The Blues Roots of Fleetwood Mac: Under The . . .
358102
This CD is very good. Fleetwood Mac has been around for a long time. This CD is the first that has a differant twist with the "typical" Fleetwood Mac sound. The blues is a good combonation of rythem and relaxation to enjoy with friends and family. I would recommned this CD to be given as a  gift for any occation. I am pleased to be able to listen to The Blues Roots of Fleetwood Mac: Under The . . . anywhere and at anytime. It will fit my daily routine of blocked time for entertainment. The upbeat with make me tap my foot in the roughest of situations. I look forward to listening to it for a long time.
1785359
I dug this one out recently & listented to the stuff that didn't make the "Hard Road" Blues Breakers LP featuring new axe slinger Peter Green. I like much of "A Hard Road" but that lp feels too close to what Mayall & co did on the 1st LP. Thru The Years features the Blues Breakers in several different line ups. You get 3 different guitarits (Bernie Watson on the 1st 2 or 3 I beleive that is him.) Then most of the disc is Peter Green outakes that are far more indicative of what he would do in Fleetwood Mac & are overall much more satisfying than A Hard Road. He does a nice job on several vocal numbers, there are 2 instrumental jams that are very good & some items where he backs Mayall. The disc closes out with 2-3 tunes that feature the young & promising Mick Taylor & his guitar prowess is in full evidence. All in all, a worthy purchase if you like Brit R&B/Rock. Or, the new 'deluxe version' of Hard Road has the lp, all the Green cuts here + stuff he did with Paul Butterfield. Take your pick.
2438839
I got this album for Christmas the year it was released in 1976 from my late brother Larry and his wife. As a long time fan of Fleetwood Mac, I followed the musical career of the late Bob Welch. This album which is underrated is a classic. I am grateful to finally have a copy on Compact Disc.
4216369
I have written by now seemingly countless reviews of old time acoustic and electric blues artists, male and female alike. I have "toured" the Delta, the Texas Panhandle, the streets of small town Southern cities, Memphis and the "Mecca", Chicago, to give my take on the blues story. I have "been" on the plantation Saturday night, the "juke joints", the blues clubs, Chicago's Maxwell Street and on any street corner where a blues artist could set up shop. My thumbs are sore from giving thumbs up and down to the various blue artists that I have known about since my teenage years a long time ago. All of the above is by way of saying if you want to do some one- stop shopping for what the blues was, is and will be this is your destination. A better primer, especially for the novice complete with some great blues riffs, done in a couple of hours would be hard to find.

All the traditional blues "hot spots" like Memphis and Chicago are given due time. All the blues greats get at least a passing nod from Charley Patton and Robert Johnson in the old days to Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and B.B. King in the modern age. In fact that is what is most impressive about this production. The producers have seemingly gathered, at the time of production, every still living blues artist who could still hold an instrument and speak a few words to talk about their work and those that they knew who "taught" them the blues. Why is this important?  The likes of Ruth Brown, Honeyboy Williams, Gatesmouth Moore, Gatesmouth Brown, Buddy Guy and a host of others showcased here are the transmission belt from the older tradition of Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Blake, Ma Rainey and the others who created the sounds of the blues. Ruth Brown said it best- the young (and here I think she was including me-thanks Ms. Brown) don't need to learn the blues; they need to learn about the blues. Yes, ma'am. So to answer one of the questions posed in and by the documentary; will the blues ever die? Never.
831244
Don't expect the pop sound of the 80's Fleetwood Mac.  This album goes back to origins of the group with a selection of songs that highlight the versitility of the band members musically and lyrically.  It's a nice find if you are looking for something different than what is offered by today's groups.
1027590
This is an excellent collection of blues songs from Glenn's earlier days, most of which are from various Resurrection Band albums. I definitely recommend this CD for any fan of the blues.

One note on the song selection: The Crossing is a beautiful song, one of my favorite Rez songs in fact. However, I don't believe I would call it blues. Had I produced this CD I would have excluded The Crossing and instead included Great God in Heaven from the Innocent Blood album.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Great-God-In-Heaven/dp/B0040HZOSC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Great God In Heaven</a>
1621025
While I may not be the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan in the world, there is no denying the quality of the records they made in the mid to late `70s. Although not a debut in the true sense of the term, their self-titled 1975 LP was by a brand new lineup and heralded a dramatic change in the band's fortunes. The story of this famous collaboration between California folkies and English blues veterans does not need repeating here but I'll just say that I've always loved "Monday Morning" while "World Turning", "Blue Letter" and "Over My Head" really grew on me. Never really cared for the other big hits on the LP but their reputations as classic rock staples are beyond dispute. I think the true mark of a classic album is that several songs that are not the big, overplayed hits or grab the casual listener as much as the long-time fan are the ones that make the record more memorable to more people. `Fleetwood Mac' though greatly overshadowed by the massive success of its successor is still a great album in its own right and created a true seventies super group out of the almost cult following that a veteran British blues band once had.
1257603
Robert lowery first came to my attention 2 years ago when a friend sent a compilation CD of San Francisco Blues artists that had been recorded in 1976. I bought this CD to hear more of him , and was definitely not dissapointed. Any fan of acoustic Blues will appreciate this Arkansas - born  guitarist and singer.  ( He resides in Santa Cruz, CA) Roberts acoustic guitar is as clean sounding as it comes. He switches from his two major influences, the direct and down low slide playing of the Delta , and the clean finger picking Piedmont style, with ease. He is accompanied by his long time harp player, Virgil Thrasher on 2 of the songs on this CD , with the rest being only acoustic guitar and voice. His vocals and guitars are cocksure, played and sung with the confidence of  veteran Blues man. Twelve of the 17 tracks on this CD are Lowery originals, with 2 Robert Johnson songs (32-20 Blues, and Dust my Broom) and one Sam Chatman tune ( Sittin` on Top Of The World) If you are a fan ( as I am) of acoustic Blues, then this CD should be in your collection. If you are a casual fan , this CD is representative of some of the best modern acoustic Blues available. Listen , and I promise you`ll be back for more !!!
3370631
not very familiar with Vito other than he was in Fleetwood Mac at some point  -  some fine guitar on this jump boogie blues album . . . overall a pleasant surprise.
3546730
This 6-disc set covers the six albums that came out over Fleetwood Mac's Blue Horizon tenure (_Fleetwood Mac_, _Mr Wonderful_, _The Pious Bird of Good Omen_, _Blues Jam at Chess Vols. I & II_, and _The Original Fleetwood Mac_).  Unique amongst the box sets that I own, because the studio outtakes, banter and unreleased tracks from each set of sessions are actually coupled with each of the complete albums themselves.  They play like studio reels.  I purchased mine for [$], which is a ridiculously low price for those six CDs to begin with (assuming you can actually *find* them at your record store).  The music?  The Fleetwoods were a committed blues outfit here, and although they certainly aren't as musically adventerous as on _Then Play On_ and some of the subsequent live releases that have appeared recently, there's more than enough white-boy blues here to satisfy anyone's craving.  You can't encapsulate the contents of six discs in a few sentences, but all the big singles are here including "Black Magic Woman" and "Albatross", and there are also some early unreleased versions of "Coming Your Way" and "Like Crying" (both appear on _Then Play On_), as well as alternate/mono mixes.  The sound is fantastic, in large part due to the excellent condition of the masters.  Essential for blues fans and fans of the band who don't have all of the early releases.
1340243
I have Buckingham/Nicks, still only on vinyl! Saw Stevie in Milwaukee w/ Fleetwood Mac. If I could only hear one of them now, it would be her! I was sent two of these and it's OK  Lester
550531
The Bare Trees album is great , if you are a true Fleetwood Mac fan just buy it and enjoy . Stevie listened to earlier Fleetwood Mac so you have nothing to lose,
1284617
Trampled Under Foot. A family blues band from Kansas City Mo, who bring their gritty blues to a new level in this great new record.
I was lucky to pre-order it and got it a few days ago and have already listened to it 4 times, and love it more and more with each listen.
If you're into the blues and are looking for a rockin' record, Badlands is for you!
1966482
Too country for another reviewer.  Interesting.  On this album, Steve James reaches back to an era when the distinction between blues and country just didn't exist.  One of the dirty little secrets of music history is that the distinction between white folk music (later known as country) and black folk music (later known as blues) was created by record executives in an era of segregation when selling "black" music to white people was considered unseemly.

Try this as an assignment.  Go back and listen to some old Mississippi John Hurt recordings from 1928.  Then, listen to some of Hobart Smith's guitar recordings (he was a multi-instrumentalist who played everything, but to compare him to Mississippi John Hurt, you have to compare apples to apples, which means listening to his guitar recordings).  Which one played blues?  Which one played country?  The answer to each question is, "both," because they came from an era in which the distinction didn't exist.  As record companies began marketing musical styles to people of different skin colors, blues and country split off from each other, and they are clearly distinct traditions today, but it wasn't always so.

On this rather fun history lesson, Steve James reaches back to an era in which folk music was just folk music, before record companies created a distinction between country and blues.  To call this pre-war blues is misleading.  It would be more accurate to call this music pre-blues since it is just folk music.  The roots of blues are here, as is the spirit of jug band music, ragtime (or should I say, Piedmont blues-- are we seeing a pattern here?), and even some Scots-Irish traditions.  The second track is called The Gina Reel.  A reel, of course, is a particular type of fast Irish instrumental tune, and although The Gina Reel is not literally a reel, if you listen closely, you can hear the roots.

If you consider yourself a blues fan who doesn't like country, and your conception of blues is limited to delta, Chicago, Memphis, Texas or some other specific sound, don't bother with this one.  However, if you are an open-minded fan of all folk music, you couldn't ask for a more fun history lesson than this effort by Steve James.

Further listening:  Otis Taylor's Recapturing the Banjo.  The banjo, while associated with "white" country music, is of African origin.  Listen and learn.
4081452
it seems that sacramento calif has been keeping its musicians close to home...guitar mac is hot...boiling point #2 is rocking blues at its finest...roadhouse stomp puts you in a louisiana roadhouse on saturday night...going down to louisiana rocks the joint...mac's guitar playing, especially his slide playing jumps from the disc sometimes at blistering speed...all in all another undiscovered blues gem...get it if you like authentic rocking blues...br
1916720
Enjoyed the book and appreciated the technical aspects of producing and engineering this iconic record album. I definitely enjoyed the authors insights into the making of the album in juxtaposition to the wild era of whence it came. Ken certainly has had an interesting life, but he sometimes comes across as self-indulgent and occasionally bitter. Still, it is a terrific read if you are a Fleetwood Mac fan of the 70's. You will especially appreciate the difficulty of using analog techniques in comparison to today's easier and more pedestrian digital software techniques in producing music. Albums vs CD' s and MP 3's?  I miss the vinyl!
1298291
This album is a kind of in - between album, not longer following their roots. Agree, every change in the band results automatically in a different style and different songs. The following album were heroes are hard to find, (the last album with BOB WELCH) and now Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks  joined the band. There first album was called Fleetwood Mac, and sold over 4.500.000 copies, NOT TO CONFUSE with the same titled album inn 1968.
This first album showed the path they left and could be easy compared with RUMOURS.