When we are dust, this will remain ()

The best Fleetwood Mac LP of a great catalogue.
"Sunny Side Of Heaven' is just stunningly georgeous music well-fitting its title - picture sunlight piercing clouds or perhaps the fog picture on the album jacket.

Side two is near perfection. "Dust" is so thoughtful and poignant but rather than finishing the album in deep sadness of our mortality, Mrs. Scarrot's reading of "Thoughts on a Grey Day" lifts the mood without changing the subject.

Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady", Christine McVie's "Spare Me A Little Of Your Love", Kirwin's "Bare Trees" and "Child Of Mine" are great songs.

All works together as a whole - music, lyrics, cover photo and varying voices.

Do not underestimate John Mc Vie's cover photo. When you listen and learn the songs, the songs so well fit a mood reflected in the cover photo, that when you are out and about and see bare trees through a fog, you will recall 'Bare Trees' and want to re-listen. This morning in Auburn was a such a time and I did listen.

When will it be remastered? ()

This has got to be one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac albums. It has the right amount of soft and hard rock in the right places. I'm only giving it 4 stars because I want Reprise to re-release the CD clear and remastered. The dimension of the sound is phenomenal for an analog recording. But I want the album restored to its full glory!

Enjoyable rock ()

After the previous year's timid offering Fleetwood Mac suddenly springs to life. Bare Trees is smooth, confident FM-friendly music of the Steely Dan class. From straight ahead rock ("Homeward Bound", Child of Mine") to the title track's bouncy progressive-pop, this Mac album will not bore. In fact, some of the songs you'll immediately want to play again. Now that's good.

Bare Trees was their best album in my opinion. ()

I have always thought that Fleetwood Mac made their best album with Bare Trees. Danny's contribution was amazing and the whole album was fresh and very innovative at the time.

Their subsequent work while very good never reached the level that Bare Trees did and I have never understood why it was basically ignored by the band after Danny was fired. Maybe it was legal problems but it sure was a mistake to act like it never happened.

Look out for the ghost... ()

A great album. This was the first album I listened to before the White Album version of FM began. I love Danny, Bob, and Christine's work on this one. My faves are Dust, Homeward Bound, and Sentimental Lady. This lineup, though only for two albums, was really good. Danny was asked to leave because of his refusal to play on some tour shows that year, so I don't blame Mick and the guys.

Danny kirwan lives on......... ()

I agree with Lambros that Danny Kirwan is the true star of this album.....It saddened me to hear he got asked to leave the band during this tour of Bare Trees....He was a talented musician who never really got his fifteen minutes of fame...I commend you "DANNY" for the contribution you gave to some of us old reminiscent folk during the good ol' days. You live in me forever.....wherever you may be today.....

The second best Mac album ever ()

This is undoubtedly one of the best 70-74 period Mac albums and arguably one of the best overall despite half of the record relying on Danny Kirwan material and the other half to be split between Bob Welch, Christine and their neighbor Mrs. Scarrot's entertaining poem reading of "Thoughts on a grey day". Bob Welch comes up with the haunting sounding "The ghost" and one of his most classic writings the surprisingly heartfelt "Sentimental lady" while Christine Mcvie remains reliable offering the urgent, unpredictably rocking "Homeward bound" and one of her very best songs ever to this day which is the classic "Spare me a little of your love". Danny shows his incredible
craftsmanship on this record with two great heavy rockers, the somewhat unusual
"Danny's chant" and the catchy opener "Child of mine" Kirwan's also got two memorable smooth pieces, the beautiful instrumental "Sunny side of heaven" & the unforgettably moving reading of Rupert Brooke's poem in "Dust". To top it all off, Danny's title track is an irresistible sing a long. After "Rumours" I would say this is the Mac at their best. An essential purchase.

This album should have charted much higher than 70 ()

What can I say??, What a great follow up to Future Games, one of the two pre Buckingham/Nicks records to feature no changes in the line up, As with Future Games, Danny Kirwan is the dominating force with five of his songs appearing on the record, "Child of mine" is rife with some firey lead guitar, "Danny's chant" is a semi intrumental piece with plenty of wah-wah and "Da da das" as well as his gentler songs, "Dust" which is a Rupert Brooke poem made into song, "Sunny side of Heaven is a great Kirwan intrumental, Bob Welch penned one of his finest songs with "Sentimental Lady" which became a solo hit some five years later on his French kiss album, Mrs McVie has one ballad and one rock song here, "Spare me a little love" and "Homeward bound" with some great soloing by Danny, A somewhat unusual feature on this outing is a poem, "Thoughts on a grey day" written and read by Mrs Scarrot, Bare Trees is a more rockier record than Future Games and comfortably takes it's place as one of Fleetwood Mac's best, Unfortunately, Danny Kirwan, although writing much of the album was growing increasingly estranged from the rest of the band and was asked to leave the band during the Bare Trees tour of America, Thus the ending of IMO the best post Peter Green incarnation of Fleetwood Mac,

It was excellent music - as good as the Moody Blues. ()

I wonder why we never hear Bare Trees any longer - to me it was a classic in college in 1972. I also told President Clinton he should play it at the ( i am at a loss for words - this is the first word I can not remember how to spell) - anyway Our President had a party after the INAUGURATION and I thought that Fleetwood Mac would be perfect to represent All of the Northern States.

This cd helped me get through university ()

On the whole, this is one of my favorite mac albums. It has Christine's love songs, Bob Welch's more etheral explorations, and Danny Kirwin's rootsier material. Standouts are Spare Me A Little Love and Sentimental Lady. I only wish they had put on an actual song instead of that poem.

Nope, The BEST Fleetwood Mac LP, ever....period. ()

So terribly tired of the condescension towards Danny Kirwan and his contribution to Fleetwood Mac, especially in what appears to be the "official" review in the table above, which talks of Danny's songs "not constraining the band's legendary ..."...what absolute hogwash! Bare Trees is the best Fleetwood Mac album ever because Danny's songs are the most appealing on the entire record. OK...Sentimental Lady is a "hit" but Danny's songs are the total standouts, the most imaginative, the most creative, the most essential. The later "pop" Mac, with "The Two Who Shall Remain Nameless", pales utterly in comparison. Gosh...the "sensitive" eighties hadn't happened yet..."recovery" wasn't yet a pop-culture catch-phrase ...too bad.....maybe Danny would still be making music.

The great road album ()

I discovered the depth of this album by taking it on the highway - wintertime, as it happened. Aside from 2 songs each by Christine McVie and Bob Welch, this is Danny Kirwan's great moment. His instrumental "Sunny Side of Heaven" and voice-instrumental "Danny's Chant" are great as it is, and only attain further greatness on the highway. Particularly Christine's great hit, "Homeward Bound." She and Danny seem to be pushing each other musically to new heights; the song contains some of the Perfect Lady's best lyrics AND piano playing, not to mention a HOT guitar solo. Did I mention that this song features Mick's best drumming to date? Bob Welch gave us "Sentimental Lady" for the first time and also "The Ghost," which was nice but not up to the standard he'd later set. Danny Kirwan dominates the proceedings in a golden blaze. Sad to note what became of him afterwards. Tiger Milk Music

Worth Every Penny ()

This is an excellent album showing everyone's talent vocally and musically. You have two of Welch's stronger efforts "Sentimental Lady" and very ghostly "The Ghost" with the melodic flute/clarinet. Then comes Christine's lovely soulful ballad "Spare Me A Little Of Your Love" and rocking "Homeward Bound" showing her dexterity. Kirwan's last album contains his best efforts. The jamming "Child of Mine" & "Bare Trees", the mellow "Sunny Side of Heaven" and the somber "Dust". "Thoughts On A Grey Day" is just a poem which should have just been left off. The other tracks make up for the poem. This album is worth every penny, so get to the store and buy it now.

Danny Kirwan's Swan song ()

It would be fair to say that"Bare Trees" is officially the last Fleetwood Mac blues album. Danny Kirwan contributes virtually half of the album tracks. Kirwan's tracks would have to be the strongest on this album. All of his five tracks are strong and there is not a dull moment delivered by him. The title track is a blues-oriented track and is strongest track on the album. It has a catchy chorus and could have been a hit single if released. All of Kirwan's contributions tend to be blues compositions but Mcvie contributes only one blues composition. The other Mcvie track "Spare me a little of your love" is a country-tinged track unlike "Homeward bound" which is very blues. "Spare me a little of you love" is a deviation of the blues style songs that Mcvie was writing at the time and this was the style that Mcvie would adopt and would be so evident in her future track recordings for the Mac. By the next album "Penguin" this country-oriented rock style would be more evident in Mcvie tracks such as "Remember me" and "Dissatisfied". "Spare me a little of your love" is definitely one of the stronger tracks on the album and it is an important track for Mcvie because it reveals the future musical direction of the band.

"Sentimental lady" the pilot single taken from the album would be ignored and would flop. It is a shame because it deserved to be a hit, much so, that Welch would re-record it for his debut solo album and would hit the billboard US top 10. "Sentimental lady" is a beautiful ballad and was typical of the sensitive songs that Welch would write for the Mac for future Mac albums.

Regardless of Mcvie's and Welch's indispensible contributions, Kirwan is really the star and major driving force on this album. Kirwan's swan song and probably his finest hour with the Mac.