Customer Reviews

Blues Jam in Chicago 1

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fleetwood Mac's 4th vinyl outing was a double-album called "Blues Jam At Chess" issued on Blue Horizon Records S 7-66227 in the UK and Blue Horizon BH 3801 [2] in the USA. Recorded in one day, 4 January 1969, and released just a few months later, it was produced by MIKE VERNON and MARSHALL CHESS at the Chess "Ter-Mar" Studios in Chicago. The artists involved were FLEETWOOD MAC, OTIS SPANN on Piano, WILLIE DIXON on Bass, WALTER "SHAKEY" HORTON on Harmonica, J.T. BROWN on Tenor Sax, GUY BUDDY on Guitars (Guy Buddy is a pseudonym for Buddy Guy), HONEYBOY EDWARDS on Bass with S.P. LEARY on Drums.

A word about the less than exciting UK and US 'original' artwork and why it 'hasn't' been used on this reissue. The original UK issue had a wavey backdrop and titled sleeve - no real effort in the art department - while the original US copy didn't fare much better - credited as "Fleetwood Mac - In Chicago" - it was also issued in a a very dull red cover. However, the double was reissued again in the USA in 1970 as two 'separate' volumes - "Blues Jam In Chicago, Vol.1 and 2" on BH 4802 and BH 4803 respectively - and it is these two volumes with their far prettier artwork (pictured above) that were used for "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969" 6CD Box Set issued in 1999 - and are now individually issued again here in 2004 as these much extended editions.

Also, in order to show the musical differences, I've detailed the vinyl first, then the extended CD...
(Volume 1 is Side 1 and 2 of the original double; Volume 2 - Side 3 and 4 - is a separate review)

ORIGINAL VINYL:
Side 1:
1. Watch Out [Peter Green song]
2. Ooh Baby [Chester Burnett aka Howlin' Wolf cover]
3. South Indiana - Take 1 [Walter `Shakey' Horton cover]
4. South Indiana - Take 2 [Walter `Shakey' Horton cover]
5. Last Night [W Jacobs cover]
6. Red Hot Jam [Peter Green Instrumental song]
Side 2:
1. I'm Worried [Elmore James cover]
2. I Held My Baby Last Night [Elmore James/Jules Taub cover]
3. Madison Blues [Elmore James cover]
4. I Can't Hold Out [Elmore James cover]
5. I Need Your Love [Jimmie Rogers cover]
6. I Got The Blues [Walter `Shakey' Horton cover]

EXTENDED CD (68:24 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 5 are the same as the LP above
Track 6 is "Red Hot Jam" [Take 1 with Studio talk - An Inserted Previously Unreleased Track]
Track 7 is "Red Hot jam" [Take 2 - The Master Version, Track 6 on the LP]
Tracks 8 to 11 are "I'm Worried" through to "I Can't Hold Out" and are as per the LP
Track 12 is "Bobby's Rock" which is an inserted Previously Unreleased cover of an Elmore James song
Track 13 is "I Need Your Love" (same as the LP)
Track 14 is "Horton's Boogie Woogie [Take 1 with Studio Chatter - an Inserted Previously Unreleased Version]
Track 15 is "I Got The Blues" is the Master but with inserted Previously Unreleased False Start

The tapes have been digitally remastered to STUNNING SOUND QUALITY - as fresh as a politician's new excuses and the booklet has informative and detailed liner notes by MIKE VERNON.

WALTER HORTON plays Harmonica on CD tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15
BUDDY GUY, HONEYBOY EDWARDS and WILLIE DIXON are on 6 and 7
JEREMY SPENCER replaces Peter Green on Guitar and Vocal for 8, 9 10 and 11 - these tracks also feature J.T. BROWN on Tenor Sax with WILLIE DIXON on Upright Bass
OTIS SPANN plays Piano and S.P. LEARY plays drums on 13, 14 and 15

Fans greet the album itself with equal amounts of affection and disdain because at times it sounds like one long rehearsal - and a slightly uninspired and dull one at that. It's not that its bad - it just isn't red hot like you'd think it should have been. Highlights, however, include the lovely shuffle of "Watch Out", the harmonica driven slow blues of "Last Night" and the slashing Elmore James riffs in "I Can't Hold Out" (lyrics above). "Bobby's Rock" is a rubbishy extra, but Take 1 of "Horton's Boogie Woogie" is fantastic - alive and kicking and worth the price of entry alone. I play it a lot and it picks me up every time.

To sum up then - this is a 5 star presentation of a 3 to 4 star album - but there's still enough magic on here to recommend it. And for Mac and Blues fans, it's a necessity.

PS: For those wishing for more, the Blue Horizon label Fleetwood Mac UK albums are:
1. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968)
(original album, known as "Fleetwood Mac" in the USA)
2. Mr. Wonderful (1968)
(original album)
3. The Pious Bird Of Good Omen (1969)
(compilation of non-album 7" singles, their B-sides, collaborations and other rarities)
4. Blues Jam At Chess (1969)
(original 20-track 2LP set often referred to as a Various Artists compilation.
Its full credit is to: Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Shakey Horton, J.T. Brown, Guitar Buddy
(Buddy Guy), Honey Boy Edwards, S.P. Leary. Originally a 2LP set on release, it was broken into 2 volumes
for the "Complete" box set and renamed "Blues Jam In Chicago Volume 1" and "Blues Jam In Chicago
Volume 2". It is ONLY these singular re-sequenced releases that are available today.)
5. The Original Fleetwood Mac (1971)
(although released in '71, this LP has recordings from August 1967 through to October 1968, all of which
were previously unreleased at the time)

PPS: I've reviewed about 20 of the excellent Blue Horizon CD reissues - see LISTMANIA for a full list

The original, Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac play some really competent Chicago blues on this fine album. Some of the young white blues enthusiasts of the period were so afraid to get it "wrong" that their music became a stale and overly cautious attempt at making a carbon copy of the real thing, and others just overdid it, maybe thinking that the blues was sure great, but if they tweaked it a little it would be even better. (It wasn't.)

But Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan got it right. Green's elegant lead guitar playing shows a real understanding of how blues music is created and played, he doesn't just replicate the latest Howlin' Wolf-single. And the guest stars are phenomenal, of course. Willie Dixon is here, as is pianist Otis Spann, Buddy Guy and David "Honeyboy" Edwards guest on a couple of tracks, and Big Walter Horton's magical, inimitable harp smoulders all the way through. The subtlety of his phrasing and the characteristic tone of his harmonica works wonders on cuts like "Red Hot Jam" and "Last Night". Horton also sings in a pleasant, if rather husky voice on his own soulful slowie "I Got The Blues" and on a great cover of Jimmy Rogers' piano-driven boogie "I Need You Love", and he completely owns the instrumental "South Indiana".

Covers of Howlin' Wolf's "Ooh Baby" and Elmore James' "I'm Worried" and "I Can't Hold Out" are also among the highlights, and "Watch Out" is one of Peter Green's best, most authentic original blues numbers. Jeremy Spencer, who joined the band in 1967, was a huge Elmore James-fan, and he plays gritty slide guitar on several Elmore-covers and sings in a strong, confident voice, too, and Elmore's saxist John T. Brown guest stars, providing excellent, sympathetic backing.

"Blues Jam in Chicago vol. 1" is not the most original blues record ever, perhaps, but it is one of Fleetwood Mac's very best, and that is saying quite a lot. This is just terrific blues music played by some of the very best the genre has to offer.

Blues Jam in Chicago 1

I have been a fan of the early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac since I heard the album "Bare Trees" in 1972. I recently started investing in CDs of the Fleetwood Mac albums I did not own (mainly the earliest albums). I have been playing blues guitar for about thirty years now and this is now my FAVORITE blues album. I cannot stop jamming along with it and Volume Two, which is also great. When I'm not jamming along with them, I have them cranked in my car. Volume One features Peter Green on most of the songs and his playing and singing are exceptional. Volume Two features Danny Kirwan (my favorite guitarist) and has several tracks featuring Otis Spann and other guests. Both albums are well worth the price. The band was absolutely in sync and seemed to be having a great time recording the tracks.

Excellent, thanks a lot! I really enjoy buy it!

Excellent, thanks a lot! I really enjoy buy it!

Excellent, thanks a lot! I really enjoy buy it!

This album in its original form was uneven, as jam sessions of this nature can sometimes be. The reissue, with added material, expands the idea to include second takes of songs, which can be interesting, if only to demonstrate the fluid nature of the form, Blues. No two performances are alike. In that sense, the inclusion is welcome.

The inclusion of previously unheard material is always welcome, especially if it is well done. Including 'bonus' tracks for the sake of the fact that they exist is not always a good idea. And this disc suffers a bit for that.

I had this album when it first came out. Loved it and hated it, for the reasons stated above... the uneven nature of the jam session.

My biggest complaint would be that this disc is too heavy on the Elmore James material. I mean, you're in Chicago, jamming with some great guys, and you get stuck on EJ's material? Really?

I love Fleetwood Mac of the Peter Green era (and the Jeremy Spencer Kiln House period, too). The music was vital and immediate. This album contains that, and the performaces that rise to that level make this disc worth owning for any real fans of Peter Green in particular, even suffering through the Spencer slide tributes to EJ.

Blues Jam 2, the second disc of this group will be reviewed there when I get it.

I bought this as a double LP entitled Fleetwood Mac in Chicago. It is straight Chicago blues - electric guitar, piano and harp feature prominently - performed by Mac and an assortment of Chicago blues legends. These songs are generally better then competent and less than inspired. If you are a blues fan these four sides provide solid entertainment with moments of brilliance. Some complain that this double album sounds more like a rehearsal than it does a finished product. With the blues this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have always felt that rough and ready are more appropriate for the genre than is polish. The idea of a bunch of musicians just strolling into a club or studio, picking up their instruments and jamming seems perfect. I must admit that although I was always a Peter Green fan I never really appreciated Danny Kirwan. In retrospect, I have discovered how talented he was. His is a sad story all too common in sixties and seventies - a prodigious talent laid waste by drugs. That a band had two prominent members descend into oblivion was remarkably unlucky. That the band re-constituted and ascended to glory is even more remarkable.

Recorded around 1970, this is a record that I come back to over and over again. If you like old Chicago blues, you should like this record. I smile every time I hear it. Many of the blues masters featured on this recording are no longer with us and this is a reminder of just how influential they all were in creating pop music.

Great CD a must have for any Peter Green and fans of the original Fleetwood Mac!