After Peter Green spit FM in 1970, the group recorded 1970's Kiln House, where Jeremy Spencer dominated the band's musical direction with a bunch of rocker style numbers in almost Buddy Holly mode.
Christine McVie joined on piano and vocals that year, while Spencer bailed on tour in early 1971.
Christine McVie and Danny Kirwan began to move the band towards mainstream West Coast influenced rock on 1971's Future Games, with new guitarist Bob Welch.
Bob showed a stronger influence on 1972's Bare Trees LP, not long after which Danny Kirwan was replaced by guitarists Bob Weston and Dave Walker, who appeared on 1973's Penguin LP.
Aside from some of Christine's songs, I'd say that this would have to be one of the weakest periods of the group.
Dave Walker was terribly innapropriate for the group's sound, and apparently it was his stage presence (the dude used to front heavy blues rockers Savoy Brown, not a subtle outfit at all), that drew ire from the remaining group, including Welsh.
So Dave got the boot (and did an even briefer stint with Black Sabbath), and Bob Weston departed after the next FM album 'Mystery to Me' in 1973.
In 1974, the 'Heroes Are Hard To Find' album came out, and once again the only sonmgs I felt had any longevity where Christine's songs, they sounded like a caberet act the rest of the time.
Late in 1974, Fleetwood Mac moved to California, with hopes of re-starting their career. Welch left the band shortly after. although many suggest that Welch was asked to stay despite the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
Instead he departed and formed a kind of hard-rock trio called Paris. The band — which included former Jethro Tull bass guitarist Glenn Cornick, former Nazz drummer Thom Mooney, and drummer Hunt Sales (later with David Bowie's Tin Machine), they put out two flop albums, which had music that ranged from pretty good, to average material.
Bob then went solo and cut some okay 1970s smooth pop, you know kind of like the dross that Boz Scaggs (once a great soul singer) and so many others did faced with the option of going smooth pop or disco.

BTW: Christine McVie (nee Perfect) co-fronted another great British blues band from the same time. The band was called Chicken Shack and featured the stunning guitar pyrotechnics of co-leader Stan Webb. I felt Ms. McVie's talents were wasted backing up the weak singing abilities of Buckingham/Nicks.

I'm outta here....

I agree totally about Chicken Shack, another example pf a great Brit blues band which which into rather tedious blues rock, like Savoy Brown, the Groundhogs and others in the 1970s.
Like FM, Chicken shack's first four proper studio albums are cool. IMHO..

A common thread here? John Mayall and Cyril Davies who "co-chaired" the primal "Chicago Blues" movement in England in the late 50's and early 60's. The list of their combined alumni spans an impressive number of musicians in most of the progressive bands (blues or otherwise) coming out of the UK from the early 60's thru the late 70's.

As a fan of Alexis Koerner (who at times could be pretty bad or excelllent), Cyril Davies, and Mayall I'm particuarly enjoying this thread.
John McVie of Fleetwood Mac was Mayall's bassist for most of the 1960s, and although he was wary of leaving in 1967 for the risky venture of a new group (FM used Bob Brunning as a temp bassist for the early gigs in 1967), he did and those early albums with Kirwan, Fleetwood, Green, Spencer and McVie are some of the finest white boy blues ever.
If pressed I'd have to say that 'Mr. Wonderful' is my fave, the raw sound, the horn section and guest harmonica blended with such a talented group is amazing.
Although the material they cut in Chicago with Eddie Boyd and others, is well impressive.

Pretty hilarious.

You're right Jason, this has turned into an intresting thread. It has nothing to do with steel guitar but intresting none the less.

When I was recalled during the Persian Gulf episode, I was sent to Atlanta to help out with the installation of a laser ceilometer at Dobbins AF Base. One evening, at a restaurant in town I heard this fabulous guitar work and later dug up the name of the record which was Chris Issacs and What A Wicked Thing To Do. I thought that was some wicked guitar work done by I never found out who.

Now we're in a new crisis and I hear this guitar work on some car commercial and I'm wanting to know again: Who Is This Guy ??

Any info and/or details will surely be appreciated. I've waited a long time !!

Regards, Paul

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 21 September 2001 at 07:30 AM.]