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Being of a certain age, I am a die-hard fan of 60s & 70s rock, especially the edgy stuff. I somehow missed this album through the decades. I used to like BARE TREES & MYSTERY TO ME back in the old vinyl days, but I came too late to the party for early Peter Green Mac. I enjoyed his late 70s album IN THE SKIES, but still didn’t go all the way back in the way-back machine. I knew he had written “Black Magic Woman” & the classic thrasher “Oh Well.” Later, I dug “The Green Manalishi” via Judas Priest, but have only recently delved back into early Fleetwood Mac. Which brings me to THEN PLAY ON.When I previously posted my somewhat negative review — now deleted — it was after only a few listenings; as I should have known, the album has really grown on me. I was familiar with LIVE IN BOSTON from Feb 1970 & enjoyed the energy & jamming found there, so my initial reaction to their varied, down tempo, sometimes treacly & muted 1969 offering was underwhelming. After half a dozen further playings, I stand corrected — this is an excellent album!“Coming Your Way” starts off the party & gallops along solidly. “Closing My Eyes” quiets things down & is a good example of Peter Green’s descent into, oh well, madness. I still don’t like “When You Say” & its la-la-la-las make me gnash my teeth. “Show Biz Blues” sounds like it comes from the 30s, with flat-top slide guitar & revival meeting tambourine; another example of Green’s depression, but well rendered dirt blues. Most of the other songs alternate between solid rockers, quiet introspective melodies about lost love & sadness, & several moody, atmospheric instrumentals. “Rattlesnake Shake,” of course, a humorous ode to male self-love, would provide the basis for the 25-minute jams in Boston.The instrumentals are definitely a delight. The “Madge” jams are energetic & full of good guitar; Fleetwood & McVie rock out on drums & bass. Toward the end of the second “Madge” there’s a dubbed-in orchestral sample, presaging Beck & The Orb by 25 years. The songs without lyrics, even Green’s earlier ones such as “The Supernatural” & “Albatross” (the pious bird of good omen), sound so magical & gorgeous. Same on this album. The vocal numbers are more searching & painful. “Like Crying” & the enigmatic “Before the Beginning” bring things back down again & leave me troubled.Peter Green, who replaced EC in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at the tender age of 20, has a serious affinity for American blues & a sweet, aching tone; did Carlos Santana hear him first or did they just somehow arrive at the same place? I must admit, it’s hard for me as a non-guitarist to distinguish between Green & Kirwan, but their interplay is wonderful. McVie is rock bottom solid on bass & Mick Fleetwood dwells in a space between Ringo’s directness & Ginger Baker’s thunder on drums.As for the extras, “Oh Well” is right up there with Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page in the realm of axe awesomeness. It starts out great for the first two-plus minutes — as classic as classic rock gets. John McVie, a usually restrained player, is all over the neck of his bass. But it degenerates into a weird Ennio Morricone western thing -- complete with wind pipes, cello, spanish guitar & a whiff of harmonica -- which overstays its welcome (it reminds me of the showdown scene from "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly"); also, the last minute of part one is replicated in part two. “The Green Manalishi” has awesome riffs & haunting lyrics, and fades out with spooky, haunted background singing; I do prefer the live versions though, which stretch out. The lovely “World in Harmony” calms things down to end off the CD.Considering how deeply troubled both Green & the young Danny Kirwan were at this time, it’s amazing they kept it together for the truly fun Boston Tea Party shows the next spring. Again, the rhythm section is superb on that one. Jeremy Spencer is back on board after his absence here, so it’s a three guitar attack. After an infrequent bass solo by McVie, Green even pulls off one of his own (according to an eyewitness) at the end of “Manalishi,” maybe on a Fender VI. Then the group sadly dissolved to play their future games.Good liner notes by David Fricke from Rolling Stone, with a lot of insightful quotes from Mick Fleetwood. However, the booklet doesn’t even list the band members or the writing credits. Odd.Again, THEN PLAY ON is ambitious, if a bit trying at times. Emotionally moving & highly recommended. Who could predict where the Mac would go from there, first with Christine Perfect McVie & Bob Welch & then with Buckingham & Nicks . . .PS — Amazon just dropped the price by $5. Damn.FLEETWOOD MAC-THEN PLAY ON (DELUXE EDITION) For anyone previously unfamiliar with this album, it is long overdue for you to become acquainted with its musical mastery. it is the 3rd and last album Peter Green appeared on, of the band he formed and named after his rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, post their participation in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Green's vision and participation is great, but for me it is the addition of young guitar prodigy Danny Kirwan that really makes the lineup incredible. The mostly absent contributions of guitarist Jeremy Spencer are not much missed as his work led Fleetwood Mac in quite a different direction than the enticing intriguery presented here."Coming Your Way" composed by Kirwan gallops open the album, sonically illustrating the gorgeous cover art of Maxwell Armfeld--a delicately-chiselled, wildly naked youth, with airblown flame-red hair, escapes on a dappled grey pony prancing forward through a blazing autumn forest of change, while glancing back over his shoulder on past pursuits (or pursuers; the blues follows behind and who knows what lies ahead). There are so many obvious references into the mix that make this album so unique. It is not just a rock homage to the blues. It's quite apparent that Green and Kirwan lovingly admired and embraced the work of Santo & Johnny, the creators of the classic melancholy note-bending slide guitar instrumental "Sleepwalk" that was a big hit in 1959. Also, the surf rock theme of the 1966 movie "The Endless Summer". There are echoes of the spaghetti western music of Ennio Morricone; the boogie of John Lee Hooker emulated by similar Brit. bands of the era like Ten Years After and Savoy Brown; the mournful vocal style of Skip James; the classical Spanish guitar of Andres Segovia; strains of Japanese koto; bayou taboo and even snakeoil tent revival shows. All in a mixture of melancholy ballads, voodoo, tribal rhythms, blues rock, psychedelia, equine and train rhythms, jungle drums, minor key magic and mystery. The anthemic quality of the hit single "Oh Well" seems to foreshadow the coming of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". So, this album is both influenced and influential, and unlike any other Fleetwood Mac before or since. Both the voices and guitars of Green and Kirwan master the art of harmonic pairing and gorgeous sense of melody as well as the balance of masculine and feminine.I must have had about 5 versions of this album, as it's my favorite rock album of all time, despite its being mucked about by various labels and pressings. The latest version is a re-ordering of its original UK vinyl release, plus bonus tracks. I'm not particularly an audiophile, and there have been many complaints that the previously issued version was poorly mastered. I have avidly listened and adapted each and every time to the sound quality and reordering of tracks including missing tracks, different sequencing, adding of tracks and bonus cuts. This time is no different. I will learn to love it in its new version all over again. No matter how it's diced or tossed, it's a grouping of songs that's so utterly amazing that it's pretty hard to ruin. I haven't listened to the previous version and this newly remastered version side by side, but while finding this pleasing to the ear, I find nothing in the new remastering that is such a revelation as to knock me on my ass. One minor complaint I had is the disturbing break-in to the closing of the track "Underway" with the abrupt opening bars of "One Sunny Day". It just sounded so unexpectedly intrusive to my ear and I would rather have enjoyed a few seconds fadeout of the first before embracing the second. But, then I read various notes indicating that the original UK version was released this way and the abrupt shift was intentional (an element I didn't recall being that way about five variations and forty years ago). After several listenings, I am already getting used to it. As to the bonus tracks added onto the end, I think we've all come to expect that "Oh Well, Pts. 1 and 2" definitely need to be present in the lineup whatever that lineup is, and in this, we aren't disappointed. However, the addition of "The Green Manalishi" and "World in Harmony", while a joy to some, would not be my particular choice. I find much of this album more in keeping with the sounds of haunting tracks like "Black Magic Woman" and "Albatross", and as such, those are the tracks I'd have added as a bonus, though they would have rankled many, having appeared on earlier albums. I do think their sound is more in keeping with the recording sessions that bore this album than the bonus tracks ultimately chosen. But, one never knows. there may yet be future variations of this amazing classic to resurface.I urge anyone who does not own a copy of this album, to either download it, or run right out and purchase one. I don't think I can recommend any rock album higher.It's this extended edition that gets my 5 star vote. Originally, and in spite of being a huge fan of Peter Green, this album used to disappoint me. It's wonderfully played, and has great songs, but it always seemed to lack focus, as if it was unfinished somehow. Now, with the inclusion of Green Manalishi and Oh Well, how can it NOT be five stars? It's a much more balanced album now; the jam sessions not as dominant; songwriting much more to the fore.I have not set out to write reviews of the music content as “beauty is in the ears of the listener”. These reviews are about the quality (or not) of the recorded sound. To read about how the reviews are done please see my profile.Given that this is an old recording the sound quality is very good and only gets lost on one or two occasions.A good recording which on some tracks captures the infectious drive of a live performance. • Clarity – Good instruments clearly identifiable. • Channel separation – Good. • Channel balance – Good if conventional, used to create a reasonable atmosphere. • Sound Stage – Good, creates a deep sound stage where instruments are clearly placed and do not move around for effect. • Distortion – None audible. • Compression – None audible. • Atmosphere – The recording has created a spacious atmosphere which is not gimmicky. • Bass – low frequencies – Reasonable, on occasion the drums get a little lost or drowned out by the cymbals. Ok when bought to the fore in the mix. • Treble – high frequencies – On the guitar these have a very pleasant warm tone without being shrill. • Vocals – On some tracks a little muted and over reverbed. Clearly audible, on the whole OK.As a general rule of thumb recordings from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s are nearly always better on the original vinyl. Remasters often fail to please as it’s just not possible to make a silk purse from a sows ear, i.e. the original recording lacks the necessary detail to be processed digitally and show an audible improvement. Indeed such processing can make the sound worse.Modern recordings which have been processed digitally from start to finish can be as good as vinyl. CD’s are often unfairly criticised for being poor quality. This is not the case, it is the original recording or the process which is to blame. Modern “remasters” can both enhance and degrade a recording. The statement GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) is the limiting factor. Ignore this at your cost.It just seems to flow from pure psychedelia to badass blues so seamlessly. The first track 'Coming Your Way' sounds like a Santana song, it could easily have been on Abraxas (note that this came out before Abraxas). Then the Jefferson Airplane sounding 'When You Say'. Then on to the blues with 'Show Biz-Blues'. Side 2 is even better, meandering from song to song, but there are no gaps between the songs, it just flows along like you're bobbing along a river. A cool cool river.I understand this is the last studio album with Peter Green. It is very good, I enjoyed it a lot. Not as fiery or bluesy as their earlier ones however, it is still an enjoyable listen and ends on era where the British bands, like Fleetwood, dominated and brought the blues to a whole new generation of fans who, hopefully, like myself, then in turn discovered the original bluesman, a la BB, Muddy etc etc. Oh, what it must have been like back then, seeing Fleetwood or Cream/Blind Faith/Derek and the Dominos and even Savoy Brown/Chicken Shack. I own all of the early Fleetwood albums and they are brilliant. Who would have though, back then, that within 4/5 years the band would become a Californian soft-rock/AOR band, who released one of the most infamous and biggest selling albums ever.! But that story is for another review....Suffices to say that this 2013 reissue is one of the best rock platters, period. I have had an original LP for a very long time, as well as some of those rehashes that people complain about, but on vinyl and on cd. And yes, all variations available out there makes collecting - and listening - confusing. But as far as I can tell, this not only restores the right order of things - it also sounds swell. There is more going on than meets the ear here - excellent playing and a simply wonderfully well segued array of songs. I cannot listen too much to this record - it's a desert island disc for me.