"…I Get A Real Good
Feeling Talking To You…"
Fleetwood Mac's 4th British vinyl
outing was a double-album called "Blues Jam At Chess" issued on Blue
Horizon Records S 7-66227 in the UK and Blue Horizon BH 3801 in the USA
(both December 1969).
Recorded in one day (4
January 1969) and reluctantly it seems released at the end of the year
(probably trying to capitalise on the September 1969 issue of "Then Play
On" with its "Oh Well Part 1 and 2" monster single) -
"Blues Jam At Chess" (aka "Fleetwood Mac In Chicago") was
produced by MIKE VERNON and MARSHALL CHESS at the Chess "Ter-Mar"
Studios in Chicago.
The artists involved were FLEETWOOD MAC, OTIS SPANN on
Piano, WILLIE DIXON on Bass, WALTER "SHAKEY" HORTON on Harmonica,
J.T. BROWN on Tenor Sax, GUY BUDDY on Guitars (Guy Buddy is a pseudonym for
Buddy Guy), HONEYBOY EDWARDS on Bass and S.P. LEARY on Drums.
A word first about the less
than exciting UK and US original artwork and why none of it been used on
these 2 reissues (see photos above). The original UK double-album had a wavy backdrop and titled
sleeve (no real effort in the art department) - while the original US copy
didn't fare much better either. Credited as "Fleetwood Mac - In
Chicago", it was issued in a dull plain red cover (5 December 1969).
However it was reissued again in June and September 1970 in the USA as two
separate volumes - "Blues Jam In Chicago, Vol.1 and Vol.2" on BH 4802
and BH 4803 respectively (to confuse matters further the 2LP-set charted
Stateside 3 July 1971 as "Fleetwood Mac In Chicago" on Blue Horizon BH
3801 with yet more different artwork - the title on the side door of a blue
car). And it is these two individual volumes with their far prettier
colour-photos-of-the-session artwork that were used for "The Complete Blue
Horizon Sessions 1967-1969" 6CD Box Set issued in November 1999 and are
now individually issued again here in July 2004 as these much extended
editions. Let's get to the South Indiana details…
UK released 12 July 2004 -
"Blues Jam In Chicago Volume One" by FLEETWOOD MAC, OTIS SPANN, J.T.
BROWN, GUITAR BUDDY, HONEYBOY EDWARDS and S. P. LEARY on Columbia/Blue Horizon
5164462 (Barcode 5099751644620) is an Expanded Edition Reissue and Remaster
offering up Sides 1 and 2 of the December 1969 "Blues Jam At Chess”
double-album and plays out as follows (68:24 minutes):
Also, in order to show the
musical differences, I've detailed the vinyl first, then the extended CD
(Volume Two is Side 3 and 4 of "Blues Jam At Chess" - see separate
review):
ORIGINAL VINYL:
Side 1:
1. Watch Out [Peter Green
song]
2. Ooh Baby [Chester Burnett
aka Howlin' Wolf cover]
3. South Indiana - Take 1
[Walter `Shakey' Horton cover]
4. South Indiana - Take 2
[Walter `Shakey' Horton cover]
5. Last Night [W Jacobs
cover]
6. Red Hot Jam [Peter Green
Instrumental song]
Side 2:
1. I'm Worried [Elmore James
cover]
2. I Held My Baby Last Night
[Elmore James/Jules Taub cover]
3. Madison Blues [Elmore
James cover]
4. I Can't Hold Out [Elmore
James cover]
5. I Need Your Love [Jimmie
Rogers cover]
6. I Got The Blues [Walter
`Shakey' Horton cover]
EXTENDED CD (68:24 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 5 are the same as
the LP above
Track 6 is "Red Hot
Jam" [Take 1 with Studio talk - An Inserted Previously Unreleased Track]
Track 7 is "Red Hot
jam" [Take 2 - The Master Version, Track 6 on the LP]
Tracks 8 to 11 are "I'm
Worried" through to "I Can't Hold Out" and are as per the LP
Track 12 is "Bobby's
Rock" which is an inserted Previously Unreleased cover of an Elmore James
song
Track 13 is "I Need Your
Love" (same as the LP)
Track 14 is "Horton's
Boogie Woogie [Take 1 with Studio Chatter - an Inserted Previously Unreleased
Version]
Track 15 is "I Got The
Blues" is the Master but with inserted Previously Unreleased False Start
The tapes have been digitally remastered to STUNNING SOUND QUALITY - as fresh as a politician's new excuses and the inlay is a foldout three-leaf affair that simply duplicates the MIKE VERNON liner notes from the 6CD set, "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969". The players were...
FLEETWOOD MAC were:
PETER GREEN – Lead Guitar and
Vocals (Tracks 1, 2 and 5), Guitar Only (Tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15)
DANNY KIRWAN – Guitar (Tracks
1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15)
JEREMY SPENCER – Guitar and
Vocal (Tracks 8, 9, 10 and 11), Guitar Only (Track 12)
JOHN McVIE – Bass Guitar
MICK FLEETWOOD – Drums
GUESTS:
WALTER HORTON plays Harmonica
on CD tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15
BUDDY GUY, HONEYBOY EDWARDS
and WILLIE DIXON are on 6 and 7
JEREMY SPENCER replaces Peter
Green on Guitar and Vocal for 8, 9 10 and 11 - these tracks also feature J.T.
BROWN on Tenor Sax with WILLIE DIXON on Upright Bass
OTIS SPANN plays Piano and
S.P. LEARY plays drums on 13, 14 and 15
Fans greet the album itself with equal amounts of affection and disdain because at times it sounds like one long rehearsal - and a slightly uninspired and dull one at that. It's not that Blues Jam At Chess is bad - it just isn't red hot like you'd think it should have been. Highlights, however, include the lovely shuffle of "Watch Out", the harmonica driven slow blues of "Last Night" and the slashing Elmore James riffs in "I Can't Hold Out" (lyrics above). "Bobby's Rock" is a rubbishy extra, but Take 1 of "Horton's Boogie Woogie" is fantastic - alive and kicking and worth the price of entry alone. I play it a lot and it picks me up every time. And for me who once thought some parts of the session was only workmanlike, the added stuff and cool extra songs has made me love this strange double-album beast even more – brought a vitality to it that I'm sure will thrill newcomers too...
To sum up then - this is a 5
star presentation of a rare moment in Blues Rock history. And it has enough
magic in its obscure grooves to not just recommend it, but make both volumes of
"Blues Jam In Chicago..." a necessity for Blues Rock and Fleetwood
Mac fans alike. Jump in I say and boogie...
PS:
See also my reviews for the
other five July 2004 Extended CD versions of Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green years
with the Blue Horizon label - "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac",
"Mr. Wonderful", "The Pious Bird Of Good Omen", "Blues
Jam In Chicago Volume Two" and "The Original Fleetwood Mac" –
all fab in their own 60ts Blues-glorious way...
