i die for penguin ()

often asked, never concretely answered this is my very favourite fleetwood mac album especially as i never thought there could be another good one when danny left/was fired.
the moment i put it on i was happy till it ended and then over and over and over and over again. i did not go to school that day. most critics say it is not a good album in comparison to mystery to me. i do not feel this way.
christine and bob are just perfect. all of their songs are perfect. and even the material of the new members is good. especially caught in the rain.
i realized last night that i love i'm a road runner as well. laugh it took nearly 40 years.
happy are all people who had the chance to see fleetwood live in that period which i had not.

penguin ()

I got this album when it was first released. It was the first fleetwood mac I had heard. I liked it then, and still like it today. The other reviewers have provided more insight into the band at that period then I could. anyway It is very good music and well worth picking up.

Bob Welch ()

Revelation is a masterpiece. Thanks for Revelation.

The Second/Third Time Around... ()

The night I bought Penguin was the same night I bought The White Album and Time. After listening to it, I certainly did not think of it as a good or bad album, just okay. However, once listening to again, you realize that the songs for this one time only lineup were pretty darn good. Revelation is abosolutely awesome. John's bass work is definitely one of my favorite basslines in all of FM songs. I love Remember Me, though the vocal structure sounds very similar to Disastisfied. Though only on two songs, Dave Walker did both Road Runner and The Derelict quite well, the second one being my fave of his vocals. Overall, this is a really good album to put and just listen, rather than analyzing it every time you hear it.

Another overlooked gem. ()

Another overly maligned entry from Mac's mid-era. While not as strong or consistent as some of their other albums, it's far from a bad album. Before tearing it apart, one needs to know a little about their situation at the time. Management decided that they needed a front man to liven up their stage show. They lured vocalist Dave Walker from their frequent touring partners, Savoy Brown. Fleetwood Mac didn't want him, had never written anything for a lead singer and were at a loss with exactly what to do with him. The two results, the excellent "Derelict" and the ok cover of "Road Runner" are his only moments of participation on the album. He's a gritty blues singer, joining a band that didn't play gritty blues. It's a mystery why they chose him of all people to front the band. He was an excellent frontman for SB, but the Mac were quickly leaving their blues legacy behind them at this point. A shame he was treated so poorly by all involved. However, Bob Weston is another story altogether. His smoking bursts of molten guitar on "Revelation" are the hottest licks in Macs long history. His contributions were to get even better as time passed. Too bad he couldn't have avoided the affair with Mrs. Fleetwood, this would have been an excellent line-up to see in concert. His work here is good, but nothing like the fire he brought the "Mystery To Me" album. Christine continues to develop her patented love songs, which would soon be an essential element on all the MOR Mac albums of the mid-70's and beyond. Welch's mystical style comes to the fore on this album and would grow increasingly on each subsequent release. The album may not be one of my top 5 Mac releases, but it's not the steaming pile of dung others would lead you to believe either. Considering the situation at the time of its recording, it's a pretty fine little album.

The dawn of a new era for the Mac ()

When Danny Kirwan left the band, a part of the Mac had left with him. Remnants of the 60's blues that attributed to their fame and glory were completely obliterated from the current Mac line-up. Despite that Chrisitne Mcvie was very much part of the 60's blues scene it was evident that Fleetwood Mac ceased to be a blues-rock band. It is also very evident that there is a dramatic difference between the albums Bare trees and Penguin.

The "Penguin" album was an obvious attempt to crack the US market. The album did give the band their highest chart placing up to date (a respectable No 49 on the US billboard chart) which yielded two single releases both from Christine Mcvie. Both "Remember me" and "Did you ever love me" were released as singles in the US. "Remember me" the opening track features slide guitar by Bob Weston (new guitarist recruited). It is a typical christine mcvie song and it is definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album. Dissatisfied has a blues feel to it and it seems to me though Danny Kirwan had left the band the blues were still with the Mac in one shape or another. "Did you ever love me" would have to be the poppiest track on the album because of the keyboards. Not particularly my favourite and I don't think it is one of Chrisitne's best songs.

Welch's finest moment would have to be "Nightwatch". This haunting track has haunting harmonies and impeccable production. This track epitomises the sound and production quality of the band's studio work. I have to say this song is very underrated and overlooked. It has a good melody and it is an epic. It has a dramatic climax towards the end of the song. This song combines all of Welch's qualities that make him an excellent singer/songwriter. The song is eerie and mysterious and there's not a band moment in the track. Welch's other contributions- Revelation and "Bright fire" are exemplary of Welch's eerie sound in his songs. "Bright fire" being the more pleasant of the two tracks has very good guitar playing whilst "Revelation" is the most eerie Welch track on the album.

"Caught in the rain" is another fine moment on this album. Thanks to Peter Green's contribution and Christine Mcvie's beautiful piano playing, this is one of the most prettiest instrumental ballads ever recorded by the band. Definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album.

Though all singer/songwriters in this Fleetwood Mac line up possess distinctive styles of their own it seems that Dave Walker's contributions did not complement the band. Walker contributed two tracks to the album and though they were not bad tracks they did not fit in well with the pretty melodies that Mcvie and Welch were contributing to the band's repertoire.

The contributions from Mcvie and Welch on this album are exemplary of the kind of material that would be contained on future album recordings from the Mcvie/Welch line up.

Good Effort ()

This album is good but not great. Some of the highlights on this are Christine's efforts especially "Dissatisfied" and "Remember Me". Bob has had better songs than this but the song that stands out is "Revelation" which seems kind of mystical. Dave Walker's fine moment is bluesy "(I'm A) Road Runner". The worst effort is "The Derelict" which has a country-bluegrass feel to it. The rest of the album is enjoyable but those tracks don't stand out as the ones mentioned.

A worthwhile effort. ()

This is a transitional album following the departure of Kirwan. Guitarist Bob Weston performs sensationally on banjo and harmonica on Dave Walker's The Derelict, a bluesy number, and contributes vocals with Christine McVie on the highlight of the album, Did You Ever Love Me. I consider both songs enjoyable and essential in the overall evolving Fleetwood Mac story. The album is filled out well by some intriguing Bob Welch and Christine McVie tracks. This album is particularly important if you are curious about what Mac would have been like returning to a more bluesy sound with Dave Walker vocals and songs.

Enough catchy ones here to recommend for later on ()

Although this is not a good place to start for Mac collecting and generally thought of as one of the weakest Mac releases to date. There are enough good moments enclosed to recommend it. The easiest to relate to are Christine Mcvie's submissions, particularly the opener. "Remember me" comes from the "Say you love me" stall of numbers that will not tire with repeated listenings and "Dissatisfied" is an unmistakable "Don't stop" style shuffle which is undoubtedly Christine's forte. Bob Welch's highlight is the rumbling "Revelation" featuring Welch on bass and effective stabbing lead guitar bursts from new axeman Bob Weston who has an underrated number, with the exception of some oohs & aahs, "Caught in the rain" is an instrumental featuring Christine's piano virtuosity and Weston on acoustic guitar which introduces us to his distinctive harmonic laden style. New (at the time) Mac vocalist Dave Walker has a pleasant bluegrass ballad called "The Derelict" which grows on you over time and although one feels "(I'm a) Roadrunner" could have been better, Dave shows us his impressive harp works. A good disc to get if you have some of the more essential Mac already and you yearn for more Mac to listen to.