Most people know of Fleetwood Mac from their later albums that featured Stevie Nicks like Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tango In the Night. But some aren’t fully aware of the band’s history from 1968 to 1974 where they released nine studio albums. Fleetwood Mac originally began as a blues group with a touch of psychedelia, the group originally comprised of guitarists Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer, bassist Bob Brunning who was quickly replaced by John McVie, and drummer Mick Fleetwood. The band’s lineup for this particular performance consisted of McVie, Fleetwood, Bob Welch who joined in 1971 on guitar and vocals, Christine McVie who joined in 1970 on electric piano and vocals, and Bobby Hunt who joined them on the Heroes Are Hard to Find tour replacing Doug Graves. Hunt played clavinet, synthesizer, and Hammond organ

The performance was on Dec. 15 and was broadcast on KSAN-FM. While the set wasn’t as long as a full concert performance, it was still an impressive feat showing that despite members coming and going they could put on nothing short of a phenomenal performance. Fleetwood Mac performed 12 songs in their one hour and 12 minute playing time and played songs both new and old like “Oh Well” and “The Green Manalishi” from the 1969 album Then Play On, as well as songs off their latest album Heroes Are Hard to Find like “Bermuda Triangle.” This recording comes from a widely overlooked era of Fleetwood Mac as it falls right after Peter Green leaving but also right before Lindsey Buckingham and Nicks joined. Despite this, I would prefer this live performance front to back over albums that followed this performance.

The group is introduced by disc jockey Tom Donahue before breaking into one of Fleetwood Mac’s heaviest songs, “The Green Manalishi” that isn’t as long as some previous versions like a 12-minute rendition seen in Boston in 1970 but still booms with a strong energy to begin the groups set and is merely a snapshot into the skill and talent that is seen from the performance. I’m no master of guitar pedal knowledge but it seems that on top of some overdrive or boost effects there is also something creating an alternating sound like a chorus pedal, reverb of some kind, or a wah pedal. With the same vibe heading into the second song, they move to “Angel” which before reading the track title I mistook the song for “Emerald Eyes.” “Angel” definitely shows a great vocal performance with Welch really digging in his singing. This is a trait that continues throughout the performance, he sings so heavily, so powerfully that his voice begins to crack later in the show.

I think that two of the best performances from this showing come in batches of three tracks, the first of which is “Sentimental Lady,” “Future Games,” and “Bermuda Triangle,” most notably the latter two. “Sentimental Lady” doesn’t really end so much as it does segue right into “Future Games,” which is the third longest track on the album coming in at nine minutes and one second. The instrumentals on this song are terrific but it’s about this point where you begin to hear some of the strain in Welch’s voice. But it doesn’t subtract from the performance. Christine McVie on backup vocals definitely helps keep that statement true. The guitar solo from the second half of the song is just terrific and shows just how talented Welch is with some crazy high-fretted strumming to some insane arpeggios.

One of the main reasons that “Future Games” and “Bermuda Triangle” are some of the longest tracks from the performance are because, in the middle of them, Welch begins to sort of monologue and provide some context on the stories of the songs. For “Future Games,” he talks about how the band was stuck in Paris during a blizzard in 1970 and being “wasted but being bummed out at the same time.” But the backing instrumentals don’t stop. He kind of rambles while being accompanied by the rest of the band, which I think puts an interesting spin on the performance. As for “Bermuda Triangle” which spans 10 minutes and 42 seconds. Outside of singing the song Welch also tells a “Third-degree experience” about a “friend of a friend of a friend” who went out for a weekend on a sailboat and after a week of not returning the Coast Guard found the boat unscathed. So untouched that even a cup of coffee still sat on the table. However, none of the people staying on the boat were in sight. While the truth of this story is beyond my ability to confirm it certainly adds a lot of depth to the song. Ultimately this first batch of three tracks makes the show very unique and outstanding compared to the studio versions and other performances of the song.

As for the second set of three tracks, we have “Black Magic Woman/Oh Well,” “Rattlesnake Shake,” and “Hypnotized.” The “Black Magic Woman” portion is like a punch to the face you never knew you needed. The song highlights Christine McVie once again but this time more for her work on the keys and Welch is ripping away at the guitar as he has been since it began. The little bend-filled solos in between verses just blow me away. That’s not even the best part of the song. Around the two minute-10 second mark, the short pause where no one is playing is broken by a jam that seems very Zeppelin-esque despite the bassline remaining the same as what is on the studio version from 1968, meaning it must be Welch’s wild booming guitar that gives it that super hard kind of gritty sound. But without warning “Black Magic Woman” abruptly ends and the opening riff of “Oh Well” shines through after the funky groove that was once present. While I love “Oh Well” very much and it is one of my favorite earlier Fleetwood Mac songs this rendition makes one of my few gripes with this album very present, only one guitar. While Welch is incredibly talented to the point of being stuck in awe during most of this album, I think that if only they had a session player or something similar it would make some of these jams even better as well as a little more complex and layered. Despite that, the band really lets loose after the last verse before getting into the longest track of the performance, “Rattlesnake Shake.”

This was one of the songs I was unfamiliar with before listening to this album but enjoyed it thoroughly. Welch provides an introduction to the band during this song which is part of the reason why it lasts 11 minutes and 30 seconds. But without a doubt shows the bluesy side of Fleetwood Mac in a way that can only be shown through live performance. But one of my favorite things about this song in the performance is a quote from Welch that I think helps you get an idea of what the vibe was in the studio that day. He says in a joking tone of course but he introduces himself as such, “My name is Bob Welch and I’m insane, no, I’m wasted, no, I smoke too much, no,” he says this laughing and then proceeds to break into this song where we start to hear his voice sort of recover but still his guitar playing that just doesn’t get old. I think the whole band really gives it all they’ve got on this one. Everyone’s contribution is very noticeable from Welch’s wah-ing guitar, John McVie’s funky bass, Christine McVie’s piano that matches the chords being played on the guitar, and Hunt’s Hammond organ solo that sits towards the second half of the song.

The performance closes with “Hypnotized,” one of my favorite songs from Welch’s time in the band, so to hear it like this and get two almost three extra minutes added to it was one of the big things about this release that attracted me to it in the first place. It really brings the whole tone of the album back down to a more calm feeling which feels like a strong contrast to if not most of the album then at least the two tracks that come before “Hypnotized.” I’d say that hypnotized is one of the best ways to describe the way this live release left me feeling.

This was a release that I did not see coming and even upon looking through the track list wasn’t very sure about it. But I gave a listen to “Hypnotized” and realized this was going to be something worth listening to and I am so glad I was correct. While I wasn’t a huge fan of all the tracks on this release, the ones I didn’t care for much are definitely growing on me the more I listen to the album. The album is also available as a vinyl record that I will be buying. I think that hearing this come out of speakers will only make it even better than it already is.