Prove Your Love: Fleetwood Mac’s Early Years Chronicled on New Compilation
With 1975’s Fleetwood Mac, the venerable blues-rock outfit founded by Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer made a strategic leap towards the mainstream. Fleetwood, John McVie, and Christine McVie were joined on that album by two Americans, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who transformed the band into a commercial rock behemoth. Those who had followed the group’s early years, though, knew that the only thing to expect from Fleetwood Mac was the unexpected. On July 26, Rhino will revisit the Mac’s pre-Buckingham/Nicks era(s) on a new single-CD or double-LP compilation, The Best of Fleetwood Mac (1969-1974).
The 19 tracks, spanning “Oh Well – Pt. 1” through “Prove Your Love,” reflect numerous personnel shifts, as band members including Christine McVie, Danny Kirwan, Dave Walker, Bob Welch, and Bob Weston came and went. (Christine, of course, stayed.) With each new lineup came a gradual change in sound which would eventually take the band far from its blues-rock roots. Yet one thing stayed consistent throughout the volatility: Fleetwood Mac’s sharp, unerring musicality. The music of the pre-Buckingham/Nicks era was consistently popular, earning Fleetwood Mac a dedicated audience.
1969’s Then Play On, FM’s third studio album (and first for Reprise) is represented here by Peter Green’s “Rattlesnake Shake,” which went to No. 6 in the U.K.; 1970’s Kiln House (from which three tracks led by Kirwan have been culled) placed there in the top 40, while every one of the band’s seven Reprise albums charted in the U.S. including a top 40 berth for 1974’s Heroes Are Hard to Find. “Oh Well” was a hit in both the U.K. and U.S., while “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)” – both Green compositions – made the top ten of the U.K. Singles Chart. Bare Trees introduced Bob Welch’s tender ballad “Sentimental Lady” which became a smash hit in 1977 when Welch re-recorded it with producers Christine McVie (who had sung on the original version) and Lindsey Buckingham for his solo debut. Along with Christine, Welch played a major role in moving the band closer to radio-friendly pop; “Sentimental Lady” is joined here by other Welch tunes including “Future Games,” “Hypnotized,” and “Angel.” Christine’s “Spare Me a Little of Your Love,” “Remember Me,” “Did You Ever Love Me” (co-written with Welch),” “Heroes Are Hard to Find,” and “Prove Your Love” all the point the way towards her hits of the later years.
James McNair provides the new liner notes for this package. Its 19 tracks touch on blues, rock, folk, and pop, all anchored by Mick Fleetwood’s drums and percussion and John McVie’s bass. They’re still with the band they founded today, and The Best of Fleetwood Mac (1969-1974) offers a primer on this often-underrated period of Fleetwood Mac’s discography. It’s out on July 26 from Rhino on CD and LP, with an exclusive “sea blue” vinyl version available to brick-and-mortar record stores. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Fleetwood Mac, The Best of Fleetwood Mac (1969-1974) (Rhino, 2024)
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
- “Oh Well – Pt. 1”
- “Rattlesnake Shake”
- “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)”
- “Station Man”
- “Jewel Eyed Judy”
- “Tell Me All The Things You Do”
- “Future Games”
- “Sands Of Time” – Single Version
- “Sunny Side Of Heaven”
- “Bare Trees”
- “Sentimental Lady”
- “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love”
- “Remember Me”
- “Did You Ever Love Me”
- “Emerald Eyes”
- “Hypnotized”
- “Heroes Are Hard To Find”
- “Angel”
- “Prove Your Love”
Track 1 from Reprise single RS 27000 (U.K.)/0883 (U.S.), 1969
Track 2 from Then Play On, Reprise LP RSLP 9000 (U.K.)/RS 6368 (U.S.), 1969
Track 3 from Reprise single RS 27007 (U.K.)/0925 (U.S.), 1970
Tracks 4-6 from Kiln House, Reprise LP RSLP 9004 (U.K.)/RS 6408 (U.S.), 1970
Track 7 from Future Games, Reprise LP K 44153 (U.K.)/RS 6465 (U.S.), 1971
Track 8 from Reprise single 1057 (U.S.), 1971
Tracks 9-12 from Bare Trees, Reprise LP K 44181 (U.K.)/MS 2080 (U.S.), 1972
Tracks 13-14 from Penguin, Reprise LP K 44235 (U.K.)/MS 2138, 1973
Tracks 15-16 from Mystery to Me, Reprise LP K 44248 (U.K.)/MS 2158, 1973
Tracks 17-19 from Heroes Are Hard to Find, Reprise K 54026 (U.K.)/MS 2196 (U.S.), 1974
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15 thoughts on “Prove Your Love: Fleetwood Mac’s Early Years Chronicled on New Compilation”
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Is there supposed to be any remastering involved? Or is it the same as what came out on that recent box set, Fleetwood Mac 1969-1974?
No appreciation of Danny Kirwan’s sizable contributions during this period? Seems like an oversight.
Agreed- Danny K was an amazing player, singer, songwriter & definitely should have a few more songs here. (I.e. “Dust”)
Danny Kirwan has the same amount of tracks (6) on this compilation as Bob Welch. Peter Green has only 3, and Jeremy Spencer isn’t represented at all. Seems pretty well appreciated to me.
“Early” Mac, but not early enough. Just the tail end of the Green era and perhaps. Or enough Kirwan either.
Barely scraping the surface of Then Play On is crime enough, but why just the Part 1 single of “Oh Well”? I’ll stick with Then Play On, thanks. Although this collection has some really good later stuff on it.
Is there a really good, essential collection that comprehensively covers the original Peter Green era? Given the scattershot band discography of the era I’d like a top shelf collection of the band’s first (and best, IMO) era. That’s what Rhino should be doing.
Agreed. This was not the “first” era of Fleetwood Mac, as there were two albums, singles covered on two compilations, and two blues jam albums. That era was once covered by the Blue Horizon box, but my go-to is still this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(1971_Fleetwood_Mac_album)
It is really nice to see that this era of Fleetwood Mac is getting a dusting down, but like the box set that covered this era from 2020, this seems like a missed opportunity. The quality of the tracks is not in question, it is a just a shame that the compilers did not see fit to include all of the single mixes e.g. Station Man. I am surprised there isn’t room for Dragonfly, a single only release from 1971 and its rather fine B-Side, Purple Dancer. A couple of unreleased tracks would have sweetened the deal for those who own all of these recordings already.
Really cheap looking artwork, but the songs within are all killer. Obviously missing some great gems, Christine’s “Why” for example. Still it’s great to get this period represented. After Stevie and Lindsey joined this era was more or less forgotten. With the exception of “Oh Well” nothing from this era was ever done regularly on stage. Too bad because Christine had some great songs that were essentially shelved.
There is this:
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/812Rqxl9kXL._SL1500_.jpg
Man of the World would have been a nice addition, but good compilation.
I would imagine that, for a compilation which probably won’t be a massive seller, Rhino is trying to keep licensing fees to a minimum. “Man Of The World” came out on the Immediate label, not Warner/Reprise, which is probably why it, as well as the classic blues songs from the Blue Horizon label, wasn’t included.
I’m assuming that this information comes from a Rhino Entertainment press release. But there’s nothing here about the source tapes that were used for this release. And nothing here about whether the LP was cut from analog tapes or a digital file. And nothing here about the mastering engineers who worked on the CD or LP. We know who wrote the liner notes. But we don’t konw who produced the reissue. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when it’s no longer possible to get the type of information you used to be able to get some publications like ICE back in the 80s and 90s. I guess sound quality no longer matters.
Agreed
I’m guessing it’s the same that was used for the recent-ish 50 Years Of Fleetwood Mac set.
It is a pity that there isn’t room for the excellent b-side The Purple Dancer en Homeward Bound from Bare Trees.