Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on Playboy After Dark

adorshki

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WARNING:
No Nudity (this was broadcast television in 1970), but compensated by the presence of Don Adams (Get Smart), Artie Johnson (Laugh-In) and future Mrs. Hugh Hefner Barbie Benton.
:smile:
And of course the original Fleetwood Mac in their 3-guitar configuration.
(Original 2nd guitar Jeremy Spencer plays the maracas so essential for the snake rattle motif of "Rattlesnake Shake")
For those who've never really heard the "original" Fleetwood Mac at their best, this is an extremely good sample:


For those whose browsers give a "disabled" message, here's a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJ17x0IoKs

BTW, I'm embarrassed to admit I can't for the life of me remember the name of the tune that follows "Shake" while the credits are rolling, but it demonstrates there's nothing like dedicated touring to bring a band to watertight perfection, gears meshing with absolutely no slop, especially Fleetwood and McVie in the intro .
Pure magic, no wonder they stuck together for all those years.
This is the absolute hard-edged sound I craved when I got lit up to it (so to speak) in junior high school.
More background from their Wiki page:

"Fleetwood Mac were formed in July 1967 in London, England, when Peter Green left the British blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Peter Green had previously replaced guitarist Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers...
The Bluesbreakers now consisted of Green, Fleetwood, John McVie and Mayall.
Mayall gave Green free recording time as a gift, in which Fleetwood, McVie and Green recorded five songs. The fifth song was an instrumental that Green named after the rhythm section, "Fleetwood Mac".
Soon after this, Green suggested to Fleetwood that they form a new band. The pair wanted McVie on bass guitar and named the band 'Fleetwood Mac' to entice him, but McVie opted to keep his steady income with Mayall rather than take a risk with a new band. In the meantime Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood had teamed up with slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning. Brunning was in the band on the understanding that he would leave if McVie agreed to join.
The Green, Fleetwood, Spencer, Brunning version of the band made its debut on 13 August 1967 at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival as 'Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac', also featuring Jeremy Spencer. Brunning played only a few gigs with Fleetwood Mac.[14]
Within weeks of this show, John McVie agreed to join the band as permanent bassist.[15][16]"


And, for the main course, I came across that clip at the end of this compilation vid I found on YouTube recently, 42 minutes of live performances spanning '68-'70:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8v_OC3zWCM
 
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Westerly Wood

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Don Adams was hilarious. I watched Get Smart as a kid every day. Fave show for a while.

"missed it by that much"...
 

shihan

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That’s the way it’s done! Magic is the correct term for this configuration of the Mac. Peter Green/Danny Kirwin give a clinic on tone, taste and commitment. One of my all time favorite bands. Thanks for posting and reminding people about this great band.
 

dreadnut

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I have a 3-CD set of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, it's largely just Blues.
 

adorshki

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I have a 3-CD set of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, it's largely just Blues.
Right, as can be seen in that 40-minute compilation I linked, and have to admit there're only a few of those I cherish as much as the crunchers like "Rattlesnake Shake" and "Oh Well" and "Green Manalishi".
Their first #1 single "Albatross" was "borrowed" by Paul McCartney for "Sun King" on Abbey Road , and just in case anybody's forgotten, he wrote "Black Magic Woman".

And BB King said of him:
"He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats."

Speaking of tone, and "Albatross" , here's a version that Walrus posted a couple of years back when he wanted to know what kind of soundhole pickup he was using.
Guild content too, the other 2 guitarists're using F65ce's!

He's still alive but not sure if we'll ever see him tour again.
And for those like me who like that harder-edged rock and extended improvisation allow me to recommend his 1970 solo album "The End of the Game"
 
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walrus

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There's some cool clips of musicians from "Playboy After Dark" on youtube. I love this one Al posted, there's a great one of Deep Purple doing "Hush", and this one of Harry Nilsson and Otto Preminger - check out his "look" - the original Dr. Evil!





walrus
 
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dreadnut

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Not at all, shihan, in fact I love it! Before I got these cd's from my friend I had no idea they were a Blues band early on.
 

walrus

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From their inception to today, I'm not sure there is a band with the same name that has changed personnel and styles more than Fleetwood Mac!

walrus
 

Quantum Strummer

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Their first #1 single "Albatross" was "borrowed" by Paul McCartney for "Sun King" on Abbey Road…

Sun King was Lennon, no? Anyway I love that tune, clearly a nod to Peter Green & the Mac. It's funny too: after the big buildup to the Sun King's arrival he shows up and speaks…and it's all utter gibberish! :triumphant:

In retrospect it's amazing for sure how quickly Fleetwood Mac morphed from Green's blues to Christine Perfect (later McVie) & Bob Welch's rock/pop to Rhiannon. Nowadays artists often take more time between albums than the Mac took to reinvent themselves twice!

-Dave-
 

shihan

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Not at all, shihan, in fact I love it! Before I got these cd's from my friend I had no idea they were a Blues band early on.

Just joking! I became a fan when they were a blues band. They were one of the few younger bands (in my opinion) to really ‘get’ what a blues band should sound like. 3 CD’s of that is my idea of a good time.
 

coastie99

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Al, the tune you're looking for is "Coming Your Way" from Then Play On.

There are many, many instances of achingly beautiful guitar work on their albums, a great deal of it from Danny Kirwan.
 
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shihan

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Coastie, I agree completely. Peter (deservingly) gets accolades for his superlative playing and songwriting, but Danny was right there, toe toe toe in both categories.
 

adorshki

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Al, the tune you're looking for is "Coming Your Way" from Then Play On.
There are many, many instances of achingly beautiful guitar work on their albums, a great deal of it from Danny Kirwan.
Thanks Gary, glad to see you're still watching and commenting when it's really needed!
And yes I think Kirwan was under-recognized much like Gary Duncan of Quicksilver was.

Sun King was Lennon, no?

By golly you're right!, another "false memory" rears its ugly head.....
Oh well better false memories than false mammaries...


In retrospect it's amazing for sure how quickly Fleetwood Mac morphed from Green's blues to Christine Perfect (later McVie) & Bob Welch's rock/pop to Rhiannon. Nowadays artists often take more time between albums than the Mac took to reinvent themselves twice!
-Dave-
One tune in that clip did make me say "Aha! They weren't above playing some pop even back then..so the 'Big Mac' already had precedent long before they added Buckingham/Nicks".
I myself hated that version for years, only finally came around to giving 'em some respect around 15 years ago or so.
And even started saying "More power to 'em" after reading Fleetwood's bio and realizing how much any working band deserves to cash in on whatever style hits big for 'em.
They're professional artists, they're in it to make a living.
Part of the definition of being a professional is keeping up with changing tastes and being willing and able to learn new styles as times change.
If you feel like you're compromising your art to make a buck you're in the wrong biz.
From their inception to today, I'm not sure there is a band with the same name that has changed personnel and styles more than Fleetwood Mac!
walrus
Only one I can come up with is King Crimson, as a potential "equal".
Think they could beat 'em for personnel changes but "stylistic changes" might be a little harder to define in their case.
:glee:
 
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