Fleetwood Mac - Live At The BBC (2 CD)

A substantial (and official) supplement to the band's recorded legacy with Peter Green, this double CD features 36 songs broadcasted between 1967 and 1971, in mostly superlative sound. The title, though, isn't 100 percent accurate; half a dozen tracks were recorded shortly after Green left the band, and since Green is still listed as part of the lineup for all but one of these in the liner notes, Castle Communications either has the dates or personnel wrong. Anyway, the music gives a good idea of the range of the band in their earliest, and by many accounts, best incarnation. It is not, however, all blues-rock by any means; quite a few of these are given over to Jeremy Spencer-dominated parodies of '50s rock, and while these are entertaining in a modest fashion, the best moments, unsurprisingly, are when guitarists Danny Kirwan and (more particularly) Green play their own material.

Some of Green's most well-known compositions from the era are here ("Man of the World", "Albatross", "Rattlesnake Shake", and "Oh Well"), and in the usual BBC tradition, these have a sparer and rougher feel than the studio versions, though they don't either match or redefine them. "Preachin'", "Preachin' Blues", and "Early Morning Come" are otherwise unavailable showcases for Spencer, Green, and Kirwan, respectively, that demonstrate their facility with no-nonsense, down-home blues when they got in a serious mood.

While this isn't as essential a collection as Then Play On or the numerous best-of anthologies covering the Peter Green era, it presents more solid evidence of the band's skills in both blues-rock and surprisingly straight rock (a cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream" is the surprise find of the set), though some may find the detours into comedy and '50s rock irksome. /Richie Unterberger, AllMusic

Album: Live At The BBC - CD 1
Year: 1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:55
Size: 134,5 MB
Styles: Blues, blues-rock, rock
Scans: Full

1. Rattlesnake Shake (7:39)
2. Sandy Mary (5:00)
3. Believe My Time Ain't Long (3:00)
4. Although The Sun Is Shining (2:31)
5. Only You (2:51)
6. You Never Know What You're Missing (2:52)
7. Oh Well (2:26)
8. Can't Believe You Wanna Leave (3:25)
9. Jenny Lee (2:19)
10. Heavenly (2:37)
11. When Will I Be Loved? (2:13)
12. When I See My Baby (2:11)
13. Buddy's Song (2:09)
14. Honey Hush (3:08)
15. Preachin' (3:05)
16. Jumping At Shadows (3:35)
17. Preachin' Blues (1:59)
18. Need Your Love So Bad (3:48)

Live At The BBC - CD 1 mc
Live At The BBC - CD 1 zippy

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Album: Live At The BBC - CD 2
Year: 1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:53
Size: 122,9 MB
Styles: Blues, blues-rock, rock
Scans: Full

1. Long Grey Mare (2:54)
2. Sweet Home Chicago (3:10)
3. Baby Please Set A Date (2:59)
4. Blues With A Feeling (2:56)
5. Stop Messing Around (2:17)
6. Tallahassee Lassie (3:24)
7. Hang On To A Dream (2:56)
8. Linda (2:03)
9. Mean Mistreatin' Mama (4:03)
10. World Keep On Turning (2:39)
11. I Can't Hold Out (2:27)
12. Early Morning Come (2:29)
13. Albatross (2:48)
14. Looking For Somebody (2:40)
15. A Fool No More (3:40)
16. Got To Move (2:57)
17. Like Crying Like Dying (2:33)
18. Man Of The World (2:49)

Live At The BBC - CD 2 mc
Live At The BBC - CD 2 zippy

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Fleetwood Mac - Blues Jam In Chicago Vols 1 & 2

Album: Blues Jam In Chicago Vol. 1
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 68:24
Size: 156.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1969/2004
Art: Full

[4:20] 1. Watch Out
[4:05] 2. Ooh Baby
[3:21] 3. South Indiana (Take 1)
[3:46] 4. South Indiana (Take 2)
[5:01] 5. Last Night
[5:55] 6. Red Hot Jam (Take 1) (Bonus Track)
[6:02] 7. Red Hot Jam (Take 2)
[3:46] 8. I'm Worried
[5:16] 9. I Held My Baby Last Night
[4:55] 10. Madison Blues
[4:48] 11. I Can't Hold Out
[3:59] 12. Bobby's Rock (Bonus Track)
[4:31] 13. I Need Your Love
[3:37] 14. Horton's Boogie Woogie (Bonus Track)
[4:55] 15. I Got The Blues

This set, recorded at Chess Record's Ter-Mar complex in Chicago, pairs Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac with some of the Windy City's blues legends including Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, and David "Honeyboy" Edwards. Put together on short notice, and recorded in one day, the sessions have something of a ramshackle feel, but the energy of the performances transcends any shortcomings on this date. Dixon oversaw the proceedings, and can be heard during the between-song banter giving directions and chastising Walter "Shakey" Horton for missing his cues. Since the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac was so directly influenced by Chicago blues, the session acts as a kind of stylistic homecoming for the band. Bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood contribute driving rhythms while guitarists Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer lend both rhythms and the occasional lead. Green's stunningly fluid guitar work is at the fore, as usual. But the real treat is picking out the Chess players--Otis Spann's piano on "I Got the Blues," J.T. Brown's tenor sax on Elmore James's "I Can't Hold Out," or Guy and Edwards, who go toe-to-toe with Green on "Red Hot Jam," one of the session's indisputable highlights.

Jeremy Spencer (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Danny Kirwan, Peter Green (vocals, guitar); John McVie (bass guitar); Mick Fleetwood (drums); Otis Spann (vocals, piano); David Honeyboy Edwards, Buddy Guy (guitar); Big Walter Horton (harmonica); J.T. Brown (tenor saxophone); Willie Dixon (acoustic bass guitar); S.P. Leary (drums).

thank you mrwalker.
Blues Jam In Chicago Vol. 1

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Album: Blues Jam In Chicago Vol. 2
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 75:51
Size: 173.7 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1969/2004
Art: Full

[5:25] 1. World's In A Tangle
[3:27] 2. Talk With You
[4:24] 3. Like It This Way
[7:36] 4. Someday Soon Baby
[5:46] 5. Hungry Country Girl
[5:08] 6. Black Jack Blues
[4:54] 7. Everyday I Have The Blues
[3:57] 8. Rockin' Boogie
[4:04] 9. My Baby's Gone
[0:49] 10. Sugar Mama (Take 1) (Bonus Track)
[6:08] 11. Sugar Mama (Take 2)
[3:20] 12. Homework
[2:19] 13. Honey Boy Blues (Bonus Track)
[2:15] 14. I Need Your Love (Take 1) (Bonus Track)
[3:40] 15. Horton's Boogie Woogie (Bonus Track)
[4:54] 16. Have A Good Time (Bonus Track)
[4:12] 17. That's Wrong (Bonus Track)
[3:24] 18. Rock Me Baby (Bonus Track)

Like Volume 1, BLUES JAM IN CHICAGO Volume 2 documents collaborations between some of Chess Records' most prominent bluesmen and the late-1960s version of Fleetwood Mac (the blues-rock power outfit, as opposed to the commercially successful soft-rock incarnation from the '70s). Given that the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac was already deeply rooted in Chicago blues, the project proved to be a natural for the group, with Green's blues-drenched leads and the chops of Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer (guitars) providing a perfect framework for contributions by Willie Dixon, Otis Spann, and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, among others. Green and company bring an edge to the proceedings, playing with the kind of muscle and unbridled energy associated with rock music. Interestingly, Volume 2 has greater variety in the lineup than Volume 1, with Dixon substituting on bass for McVie on a number of tracks, along with much swapping of vocal duties. This last fact gives the second installment the edge over the first, with Edwards singing on his own tunes ("Honey Boy Blues" is a highlight), and the inimitable Spann singing "Someday Soon Baby" and "Hungry Country Girl." This is one of the finer snapshots of British blues-rock meeting its source.

Jeremy Spencer (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Danny Kirwan, Peter Green (vocals, guitar); John McVie (bass guitar); Mick Fleetwood (drums); Otis Spann (vocals, piano); David Honeyboy Edwards, Buddy Guy (guitar); Big Walter Horton (harmonica); J.T. Brown (tenor saxophone); Willie Dixon (acoustic bass guitar); S.P. Leary (drums).

thank you mrwalker.
Blues Jam In Chicago Vol. 2

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