Another Fleetwood Mac Album That's 'Worth A Damn'

This year saw the reissue of two vintage albums by Fleetwood Mac: the hugely popular Rumours,and the last

Then Play On Re-issue
Available at Amazon

album to feature the band's founder, Peter Green, called Then Play On.

"I think it's one of the most beautiful records and exciting records ever made," Rolling Stone senior writer David Fricke says. He wrote the liner notes for the reissue.

"I think as a statement of searching — within blues, within rock, within the possibilities of the electric guitar — like I said, I think it's one of the best records ever made," Fricke says. "I've got three copies of it — I wouldn't be caught with anything less."

Then Play On was recorded in the spring and summer of 1969, and the story of the album is the story of a band at a turning point. The previous fall, Fleetwood Mac added 17-year-old guitarist and singer Danny Kirwan, giving the band a powerful three-man front.

"You had Peter Green playing the B.B. King-style Chicago blues, mainly; Danny Kirwan with his more melodic rock, as it turned into; and then Jeremy Spencer doing these remarkable Elmore James impersonations is what they were, really," says Peter Green's biographer, Martin Celmins. "And for all that package to be in one band was a huge draw. And the response they got from the audience was wild. You know, they were just the top live band."

Continue to the full article at NPR by Tom Cole

"When people ask me in interviews to this day what's the most favorite album, I say, 'Well, I can't pick one album but I'll pick two. And one is Then Play On, and two is the Tusk album because they were really pushing the envelope," Fleetwood says. "And that is part and parcel of why bands keep going. And certainly can look back on their work and say, 'We did something that was worth a damn.' And Then Play On was worth a damn."

Fleetwood Mac’s “Then Play On” Remastered 4 Decades Later with the original U.K. tracking list

Some might find it hard to believe that before their success with albums such as Rumours and Tusk, Fleetwood Mac was actually a blues rock band formed by guitarist Peter Green in 1967. Fleetwood Mac’s third album, Then Play On, is often considered by many to be their best effort when Green was in the band. The album is also the last the band would make with Green, as he left the band a year after the album’s release in 1970. Now in 2013, the album has been reissued and remastered with the original U.K. tracking list and segues.

Full Review at The Crown

Critic's pick: Fleetwood Mac, 'Then Play On'

By Walter Tunis — Contributing Music Writer
Kentucky.com

The newest edition of Then Play On, the definitive studio recording by the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, ends with a subtle guitar instrumental titled World in Harmony.

The music blooms from sparse, autumnal ambience into a summery, almost country-esque serenade. It's a quiet study in harmony and conflict, opposites that always seem to surface when Fleetwood Mac is at its best.

Named after the oft-quoted opening to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night ("If music be the food of love, play on"), the album is a masterwork that faded from view as the band shot to pop stardom in the mid-'70s with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. But Then Play On, Fleetwood Mac's third studio work, takes us back to 1969 and remains a portrait of lost rock 'n' roll innocence. It was the first record to feature co-guitarist Danny Kirwan and the last to include band founder Green. The band's third guitarist, Jeremy Spencer, is curiously absent from the recording.

Review of Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On (Warner Music Canada)

by Ken Kelley

Musicnerd.ca

They might be arguably best known for Rumours but the fact of the matter is, before they found chart fame, Fleetwood Mac were a killer blues band. The guitar work on the instrumental track Fighting For Madge features guitarists Peter Green and Danny Kirwan trading off jaw dropping blues licks while the revered Oh Well – Pt. 1 can easily rival Led Zeppelin for heaviness and groove. Boasting four bonus tracks and the original U.K. release running order, this is a fascinating look back on one of music’s biggest acts.

Re-issue Deluxe Edition Available at
Amazon US | Amazon Canada

Vinyl Boxed Set Spanning Fleetwood Mac's First Four Albums Available August 20th

Revisit The Mighty Mac’s Roots With Expanded And Remastered Version Of 1969’s Then Play On And Vinyl Boxed set Spanning The Group’s First Four Albums For Reprise Records

Both Will Be Available On August 20th

- 4LP 1969-1972 Vinyl Box Set: Amazon
- "Then Play On" Expanded Edition: Amazon

This summer, revisit the Fleetwood Mac’s early years with two special releases from Reprise Records.

The first is an expanded and remastered edition of THEN PLAY ON, Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 debut on Reprise. This reissue features the original U.K running order and track segues, with “One Sunny Day” and “Without You” making their first appearance on a CD issue of the album, as well as new liner notes by veteran rock journalist David Fricke and four bonus tracks, including the revered single “Oh Well – Pt. 1,” which boasts one of the great guitar riffs in rock history and has been covered by likes of Billy F Gibbons, Jimmy Page, and Tom Petty.

The second release is FLEETWOOD MAC: 1969-1972, a beautiful vinyl boxed set that collects four of the band’s classic albums, each lovingly reproduced on 140-gram vinyl. As a bonus, the set comes with an exclusive replica of the original 1969 7-inch single of “Oh Well – Pt. 1” b/w “Oh Well – Pt. 2.”

THEN PLAY ON: EXPANDED EDITION and FLEETWOOD MAC: 1969-1972 will both be available August 20.

Fleetwood Mac was already a popular blues band in 1969 when they released THEN PLAY ON, the group’s stellar third studio album. It was the first with guitarist-songwriter Danny Kirwan and ultimately its last with founding member Peter Green. The album’s powerful mix of blues and rock includes standout tracks like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Searching For Madge” and “Coming Your Way.” Rhino’s newly re-mastered and expanded edition includes four bonus tracks originally released as singles: parts one and two of “Oh Well,” “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)” and “World In Harmony,” which is available on CD for the first time.

FLEETWOOD MAC: 1969-1972 features four complete albums – Then Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971) and Bare Trees (1972) – housed in a striking black slipcase. To ensure superb sound quality, Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering cut the lacquers for all four albums. The records look as good as they sound thanks to authentically reproduced packages, including gatefolds for Then Play On and Kiln House and single sleeves for Future Games and Bare Trees.

The set follows the band through an early transitional period. With Kiln House, Fleetwood Mac began moving toward a more melodic pop sound on songs like “Mission Bell” and “One Together.” At the time, the band included: Jeremy Spencer (guitar, vocals, piano), Kirwan (guitar, vocals), John McVie (bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums). Christine McVie was at the recording sessions and contributed backing vocals and the album’s cover art, but she did not join the band until shortly after the album was finished.

The band’s shift toward pop and folk styles continued on Future Games with songs like “Show Me A Smile” and “Morning Rain.” This marks the first Fleetwood Mac album with Christine McVie as a full band member as well as the Mac debut of Bob Welch on guitar.

The line-up stayed the same for Bare Trees, which boasts a consistently strong collection of songs like McVie’s “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love,” Kirwan’s “Dust” and Welch’s “Sentimental Lady.” Although Kirwan was a dominant figure during the recording, penning half of the songs, this would ultimately be his last appearance on a Fleetwood Mac album.

Rhino.com

THEN PLAY ON: EXPANDED EDITION
Track Listing

Rhino to Reissue Early Fleetwood Mac Classic "Then Play On"

By Matt Rowe, Columnist

The Morton Report

If we begin to talk about Fleetwood Mac, most will immediately think of the version that employed Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. They will remember "Second Hand News," "Sara," and "Go Your Own Way," but likely couldn't hum the first note of a song called "Oh Well." What may surprise many is that the Fleetwood Mac they remember is a refresh of a much older band, older than they realize.

As a brief biographical sketch, Fleetwood Mac began way back in 1967, a full eight years before the self-titled 1975 classic that broke them wide open with "Over My Head," "Say You Love Me," and "Rhiannon." Moreover, the band had already released nine studio albums with several different incarnations of the band. Essentially, the band began with the highly regarded (among fans) but heavily underrated guitarist, Peter Green as well as Jeremy Spencer, soon transitioning with both Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch. The great thing was that all incarnations of the band were great in their own way. And they created vastly different sets of albums. All their albums are loved by various groups of fans. Believe it or not, some fans find earlier incarnations of Fleetwood Mac to be intrinsically better than the one that most know, you know—that famous version.

Without getting into a grand discussion of what albums preceded that groundbreaking 1975 classic, and their various virtues (and we could do that, easily), it is sufficient for the sake of brevity to just simply announced that Rhino Records will be releasing a deluxe edition reissue of the last Peter Green involved album, Then Play On (1969).

Then Play On was Fleetwood Mac's third studio album and is highly regarded by many FM fans. It comes as a bit of a surprise that the major label would green-light an early era reissue of this band that doesn't guarantee a rabid reaction by most people like Rumours would. But there we have it. They are. And early fans couldn't be happier.

The details are quite sketchy at this point concerning bonus track inclusions (if any) or whether they will go with the original UK track-listing rather than the punctured US release that left several songs off from the UK edition. Nevertheless, it's exciting news.

Currently scheduled for August 19 (UK) and August 20 (US), the Rhino-shine edition of Then Play On will make scores of early Fleetwood Mac fans very, very happy. And what is even more exciting is the possibility that if this does well, Rhino Records might revisit Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974), Bare Trees (1972), Kiln House (1970), and even Mystery To Me (1973). Of course, there are others. But the above mentioned hopefuls will be a great start if they see the light of day.

Fleetwood Mac – 1969-1972

MusicTAP

As if this weren’t enough exciting Fleetwood Mac news, Rhino also has plans to release a 4LP set, Fleetwood Mac – 1969-1972, also on August 20.  Included in this massive LP collection will be a bonus 7″ vinyl single.