Fleetwood Mac - Mr Wonderful (1968)

Fleetwood Mac started out as a blues band, one of the British groups to start playing American R&B in the 60s. They managed to find success under the leadership of guitarist Peter Green, before his departure and a flurry of line-up changes, after which they transformed into an entirely different band in the 70s.

Fleetwood Mac's second album was much like their first from a few months earlier - American blues music played with passion and authenticity. The band of Peter Green (guitar/harmonica/vocals), Jeremy Spencer (guitar/slide/vocals), John McVie (bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums) were assisted by a group of horn players, and keyboard player Christine Perfect of Chicken Shack on piano (who would later marry John McVie, and become a member of the band herself). Like its predecessor, the singing was split between Green and Spencer, both having different styles of blues. However, on Mr Wonderful it started to become apparent that Jeremy Spencer was perhaps getting a bit bogged down with his Elmore James covers and tributes - as well as the oft-covered "Dust My Broom", there were three other songs that started with the exact same signature riff, and were almost identical except for the lyrics. Meanwhile Peter Green offered more interesting songs, including the upbeat album opener "Stop Messin' Round" and the captivating minor-key "Love That Burns". The latter in particular showed his distinctive guitar style, with which he was becoming known as one of the best British blues guitarists.
It was becoming increasingly apparent that Green was the band's leader. Two singles released around the same time (but not included on the album, as was the way with UK artists in the 60s), a cover of Little Willie John's "Need Your Love So Bad" and his own "Black Magic Woman", showed that he had a signature sound with which he could achieve great things. Indeed these two singles both made it into the Top 40. The latter of course later found massive success when it was covered by Santana.

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968) <|> Then Play On (1969)
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