Disco de Fleetwood Mac: “Shrine '69”

The quality of this recording, while a bit weathered and lackluster in spots, does not overshadow the greatness of the performance.This was my first experience with Peter Green's Mac, and when I first heard this, I realized what all the fuss was about. This performance is at times, scary. Makes me wonder what might have been had the three ill-fated guitarists on this disc not lost their marbles. This disc is stronger than the Tea Party discs, although those are essential too.

This is the live Fleetwood Mac album that you have to have! Some of the others are diluted by the drunken Vince Vance and the Valiants Alter-Ego of the Mac. Here, thankfully, only Great Balls of Fire is a waste of space. The rest is absolutely smoken'

Peter Green just burns, absolutely feroscous playing. Before the Beginning is much better than the final studio version. Listen to the solo and you will understand why B.B. King said Greeny was the only one who made him sweat. The worst thing about the CD is it ends way too soon. This was a warm-up show for The Mothers of Invention and they were time limited that night,too bad because P.G. definetly was ON.

Peter Green's playing is outstanding on this album, particularly on the poignant "Need Your Love so Bad" and the "achingly beautiful "Before the Beginning". For sheer feel, his playing cannot be bettered. It's a close call but I prefer it to the 3CD Boston set, which although containing some superb guitar work, principally on "Let me Love You", the two versions of "Jumping at Shadows" and "Black Magic Woman", is over-long, and rather uneven because it suffers from too much Jeremy Spencer, whose Elmore James impersonations on slide guitar were far too repetitive, (I also find the rock and roll tracks somewhat tedious). By comparison, this set is taut, pertinent and I believe, showcases the band at their fluent best.

I just wish there were more tracks gathering dust in a vault somewhere...

Get it!

Anyone that doubts that the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac was one of the '60s finest white blues bands should listen to this exquisite disc. The ten-cut album dates from a show at the Shrine in L.A. in 1969. It features superb fidelity given the age and captures the Mac at its blues peak. From the passionate opener "If You'll Be My Baby" it is evident that this is a band with potent mix of power and sensitivity. The three guitar players, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan, don't opt for excess but make every note count. This is best exemplified in a great take of B.B. King's "Need Your Love So Bad" and a wonderful version of their own instrumental "Albatross." The latter shows Green's delicate and intricate phrasing. Green's playing is also exceptional in "Before the Beginning" where his fluid leads soar with majestic qualities. Spencer also shines with some precise slide work in "My Baby Sweet." Other highlights are a guttural take of "Lemon Squeezer" and a buoyant rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire" which finds Spencer clunking away at the piano and singing like a man possessed. Ultimately this is a must for fans, even though they have been swamped with archive Fleetwood Mac material of late. This is one of the best. It also serves as a great place for uninitiated to start discovering one of the great British blues bands.

I recently learned that Fleetwood Mac started as a blues band with an amazing guitar player named Peter Green. Wow, am I glad I bought this album! It is full of hauntingly beautiful guitar solos, where every note fits perfectly, where the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts. Highly recommended to people who like blues guitar, but the vocals are good too.