Future Games - FLEETWOOD MAC***

Woman Of A Thousand Years/Morning Rain/What A Shame/Future Games/Sands Of Time/Sometimes/Lay It All Down/Show Me A Smile

After the trauma of losing their leading member Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac suffered another blow with the departure of guitarist Jeremy Spencer. They recruited Bob Welch as replacement who helped out on the songwriting. (US:91)

“After losing both Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer in the space of about a year who'd imagine they'd deliver such a gorgeous record. This is far removed from the pure blues influence that was the genesis of the group. What we have instead is Danny Kirwan picking up the load and delivering some stunning tracks that are sublime in their beauty, and also contain fantastic progressive lead guitar playing.”

“I stupidly imagined that all their records after Green's departure and before Rumours were of little interest, a major error. Because Woman Of 1000 Years is possibly their very best song and all in all this record offers catchy West Coast influenced songs from start to finish, without any weak moments.”

“With guitarist Jeremy Spencer having jumped ship Future Games saw the arrival of American singer/guitarist Bob Welch and ex-Chicken Shack keyboardist Christine Perfect given full member status. These personnel changes saw the band actively moving away from their blues-rock roots to a much more open and commercial pop and rock sound.”

“With both Green and Spencer gone, Danny Kirwan is the closest thing to an original writer Fleetwood Mac had at this point. His Woman Of 1000 Years and Sands Of Time are the strongest tracks as well as the title track penned by Mac newbie Bob Welch. The rest of the album is bland and directionless, although we do get introduced to the type of songs Christine McVie will write for the rest of her career.”

“With founding member Jeremy Spencer out, the group fills the guitar void with Bob Welch who not only brings his guitar talents, but also modest songwriting abilities. Future Games is an interesting mix of pop/rock tracks. Danny Kirwan contributes three songs and all are excellent. The other five tracks, penned by various members of the band are a mixed bag. Despite these differences, much of Future Games is a flowing, relaxing musical experience. Slow, melodic guitar passages accented with soft guitar bends dominate many of the cuts.”