Don't believe the anti-hype, the sound quality is pretty good!
Recorded in 1969, the live version of 'Albatross' (this is reason enough to get it). Apart from the superb sound quality of the Live in Boston series, recorded in 1970, this is the next one to get. The live recordings from '68 and '67 are sadly, too murky to really appreciate. I put off buying this for years 'cause so many Green era FM live recordings were of poor quality but this is actually pretty good. If you can't get enough Green, this will be a nice addition. .
got dem blues?
The band was playing a warm-up set for Frank Zappa that evening, from which sound engineer Stuart "Dinky" Dawson has culled nine tracks totaling just over forty minutes. Most Fleetwood Mac discs from the Peter Green era feature a wide divergence of musical genres, given the varying interests of Green, Danny Kirwin and Jeremy Spencer, but this January, 1969 performance at the 4,000 person capacity Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles is deeply rooted in the blues. I don't consider the opening "track", 'Tune Up', to be a legitimate number as it is, literally, the band tuning up before being introduced.
Fleetwood Mac's 'Shrine '69' can be divided into three segments. In the opening trio of songs, each of the band's guitarists takes a turn performing a traditional blues track. Peter Green opens with the classic, slow-tempo, slightly funky blues sounds of 'If You Be My Baby'. Danny Kirwin, not generally known for his blues compositions, offers up 'Something Inside of Me', and third guitarist Jeremy Spencer follows that with a rendition of James Williamson's 'My Baby Sweet'. Green delivers some guitar leads straight from the gut on the first two tracks, while Spencer's smooth slide guitar graces the third.
The middle segment features three Peter Green compositions, beginning with the familiar, rich and lofty 'Albatross', which Green introduces as "our latest single". Track six, 'Before the Beginning' indulges us in more of Green's blues, with lead guitar runs that seem to make welling tears audible. The final song in this trio is 'Rollin' Man' a jumpin' blues-rock number with a fat, fuzzy lead guitar from Green and a great foundational bass hook from John McVie that drives the tune. It's a five and one-half minute workout that breaks into a raging blues guitar fest for the last two minutes or so.
The closing segment features three covers, the first being James Lane's salacious 'Lemon Squeezer'. It's a bit comical that Amazon reviewer Steven Stolder finds 'Great Balls of Fire' to be the provocative song here, when Green is offering up lyrics like "I'm gonna ride you on the floor, ride you on the bed, ride you lovely Mama, till this thing turns cherry red" on 'Lemon Squeezer', while Jeremy Spencer only uses the word "screw" on 'Great Balls of Fire'. Spencer adds a decent (but uncredited) mouth harp to 'Lemon Squeezer'. Squeezed between the squeezer and the balls of fire is a fantastic seven minute rendition of Willie John's 'Need Your Love So Bad', rendered fantastic by Green's towering lead guitar runs and heartfelt vocals.
A number of people reviewing this disc cite the weak fidelity of the recording as a significant problem. I don't believe the acoustics of the exposition hall, the low-key nature of many of these songs, or the 2-track Ampex recorder being used to document the show could ever add up to a crisp recording. Also, since the recording is decades old, there are a few noticable drop-outs scattered among the selections. But all-in-all the recording quality is certainly not a reason to avoid this release. If you enjoy traditional electric blues, you should find 'Shrine '69' an interesting performance to hear. The artwork is a little strange, but certainly not out of character for the late 1960's.
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Portrait of the artist
This was my first experience with Peter Green's Mac, and when I first heard this, I realized what all the fuss was about. The quality of this recording, while a bit weathered and lackluster in spots, does not overshadow the greatness of the performance. This performance is at times, scary. Makes me wonder what might have been had the three ill-fated guitarists on this disc not lost their marbles. This disc is stronger than the Tea Party discs, although those are essential too.
The Best Of The Best Blues
I love . This Cd . . Fleetwood Mac . . " Shine 69' . . It . . shows . . Fleetwood Mac's roots . . deep . . in the blues & how Peter Green . . put it altogether . . in thoses early days . . of Bristh Rock . . just first rate blues . . to go . . . Fleetwood Mac . . Thank You . . Peter Green . . from My Heart .
Great concert but poor recording.
There is also a poor, very obvious cut in one of the first tracks. It's a shame this recording is of such poor quality because the band is really on. . . Green breaks into a solo where he wouldn't have. Just sloppy. Other than that the album is great. Peter is smoking as per his usual and the rest of the band is right on, but I really hate to crank this album because of the poor sound quality. Oh well. . . it still gets 4 stars in spite of it.
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