with the exception of "Long Grey Mare". However, "I Believe My Time Ain't Long" was issued as a non-album single with "Rambling Pony" as its B-side, both of which feature Brunning's bass playing. In his 1984 biography of Fleetwood Mac, Steve Clarke reckoned that Green's use of the harmonica on the band's 1968 self-titled album sometimes overshadowed his lead guitar playing. Green's guitar was treated with reverb on "I Loved Another Woman".

| rev2 = AllMusic

| rev2Score =

| rev3 = Rolling Stone

| rev3Score = (Positive)

| rev4 = The New Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev4Score =

| rev5 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev5Score =

The album sold well in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Albums Chart. Upon release, Melody Maker "highly recommended" the album and said that the band played the songs at "white heat intensity." Writing for Rolling Stone, Barry Gifford praised the album, and described it as "potent enough to make the South Side of Chicago take notice".

Modern attitudes to the album are also largely positive, and many critics argue the album is one of the highlights of the British blues bloom. TeamRock describes it as a "marvellous debut that established the group as the best British blues band of the day". Writing for Ultimate Classic Rock, Nick DeRiso described the album as a "stellar debut" and "maybe the best album from the British blues boom". He also ranked it as the 4th greatest Fleetwood Mac album. The Telegraph has described the album as a "classic sixties London 12-bar blues rock debut", while also calling it "raw, physical, high spirited and blessed with the exceptional playing of Peter Green". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music describes the album as "seminal". AllMusic noted the influence of Elmore James on Spencer's compositions and wrote that Green's "inspired playing, the capable (if erratic) songwriting, and the general panache of the band as a whole placed them leagues above the overcrowded field."

Accolades

ThoughtCo. described the album as an "inspired mix of blues covers", and placed it in the top 10 "The Best Blues-Rock Albums of the 1960s".

Track listing

1999 re-release

Note

  • Asterisk (*) denotes a bonus track.

Personnel

Fleetwood Mac

  • Peter Green – vocals, guitar, harmonica
  • Jeremy Spencer – vocals, slide guitar, piano
  • John McVie – bass guitar on all tracks except "Long Grey Mare", "Hellhound on My Trail" and "The World Keep on Turning"
  • Mick Fleetwood – drums on all tracks except on "Hellhound on my Trail" and "The World Keep On Turning"
  • Bob Brunning – bass guitar on "Long Grey Mare"

Production

  • Mike Vernon – production
  • Mike Ross – engineering

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col" | Chart (1968)

! scope="col" | Peak<br />position

|-

! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)

| align="center"| 4

|-

|-

|}

References

  • "British Hit Albums" Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice, Jonathan Rice (Guinness Publishing, 5th edition, 1992)