Released in September 1969, Then Play On was the third studio album from Fleetwood Mac, and it marked the point where everything changed for the group. Their first two records – 1968’s self-titled debut album and the same year’s Mr Wonderful – established them as major players in the British blues boom and introduced the world to the virtuosic and innovative guitar playing of Peter Green, the band’s leader. But a combination of Green’s fast-expanding musical horizons and the introduction of teenage guitar prodigy Danny Kirwan ensured that Then Play On would be a massive step forward for the band. It would also prove to be Green’s last full-length album with the group he founded, making for a pivotal moment in Fleetwood Mac’s evolution.
Listen to ‘Then Play On’ here.
The backstory: “I would never have done Albatross if it wasn’t for Danny”
On the recommendation of Blue Horizon label founder and producer Mike Vernon, Peter Green had checked out a show by the then 17-year-old Kirwan’s previous band, Boilerhouse, and, immediately impressed, offered the group a support slot. Handily for Kirwan, this coincided with a period of unrest for Fleetwood Mac, during which Green became increasingly frustrated with guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Kirwan joined the band shortly before the release of Mr Wonderful, and played his first show with them on 14 August 1968, at The Blue Horizon Club, upstairs at The Nag’s Head in Battersea, London.
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Two months after joining Fleetwood Mac, Kirwan made his first recording with the band, trading lilting and subtle guitar licks on the Green-penned instrumental track Albatross. The velveteen, near-ambient beauty conjured by the pair sent the single to the top of the UK singles chart, and Green later praised Kirwan for his contribution: “I would never have done Albatross if it wasn’t for Danny. I would never have had a No 1 hit record.” The wistful, endlessly sad Man Of The World followed in April 1969 and reached No.2, further emboldening the band to move away from their blues roots.
The songs: “I think it’s fair to say that a lot of this stuff was groundbreaking”
That pair of game-changing singles cemented Kirwan’s place in the group to the extent that he contributed seven songs to Then Play On, his folkier influences shining through on the doe-eyed, nursery-rhyme-like When You Say, the languid blues of Without You, and the sweet, baroque folk-pop of Although The Sun Is Shining. That’s not to say Kirwan couldn’t mix it with the blues-rock set, as proved with the bongo fury of opener Coming Your Way (complete with a grandstanding coda that foreshadows The Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy)) and the heads-down chug of One Sunny Day.
