Fleetwood Mac was born as a splinter group from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and became the crusaders of British blues with this audacious debut. Peter Allen Greenbaum (Peter Green) had replaced Eric Clapton in Mayall's band when Clapton went on a trip to Greece. Green had switched from bass to guitar after seeing Clapton play with Mayall's Bluesbreakers: "Well, I wasn't a lead guitarist then, I played bass. Anyway, he was the other side of the stage so I couldn't hear it too well. It was all very good, though, very exciting. And I decided to go back on lead guitar after seeing Eric Clapton. I'd seen him with The Bluesbreakers before he considered singing and his whole concentration was on his guitar – he had a Telecaster – and it was really impressive. He had aLes Paul, his fingers were marvellous. It took everything away from me, like my birthday, Christmas; you forgot everything, just listen to this...All music that you'd ever heard was washed away by this group of guys that were letting Eric Clapton take the floor. I loved Les Paul and Mary Ford and I was surprised to see this guitar turned over to this style, but once it got there it was just… you couldn't compare it to anything. This guy knew how to do a bit of evil, I guess...I was forced into songwriting. I'm not really a songwriter. John Mayall said to me; 'What other things do you do?' I think he liked my harmony in Coming On Top Of The Hill (A Hard Road), so I didn't fail completely with him. But I've never really had the blues like someone who lived in America. I could really only scrape about with my love for American music, for rock and roll, and somehow it went from that to the blues...I didn't really know what I was doing on the guitar. I was very lucky to get anything remotely any good. I used to dash around on stepping stones, that's what I used to call it. But 'safe' notes, you know? And I was finding that things were running away with me. It was very embarrassing."
The bassist for the Bluesbreakers was John McVie, who worked by day as a tax inspector. His heavy drinking led Mayall to fire him several times. McVie: "When I joined Mayall the drinking was a part of the scene. I never drank for pleasure, it was more an environment thing in the Bluesbreakers that started it off. I met a lot of people who drank and it snowballed until I'd be drinking half a bottle of spirits a gig."
When drummer Aynsley Dunbar quit the band, Michael John Kells (Mick) Fleetwood (who had played with Green in two other bands) was brought in to replace him: "It was never a serious long-term venture in my mind, which was just as well, because I was asked to leave after a month (for drunkenness)."
The chemistry between Green and the rhythm section of McVie and Fleetwood was magical; and, when Green decided to form his own band he was determined to recreate it; so much so, that he named the new group Fleetwood Mac even before McVie had decided to join. In the meantime, they played with Bob Brunning on bass. McVie finally made the move to Green's band when he came to the conclusion that Mayall had gotten too jazzy.
Fleetwood considers: "As soon as John McVie joined, Fleetwood Mac changed from a good band to a fire-breathing blues dragon."
'Fleetwood Mac' was recorded with producer Mike Vernon at CBS Studios in London with Peter Green on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Jeremy Spencer on vocals, slide guitar, and piano; John McVie on bass guitar; and Mick Fleetwood on drums. Bob Brunning played bass guitar on "Long Grey Mare". The album was released on Blue Horizon Records and became a sensation in the UK, going to number four on the album chart without any singles. In the US, it stalled at number one hundred and ninety eight.
01 00:00 "My Heart Beats Like A Hammer"
02 03:31 "Merry Go Round"
03 07:49 "Long Grey Mare"
04 10:02 "Hellbound On My Trail"
05 12:07 "Shake Your Moneymaker"
06 15:20 "Looking For Somebody"
07 18:10 "No Place To Go"
08 21:29 "My Baby's Good To Me"
09 24:19 "I Loved Another Woman"
10 27:14 "Cold Black Night"
11 30:30 "The World Keeps On Turning"
12 32:58 "Got To Move"
Bonus Tracks (1999 Re-Release)
13 36:16 "My Heart Beat Like A Hammer (Take 1)"
14 39:58 "Merry Go Round (Take 1)"
15 40:53 "I Loved Another Woman (Takes 1,2,3 & 4)"
16 47:01 "I Loved Another Woman (Takes 5 & 6)"
17 52:11 "Cold Black Night (Takes 1,2,3,4,5 & 6)"
18 57:40 "You're So Evil"
19 01:00:46 "I'm Coming Home To Stay"
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