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"BEFORE THE BEGINNING" (Peter Green, 1969)

So many nights I lay awake,
Can't sleep....
I lay here thinking about a woman,
I used to love,
Can't sleep, but no good to count sheep,
I'll just count the worries,
That I've got plenty of.

And how many times,
Must I be the fool,
Before I can make it,
Oh, make it on home,
I've got to find a place to sing my words,
Is there nobody listening to my song?
You talk about a life,
Been searching for the key,
But can't find an answer,
To comfort me.
I ask myself about love,
Can't even find the door,
To take me to a place,
I've never seen before.

But how many times,
Must I be the fool,
Before I can make it,
Oh, make it on home,
I've got to find a place to sing my words,
Is there nobody listening to my song?
FLEETWOOD MAC: "Then Play On" LP,VERY FIRST UK PRESSING,19th SEPTEMBER,1969, ISSUED IN STEREO ONLY.
Including a 1976 Pye mastered and pressed "Led Zeppelin" for Atlantic, listed only yesterday on ebay, I have spent a great deal
of time discussing and documenting  Pye's contractual pressings this year, more than Pye's own label. The UK Reprise did not
own their own pressing plant in Britain and in this pre- Kinney Records era of the late 1960's,the  Reprise records up to 1970 to
1971, developed a well earned reputation of extremely potent sound.   The famous 'Steamboat' on the labels would carry over to
the tan labels in 1970, but never looked as authentic as on the cream segment of yellow & pale green. This dinner plate thick and
massively heavyweight vinyl with canyon deep grooves, was mastered in Pye's Studios and pressed in their plant, any Reprise
label with this 1960's design, which for the UK was only a slightly different set of three pastel colours, had to be pressed and
distributed by Pye.  From a Mint record like this, the sound is just staggering and nothing that followed in the early 1970's ever
looked and sounded like this very, very special album.  I immediately declare my bias to being a smitten F. Mac fan right from
their 1967 Blue Horizon label debut single, I stayed with the band right up to their download only EP in 2014.  I am fussy about
this first pressing but the rarity of a Mint 1969 pressing is such, that I have only sold two copies in our fifteen years trading
on ebay.  At least I do not have to get into major complications about the pressing and distribution, clearly printed with the track
listing and credits inside the first issue gatefold cover. In fact, the fantastic artwork unique to these 1969 covers, was not  on
over-printed with the album title, artist or catalogue number, talking about Led Zeppelin, that was how their 1970 "Four Symbols"
or "Led Zeppelin 4" gatefold cover was made, also without any printed details on the spine, Fleetwood Mac were the first to have
that in 1969.  Amazingly all the artwork is still on the massively wide spine and considering the terrible state of the surviving
first edition 'Garrod & Lofthouse' gatefold covers today, the very minor storage and standing traits to such a vulnerable cover
holding a massively heavy and dense record, is at an absolute minimum.   Just saying there is no ring wear on the front and just
a tiny area on the back back, a little ageing to the white inside, but with the spine section of the artwork all present, that
alone is indicative of the outstanding condition for this particular 47 year old matt, very vulnerable cover .


ROUGHLY TEXTURED TRI-COLOUR "Steamboat" REPRISE LABEL: RLSP 90000
The 'Pop Series' lettering is in white against the pale green segment, opposite is the mentioned cream part of the smaller two
colour top sections, leaving the main in a very pleasing yellow colour.  As usual the thick, rough paper was left uneven when the
spindle hole was cut out, not be confused with wear from a spindle, this only has ultra faint traces of a once only played record.


MAITRIX:  RLSP 90000  A  1 -  H / RLSP 90000   B  1 -   H
  The very first pressing made, Pye regularly chose an end letter to signify the first pressing on singles, EP's and LP's, but with
'A  1 / B 1' before the diamond shape dividing symbol and the letter 'H', this was indeed the very first record made.
Also in the run-out grooves at 12 o'clock, the almost defunct UK Tax Code 'KT' is handscibed, yet another 1969 feature only
found on the first pressings.  For most contractual pressings, Pye preferred hand scribed indexing and I recognise the handwriting
also found on the A&M label contracted records.


  ORIGINAL 1969 PYE /  REPRISE  POLY-LINED INNER SLEEVE, ONCE USED, UNSPLIT   WITH ONLY NATURAL AGEING.
  AN IMPRESSION FROM THE MASSIVELY THICK AND HEAVYWEIGHT PYE VINYL, WITH A RELATED LIGHT CREASES, 
IN EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT CONDITION.


FIRST ISSUE 'Garrod & Lofthouse' PRINTED  MATT GATEFOLD COVER, INCLUDING THE EXPORT UK COVER AND
  THE Kinney 1970's 'K' RE-ISSUES, THE ONLY GATEFOLD UK COVER WITH THE WONDERFUL Maxwell Armfield FRONT
  COVER ARTWORK.
  A plastic outer sleeve and non usage accounts for the outstanding condition, but there is still the matter of standing with the
  heavyweight record for 47 years.   I was pleasantly surprise to find a really gentle record impression on the back only, just the
  back has a tiny area of rubbing from the record's internal position.  The main record impression is on the inside of the gatefold
cover,  plus some positive ageing to the textured white background.   Minimal ageing is for the outside matt cover, any edge or
spine edges rubbing is at an absolute minimum, the usual spine ends rubbing completes the negative comments.

 
  The front has a beautiful classical painting of a naked male figure on horseback, to see this without  any wear or scuffing is a
  very rare event.  The vividness and richness of the colour tones made wonderful pictures,so anything I write here about how
  amazingly unfaded they are, is rather pointless when they can best be viewed.  Even the very thin grey border is the original
  colour, that does have some minor storage signs but this really has withstood the decades exceptionally well, most now have that
  worn down to the exposed sub-surface unprinted white paper underneath. The picture extends over to the back, which is shown
  fully opened up to include the spine's portion of the picture.  It's extremely rare to find an undamaged spine, best seen in the  
  picture taken with the cover standing up, you have to be brave to show that view or, just have a rare fantastic condition first
  issue cover.  As I said, no titles printed there and all the artwork colours on the top surface are  totally unworn, even the usual
  naturally formed tiny tiny edge paper lines are too minor to take seriously for this particular cover.  The bottom left corner or
  spine ending has standing pressure, a small crease with the slightest rubbing but once again, as minimal as it physically can be.
  The other corners also come under the same heading but I must stress how superb the right side corners but please allow for the
  unavoidable standing in storage traits.  Even a cover with an incredible Mint record inside was not immune to gravity and I really
  think negative comments about this cover are unfair and unjust when every effort possible was made to keep it in as perfect  
  condition as possible.  A year earlier and the "Mr. Wonderful" 1968 album had deluxe thick lamination and flipback edges, but  
  the majority have far more wear and damage than this very vulnerable design.  Grading this is very tricky but I am accustomed to
  grading 60's and 70's covers accurately.
  THE COVER IS IN A MINIMUM OF EXCELLENT+++ CONDITION, IN OTHER WORDS,I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ONE TO
  BETTER THIS!
 

THE PASTEL YELLOW MATT, SOFTLY TEXTURED TO TOUCH, REPRISE LABELS, WERE EASILY STAINED AND SCUFFED,
BOTH ARE EXCEPTIONALLY IMMACULATE AND ONLY HAVE THE ONE FAINTEST OF FAINT SPINDLE ALIGNMENT TRACE,
  OF ONLY ONE PLAY.  CONFIRMED BY THE DEEPLY GLOSSY, JUST PRESSED APPEARANCE OF THE VINYL AND HOW  
  THE CENTRE HOLE WAS SO TIGHT ON MY  TURNTABLE'S SPINDLE.  AS I CONSTANTLY SAY, RECORDS WERE HANDLED  
  AT PRESSING PLANTS AND IN RECORD SHOPS BEFORE ANYONE EVEN BOUGHT THEM, YOU ONLY NEED TO OPEN TODAY'S
  FACTORY SEALED VINYL FOR...FACTORY HANDLING.  THERE ARE NO SCRATCHES AND ANY HANDLING TRACES ARE NEAR
INVISIBLE .  GREAT TO SEE THE  DISTINCTIVE PYE 'PATTERN' FROM THEIR DISTINCTIVE METAL STAMPING PLATES, ONLY
  FOUND ON TRUE MINT VINYL.....THE RECORD IS IN MINT CONDITION.
SIDE 1
"Coming Your Way" (Danny Kirwan)
"Closing My Eyes" (Peter Green)
"Fighting For Madge" (Mick Fleetwood)
"When You Say" (Danny Kirwan)
"Show-Biz Blues" (Peter Green)
"Underway" (Peter Green)
"One Sunny Day" (Danny Kirwan)

SIDE 2
  "Although The Sun Is Shining" (Danny Kirwan)
"Rattlesnake Shake" (Peter Green)
"Without You" (Danny Kirwan)
"Searching For Madge" (John McVie)
"My Dream" (Danny Kirwan)
"Like Crying" (Danny Kirwan)
"Before The Beginning" (Peter Green)

Peter Green - vocals, guitar, harmonica, six string bass & percussion
Danny Kirwan - vocals & guitar
  John McVie - bass
Mick Fleetwood - drums
Guest Musician:
Christine Perfect - piano
 

  Recorded At Pye Studios, London, 1968 - 1969.
Engineered By Martin Birch.
Produced By Fleetwood Mac.
  The formation of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac was too strongly connected with the British leading blues pioneer, John Mayall,
  during the 1960's, not to give the full account of the complex events between 1966 and 1967.   A subject dear to my heart, here
  was how the Fleetwood Mac phenomenon that would last for an unbelievable six decades, came about.  That first Peter Green
   era alone takes a fair bit of piecing together, John Mayall's first incarnation of his 'Blues Breakers' lost Eric Clapton when he
   left to form Cream in 1966, but just before Clapton had even joined John Mayall, another UK blues guitarist genius had briefly
   played with him, Peter Green.  At that stage Eric Clapton's proven track record with the Yardbirds made him the obvious choice
    but after one superb Clapton & Blues Breakers album, Eric left, to replace him, John Mayall turned once again to Peter Green.
  In April,1966, the highly regarded young drummer Mick Fleetwood joined John Mayall's 'school of blues,' the Blues Breakers at
that point had the outstanding John McVie playing bass, who had returned in October, 1965 after being sacked by Mayall for his
  excessive drinking.  McVie and Fleetwood hit it off immediately, becoming one of the greatest rhythm sections in the history of
  blues and rock music, as I just wrote, they remained together this far into the 21st century and hopefully will still get together
once more for touring and recording.  With Peter Green's arrival in the Blues Breakers in 1966, those three now formed one of the
  most formidable musical alliances of all time.  Without Mayall's involvement, in July,1967 the trio worked with Mayall's producer
  Mike Vernon and recorded an album backing USA bluesman Eddie Boyd, for Vernon's newly formed label, the legendary home for
  UK & USA blues,'Blue Horizon'.  Still in 1967, John Mayall sacked Mick Fleetwood due to his own over fondness of hard drinking,
  the only full album Peter Green recorded with John Mayall was the wonderful, "A Hard Road," issued earlier in the March of 1967,
  Green quit just after Fleetwwood, leaving John McVie undecided about if he would join them after experiencing being left out in
  the cold in 1965.  He was involved with recording the Bluesbreakers' "Crusade" album, issued in September '67, John McVie now
  left to form 'Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac' and they signed up with Mike Vernon's new 'Blue Horizon' label.  The last piece of the
Fleetwood Mac 'jigsaw' was slide guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Jeremy Spencer.   Spencer had been introduced to the other
  three by Mike Vernon after he auditioned and rejected Spencer's band 'Levi Set,' in his search for a UK domestic blues band for
  his new label.  'Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac' made their official debut live appearance in August 1967 at the UK's annual event
in the summer, the "Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival," which would later become the 'Reading Festival' of today.

At CBS Studios in London, their first recording sessions began in November,1967 and were completed in the next month, in that
November, the first ever record to ever bear the legendary name, "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac," was the Blue Horizon single
titled "I Believe My Time Ain't Long."  That was where I first came in, buying that single in 1967 began my lifetime's collecting
  of their records and following every incarnation of the band to this present day.  The album they recorded remains as one of the
  very greatest late 1960's debut's, potentially a commercial disaster, but the Bluesbreakers had removed those barriers and with
  psychedelia incorporating blues, it became the refuge for so many who's roots and influence's were in need of renewing.  Making
  No. 4 in the UK charts in March,1968 was exceptional, the dustbin a filthy alley was hardly accepted album artwork but as I said
  earlier, music in the 60's was  all important.  Boosted by the success, the band returned to the CBS studios with Mike Vernon in
  April 1968, new ideas and inspiration were overflowing, their second album was ging to be very special and a specific sound was
  aimed for and achieved.  Conventional recording involves the musician's instruments and vocals being recorded separately and
  mixed together later, Vernon was gifted at that but like the band, was also eager to try something different.  Horns were added
  and there was was another strong John Mayall connection even there, plus Christine Perfect was involved for the first time on a
  Fleetwood Mac recording session.   Christine would of course end up marrying and divorcing John McVie, she was currently with
  another Blue Horizon signed blues band, Chicken Shack, where she played keyboards and sung lead and backing vocals.  Both were
  were very important to Fleetwood Mac's musical progression, not forgetting Christine was a songwriter as well. "Mr. Wonderful" =
was a triumphant album and now the band were leading the 'Blues Boom" that took rock out of psychedelia and into heavy rock with
a blues lead guitar, bass and drums once again dominating.   "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac" not only breached the Top 5, it had a
  British chart residency of an astonishing 37 weeks, over six months, placing it still charting in the middle of  September, 1968.
  "Mr. Wonderful" was released on the 23rd August, peaking at the mentioned No.10, but with only an 11 week chart residency, there
  were well over three times more sales and that vastly cut back on the pressings made before the demand came to a full stop.
  Then in 1969, "Albatross" topped the singles charts around the whole world, another chapter in the massive volume of Fleetwood
  Mac and they had only been together for two years at that point.  Warner Bothers / Reprise were hovering to sign Fleetwood Mac
  when a rift developed between Mike Vernon and the band.  John Lennon was a blues fan and tried to sign Fleetwood Mac to Apple
  but Reprise would prove to be their next and one and only record company for the next 48 years.  It was only their third album but
  "Then Play On" would become the final Fleetwood Mac LP with Peter Green, only two years after the band formed, Peter Green  was
  now keen to expand on a pure blues style and play more improvised music. The demise of Cream in late 1968 - 1969, created a void,
  they also began playing traditional blues in 1966 and with their leading role in psychedelia, Cream took  every opportunity to let
  their natural improvisations flow.  Peter Green realised he had to find a replacement for Jeremy Spencer to take the next step, he
  brought in protegé guitarist Danny Kirwan, even though their  original second guitarist, Jeremy Spencer, was still a band member.
   Mick Fleetwood perfectly summed up their situation for the "Then Play On" album with a telling quote, also the reason for leaving
  the Blue Horizon label where they only playing authentic 12 bar and slide blues;

"We didn't want to release any more records with Jeremy singing Elmore James, so Jeremy didn't even play on it."
 
If you look at the inside of the cover, Jeremy Spencer is pictured with the the band but the actual recording sessions took place
without him involved, only Danny Kirwan's guitar played with Peter.  That produced the evolutionary process their music was now
slowly moving towards.  I used the term "slowly" because most bands with the unbelievable talent in the 1960's F. Mac, had plenty
of time to develop and change direction, in the two years they had recorded two definitive blues albums.  As well as now playing
with an innovative approach with more textured sounds on "Then Play On," they also had a new producer, well, technically the sound
engineer, but Martin Birch was much more than that They were now expanding on  previous 'live in the studio' approach to laying
down tracks, with overdubbing and layering the recordings more than ever on their earlier albums. In the studio, Christine Perfect
who had played briefly on the 1968 "Mr. Wonderful" LP was now becoming part of the band and adding keyboards,  blues was still
the foundation of all their music.  The recording's were just staggering,when the album issued in October, 1969, it made No.6 in
 the UK, but 45 years is a mighty long time for big selling and non selling records alike.  The two Blue Horizon LP's are never
easily found in Mint, I've sold a few on ebay alone, but not for a long time now, not for the lack of trying, even when I come a
cross an original of the three albums with Peter, they have played to death and especially for "Then Play On", the once beautiful
gatefold cover, is battered and torn. No way will I ever present Fleetwood Mac LPs in anything less than the full original glory,
visually or most importantly of all, the sound reproduction, here's a quick background to the incredible "Then Play On."
 

Still signed to the Blue  Horizon label, in January, 1969 "Albatross" topped the UK charts, a haunting instrumental that elevated
Fleetwood Mac's name way beyond just being only blues artists. Peter Green's composition, "Man Of the World "made a No.2 chart
position here, only held  off the top by the Beatles "Get Back" in May 69.  Fleetwood Mac's contract with Blue Horizon ended with
  financial wrangling, they signed a one off deal with Andrew Oldham's Immediate label to release "Man Of the World".  At that point
the Beatles Apple label were keen to sign Fleetwood Mac, hence their one single deal, but Apple never materialised, the Beatles
  had their own internal problems in 1969.  September '69, Blue Horizon released the compilation "Pious Bird Of Good Omen"LP, by
  then Reprise stepped in to offer a contract and in September, "Then Play On" was released as the first of the many outstanding
  albums now issued under the shortened named of "Fleetwood Mac."  Ironically removing "Peter Green's" prefix, was  also fated to
  be the last album Peter Green played on with F. Mac.  I have to include here, in the following November, the amazing Peter Green
  performance on "Oh Well" was issued as a single. Peter's mental health from there on was deteriorating fast, by May,1970 Green had
  played his last F. Mac gig, in June the last Peter Green Fleetwood Mac single, "Green Manalishi," signalled the end of the first
  amazing era for F. Mac.  1969 fell into the period of Reprise's tri-colour "Pop Series" labels, so only these first pressing's were
  on the soon to be re-designed label. That and the passage of 45 years is the only possible explanation for the album's rarity,
of course true great LP's took very heavy plays.  The 1971 re-issue was the only other "Then Play On"available on the tan Reprise
  colour and this stunning gatefold cover was reduced to a single cover, losing the wonderful artwork on the outside (please see my
pictures) and was issued in a plain black cover, with just the album's titles and tracks in white.  Inside the original gatefold cover
contains the real reason, the black and white photo of the 1969 Fleetwood Mac new line-up, now included Peter Green's protegé
guitarist, Danny Kirwan.  Although the picture included Jeremy Spencer, as I said, he wasn't involved in the recording sessions
  for "Then Play On."  The USA 1969 first pressing, omitted "One Sunny Day"  and "Without You",  for the 2nd pressing, along with
   those two tracks, a further two more went missing, "When You Say" and "My Dream."  Unlike the original 14 track album, and that
  was  in order to make room to include both sides of the single, "Oh Well" (Parts 1 & 2).

  The tri-colour  "Steamboat" labels are in pristine condition, spindle use traces are so faint I can just tell it was played once.
  "Then Play On" was only mixed and released in  stereo and what superb stereo it is, the sound quality is sheer perfection, loved
  records like this are a genuinely exciting prospect describe, fantastic music in powerful, crystal clear sound.  The entire
  record plays with an absolute minimum of natural low level static including the bands or linking grooves, the record was pressed
  to Pye's exceptionally high standards,  as expected from these 60's Reprise label. My earlier play was the first since September,
1969, an amazing experience and I will try my best to keep the descriptive text minimal, if that's possible.  When I say 'perfect
sound' I mean the ultimate sounding very first pressing made, I'm really delighted to be able to write that!  A once played ultra
heavyweight Pye 60's first pressing cannot possibly assessed in one or two plays for faint static, several plays will bring the
record to it's absolute very best. I can and will fully discuss the sound quality of a Mint first pressing, but I do not want to
keep repeating the blatantly obvious, this one rare first pressing!
 

  Side 1 has near silent run-in grooves, then Peter Green's blues guitar plays the intro, the notes are alternating between the
  left and right speakers, giving the first taster of this glorious 1960's sensory first stereo mix.  A really superb opening track,
"Coming Your Way," was written by the young Danny Kirwan who also sings  lead   vocals, John Mayall taught Peter Green the art
of discovering raw new talent by example, and in Danny Kirwan, he unearthed so much more than just a gifted guitarist. A prolific
songwriter perfectly suited to original Fleetwood Mac's musical style, but also to create new music. For a while Fleetwood Mac had
three amazing guitar players in the band at the same time,I personally think it was a blessing in disguise the album was not over
the top with three guitars, in his book Mick Fleetwood explained Jeremy Spencer was involved in his "Earl Spence" solo LP, the
release was vetoed by the record company.  Mick's other quote in my intro was not as diplomatic!  I must keep moving on, start  
me on Fleetwood Mac and I could fill a book myself and this was only 1969!   A really lovely melody on a gentle song, with the  
unmistakable sound of the rhythm section of John McVie's bass and Mick Fleetwood's percussion.  Heard in absolutely staggering
  sound quality, the audio from this record is is just stunning  plus a superb stereo mix tp keep your ears fully absorbed with this
    great track, a lovely earthy blues feel, with Mick Fleetwood playing incredible percussion on bongos.  Minimal instruments, Green
and Kirwan link up with simply amazing blues guitar, Peter Green's guitar is so distinctive and he was in inspired form.  I have
forgotten to write minimally, I had better move along,I could easily fill the description with endless stories, I hope those told
have been of of interest to anyone unfamiliar with the final throws of the original line-up. Peter wrote "Closing My Eyes," a sad
   and slow, burning blues track sung with all the heartfelt, emotional despair and anguish of the blues greats who inspired him to
   becoming a musician.  The linking grooves have low level background only static, I insist on adding a reminder that this is only
   the third play of these non run-in deep grooves, the gentle and delicate intro sounds amazing and I am describing a record that
   was pressed in 1969 with faint natural static, but I believe a few plays will remove the pressing related static.  A lone guitar,
   panned in both channels is incredibly sharp and enough utter nonsense about almost inaudible static.  The guitars on this track
   are played with restrain,  often it's only Peter Green's vocal without any instrumental backing.  Even there the beautiful sounds
   have such minimal static, this is wonderful to hear in such sharply edged sound.  The guitars might be played gently, but the
  effect is devastating!  The stunning Spanish acoustic guitar is panned to the left with Peter's expressive electric guitar mostly
   from the right, but the sound's movement is in fluidly changing patterns, with the guitars swapping channels. The sheer intensity
   of the vocal is almost chilling, Peter sings that by dying he will be with his lost lover. The now very highly charged atmosphere
   is emotionally wrought, such a deeply moving track, however often I hear it.  The guitar's note are in stunning realism, but that
   voice has the very cutting edge I know so well from this first pressing.  I mentioned minimal static but it's crazy to even write
   that, this is awesome audio clarity and any record playing sounds are all but way off in the distance. To elaborate on that, this
   is after all a hauntingly beautiful piece of music, just  take the ending piece where Peter finishes by singing the final lyrics,
   "To go on feeding your smile." The last word"smile" is hanging there, with only an almost silent organ note resonating in the
   silence, that silence is exactly how the record reproduces that fantastic ending, a gap of pure silence ensure that to also give
  the next track a perfectly clean intro.  The album recording sessions became notorious for having very long psychedelic Cream
   style blues jams, that needed to be edited.  Eric Clapton unleashed the fire in him with improvised blues / psychedelic music
   while playing in Cream.  In a way, the song's structures on the  two previous 1967 and 1968  F. Mac LP's, didn't present Peter
   with an opportunity to play in the style Eric Clapton enjoyed in Cream.  Here he did, Mick Fleetwood's "Fighting For Madge"  is
   one of the amazing instrumentals, and very skilfully edited too!  It fades in at the point when things are just coming to the boil
and within a minute the tempo just takes off, and now Peter Green is firing out staggering lightening fast blues guitar just like
  Jimi Hendrix turned it on.   John McVie's bass playing is equally inspired, with Mick Fleetwood's drums played ferociously. So my
kind of Fleetwood Mac music, improvisation was always essential to blues, a fantastic moment is when Green's guitar switches to
   the left channel and he takes off into the stratosphere!  The band are really on fire, they were very special recording sessions,
   not just because they became the last of Peter Green's involvement on an album, but the music created, as on this great track,
   was simply sensational. The stereo mix is in the total channel separation of late 60's true stereo, so the impact is intensified.
  Danny Kirwan's contribution was major, he also wrote the next song "When You Say", a beautiful  acoustic based track, sung with
   a dreamy and a sunny, lazy feel.  With minimal instruments, just  guitars and bass, the stereo is once more stunning, so is the
   sound quality  pure and true and as loudly as I am playing this record, there's no form of distortion.  Danny plays the acoustic
   guitar and the complimentary Peter Green electric guitar is beautifully played.   McVie's bass is outstanding on this track, the
   vocals have stunning harmonies, at the end they increase and Peter's guitar increases along with them. The sound quality is just
immaculate on this very gentle performance.  Yes, it is vinyl and and faint static belongs there, the next track gap runs smoothly
   into a stinging blues note hanging and so life like, he could be playing in my room! Peter Green composed the incredible acoustic
   blues of "Show-Biz Blues," with it's stunning slide blues guitar, but now without Jeremy Spencer this becomes a real insight into
   Green's genius on all guitar styles.  Mick Fleetwood keeps up a steady train rhythm, this the blues Green played with Mayall and
   launched the first Fleetwood Mac album with. The sound here is again staggering with all heard in the most perfect audio clarity
   and the sheer intensity of Peter Green's vocal is breathtaking, even the lyric "rambling pony" evokes memories of their earliest
   recording's.  This was from the same sessions the magnificent "Oh Well" was written in,  carrying the same acoustic feel and dark
   moody that made that such an amazing single.  Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were so surprised when Peter announced "Oh Well"
    was to be released as a 45, they actually bet money with him it would fail to sell. With "Show-Biz Blues" on the LP, he left the
   same feel of "Oh Well" was on at least one of the tracks. "Underway" is another of Peter Green's compositions, some flourishes
   of "Albatross" but a completely different song and when he plays his guitar with such burning intensity, beautiful sounds emerge.
    Played as slowly as"Albatross" if a much shorter instrumental, running straight into a brilliant absolute killer of a guitar riff
  to introduce "One Sunny Day".   Kirwan was writing some outstanding material in 1969, a fast tempo blues song with some
   fantastic guitar playing.  That solid rhythm section of  McVie and Mick Fleetwood drive this to it's very limits, distinctively
   the magical musical chemistry that first forged back with John Mayall, now with Peter, they instantly and instinctively knew
    where to go with each other's direction's.   Green's staggering guitar is firmly rooted in the left channel with Mick's amazing
   drumming. The sound and the stereo are both stunning, Reprise were such a great label for vinyl and mastering and I should  
  really translate to 'Pye's vinyl and mastering.  Not quite a minimal amount of descriptive writing, I will make sure Side 2 is,
  or at least try to!


  Side 2 opens from those smooth running, very near to silent grooves into "Although The Sun Is Shining," written by Danny Kirwan,  
  a wonderful slow acoustic blues track, with such lovely vocal harmonies that remind me of Cream's vocals.  A beautiful acoustic  
  guitar sets the atmosphere and a very basic recording works so well for this track.  The delicacy of this melody once again has an  
  absolutely minimal natural static, the music impacts loud and clearly and that is what Mint vinyl is all about and not natural static.  
  Then without a break, Peter Green's "Rattlesnake Shake"explodes with incredible power, Peter's playing a superb blues riff and
  the intensity stakes are at boiling point.  His vocal is just as amazing as his taut guitar, I love how the great blues rhythm is  
  enhanced by the simplicity of handclaps. There a rough and raw edge to the performance that keeps you on the edge of your seat, a
track worthy of hearing the album for alone.  Peter Green is at his very best here, playing his guitar with real aggression, the  
  loud mastering gives it a tremendous impact and Pye's vinyl creates something unique to first pressings, a presence that leaves
  you in awe of sounds that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. A real pleasure to hear in such stunning sound and the
  psychedelic element to Peter's playing is heard particularly on the sensational ending section.  From a silent gap, in complete  
  contrast, "Without You" is late night blues, the atmosphere is heavy and tense with down on the floor despair.   A Danny Kirwan
  composition featuring Peter Green playing slow and smouldering blues guitar, it's pure genius!  The backing is incredible with  
  every note played, a really telling one, exceptional audio definition from this record really comes into it's own on this track,  
  John McVie's bass guitar is as loud as the guitar, there is only the very slightest surface sound, on such an exposed recording,
  playing precisely as pressed in 1969 is the ultimate I can ever offer for any vinyl from any decade, let alone a 45 year old  
  first pressing.  Next, from a near silent gap and a perfectly clean intro, i"Searching For Madge" is another part of the amazing
blues jams, what an incredible stereo mix here, with Peter Green's awesome guitar is panned in the  left channel, with Kirwan also
  playing out of his skin, opposite from the right speaker.  The bass and drums are only describable as, Fleetwood Mac!  The jam  
  builds to crescendo of sound, the guitars here are nothing less than sensational, a winding down blues guitar makes the magical  
  ending to a performance that literally sizzles with adrenaline pumping guitar sounds. This once again step out from just being a
  blues jam and now firmly into the psychedelic sounds that never surfaced during  the heart of it all, two years earlier in 1967.
  Peter Green is as inspired as you could wish to hear,words are not enough to get this track into text, it's better described more
  simply, mind blowing music!  Then orchestrated music floods from both  speakers, sounding quite bizarre after such blistering  
  guitars, bass and drums.  Then the jam makes a short reprise before almost instantly fading away, amazing stuff!   A silent gap
  before"My Dream," a beautiful song written by Danny and  a lovely instrumental, their two guitars have a steel sound, working
  perfectly for the haunting melody.  The Green / Kirwan guitar partnership was a marriage made in heaven and this track illustrates
  their unlimited potential for future albums together  It is very sad to say only a few more tracks would ever be recorded by this  
  line-up, but Fleetwood Mac would survive Green's departure and the following years of the changes about to happen. The permanent
  arrival of Christine would provide stability to see them through until Stevie & Lindsey took up residency. "Like Crying" actually  
  starts with laughter, then the blues nature of the track is sung with outstanding vocal harmonies.  A gentle song with just basic  
  instruments and not requiring Mick to play drums.  Fantastic sound quality remains consistent as you progress through the record,
  this is maybe not the most inspired track on the the LP, just a personal opinion I hasten to add, he following track certainly is.
   To end the last of the Peter Green album's with  these musicians, "Before The Beginning," as it turned out was indeed the perfect
  Peter Green composition to play out an incredible few years.  What else could this be but a slow and smouldering blues song?  Mick
Fleetwood is re-installed on drums for the track, Peter Green's lead vocal is right up there with his very best singing on either
  of the previous F. Mac albums.  My final sound report is as positive as on the rest of the record, immaculate and crystal clear  
  audio without any of vinyl's potential irritations. The genuine sadness to Green's guitar playing as well as his singing, bring
  a close to a fantastic LP.  If I was to be a little greedy, as on the second pressing of the USA LP, I would have loved to have  
  "Oh Well" on this  UK album, but records can only be as they were issued in their era and I would not want to replace any of the
  tracks on the UK version.
{Roy}
    R & M RECORDS.

My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960's decade
  in general had a very profound effect. It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl
  into becoming a professional record seller.  Nearly thirty years ago we entered into the wonderful atmosphere
of record fairs with the highest possible standards set. When the Internet became the world's new market place for
  vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay. Those standards were rigidly adhered to as they will always continue to be,
the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly
and very efficient service we are proud to provide;

EVERY RECORD IS FULLY PLAYED AND COMES WITH A 'NO ARGUMENT' MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.
  I USE GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE AS WELL AS A GLOBALLY ACCEPTED GRADING TERMINOLOGY
  FROM THE U.K. "RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE" BOOK.
THERE IT CLEARLY STATES "Sound Quality" AFFECTS EVERY GRADING LEVEL AND THAT IS THE ONE
AND ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO ACCURATELY GRADE RECORDS. i.e. COMBINING A STRICT VISUAL
INSPECTION WITH VERY CLOSELY LISTENING TO EVERY SECOND, UNLESS PERHAPS IN THE CASE
OF GENUINELY UNPLAYED VINYL.  EVEN THEN WE STILL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR A RECORD
WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD.
 

  We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest support in the event of any problems.
"There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon)
MY DESCRIPTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE 100% HONEST AND TOTALLY ACCURATE ON ALL GRADINGS
FROM 'V.G.' ( VERY GOOD), TO THE ULTIMATE 'MINT' CONDITION.


ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ITEMS ARE WELCOMED AND WILL BE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO.
 

WE ARE FULLY EXPERIENCED AT SHIPPING WORLDWIDE AND NO EFFORT IS SPARED TO PROTECT
RECORDS AND COVERS ETC.  WE WELCOME BIDDERS FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

ALL RECORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR SLEEVES AND PLACED INTO NEW PROTECTIVE CARD
SLEEVES AND THEN PLACED INTO NEW, HEAVYWEIGHT PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVES.
THE GREATEST ATTENTION IS PAID TO MAKING THE PACKAGING EXTREMELY STRONG & SECURE.
EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE A SAFE DELIVERY AND WE ONLY USE THE VERY BEST
QUALITY PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE COST OF THE ITEM IS IMMATERIAL, EVERY RECORD IS
TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME.

WE DO NOT TREAT POSTAGE AS A MONEY MAKING PROJECT, POSTAGE IS LESS THAN COST, USING
ONLY PROFESSIONALLY PACKED BOXES WITH SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTIVE PACKAGING THAT DOES
WEIGH A LITTLE EXTRA.

UNDER PAYPAL & EBAY'S GUIDELINES, ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA A FULLY INSURED TRACKABLE
SERVICE.


We have kept all our charges at the same level for years now, but due to the Post Office's new price increases, regretfully we
will have to increase the cost of LP's, however, singles will remain unchanged.  Ebay were aware of that happening and have
  increased their minimum postal cost for LP's to £7.00, that figure has been enforced by the UK Post Office and it will become
our UK First Class, Recorded Delivery cost for albums up to the value of £46.  A temporary reduction this week means we can
now post LP's for £5, but who knows how long before the Post Office return to £7?

For LP's valued above £46, the cost will be £9, we are unhappy about either increase but our high standard of packaging has meant
in 13 years of ebay trading, there has not been one record damaged, we are determined to maintain that in the present and future.

IN THE UK RECORDS UP TO THE VALUE OF £46 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, OVER £46 WILL BE
SENT SPECIAL DELIVERY.
  FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA 'INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.'

POSTAGE  COST FOR LP's
UK: UP TO VALUE OF £46, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY  £5.00
UK: OVER VALUE OF £46, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £9.00


EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR  £15.00


USA,JAPAN & REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £20.00


POSTAGE COST FOR EP's & 7"
UK: UP TO THE VALUE OF £46 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £3.00
UK: OVER THE VALUE OF £46 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £6.00
EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £10.00
USA, JAPAN ETC. AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £12.00


PAYMENT DETAILS.

WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS,
AS NEAR TO THE AUCTION ENDING AS POSSIBLE.

OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE.


FOR UK BUYERS;

WE ACCEPT:  PAYPAL, CHEQUES, POSTAL ORDERS & BANK WIRES.


FOR OVERSEAS BUYERS;

WE ACCEPT:  PAYPAL, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS IN POUNDS STERLING ONLY.
OR BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFERS.

WE WILL NOT MAKE FALSE STATEMENTS ON CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORMS AND WILL ALWAYS
CONDUCT ALL OF OUR BUSINESS WITH TOTAL HONESTY.
AS MUCH AS WE SYMPATHISE WITH THE WAY SOME COUNTRIES CHARGE SUCH HEAVY IMPORT
DUTIES, WE WILL NOT LIE.


  Pay me with PayPal.

I don't charge my buyers extra!