My fairly recent return to the joys of collecting vinyl records has enabled me to listen to albums that I have either long since lost or that simply passed me by when they were originally released. Falling into that latter category is, the 1970 Fleetwood Mac album, 'Kiln House'.
I was a fan of the Peter Green incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and when he left the band after the wonderful 'Then Play On', I must have made the decision to stop buying and listening to their albums. Of course all that changed with the 1975 release of 'Fleetwood Mac' the precursor to the earth shatteringly successful 'Rumours'. I then revisited some of those so-called "wilderness years" Fleetwood Mac albums but somehow 'Kiln House' always evaded my attention.
Perhaps it was the reviews at the time which were not terribly complimentary about the album. With 'Then Play On'. Jeremy Spencer had been in competition with the songwriting skills of Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. He lost the battle and consequently played only a minor role on that album. The departure of Green enabled Spencer to take more of a leading role and for 'Kiln House'; the writing credits are divided fairly evenly between him and Kirwan (aided by the other band members). Once he had overcome his Elmore James obsession, Spencer turned his attention to 1950's rock and roll and a popular part of the Fleetwood Mac live act involved him doing a very passable imitation of Elvis Presley. This is carried onto 'Kiln House' from the opening number 'This is a Rock' which recreates the sound of the young Elvis during his Sun Records period. The country ballad, 'Blood on the Floor' could also be Elvis and the Side 2 opener 'Buddy's Song' is little more than a list of Buddy Holly quotes set to the melody of 'Peggy Sue Got Married'. Despite being written by Spencer, it gets credited on the album cover to Ella Holley, the mother of Buddy.
The Jeremy Spencer compositions are all pleasant enough but it is the writing of Danny Kirwan that really give this album a lift. 'Station Man' fades in very gradually and is a gentle rocker featuring nice slide guitar and some fine drumming from Mick Fleetwood. It was a song that Fleetwood Mac would return to and perform live during the early Buckingham/Nicks years.
Side One of the album ends with 'Jewel Eyed Judy' which is credited to Kirwan, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie though Fleetwood later claimed that the words were actually written by his wife Jenny and Christine McVie about a close friend of the band, Judy Wong who later married Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick.. It is one of the most beautiful pieces on the album with a gorgeous melody and a catchy refrain. The track was issued as a single backed by 'Station Man' but incredibly failed to chart. Incidentally, Jenny Fleetwood was the former Jenny Boyd, a sister of Patti Boyd who famously married George Harrison and Eric Clapton and inspired songs by both. Patti clearly wasn't the only muse in the Boyd family as the Donovan song 'Jennifer Juniper' was written for Jenny.
Kirwan also demonstrates with 'Lady Gray' (sic) that he can write an instrumental to rival the beautiful Peter Green number one hit, 'Albatross'. Another highlight of the album is the final Danny Kirwan track 'Tell Me All The Things You Do' which allows the band to really rock out and features some great guitar work but also demonstrates what a fantastic rhythm section Fleetwood and McVie were. Try listening to this without your feet tapping and if they don't, check that they aren't nailed to the floor.
Although uncredited on the album, Christine McVie (formerly Christine Perfect) was recruited on piano and she would subsequently become a full member of the band, being of course the wife of John McVie. She also created the striking artwork that adorns the cover of the album. It would appear that someone bought her felt pens and crayons for Christmas that year.
This album was the first release by the band on which they totally abandoned the blues that had dominated their earlier recordings. Neither Spencer nor Kirwan would last that much longer in the line-up but with 'Kiln House' they had clearly pointed the direction in which the band would move en route to the massive commercial success they would ultimately enjoy with 'Rumours'.
I have been listening to the album a lot over the past few weeks and have been thoroughly enjoying the experience. I now wonder how it took me 45 years.
Having taken a temporary break from listening exclusively to Bob Dylan ('The Cutting Edge'), Drive-By Truckers ('It's Great to Be Alive') and Pere Ubu (Elitism for the People'), I have delved into some old Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era) material. Perhaps it was because I had been immersed in the way Dylan's songs developed in the course of various studio takes, that I was particularly drawn to a Peter Green song entitled 'Show Biz Blues'. This track went through numerous changes before appearing on the often overlooked 1969 album 'Then Play On' which was the first to feature Danny Kirwan and the last to feature Green himself.
Much has been made of Green's state of mind in the lead up to his departure from what had become a very successful band. People usually quote the melancholy lyrics of 'Man of the World' or the nightmare surrealism of 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)' to illustrate how Green was feeling at this time. They are of course absolutely correct to do so, yet I feel that 'Show Biz Blues' demonstrates just as clearly how confused and disillusioned he had become.
The recording sessions for the song took place in early to mid 1969 and listening to early versions, it is clear that it went through various changes before it's final appearance on the album released in September that year. For example, the song originally bore the title 'Do You Give a Damn For Me' which appears in two different versions on the companion compilation albums 'The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac' and 'Show-Biz Blues - Fleetwood Mac 1968- 1970'. By take 12 which features on the latter, the song had changed little but in the third verse, Green sang "If I needed anybody, I would take you home with me, ...... I don't need nobody, I don't need anybody but old me".
Do You Give A Damn For Me - Fleetwood Mac
Significantly the tempo had slowed slightly by the next version which was recorded in June 1969 and the lyrics had also altered to "... I don't need nobody, I don't need anybody 'cept Him and me". To add further significance to this alteration, the song title had also changed to 'Him and Me'. As Green himself admits, he had found God and went from being fiercely independent to acknowledging that he needed someone or something in his life. However in 1969, being into God wasn't considered especially hip so for the final version the title was changed yet again to 'Show-biz Blues' and the mood of the song was lifted by the addition of percussion in the form of tambourine and handclaps. By 1970, God had also been replaced in Green's life by LSD. His use of the drug may have ultimately led to Green's breakdown and departure from the group, but thankfully, after a period of illness, he did emerge to tell the tale.
Here is the final album version:
Show Biz Blues - Fleetwood Mac
Listening to it again after all these years, I am struck not only by what a great song it is but also that it features some terrific slide guitar playing from Green, incorporating elements of Skip James and Bukka White among others.
One sad postscript to the story of this song, concerns Rory Gallagher who himself recorded a version in 1994 for a Peter Green tribute album, 'Rattlesnake Guitar'. The words in this version are changed significantly but in the final verse Gallagher sings "Tell me anybody, do you really give a damn for me. I'll tell you a story, ..... my soul is killing me".
Showbiz Blues - Rory Gallagher
Sadly these words were to prove prophetic as by the following June, Gallagher was dead.
