Recorded during a legendary extended weekend stand in 1970, these live recordings from the three-guitar lineup of
Fleetwood Mac have existed in various shoddy, uneven, and sometimes sloppy configurations, but were finally sorted out and released as a triple-disc box (also available individually) in 1999. First-generation source tapes were utilized, approximately an hour's worth of previously unreleased tracks as well as between-song patter is interspersed among the discs, and the running order is restored to match that of the original performance.
Live at the Boston Tea Part, Vol. 1, taken from the first set, is a
Peter Green bonanza. Kicking off with a sharp "Black Magic Woman," then weaving his liquid guitar lines into an achingly slow cover of
Duster Bennett's "Jumping at Shadows," and finally breaking into a formerly unavailable 25-minute version of "Rattlesnake Shake," the disc's centerpiece,
Green sings and plays with restrained authority. The extended jam on "Shake" proves that
Green was a master improviser, referencing his blues roots even when flying off on spontaneous tangents no less riveting than those of
the Allman Brothers or
the Grateful Dead.
Jeremy Spencer takes the lead on two rollicking
Elmore James covers, "I Can't Hold Out" and "Got to Move," the latter seeing the light of day after being hidden in the vaults for 29 years. The set closes with
Green's proto-metal "The Green Manalishi" in a riotous 13-minute version that leaves the original four-minute single looking limp. This is the tightest, and most varied of the three albums, and is recommended for newcomers not interested in the entire set. ~ Hal Horowitz