Fleetwood Mac – The Pious Bird Of Good Omen (LP, Speakers Corner)

After the split from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in the summer of ’67, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood seemed to have said goodbye to rough-brushed island rock ‘n’ roll. Instead, the newly founded band Fleetwood Mac initially indulged in the black blues, whose style of playing was so closely based on that of their role models that Eye magazine spoke of an “almost ridiculous mimicry”. But the course they took led in the right direction and as early as 1969, the year “The Pious Bird Of Good Omen” was published, the hit parade barometer showed the group ahead of the Beatles and Stevie Wonder at the top end of the scale. Of course, the cover version of Little Willie John’s “Need Your Love So Bad”, which was prepared with creamy string sounds, and other bluesmetrically layered songs speaks intentionally American accent, which does not fail to have an impressive effect. But the group’s highly original sound ideas are realized in pieces that have become famous, such as the weightlessly gliding “Albatross” and “Black Magic Woman”, a fusion of Latin and blues elements. The verdict of having to do with the best British blues ever played (allmusic.com) is easy to agree with when listening.