Fleetwood Mac - 1972-03-10 - Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA

Fleetwood Mac

March 10, 1972
Paramount Theater, Seattle WA
FM Broadcast Recording (KISW-FM), Very Good Quality
Avaialble in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320kbps) versions

Continuing now with another popular radio-friendly band from the '70's, Fleetwood Mac, but with a twist. Most know and love Fleetwood Mac from their superstardom success from 1975 and beyond (The Buckingham-Nicks years), and then there are those that tout and prefer the early guitar blues-rock of the band (1967-1970) when lead by legendary guitarist Peter Green. But my favorite period of the band was the much less heralded transition years (1971-1974) between those two distinctly different periods, the Bob Welch years. It was a time that carried over some of the more rockin' and bluesy aspects of the earlier band, while also developing the pop sensibilities needed for radio and hit singles success. This was also the period when Christine McVie became a prominent member of the band, both with her vocals and songwriting, leading the way for more commercial success. They released 5 albums during this period, including some of their best, though not as successful as later entries. However, it was also a very turbulent period, with much turmoil, dissension, and turnover within the band, as well as legal issues and even the emergence of an imitation version of Fleetwood Mac. Despite everything going on, they put out a series of fine albums that set the stage for their greater success to come. Ok, so, by 1971, Original members and dual guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer had left the band, leaving guitarist Danny Kirwan, drummer Mick Fleetwood, and bassist John McVie. The former keyboardist-vocalist Christine Perfect, now married to McVie, had contributed (uncredited) to their 1970 album Kiln House, and was now made a full-time member of the band. And they also brought in guitarist-vocalist Bob Welch. The first album with this new lineup was Future Games (1971), which was, not surprisingly, a major departure from their previous albums. The songwriting and vocals were split among Kirwan, Welch, and C. McVie, with each having somewhat different styles. But the new format seemed to gain more attention in the US, eventually resulting in the earliest of their albums to receive a gold record there. But the next album, Bare Trees (1972) would be a major breakthrough, particularly in the US. Again featuring songs split among Kirwan, Welch, and McVie, this album featured the radio breakout songs Welch's 'Sentimental Lady' and Christine's signature 'Spare Me a Little', both of which received much radio airplay on FM AOR stations, and became band staples (with 'Spare Me A Little' laying the foundation for many future successful Christine-fronted singles). However, during the subsequent tour, Kirwan's alcohol and drug problems became insurmountable, and he was fired from the band.  This led to several additional lineup changes over the next couple years (which I will get to in the next post). For now, let's enjoy the final era of the band with Danny Kirwan still a part. Here is a show from early in 1972, just prior to the release of Bare Trees. Thus the show features the threesome of songwriter-vocals of Bob Welch, Danny Kirwan, and Christine McVie, and songs primarily from Future Games and Bare Trees, as well as some of their older catalog, rendered fresh by the guitar work of Welch and Kirwan. This was the first major tour that featured Welch and McVie, as well as the last to include Kirwan. This is a very good radio broadcast recording from the Seattle show. Since this radio show was a bit short, I have added a few bonus tracks from an August show in NY, which was one of the very last shows that included Kirwan (also of note is that the final track here, 'Trinity', is quite a rarity in that it was a Kirwan song that was recorded for the Bare Trees album sessions, but was not included on the album, and was not heard or released at all until many years later).   

Tracklist:
1. Tell Me All The Things You Do
2. Future Games
3. Get Like You Used To Be
4. Little Child Of Mine
5. Spare Me A Little
6. Homeward Bound
7. Black Magic Woman
8. Oh! Well
Bonus Tracks (1972-08-30 - Gaelic Park, The Bronx, NY):
9. Green Manalishi
10. Morning Rain
11. Trinity

Personnel:
Bob Welch: Guitar and Vocals
Danny Kirwan: Vocals And Guitar
Christine McVie: Keyboards and Vocals
John McVie: Bass
Mick Fleetwood: Drums

FLAC - Fleetwood Mac_1972-03-10_SeattleWA_FLAC.rar

Mp3 - Fleetwood Mac_1972-03-10_SeattleWA_Mp3.rar