World Turning

Given that the current environment for musicians on major record labels is, more or less, 'hit one out of the park or you're done', you could say that if they were starting out today, it would have been difficult for Fleetwood Mac to have survived their earliest incarnation as a blues band. But The Mac were fortunate to have had their formative years during a different era when record companies would sign a band because they liked the music and believed the band had potential to find an audience once they were promoted enough, which usually meant constant touring by the band. Such was the case of Warner Brothers Records in the 70's, under the leadership of Mo Ostin, who had the philosophy of developing an audience for an artist and steadily building sales over time, as it was for the likes of Randy Newman and Ry Cooder.

Fleetwood Mac circa 1975. All was not as sunny as it appears.

Fleetwood Mac had a lengthy and complex history already by the time they signed on with Warner Brothers' Reprise label, which had begun as a signature label by and for Frank Sinatra. In one of the few signs of stability in their lives, the band has, for the most part, remained on that label ever since. The Mac's first album for Reprise, "Then Play On", came in 1969, and featured their now-classic live showpiece, "Oh Well", which has become a standard for Blues bands worldwide.

Fleetwood Mac would record and release another 6 albums for Reprise, all prior to 1975. That's an astonishing achievement considering that the bands' personnel was in constant flux almost from the jump, yet they managed to stay on the road for nearly that entire time. Matters were further complicated by a bizarre management debacle in 1973 over ownership of the name that included a false Fleetwood Mac being sent out on tour in place of the real band! Can you imagine any major record label today putting up with that sort of volatility over the course of 6 albums that garnered only modest sales at best without cutting their losses and calling it a day? Not anymore.

An autographed vinyl copy of the breakthrough 1975 album.

It took the departure of guitarist Bob Welch, who later found some solo success, and the discovery of 2 new band members for Fleetwood Mac to finally achieve a new level of success that was to exceed their wildest dreams, but not without all of them paying heavily for it through drama in their personal lives along the way, which has been well documented.

In a chance meeting that would change everything, Mick Fleetwood was introduced to Lindsey Buckingham while they both happened to be at L.A.'s famed Sound City Studios. Fleetwood had heard one of Buckingham's demo recordings and invited him join The Mac as Welch's replacement. Buckingham accepted, on the condition that his partner, Stephanie Nicks would join the band also.

The album that would result from the this new collaboration, the eponymous "Fleetwood Mac", would soon sell over 5 million copies within a year and become their first recording to reach #1 on the Pop album charts worldwide, spending 37 weeks within the Top 10, and more than 15 months within the Top 40. Sales were supported by three #1 singles and constant radio airplay of most of the album's other tracks. Here's one song from the album that was written by Buckingham with Christine McVie. It's a bit less Pop, but far more true to The Mac's origins in the Blues, as well as Mick Fleetwood's long standing interest in World rhythms. This is "World Turning".

Leo Kottke

Another artist who feels a kinship with unusual rhythms is the widely acknowledged master of the 12 string guitar, Leo Kottke. I first heard his astounding work in the early 70's, in an ad for a show he was playing at a local Folk-oriented coffeehouse in suburban Philadelphia known as The Main Point. Kottke's guitar playing sounded to me like it was everywhere, yet right there at the same time. His technique and skill were such that the sound he created was nothing short of arresting.

Much of Kottke's work is instrumental, though he has recorded many noteworthy vocals. His discography is extensive, to say the least, and is spread out over multiple decades and record labels. The concept of compiling a cross-label, comprehensive boxed set of Leo's recordings would be daunting. Nonetheless, Leo is the rare sort of skilled musician where the popularity of one of his recordings over another is a poor barometer of the quality contained therein. There's plenty of gold to be found.

As a comparison to Kottke's seeming reluctance to sing, which can be construed as his saying that his instrument is more eloquent than himself, Kottke's music is its own best definition. Leo Kottke is best heard, rather than described second hand, as attempts at description of his music are often futile. Suffice it to say, as I already have, that he is a master musician. If you enjoy acoustic music at all, and acoustic guitar in particular, you owe it to yourself to look into the world of Leo Kottke.

From Leo's 1997 album, "Standing In My Shoes", here is his version of "World Turning". Enjoy.

You can find the excellent music of Leo Kottke at A-Mart, or likely, in the Folk section of your local independent music retailer. Leo's put out quite a lot of music since 1969, so newcomers should pick up the guitarist's debut, "6 & 12 String Guitar", which was recently reissued on vinyl. It's a fine place to begin if you're unfamiliar with his work. If you're ready to go big, there's a fine multi-label Anthology available that covers a lot of ground. Do investigate the music of Leo Kottke. Your ears will thank you profusely.

As the band has been active since the late 60's, you might imagine that the Fleetwood Mac catalog has grown rather large by this time, and you'd be correct about that. So, it's going to depend on what era of the band's history works well for you. If you enjoy the post-1974 band with Buckingham & Nicks, then you'll be happy to hear that both the white "Fleetwood Mac" album, and "Rumours" have been nicely remastered and reissued with a generous helping of bonus material; particularly true in the case of "Rumours", which is now a 3 disc set. If all that sounds extravagant and you just want the hits, there's a nice 2 disc "Very Best Of..." collection that you will thoroughly enjoy.

Good stuff, this is.

If you're more partial to the Bob Welch-Danny Kirwan-Jeremy Spencer era, which contained such fine works as "Bare Trees", "Mystery To Me", "Then Play On", and "Kiln House", they're all in print and are even being reissued on vinyl and assorted deluxe editions. But, I will absolutely recommend that you snatch up this bargain priced, 5 disc boxed set (shown at right) of mid-period Mac before someone realizes what a smokin' cheap deal it is and pulls it off the market.

The recordings of the early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green are confusing at best. There were but 3 studio albums released during that time, but many more of varying quality and dubious origin have surfaced since, and it only serves to clutter the market and confuse the earnest customer. Here's another attractively priced boxed set that contains those 3 early albums. As for the rest; approach with caution and 'caveat emptor'.