Preaching The Blues

Many fans of Fleetwood Mac’s commercially successful era, when it was fronted by Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, are well aware that the band began as a British blues-rock group touting six-string luminary Peter Green. But not as many folks know there was an amazing post-Green (and pre-Bob Welch) period in between, where Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Danny Kirwan, and Jeremy Spencer still pumped out winsome reinterpretations of seminal blues songs. Recorded live in 1971, Preaching the Blues opens with a rocking rendition of Elmore James’ “Madison Blues,” where Kirwan’s raspy voice gives the cover some true grit. The band follows this with “Purple Dancer,” an original acid-rock number written by Kirwan and John McVie that was released as a b-side to “Dragonfly." The Kirwan-penned “Open the Door” downshifts to a twangy ballad that flirts with some of the country rock that was making waves on the West Coast at the time. Kirwan indulged his heavy Elvis hero worship with an especially raw take on “Jailhouse Rock.”