Fleetwood Mac
The Boston Tea Party
Boston, MA
5-7 Feb 70

CD1:  1. Black Magic Woman  2. Jumping At Shadows  3. Like It This Way  4. Only You  5. Rattlesnake Shake //  6. I Can't Hold Out  7. Got To Move  8. The Green Manalishi	CD3:    1. Jumping At Shadows    2. Sandy Mary    3. If You Let Me Love You    4. Loving Kind    5. Coming Your Way    6. Madison Blues    7. Got To Move    8. Sun Is Shining    9. Oh Baby  10. Tiger  11. Great Balls Of Fire  12. Tutti Frutti  13. On We Jam
CD2:  1. World In Harmony  2. Oh Well  3. Rattlesnake Shake  4. Stranger Blues  5. Red Hot Mama  6. Teenage Darling  7. Keep A Knocking  8. Jenny Jenny  9. Encore Jam w/ Joe Walsh* // * James Gang opened for FM	CD4: 1.  Jam w/ Eric Clapton 17:25 (5 Feb 70) see notes below on this disc Peter Green - vocals, guitar Danny Kirwan - vocal, guitar Jeremy Spencer - vocal, guitar John McVie - bass Mick Fleetwood - drums

If you're looking for that commercial, slick pop-oriented Fleetwood Mac sound personified by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, QUICK, hit the return on your browser. It ain't here on this 3 cd set.

Perhaps the definitive live document of the original Fleetwood Mac, this was recorded at a crucial point in the band's history. By 1970, the blues-based Fleetwood Mac had achieved fame both in their native UK and in the US, and their pioneering blues-rock was being influenced by American groups like the Grateful Dead (as evidenced by the extended jams in Boston). However, FM was also about to fall apart. Green was headed towards a mental breakdown mostly due to one too many acid trips - he wanted the band to donate most of their profits to charity. Spencer went in search of religious meaning through the sect, Children of God. It didn't help that he was actually holding the band back due to his desire to stay in an Elmore James style. Kirwan would eventually get fired because of his neurtoic behavior - once he refused to play a show and then later criticized the band for their poor performance. Now this was sad because Kirwin as able to bring out the best in Green's writing abilities. Although abandonment became the style de jour, this 3 cd set is now seen as both a peak performance and yet, is their swan song. Clearly, in this set of shows, every individual and the group were operating at a creative and synchronous peak.

On the first volume, the smoldering minor-key blues of Green's Black Magic Woman moves neatly into the slow, aching blues of Jumping At Shadows written by Mac pal Duster Bennett. The Green Manalishi echoes what were the growing spiritual concerns of Green, who had forsaken Judaism for Christianity, and continued to explore religion. The centerpiece is a 24-minute workout on Rattlesnake Shake which highlights the improvisatory abilities of guitarists Green, Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer.

The 2nd cd opens with San Francisco influenced opener World In Harmony, further proof of the Grateful Dead influence. The tune is a departure from the more traditional blues-orientation of the group's early material. Oh Well one of the original Mac's best-known tunes, is presented here in a blazing version that showcases the band's 3-guitar firepower. Two Elmore James covers, Stranger Blues and Red Hot Mama pay homage to the band's roots. And then there's the raucous run through Little Richard's Jenny Jenny and Keep A-Knocking .Joe Walsh (whose James Gang opened the show) sits in on the closing jam.

The 3rd cd includes a terrific version of the Little Richard classic Tutti Frutti and a number of excellent, previously unreleased blues jams. FM used to do rock 'n roll parodies on many of their early shows -- with impersonations and baudy behavior --- and this cd seems to capture some of those early FM moments.

The 4th cd is a very special treat and one not normally found in the 3 CD Boston Tea Party Set. It's a 17 minute jam that occurred on 5 Feb 70 with Eric Clapton. This jam is not released on any of the Boston Tea Party releases, or any of the older releases of those concerts. Both Vol. 2 & Vol. 3 of the Tea
Party releases contain a jam sequence, but they are not this jam. The officially released jams (one is with Joe Walsh) are uninteresting compared to this one between the guitar masters Clapton and Green. Most likely, this jam occurred at then end of the 5 Feb 70 show as the Announcer comes on at the end and closes it out. Regardless, it is a rare and a one-of-a-kind recording. All that said -- the quality is not as perfect as the other 3 cds - still, it's very good/excellent except for the last 2 minutes, where a different source seems to be used and the quality degrades a bit.

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