I have moaned before about the shoddy treatment that Fleetwood Mac’s back catalogue has received down the years, especially on the Reprise label. An album that is screaming out for the super deluxe treatment is ‘Then Play On’ from 1969. It was:
- The first Mac LP to appear on Reprise, label having left their original home of Blue Horizon after the unexpected success of the ‘Albatross’ single
- The first album to deviate from the straight blues of the first two Mac albums.
- The first album to feature guitarist Danny Kirwan even thought he had appeared on songs on the compilation album ‘Pious Bird of Good Omen’ and ‘Fleetwood Mac in Chicago’.
Founding member Jeremy Spencer also contributed very little to ‘The Play On’, only appearing playing the odd bit of piano. More on that later.
Containing fourteen songs in its original UK configuration, the album was also quite long clocking in at just under 54 minutes. For the US market, the album dropped two songs (‘One Sunny Day’ & ‘Without You’) which had appeared on the earlier ‘English Rose’ compilation, and the instrumental ‘Underway’ was edited down by 15 seconds. What difference these 15 seconds made is anyone’s guess.
When the song’ Oh Well’ became a minor hit in the US, the LP order was changed once again. ‘When You Say’ and ‘My Dream’ we dropped and both parts of ‘Oh Well’ were put in their place. When this album was first released on CD back in 1990, both ‘My Dream’ and ‘When You Say’ were put back into the running order and it was in this edition that I first heard this record. I only heard ‘Without You’ and ‘One Sunny Day’ when I managed to find a copy of ‘English Rose’ in a second hand record shop, most probably Reckless Records on Brewer Street in London.
The original UK track listing was only restored when the album was re-released in 2013 Deluxe Edition. I was really looking forward to this edition when I read about it, but I was really annoyed when I found out that this was not that deluxe at all. The only additional tracks being both sides of the ‘Oh Well’ single and the follow up, ‘The Green Manalishi’ and its B-Side, ‘World In Harmony’. What I have tried to do here is to present this album in a Deluxe Edition that it actually deserves.
The band recorded a lot of material during this time, a good deal of it has been released so putting this compilation together has been quite straight forward. Some members of the band also moonlighted in other groups and Jeremy Spencer released a solo album. 1969 and into the early part of 1970 was a busy time for Fleetwood Mac and this box set could have contained even more music if I had decided to include the ‘Blues Jam in Chicago’ songs. However, this was recorded when the band were still on Blue Horizon and was part of ‘The Complete Blue Horizons Session 1967-1969’ box set from 1999. I have also not included any guest sessions that the band made on other Blue Horizon artists such as Otis Spann as I am sure that there would be a rights issue if a set like this was ever attempted.
CD 1 – Original UK Track Listing & Singles
This is the same track listing as the 2013 re-release. That is, the original 14 track UK track listing with the 1969 Oh Well and 1970 The Green Manalishi singles along with their respective B-Sides.
- Coming Your Way
- Closing My Eyes
- Fighting For Madge
- Show-Biz Blues
- Underway
- One Sunny Day
- Although The Sun Is Shining
- Rattlesnake Shake
- Without You
- Searching For Madge
- My Dream
- Like Crying
- Before The Beginning
- Oh Well (Part 1)
- Oh Well (Part 2)
- The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)
- World In Harmony
CD 2 – Sessions
The second CD is made up from sessions that took place during and around the recording of the parent album. These include extended or full length versions of the jams that were included in edited form on the original record. Also included is an earlier version of ‘Showbiz Blues’ as well a an updated version of ‘Drifting’ but now called ‘Fast Talking Woman Blues’. ‘
‘Then Play On’ is known as an album that member Jeremy Spencer was shown in the line up picture, but played next to nothing not he record. To make up for this, it was originally planned that Spencer would be able to include an EP of his songs. The EP took the structure of a radio show where numerous different acts would perform, even though in reality, it was just Fleetwood Mac. Spencer was in full imitation mode, with swipes at the rock n’ roll revival scene, Alexis Korner, Texas Bluesmen, Acid Rock and John Mayall. A record consisting of a band playing lots of different types of music was quite a new idea, and I can only think of one other who had done something similar up to this point. That being The Turtles and their ‘Battle of the Bands’ LP which came out the year before.
- Fast Talking Woman Blues – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Him & Me (Early Version of Showbiz Blues) – Show-Biz Blues 1968-1970
- Jeremy’s Contribution to Doo Wop – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Everyday I Have The Blues – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Death Bells – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Watch Out For Yourself) Mr. Jones – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Man Of Action – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Underway (Full Length Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- The Madge Sessions 1 (Full Length Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- The Madge Sessions 2 (Instrumental) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- October Jam 1 (Unissued) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- October Jam 2 (Unissued) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (Alt. Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
CD 3 – Sessions & Live
CD 3 is another round up of alternative versions and unreleased songs. However, I have also looked to include songs that the band recorded live in the last year with Peter Green which did not make it onto one of their records. Some of these have yet to be officially released. This disc finishes with a concert taken from the ‘Before The Beginning’ CD set. These performances are clearly from 1970 because ‘The Green Manalishi’ was included in the set list. However, where and when this gig took place is a mystery because the tape boxes were found without any information attached. I am sure with a bit of effort and some more research, the people who put this collection out could have found out the date and place the gig took place.
- World In Harmony (Alt. Take) – Show-Biz Blues 1968-1970
- Mighty Cold – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Tell Me From The Start – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Although The Sun Is Shining (Demo) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Blues In B Flat Minor (Before The Beginning Instrumental Early Takes) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Leaving Town Blues (Violin Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Oh Well (Part 1 – Live) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
- Lemon Squeezer – Shrine ‘69
- All Over Again (I’ve Got A Mind To Give Up Living) – Previously Unreleased (The Warehouse, New Orleans, 1st February 1970)
- One Sided Love – Previously Unreleased (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 20th April 1969)
- Like It This Way – Previously Unreleased (Finish Radio Broadcast 24th August 1969)
- Greeny Alone – Previously Unreleased (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 20th April 1969)
- Before The Beginning – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Madison Blues – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Can’t Stop Lovin’ – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
CD 4 – Live
This continues with the gig that was started on Disc 3. Some of the songs needed to have some work on them to get rid of as many of the problems that were with the original tapes. For instance, ‘Sandy Mary’ needed an edit due to either a fault in the master, or some shoddy work preparing the tapes for release. There was an annoying jump in the slowed down section, so I edited in a better sounding bit from the next chorus and then edited around it. I hope you can’t hear the join. Some of the flubs could not be edited out though. I have also included a guest sessions on here as there wasn’t room for them anywhere else. First is a cover of the Danny Kirwan penned ‘When You Say’. Both Kirwan and Perfects husband, John McVie play on this version.
- Albatross – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Sandy Mary – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Only You – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- World In Harmony – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- I Can’t Hold Out – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Oh Well (Part 1) – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Rattlesnake Shake – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Underway – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Coming Your Way – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- Homework – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- My Baby’s Sweet – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- My Baby’s Gone – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
- When You Say (Christine Perfect) – Christine Perfect
Disc 5 – Guest Sessions
As has been said before, Jeremy Spencer did not contribute much to ‘Then Play On’, but as was mentioned above, he did get to make an EP songs with Mac backing him. Unreleased at the time, the EP was just a prelude to Spencer first solo album. Released early in 1970, Fleetwood Mac were the backing band even though Peter Green only featured playing the banjo on ‘String-A-Long’. This is, as you would expect from Spencer, parodies of different music styles with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure. ‘Teenage Darling’ was not included on the original LP but was the B-Side to ‘Linda’, the only single released from this album. This is essentially a dry run for Mac’ ‘Kiln House’ LP that would come out later in 1970 after Peter Green had left the band.
The remainder of the songs on this disc is from The Brunnning Sunflower Band, or Brunning Sunflower Blues Band. They seemed to change their name every time they put out a record. This featured Bob Brunning, who was the original bass player in Fleetwood Mac. He had an agreement with Peter Green that if John McVie, who had been Green’s first choice for the role, ever wanted to join, Brunning would step aside. This is exactly what happened. Brunning would form a couple of bands after Mac, including this one. Peter Green is listed as playing on the ‘Trackside Blues’ LP, but as none of the releases of this album have ever had extensive sleeve notes, it is hard to tell exactly what songs he actually plays on so I have included them all except for ‘Sunflower Shuffle’ as the only instrument on it is a piano.
- Linda (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- The Shape I’m In (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Mean Blues (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- String-A-Long (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Here Comes Charlie (With His Dancing Shoes On) (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Teenage Love Affair (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Jenny Lee (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Don’t Go, Please Stay (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- You Made A Hit (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Take A Look Around Mrs. Brown (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Surfin’ Girl (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- If I Could Swim The Mountain (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Teenage Darling (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
- Uranus – Take 1 (Brunning Sunflower Blues Band) – I Wish You Would
- Ride With Your Daddy Tonight (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- Tube Train Blues (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- Simple Simon (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- I Met This Bird In Playboy (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- Ah! Soul (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- It Takes Time (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- Baby You’re The Real Thing (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- If You Let Me Love You (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- North Star (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
- Closing Hours (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Disc 6 – Guest Sessions
Tramp was another band that Bob Brunning band but this one included both Mick Fleetwood and Danny Kirwan in their ranks. the band release two albums, ‘Tramp’ (1969) and ‘Put A Record On’ (1974). Only the latter has been included here. The song ‘Too Late Now’ has not been included because neither Kirwan and Fleetwood play on it. What follows is the ‘Man Of The World’ single. This was the only release by Fleetwood Mac on the Immediate label which they were signed to between Blue Horizon and Reprise. I have read that this was only ever a one off deal with Immediate, but with the label in financial turmoil by the time of this release, it can be argued that if the band were signed to a longer deal, it would not have panned out as the label was struggling financially. Immediate were struggling to release what music they already had ready to go (e.g. Billy Nicholas and the legendary ‘Would You Believe’ LP). I have included it more for completeness more than anything else.
Clifford Davis was Fleetwood Mac’s manager between 1967 and 1974. He is also credited as being the co-writer of a number of songs on Mac’s ‘Mr Wonderful’ album under his birth name of Adams. He also tried his hand at being a recording artist, releasing two singles which have are believed to include members of Fleetwood on them. I have included these songs as they fit the correct time period but if anyone can shed light on which members of Mac play on them, if any, I would be grateful. When it comes to his version of ‘Man Of The World’, I am sure that this is the Mac version with Green’s vocals replaced by Adams and some strings added to the mix. This disc is rounded off by some early takes of ‘Man Of The World’.
- Own Up (Tramp) – Tramp
- Same Old Thing (Tramp) – Tramp
- What You Gonna Do (Tramp) – Tramp
- Somebody Watching Me (Tramp) – Tramp
- Too Late Now (Tramp) – Tramp
- Baby What You Want Me To Do (Tramp) – Tramp
- Street Walking Blues (Tramp) – Tramp
- On The Scene (Tramp) – Tramp
- Month Of Sundays (Tramp) – Tramp
- Hard Work (Tramp) – Tramp
- Another Day (Tramp) – Tramp
- Man Of The World – Single A-Side
- Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonite (Earl Vince & The Valiants) – Single B-Side
- Before The Beginning (Clifford Davis) – Single A-Side
- Man Of The World (Clifford Davis) – Single B-Side
- Come On Down & Follow Me (Clifford Davis & Friends) – Single A-Side
- Homework (Clifford Davis & Friends) Single A-Side
- Man Of The World (Takes 1, 2 & 3) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
I am sure that there is more tracks that could have been included out there but a six CD set is not a bad effort considering that Reprise have only ever released a one disc set for ‘Then Play On’. I would love to do a similar treatment to all of the albums Mac released between 1970 and 1974, but I don’t think there is the material out there to do so.