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Live In Boston - Remastered: Volume Three - Fleetwood Mac


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Live In Boston - Remastered: Volume Three (2000) - Fleetwood Mac


    Featuring »

Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John McVie, Jeremy Spencer

    Tracklisting »

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Jumping At ShadowsLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 4:17
  Comments: (Version 2) (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
Sandy MaryLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 5:21
  Comments: (P) 1985
If You Let Me Love YouLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 10:30
  Comments: (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
Loving KindLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 2:57
  Comments: (P) 1985
Coming Your WayLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 7:06
  Comments: (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
Madison BluesLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 4:49
  Comments: (P) 1985
Got To MoveLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 3:56
  Comments: (Version 1) (P) 1984
The Sun Is ShiningLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 3:11
  Comments: (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
Can't Stop Lovin' My BabyLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 4:26
  Comments: Billed as "Oh Baby". (P) 1985
TigerLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 3:44
  Comments: (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
Great Balls Of FireLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 3:16
  Comments: (P) 1985
Tutti FruttiLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 6:45
  Comments: (P) 1985
On We JamInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1970-02-00, Running Time: 7:56
  Comments: (Previously Unreleased) (P) 1999
    Released »

2000-02-22

    Format »

Import Vinyl/CD Album

    Other Appearances »
Stuart (Dinky) Dawson (Engineer), Duster (Tony/Anthony) Bennett (Songwriter), Otis Blackwell (Songwriter), Mick Fleetwood (Songwriter), Mick Fleetwood (Songwriter), Peter Green (Songwriter), Peter Green (Songwriter), Jack Hammer (Songwriter), Elmore James (Songwriter), Ollie Jones (Songwriter), B(lues) B(oy) (Riley) King (Songwriter), Danny Kirwan (Songwriter), Danny Kirwan (Songwriter), Dorothy LaBostrie (Songwriter), Sam Ling (Saul Samuel Bihari) (Songwriter), Little Richard (Penniman) (Songwriter), Joe/Joseph Lubin(sky) (Songwriter), John McVie (Songwriter), John McVie (Songwriter), Marshall E. Sehorn (Songwriter), Jeremy Spencer (Songwriter), Jeremy Spencer (Songwriter), Jules (Julius Jeramiah) Taub (Bihari) (Songwriter), Roger Dopson (Liner Notes), Nick (Ears) Watson (Remixed From Original 8-Track Masters By), Neil (The Curmudgeon) Slaven (Remixing Aided And Abetted By), Roger Dopson (Compiled By), Vic Maile (Original Mixes By), Nick Reynolds (Original Mixes By), Andy Rose (Original Mixes By), William Millar (Original LP Sleeve Concept By), Diamond Productions (Design Remix By)

    Record Label »
Snapper Music Inc.

    Catalogue Number »

SMMCD 599

    Running Time »

69:35

    Liner Notes »

From the back cover:

By the turn of the seventies FLEETWOOD MAC were on e roll, having finally established themselves as headliners in the United States via repeated touring. In Feb '70 they taped three consecutive nights at the prestigious Boston Tea Party, with the view to rush-releasing a live album. The band played out of their skins, and the LP would doubtless have been a killer. But within just weeks their founder, leader & frontman the mercurial Peter Green - had sensationally announced his decision to quit, and the album was shelved. Some of the material eventually crept out on a couple of mid-80's albums, Live In Boston, and a double-LP, Cerulean. However, these were poorly complied affairs, with patchy sound quality - a problem which worsened steadily with subsequent reissue packages. Following the recent discovery of the original 8-track master tapes they have all now been remixed & remastered. A further nine previously unissued performances were also found, and the material has been extensively recompiled to take into consideration original set sequencings. As you'll hear, these were breathtaking gigs: this, the third Volume in a 3-CD set which finally brings these devastating performances to life, includes six previously unissued performances.

From inside the CD booklet:

By the turn of the 70's Fleetwood Mac were very much on a roll, having established themselves as headliners in the United States via a punishing touring schedule. A band emphatically on top of their game, they'd largely moved away from their Chicago-styled Blues of yore and were experimenting with the acid-charged jams so popular with US audiences at that time.

In Feb '70, in mid-US tour, they taped three consecutive nights at the prestigious Boston Tea Party, with the view to rush-releasing a live album to capitalise on their newfound Rock Icons' status. They played out of their skins, their leader - the mercurial Peter Green - at a creative peak, probably the most devastating guitarist in the world at that time. But within just weeks Peter had sensationally announced his decision to quit, and the tapes ended up left on the shelf, forgotten for more then a decade, When the material did eventually emerge, in the mid 80's, it sounded somehow disappointing ... something of an anti-climax. Sure, you could tell that the boys were playing well enough, but the LP's rather lacked punch. This reissue puts the record straight: having been allowed access to the original eight-track masters, the material has been extensively remixed & remastered, further expanded with the addition of nine previously unissued performances, and recompiled to take into account original set sequencings. Thus restored, the results are breathtaking ... a faithful testament to a band playing at the absolute peak of its powers.

Mac first visited the United States in the Spring of '68, shortly after their debut album had breached the UK Top 10. Still in a mainstream Blues band at this stage, this was of course their classic early four-piece line-up with Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer out front on guitars and vocals, alternating Peter's eulogies to his idols like BB King and Freddy King with Jeremy's devastatingly accurate Elmore James tributes, backed by Mac's perennial rhythm section of John McVie (bass) and the gangly Mick Fleetwood (drums). They made their US debut at the Shrine in LA, opening for the Who, PG&E and Arthur Brown, before being dispatched off on a short tour supporting Savoy Brown. But there can be no doubt that the most influential element of this first visit was their hanging out with the Grateful Dead, from whom they eagerly learned the twin pleasures of tripping and jamming, two things which would irrevocably change Peter Green's life.

By the time of their second US visit that Fall, Mac had evolved into a mainstream Rock band, having expanded to a quintet with the arrival of guitarist/singer/teenage prodigy Danny Kirwan, whom Peter had plucked from the obscurity of Boilerhouse, a band of no-hopers who'd supported Mac several times that Summer. Kirwan would prove to be the crucial catalyst in Fleetwood Mac's elevation to Rock Gods - as Mick Fleetwood later confirmed in his fine autobiography Fleetwood (William Morrow & Co, 1990): "Peter used to love jamming with him. They could play long melody lines together ... in many ways it was a near-perfect match of sensibilities. Playing live, Danny was a madman, Peter's harmonic foil, full of ideas that helped move Fleetwood Mac out of Blues and into the Rock mainstream. He was an exceptional guitar player, who in turn inspired Peter Green into writing the most moving and powerful songs of his life."

Mick's comments touch on the dichotomy which Fleetwood Mac were facing at that time for even before Kirwan's arrival, they were already effectively two different bands, their studio and stage personas being poles apart. If you listen to their first two Blue Horizon albums, you'll hear a band faithfully, carefully, and sombrely recreating the Blues licks which had inspired them. Sure, they were considerably more than heads-down copyists - Peter's vocals and guitar playing alone would have guaranteed that. But their early records were so goddamn respectful of their roots - whereas live (and given that three of their four members were notoriously fond of the occasional cold drink), Fleetwood Mac were something else again.

Despite his well-publicised diffidence, Peter Green noticeably cranked up a gear when playing to a responsive audience, whilst the diminutive Jeremy Spencer's split personality wholly manifested itself in his live performance. Offstage, he was quiet, shy, and religious: onstage, a raging maniac - as Mick Fleetwood confirms: "Jeremy was very sensitive, as if to compensate for the ferocious energy he displayed onstage. He was a compulsive parodist, a gifted mimic, a kind of ultimate imitator ... but then he began to get vulgar onstage, raving, cursing, making filthy suggestions to the audience. He'd fill condoms with beer, hang them from the pegs of his guitar, and swing them out over appalled audiences of Blues purists. We loved it, such a refreshing antidote to the seriousness of the John Mayall approach to music..." In addition to assorted condoms, Jeremy had also introduced a sixteen-inch pink rubber dildo called 'Harold' to their set, which was alternately either stuck, quivering, onto the front of Fleetwood's bass drum, or occasionally, dangled from Jeremy's open fly. Po-faced British and European Blues audiences were invariably aghast at such behaviour - whereas US audiences loved it.

Jeremy had introduced another unique facet to Mac's live performance - Mick Fleetwood, again: "He was a great R&R connoisseur, and he'd seriously studied the early greats. His abilities as a talented mimic and parodist meant he could replicate their styles equally as well as he could Elmore James', and eventually our show would divide into half Blues jams and half Jeremy's 50's R&R parodies." But for all his talent Jeremy was limited, and he'd already become something of an anachronism within Mac's group dynamic. In truth, he only really did two things, Elmore James licks and cod-R&R - both of which were evolving into sheer pastiche. And perhaps more pertinently, Jeremy appeared interested only in these two things, which was beginning to marginalise him from the remainder of the band - notably Peter, who was finding Fleetwood Mac weighing heavy on his shoulders. Which, ultimately, is why Danny Kirwan was drafted in.

Peter Green, meanwhile, had by now thoroughly tired of his (largely unwanted) role as New White Blues Messiah, having had his Rock appetite well and truly whetted by Jerry Garcia on Mac's earlier US trip. He knew precisely which direction he wanted to push the band in, and so, with Peter and Danny trading licks out front, Fleetwood Mac returned to the United States and got stuck into their new role with relish. They opened for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East, following which they played to more than 100,000 people at the Miami Pop Festival, before going back out on the road with the Dead. Their repeated exposure to messrs Garcia & co served to shape and sharpen Green and Kirwan's chops, and they soon began to carve out an awesome reputation - as Mick Fleetwood confirmed: 'Peter was at the top of his form that Fall. His stature and authority as one of England's greatest guitarists was at its peak. He was so respected, even by the usually-churlish music press, for his simplicity and integrity..."

Thus primed, 1969 was the year in which Mac really cracked it. They'd crossed over commercially and spectacularly in the UK, topping the singles charts with Albatross (ironically, whilst on tour in the US), all but repeating the trick with Man Of The World and Oh Well (both of which reached #2), and scoring heavily with two albums, The Pious Bird Of Good Omen and Then Play On. But more pertinently they also established a firmer foothold in the United States, shifting records there in measurable quantities for the first time when when English Rose - a compilation unique to the US msrket - and Then Play On made the lower reaches of the album charts.

They made three visits to the United States during '69, by the end of which they were touring as bill-toppers. Over and above their core popularity on the West Coast they'd established a particularly strong base in Boston and the North East, notably at the Boston Tea Party - a gig where, according to Mick Fleetwood: "...we played so often in '69 it felt like a residency. OUr show divided into two sets, the first usually consisted of Jeremy's slide replications like 'Madison Blues', interspersed with Danny's new material. Jeremy would then retire and Peter & Danny would launch into long, acidic jams which would weave in and out of various styles, including Peter's proto-Metal ode to masturbation, 'Rattlesnake Shake'. This usually drove a thoroughly stoned audience bananas, and we'd take a break, coming back onstage a half hour later, having had the odd one or two beverages in the interval. Then it was time for Jeremy's oldies' set. He'd come out in his gold lame suit with his hair slicked back, we'd be introduced as Earl Vince & the Valiants and off we'd go. This parody set usually went on as long as there were still people in the audience, and as long as we could stay on our feet. It was vaudeville, and the audiences loved it..." Such was Mac's popularity in the North-East at this time that one night they even outsold the Rolling Stones, who were playing a rival gig in Boston.

Here in the UK, of course, we'd never heard of the venue - in fact, few Brits really even knew where Boston was! But it was a musically vibrant city, evincing a particular penchant for Psychedelia in the late 60's, and in the early 70's would provide the launching pad for the likes of Boston (ahem), the J. Geils Band, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, and Aerosmith. The Tea Party itself was one of three principal venues in the city, The Catacombs (much frequented by an angry young post-Them Van Morrison) and the Psychedelic Supermarket being the others. The building had originally been a synagogue - hence its roomy acoustics - and was actually the first major Rock gig on the East Coast, having opened up as a music venue in January '67. The Velvet Underground had played the Tea Party regularly (John Cale even played his farewell gig there, in September '68) as had the MCS and Led Zeppelin.

With Mac on the verge of a major US breakthrough, it was decided that a LiVe album would drive their hard work home. With its roomy ambience, high ceilings, and solid floor, the Boston Tea Party was renown for its excellent sound quality, and a favourite venue of touring UK bands: that, coupled with Mac's local popularity, made it the ideal venue for the project.

A mobile recording unit was installed, the James Gang with Joe Walsh on guitar booked as support (Walsh was recorded jamming with Mac one night: check out Volume two, SMMCD 556), and three nights - Feb 5th, 6th, and 7th, 1970 - duly recorded. Their sets differed only slightly from those described by Mick Fleetwood earlier in that their second set was generally less chaotic (although a couple of the encores were certainly pretty ragged), with much, of Jeremy's input - i.e. both his Elmore James routines and the R&R send-ups featuring in the second house. The gigs were wildly successful affairs, with Green & Kirwan in blistering form throughout, and the recordings - teething problems notwithstanding (by the third night the sound balance was about right, whereas performance-wise, the band had perheps peeked the previous night) - very nearly equally so.

But meanwhile, Mac's very success was beginning to weigh as heavily on Peter Green's shoulders as had the responsibility for the band a year or so earlier. He'd become increasingly introverted and guilt-ridden, and was repeatedly talking about giving his earnings away, to charity, urging his colleagues to do likewise. His songs reflected his spiralling inner turmoil, the reflective lyricism of Man Of The World having earlier given way to the resigned cynicism of Oh Well, whilst his latest song The Green Manalshi - which he'd introduce onstage "this one's about the Devil" (it was actually about money - by now the same thing as far as Peter was now concerned) was so intense that it often came across as a personal descent into hell. Peter had even turned his back on his Jewish faith and become a messianic Christian, appearing onstage in white robes and kaftans, a huge crucifix hung around his neck, wearing his hair and beard in a long, wild, seamless, flowing halo. His interviews with the press were becoming increasingly eccentric, and whenever he was misquoted on his religious and ideological beliefs which was virtually every time - he was distraught.

Mac returned to the UK at the end of February and immediately set out on a European tour, starting in West Germany and, as is well-documented elsewhere, it all finally fell apart in Munich when Peter took some particularly bad acid. He immediately announced his intention to quit the band, saw out his commitments, duly left, and continued his descent into the private hell from which he has only relatively recently re-emerged.

Fleetwood Mac, meanwhile, were desperately trying to soldier on as a quartet, and the proposed Live album was quietly shelved and forgotten. The material would not appear for fifteen years, when it eventually crept out in the form of two albums, Live In Boston (titled Jumping At Shadows in the US) in February '85, and a double-LP, Cerulean (US title, Roots - The Original Fleetwood Mac Live In Boston) six months later in August '85, both appearing on the Shanghai label. Both albums are now quite collectable, the first having originally appeared in a couple of different sleeves, each being variations on a 'woodcut' illustration of the original Boston Tea Party, with people clad in traditional Red Indian garb tipping tea chests into the Boston harbour.

However, these came across as rather poorly-compiled affairs, with patchy sound quality - a problem which worsened with subsequent reissue packages, which recompiled their 21 tracks with increasingly less coherence. The Live In Boston set was further flawed in that its spoken intro had been clumsily edited onto the 'wrong' opening track (viz: the driving Oh Well, which now-appears on Volume Two). However, upon referring to the original multi-tracks we were not only able to reconcile the intro with its original source (c.f. Black Magic Woman, which now opens Volume One, SMMCD 555), we were also able to begin piecing together roughly what shape these gigs had taken, and so the re-compiling and re-sequencing began.

Volume Three features no less than six previously-unissued performances, kicking off with an altemate take of Duster Bennett's Jumping At Shadows. Peter's guitar-playing on this seems somehow 'angrier' than on Volume One's version, and the audience sits in stunned silence throughout. It certainly stands in stark contrast to his own Sandy Mary, a powerful rocker with its roots deep in Chuck Berry territory. A further change of mood and pace follows with Peter's tribute to B.B. King, the previously-unreleased If You Let Me Love You. A genuinely moving, awesome performance, it's difficult to see why this was left in the can the first time around. Danny Kirwan steps up to stage centre for a pair of his own numbers, Loving Kind and Coming Your Way (the latter a loose instro workout, building on something of an Albatross-meets-Apache scenario) after which Jeremy Spencer finally joins in the action for a quartet of his Elmore James' thrashes. Following a sedate, somewhat hesitant Madison Blues, he really gets his teeth into Got To Move, the previously unreleased The Sun Is Shining, and a confident Oh Baby (this number being rather better known as I Can't Stop Lovin') He subsequently switches to full Earl Vince & The Valiants mode for a near-HM version of Fabian's Tiger: yet another previously-unissued item, the vocal mix on this is somewhat less than spot-on - which may be why it wasn't released the first time around. Peter Green then steps back up to take lead vocals, continuing the R&R theme with a fairly perfunctory reading of Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls Of Fire, which is followed by a high octane arrangement of Little Richard's Tutti Frutti, done how perhaps either the Sex Pistols or the Ramones might have done it. Finally, they change the mood and shape of the set yet again, winding up with a previously unissued jam.

At his best, Peter Green was the best ... and I very much doubt he played many better gigs than these. It has been our very great privilege to help restore Fleetwood Mac's stunning performances back to their original magnificence.

Roger Dopson

Acknowledgements: special thanks to Nick Watson, Neil Slaven, Lorne Murdoch, Martin Celmins, Bob Brunning, Mick Fleetwood & Stephen Davis, Melody Maker

Issued under special license from Hot Wax Productions except tracks 1; 3; 5; 8; 10; 13, licensed from Trojan Recordings Ltd

Original Masters, A Snapper Music Label

This release (P) (C) 1999 Snapper Music

Compact Disc Digital Audio

HDCD

Made in the EU

6 36551 5 2 8

    Reviews »
Add your review here.

5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0
All classic whether previously unreleased or not
Review written by John Fitzgerald, November 28th, 2004

The main plus for this set are the six previously unreleased tracks which are mostly amazing. Jeremy's "The sun is shining" is a basic Elmore James cover that doesn't deviate much from the B-side version but it's got a nice rough feeling to it as does a cover of Fabian's "Tiger" with Jeremy sounding his most appealingly lecherous since "Hi ho silver". There's another version of "Jumping at shadows" here which is referred to in the liner notes as "more forceful" and although it's rather subtle, that's a good phrase to use in describing this version. The lengthy slow blues of "If you let me love you" is not as good on the sound quality side but heartfelt soloing by Peter prevails. Meanwhile, Danny's got two jams, well, "On we jam" is one on which you mainly hear Kirwan's guitar work but it's basically everybody just winging it for a few minutes as this seems to have acted as a soundcheck for Dinky Dawson and the recording people as they appear to have been having some technical difficulties. This seven minute piece nonetheless displays how suspenseful and moving the Macs' jams could be, and this is without even really trying. "Coming your way" is a real ride, almost double the length of the "Then play on" version and surprisingly instrumental, it's a real shame they had to opt for the fade on this tune (obviously due to unusable damaged masters) but this is even better than "On we jam" and may even compare well with the classic "Then play on" version. For those unfamiliar with the other recordings, you won't be disappointed, "Sandy Mary" is a classic Peter Green song that almost was (as it was apparently planned to be the Macs' next single after "The Green manalishi" had Peter stayed in the band) but lives in it's glory here with irresistible Little Richard influences abounding, it's a must have. Danny has a great but short rocker called "Loving kind". It will always be a wonder why this one was never cut on an album. Jeremy's set is equally impressive with the best versions available of "Madison blues" & "Got to move" here and a nice change of pace for Spencer on "Oh baby" (a.k.a. "I can't stop loving"). Jeremy's final rocking cover of "Great balls of fire" sounds as if it was mastered slower than on previous tea party collections but effective regardless as is Green's numbing finale cover of "Tutti frutti" another wish would be that this one didn't have to be faded out either but it's (all) still priceless gold.

    Comments »

Recorded in Boston, MA between February 5-7, 1970 by The Fleetwood Mobile
Remixed from original 8-track masters at SRT Studios, St. Ives, England in June, 1998
This is part of a three CD series (released individually)
See also Part One & Part Two
The three CDs were also available together as a box set

    Last Modified »
2010-12-22
    Tracklisting »
Discography entry submitted by Alison (Snapper Music), Steve Elliot, Mario Pirrone, Mark Trauernicht & Marty Adelson.