Fleetwood Mac’s Early Years: The Albums, The Best Songs, 1968-1974

‘Mr Wonderful’ (1968)

Fleetwood Mac’s second album, Mr Wonderful, doubled down on the straight-ahead blues-rock of their debut, with Green’s dazzling playing again taking centre stage. Save the introduction of a horn section (check out the blistering Evenin’ Boogie), the most significant innovation is the introduction of Christine McVie (then known by her maiden name of Christine Perfect) on keyboards. Mr Wonderful gives an idea of how exciting the band’s live shows of the era were, for those of us unfortunate enough to have missed out.

Must hear: Stop Messin’ Around

‘Then Play On’ (1969)

Peter Green’s final album with Fleetwood Mac represented a giant leap forward, with a broadening of the group’s sound to incorporate psychedelia and folk-rock, plus more studio experimentation and songs that spoke of Green’s increasingly troubled world view. Then Play On was also the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature teen guitar prodigy Danny Kirwan, who also contributed a bunch of strong originals to the record, among them the pastoral beauty of When You Say. Still, it’s the Peter Green show through and through, from the mournful Closing My Eyes to the raw blues of Rattlesnake Shake.

Must hear: Rattlesnake Shake

‘Kiln House’ (1970)

With their leader gone, Spencer and Kirwan stepped up for Kiln House, an album of two halves. The Spencer-led songs tend to be either covers or zippy pastiches of 50s rock’n’roll tunes (This Is The Rock, Buddy’s Song), with smatterings of slow blues (Blood On The Floor) and poppy folk-rock (One Together). Kirwan’s material is more interesting, including the slow-burning gem Station Man, Jewel Eyed Judy’s amalgamation of psych-folk and hard rock, and the meandering instrumental Earl Grey.

Must hear: Station Man

‘Future Games’ (1971)

Future Games was the first Fleetwood Mac album to feature Christine McVie as an official member (although she’d played on and illustrated the sleeve of Kiln House). The album also introduced US guitarist Bob Welch to the line-up after Spencer suddenly left the band in the middle of a US tour, joining the religious movement The Children Of God.

With Kirwan to the fore and more room for the less blues-orientated sensibilities of the group’s new members, Future Games gave the clearest indication yet of the move towards the radio-friendly sound the Mac would adopt to enormous success in the mid-70s. Kirwan’s Woman Of 1000 Years was a subtly cosmic opener reminiscent of David Crosby, while newcomer Welch provided the album’s highlight, in the shape of its epic title track, and the sweet melancholy of McVie’s Show Me A Smile was the perfect way to draw things to a close.

Must hear: Future Games

‘Bare Trees’ (1972)

Bare Trees was the album that saw 21-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan taking centre stage, writing five of the record’s nine songs and hinting at an intriguing and unrealised harder-edged, more groove-based future for Fleetwood Mac. Recorded in just a couple of days at De Lane Lea Studios, Soho, London, in March 1972, Bare Trees proved that the group were a well-oiled machine at this point. The sound is confident and adventurous, particularly on the gritty title track and the spooked, swampy voodoo blues of Danny’s Chant. Bob Welch provides a highlight with the slow-burning and jazzy The Ghost, and Christine McVie’s bittersweet Spare Me A Little Of Your Love allows for an early glimpse of the brilliance she had up her sleeve.

Must hear: Bare Trees

‘Penguin’ (1973)

With his behaviour becoming increasingly volatile, Danny Kirwan was sacked from Fleetwood Mac in September 1972, right in the middle of a US tour. His replacement was UK blues stalwart Bob Weston (Long John Baldry, Graham Bond), and the group also added vocalist Dave Walker (Savoy Brown) to their ranks. Their following album, Penguin, was recorded at Benifold – the band’s communal Hampshire mansion – in early 1973 and saw Weston and Christine McVie become the band’s creative lynchpins.

McVie’s contributions – particularly Remember Me and Dissatisfied – foreshadow the radio-conquering soft-rock sound of the group’s Buckingham-Nicks years. Night Watch is Weston’s stand-out, not least as it features atmospheric guitar textures from a guesting Peter Green. Dave Walker only appeared on two of Penguin’s nine tracks, and would soon leave the group. Still, the album reached No.49 in the US, making it the band’s highest-charting stateside release to date.

Must hear: Remember Me

‘Mystery To Me’ (1973)

After the departure of Dave Walker, the group enjoyed a period of relative stability, with Welch producing his best material for the band in the simmering Hypnotized and the soft-rock classic Emerald Eyes. But, as ever with Fleetwood Mac, drama wasn’t far away – Christine McVie had embarked on an affair with engineer/co-producer Martin Birch, inspiring the giddy Just Crazy Love and the rollicking boogie-rock of Believe Me. Mystery To Me was the last album the band recorded at Benifold. The US was calling.

Must hear: Hypnotized

‘Heroes Are Hard To Find’ (1974)

Fleetwood Mac’s ninth studio album came with more upheaval, as Weston left the band after having an affair with Mick Fleetwood’s wife. The group temporarily split during a US tour, after which manager Clifford Davis put together an entirely new line-up to fulfil contractual obligations, and Welch persuaded the true band to relocate to the US for the recording of Heroes Are Hard To Find.

Christine McVie chugging title track is a strong opener, and her Come A Little Bit Closer is a melodic marvel. Meanwhile, Welch’s tracks (especially Coming Home, Angel and Safe Heels) have a haunting, moody quality that sets the album apart from the rest of the group’s back catalogue. Heroes Are Hard To Find would be Welch’s last album with the group, and, before long, Mick Fleetwood would stumble upon a couple of replacements in Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Romantic and songwriting partners, the pair would be instrumental in changing Fleetwood Mac’s fortunes forever…

Must hear: Come A Little Bit Closer

Buy ‘The Best Of Fleetwood Mac: 1969-1974’.