"Nicely Done" MICK FLEETWOOD BLUES BAND "Blue Again" (Review)

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, “Blue Again” (SLG).
Buffalo News

Though it is now emblematic of the dulcet tones of ’70s California pop, Fleetwood Mac was born a blues band in the latter ’60s, one whose influence was everywhere in the arenas and stadiums of ’70s rock. Originally, drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, and guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer sprung from the same soil that sprouted Led Zeppelin, Free and the Jeff Beck Group. Tunes like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “The Green Manalishi With the Two-Pronged Crown” and “Black Magic Woman” were vehicles for Green’s gorgeously understated solos, beneath which the Fleetwood-McVie rhythm section toiled like tireless journeymen, shoveling coal in the engine room for all they were worth. It’s that Fleetwood Mac that Mick Fleetwood celebrates with “Blue Again,” a live album that ably documents the fire and finesse of his touring band, led by another Mac alum, guitarist Rick Vito. The disc centers on songs Green wrote— “Looking For Somebody,” “Stop Messin’ Around,” “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Albatross” and the like —and is as much a tribute to Green as it is a paean to the music Fleetwood fell in love with as a teenager with a drum fetish. Nicely done. ★★★( J. M.)