Customer Reviews

Live In Boston, Vol. 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the album to own out of the three volumes, if you only want to try out early Fleetwood Mac. These numbers are incredible, the sound is great, and its simply some of the best blues playing I have ever heard. Comparisons and superlatives about Peter Green being better than Clapton may make a whole lot more sense once you hear this disc.

The strengths of this album are manifold, but there are many reasons why this disc is standout in the three-disc series. You get the original, hypnotic swing of "Black Magic Woman" which will might just make you forget about Santana's version; you get the 25-minute powerhouse jam of "Rattlesnake Shake" - and this has to be heard to be believed - the Mac, encouraged by touring with the Dead, were on their way to becoming one of the first few, and most powerful, jam bands ever. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan had an unbelievable chemistry, its sad to note they broke up so soon after this recording. You get the almost fusion-like, bouncy chording of "Only You" - and here again, Peter Green lights the stage on fire with a powerful, latin-tinged solo over Mick Fleetwood's insistent percussion; you get the harrowing "Jumping At Shadows" which is and indescribably desperate and pained reading of an old blue classic. The greatest gift is "The Green Manalishi", never properly released on album form, 13 minutes of harowing glory, an incredible, frightening, performance which every tortured note drips like blood from Peter's fingertips and sears hot scars on the souls of his listeners. Its awe-inspiring to say the least, and to boot, Peter picks up a six-string bass and does an insane extended solo to end the piece. If you are into british blues, jam bands, or just like really good music, you need this album in your collection. These are simply some of the best blues recordings ever made.

Note : The 2-CD set "Boston Blues" has all of the standouts above from this set, with the same sound, albeit out of chronological order.

This is jamming blues based rock at its best. Well before Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks interjected their pop influence on Fleetwood Mac, it was "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac", a group of five enormously talented musicians who rivaled any of the blues-based British rock bands of the late 60's.

Starting off with the classic "Black Magic Woman," written and sung by Peter Green, the band goes bluesy with "Jumpin' At Shadows," then rocks out with a couple of Danny Kirwan songs. The three guitar line-up of Green, Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer on slide guitar adds a wall of sound that just resonates.

When the 24 minute "Rattlesnake Shake" starts out so true to its studio version, you wonder how they'll fill all the time. Don't worry. Included in the jam are "Searching/Fighting for Madge" and "Underway" off the classic "Then Play On" album. This is jamming the way you wish Cream would have done it: playing off and with each other rather than against each other.

The CD is capped with "Green Manalishi", a cult classic that Green must have visited the devil to write. Listen to the prolonged jam and see if you also don't think Freddie Mercury and Brian May lifted it to write "Another One Bites the Dust."

Fleetwood Mac had established itself as a "pure" rock blues band that could switch over to great mainstream stuff as needed. Critically and commercially coming into their own in the early 70's, Peter Green--who had been labeled a "Blues God" to offset Clapton's "God"--suddenly left the band. The rest is history. Enter the pop-rock success of latter day Fleetwood Mac.

If you want to hear brilliant musicians playing blues-based rock 'n roll at its best in the finest setting--live--buy this album.

This album flat-out rocks. By February 1970, the Mac had expanded its repertoire to include not only blues, but also intricate jams between Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. The centerpiece of this album is "Rattlesnake Shake," which fades at 24 minutes -- who knows how long they really played? The set also includes a killer version of "Black Magic Woman," along with some fine slide guitar from Jeremy Spencer. Great liner notes and wonderful remastered sound complete the set -- it's a sure buy if you like blues-rock, jamming, and great guitar work. This performance was intended to be released as a live album but was shelved when Peter Green left shortly afterward. It's nice to see it re-emerge in proper form all these years later.

This recording is a real eye opener for those rock'n'roll fans who associate Fleetwood Mac with mellow pop music and Stevie Nicks. This is the version of Fleetwood Mac that emphasized blues, guitars and volume.

Recorded in 1970, shortly before founder-guitarist Peter Green left the band, this disc is guaranteed to appeal to anyone who is a fan of loud blues-oriented guitar riffs ala Cream and The Allman Brothers.

The standout cut is a 25-minute version of 'Rattlesnake Shake'. A truly seminal piece of guitar work evidenced by the extraordinary interplay of guitarists Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwin.

If you are a rock'n'roll fan, you need this disc in your collection. I would have given it 5 stars but with Volumes 2 and 3 yet to be released, I wanted to save some room if either of those happen to be better. That would be quite a feat indeed.

If you are even reading this, you need to get all 3 volumes of the "Live In Boston" Series. Peter Green's guitar alone is worth a 10 star rating. Personally, I find Jeremy Spencer's slide guitar becomes a bit grating after awhile. Thank you very much for the skip track button on the cd player. Spencer's obvious Elmore James "schtick", however, it is not enough to drag these 3 great live recordings below 5 stars.
A must have for any blues fan.

Most fans of Fleetwood Mac are acquainted little, if at all, with the initial lineup of the late 60's -- Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie. This recording, a set from one of the band's concerts in Boston in 1970, must be heard to be believed. Anything but the soft rock of the Nicks-Buckingham era, this performance is raw power. If you like what you hear, spend a few minutes looking up the biographical sketches of the band members. They paid a heavy price in their own lives for playing with this kind of fire. Fortunately, the fruit of their labors has been preserved for a whole new generation of listeners to admire and enjoy. Do yourself a favor and grab this one right away.

If you get this, get all the volumes. This will make you forget that little band from the '70s that sang Go Your Own Way, Rhiannon, and Don't Stop.

This is the original Mac, at its very best live.

Turn it up, and listen to the Mac blown your minds.

It is definately a Mac Attack!!!

Superb live album. I could do without the Jeremy Spencer slide guitar and 50's imitations, but Peter Green is top notch. The Green Manalishi solo is some of the best blues guitar soloing I've heard. If you like blues guitar, you must give it a listen.

If you have never heard anything by Peter Green, or have only heard his lame efforts from recent years and wondered why B.B. King once told Eric Clapton and George Harrison "Sorry, but Peter Green is the best", one listen to this volume will win you over to the Green God.

Greeny had the ability to combine depth, fire and tenderness in his playing, along with an uncanny sense of focus while jamming. Listen to the 24 minute "Rattlesnake Shake", especially to the exquisite "Underway" part a bit more than halfway through. Compare that to Live Cream or Led Zeppelin. Not even close!

Listen to "Black Magic Woman" and see how the second half jam opens up.

Listen to "Jumping At Shadows" and notice Greeny's masterful way of leaving OUT notes that other guitarists would fill and his knack for playing a note slightly after you would expect it, in order to create tension. Green is a Scorpio, the sign associated with depth, intensity and regeneration. His playing exhibits all those qualities, very passionate, sexual music in that there's tension followed by release and bliss. Compare this with Clapton's busy playing, Jeff Beck's even busier and frantic playing, and even Hendrix's excessiveness. All three of those guitarists were or still are great. Green was the best of them and I think it's not even close.

The SHOW BIZ BLUES compilation has a version of "Black Magic Woman" which I feel is even better than the one on this volume, but this is THE best example of Fleetwood Mac at their absolute zenith in the kind of environment they loved to play in with spectacular sound. Live jamming, heart-felt virtuoso playing and just plain musical fun!

"Rattlesnake Shake" is a steaming, burning, scolding hot, melting, lava-spewing MONSTER of a guitar jam. It's 25 minutes long, and I believe it out rocks Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It HAS to be heard to be believed. If there was ever a band that was DRASTICALLY different in their early years, it's gotta be Fleetwood Mac. What a jam. Incredible!!!

Well, now that my excitement for that wonderful track has momentarily passed, let's talk about the rest of the album. The vocal melody to "Black Magic Woman" comes really close to sounding exactly like Santana's, however afterwards the song explodes into some exceptionally good blues playing. "Jumping at Shadows" is a bit quiet, though quite soon really good guitar work enters the picture and instantly brings me to my feet. Absolutely no complaints with the three songs I've mentioned so far.

"Like it This Way" is one of those party bluesy numbers- the kind of song you'd hear at a birthday party or something. I like it though, mostly because the guitar playing is really good. "Only You" is not the oldies song or the Ringo Starr cover you're probably thinking of (though I guess this album might be considered oldies now, hehe). It's a really heavy track with a guitar riff that repeats fantastically throughout the song. I like that. Peter Green's right- "The Green Manalishi" really does sound evil. Man, it's so eerie, and I don't feel comfortable listening to this song at all.

Reading the little booklet that came with the album, I get the impression Peter Green really cared about the older version of Fleetwood Mac, and because of his Grateful Dead influence, he really wanted the fans to hear one more live album with lots of guitar jamming. He eventually had a bad acid trip while on tour and decided to leave the band. I wonder what he must be thinking right now, knowing there's young people like me who are very happy this album exists. He was apparently having some problems and had to leave the band. Hey, we all have problems. You can't blame the man for leaving. He didn't respond well to fortune and fame, and all the questions he had to face about his religion. They should have left the man alone to sort out his problems.

But I guess it was inevitable Fleetwood Mac was on the rise in terms of popularity. I wouldn't have been able to handle the pressure, and I don't blame Green at all for his decision. Reading more information from the booklet, I get the impression he seemed confident that this was going to be his final album with the band. He wanted to go out on a strong note, and he did. VERY strong. Of course, when I say this is his final album with the band, I mean the final of three live albums (Volume 2 and 3 of this live Boston set are also available for purchase).

Peter Green is a normal person like you and me. He just had a troubled past. Drugs and guilt changed the way he looked at the world. He's allowed to think that way if he wants. It's his right as a human being.

Solid blues and lengthy rock jams dominated with guitars and drums aren't popular in todays world. Nowadays you have... I don't know, electronic music (I guess that's what you call it).

Just a few weeks after this albums release in February of 1970, Peter Green announced he wanted to leave the band (though he actually didn't leave Fleetwood Mac until around April, when the overseas live concert schedule was finally over with- he made a commitment to the band that he'd stay with them until those live dates were all complete).

I'm really happy he gave us this final live performance before his departure. His presence will always be an important one for Fleetwood Mac to me personally. I'm sure more live music from the old version of Fleetwood Mac still exists, and will probably be put on disc one day for our listening pleasure. Hopefully more lengthy guitar jams, because Peter Green, along with the rest of the band, were really good at that.