Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On (Reprise 1969) 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip.

Then Play On is the third studio album by blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac, first released in September 1969. It was the first of their original albums to feature Danny Kirwan and the last with Peter Green. The record, appearing after the group's sudden success in the pop charts, offered a broader stylistic range than the classic blues of the group's first two albums. This was the band's first release with Warner/Reprise after being lured away from Blue Horizon and a one-off with Immediate Records. The album, which at its original UK release had an unusually long running time, has been released with four different song lineups. The currently-available CD compiles all songs from the two US LP versions, both of which omitted tracks from the original UK version. Wikipedia

This Peter Green-led edition of the Mac isn't just an important transition between their initial blues-based incarnation and the mega-pop band they became, it's also their most vital, exciting version. The addition of Danny Kirwan as second guitarist and songwriter foreshadows not only the soft-rock terrain of "Bare Trees" and "Kiln House" with Christine Perfect-McVie, but also predicts Rumours. That only pertains to roughly half of the also excellent material here, though; the rest is quintessential Green. "Rattlesnake Shake" is a familiar number, a down-and-dirty, even-paced funk, with clean, wall-of-sound guitars. Choogling drums and Green's fiery improvisations power "Searching for Madge," perhaps Mac's most inspired work save "Green Manalishi," and leads into an unlikely symphonic interlude and the similar, lighter boogie "Fighting for Madge." A hot Afro-Cuban rhythm with beautiful guitars from Kirwan and Green on "Coming Your Way" not only defines the Mac's sound, but the rock aesthetic of the day. Of the songs with Kirwan's stamp on them, "Closing My Eyes" is a mysterious waltz love song; haunting guitars approach surf music on the instrumental "My Dream"; while "Although the Sun Is Shining" is the ultimate pre-Rumours number someone should revisit. Blues roots still crop up on the spatial, loose, Hendrix-tinged "Under Way," the folky blues tale of a lesbian affair on "Like Crying," and the final outcry of the ever-poignant "Show Biz Blues," with Green moaning "do you really give a damn for me?" Then Play On is a reminder of how pervasive and powerful Green's influence was on Mac's originality and individual stance beyond his involvement. Still highly recommended and a must-buy after all these years, it remains their magnum opus. Michael G. Nastos AMG

Track Listing:

A1. Coming Your Way

A2. Closing My Eyes

A3. Fighting For Madge

A4. When You Say

A5. Show-Biz Blues

A6. Under Way

A7. One Sunny Day

B1. Although The Sun Is Shining

B2. Rattlesnake Shake

B3. Without You

B4. Searching For Madge

B5. My Dream

B6. Like Crying

B7. Before The Beginning