Fleetwood Mac “Rehearsal Live 1975” [Zion-032]
Get Like You Used To Be / Station Man / Spare Me A Little Of Your Love / Rhiannon / Why / Landslide / Over My Head / I’m So Afraid / Oh Well / The Green Manalishi / World Turning / Blue Letter / Hypnotised (65:38)
A long time fan favourite, the show recorded at Trod Nossel on the 23rd of September 1975 has been captured on soundboard and shared around on bootleg for a good few years, originally on the Smilin’ Ears LP titled, simply, “Fleetwood Mac” after their own ‘White Album’ of the same name and another release with the slyer title “Who’s The New Girl” noting Stevie Nicks’ arrival.
Over the next few years, two other songs have appeared from the set list and now Zion have released what should be the definitive source for this show. As the excellent source on the FM fan site www.FleetwoodMac.net doesn’t credit this as a tour date (Which, to some extent, it isn’t more of a stop off, single date.) theres scant information to the fact as to wether this is the full set list or an abbreviation.
Regardless, for the moment this is all we have and, as noted, this could be THE Fleetwood Mac show to own from the bands subsequent rise to fame. As you might surmise from a studio soundboard, the recording is almost as clean as a nuns bank account, the atmosphere electric (‘london’ a contributor to the Ledge, FM Forum, shares the story that the band took their business to Conneticut’s finest eatery where they were thrown out for reckless partying and partaking in a few more trips to the lavatories than was really necessary). There is an unfortunate amount of tape crunch within “Station Man”, “Why” and “Landslide” (more so within the later two that’s really quite annoying)
The source fades up through the intro of “Get Like You Used To Be” and is then almost complete through out (baring a few cuts between tracks that lose us no music.)
The band play an awesome set, a mixture of old and new, bar room blues, freaked out solos, ballads and proto folk.There are many highlights to a set already bathed in greatness – the sped up coda to “Spare Me A Little Of Your Love”, a box fresh “Rhiannon” ( introduced as usual as ‘A song about a Welsh witch” ) which just burns with intensity.
A delicate “Landslide” glistens with sadness, while the panther – crawl of “I’m So Afraid” sounds perfectly devilish.
The first half of “Oh Well” is reprised from the Peter Green days as is “The Green Manalishi” while Chrissie and Stevie take a break from vocalising duties.
“World Turning” brings the band right back to their present and forms the longest song of their set as they cumulate with a dizzying percussion / clap / organ comedown before roaring back to a breathless full band melange.
“Hypnotised” ends this set on a spaced theme, a jazz oddessey that swoops effortlessly along, clearing space for many dubby licks from the guitar.
I started this review as i’ll finish it. You should have this CD – through fan or casual listener to Fleetwood Mac there’s nothing else boot wise that really sets this recording against much else. It stands in a field of it’s own.
