2019 saw the beginning of what will surely be a “Classic Rock” goldrush as companies large and small hope to cash in on the expiration of the fifty-year copyright protection (in the U.K.) of musical performances and broadcasts from 1969 forward.

 Five different CD collections, and one vinyl exclusive, ranging from no-frills single discs to multi-CD sets of the music of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac were released in 2019.

The CDs are all drawn from the same three sources, with the two multi-disc sets pulling from all three.  The exception here is “Fleetwood Mac – Before the Beginning 1968 – 1970 Live & Demo Sessions” (Sony Music) which includes material from two additional sources.

The vinyl only compilation collects BBC performances from a number of sources, some of which were previously commercially available.

                Track listings for each of the sets are posted below.

The first to hit the streets in January of 2019, was “Original Live Broadcasts” (London Calling) a single CD featuring 19 performances recorded for broadcast on the BBC from January to August of 1968; three of the final eight tracks feature the band’s newest member at the time, Danny Kirwan.  

As with all of the material found on these five releases, the performances have been in circulation among collectors for decades, but these have never been made commercially available before. 

There is no duplication with the now long out of print two CD “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – Live at the BBC” (Castle Music) released in 1995.

Unlike the two-disc set, the tracks have been arranged chronologically on the new release, which I find preferable. 

In June of 2019, a sixteen-track collection of BBC recordings, was released exclusively on vinyl, titled “Live at the BBC London 1968” (Radio Loop Loop)

This is a reissue of one of the earliest commercially availablePeter Green’s Fleetwood Mac bootlegs from the Koine label.

 The collection was released CD in 1989 as part of Koine’s “Oldies But Goldies / Live – Over 20 Years” series as “Live in London 1968”

Six of the tracks here were later released on 1995’s “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – Live at the BBC”

Two others came out on 2001’s “Show-Biz Blues 1968 to 1970 Volume 2” and five more appear on the 2019 “Original Live Broadcasts”

Minor variations in the song titles are usually easy to decipher, but it should be noted that ‘Why Did You Go Away’ is a more manageable title for ‘Bee I Bicky Bop / Blue Jean Honey / Babe Meets High School / Hound Dog / Hot Rod Man’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ is simply Led Zeppelin’s title for the Muddy Waters song that they covered, ‘You Need Love’.

The one track not found anywhere else is the Duster Bennett BBC recording of ‘Shady Little Baby’ featuring Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer on guitar and slide, respectively. 

 A month later, in July, another single disc collection was released, “Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968”(Roxvox) The ten-song set was originally broadcast live on a local radio station, KSAN-FM, when the band played the Carousel Ballroom (soon to be renamed The Fillmore West) in San Francisco on their first tour of the U.S. 

August brought the last of the single disc releases, “The Warehouse Tapes” (Good Ship Funke)

It too reproduces a radio broadcast, this one from a January 1970 show at The Warehouse, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  This is the first to highlight the three-guitar line-up with Danny Kirwan.  

A month after that, the first three CD set “Transmission Impossible – Legendary Radio Broadcasts From the 1960’s & 1970’s” (Eat to the Beat) was released.

Discs Two and Three of the collection duplicate “Original Live Broadcasts” (London Calling) and “The Warehouse Tapes” (Good Ship Funke), respectively.  The BBC recordings ‘Psychedelic Send-Up’ and ‘Crazy About My Baby’ on the “Original Live Broadcasts” are correctly titled here as ‘Intergalactic Musicians Walking On Velvet’ and ‘Without You’ on this collection.

Disc One consists of the ten tracks found on release “Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968”(Roxvox) and then adds an additional six tracks (taken from an audience recording(s)) from the same venue

In addition to utilizing the same recordings, the three CD set also uses the same song titles, incorrectly titling Elmore James’ ‘Something Inside of Me’ from the Carousel Ballroom ‘My Baby’s Gone’, and his’ ‘Can’t Stop Lovin’’ from the Warehouse, as ‘Oh Baby’

The last collection to be released, “Fleetwood Mac – Before the Beginning 1968 – 1970 Live & Demo Sessions” (Sony Music) came out in November after repeated delays.

As with the other four CD releases, the recordings are taken from their 1968 stand at the Carousel Ballroom and the 1970 broadcast from The Warehouse, but differs from the others in having only four BBC recordings, supplementing them with tracks from a different Warehouse show and three from a French television broadcast.

I will go into greater detail on the individual tracks in my review of this collection

Track listings & Sources for all the above in order of release

Original Live Broadcasts (London Calling)

Sweet Little Angel

Medley: Bee I Bicky Bop / Blue Jean Honey / Babe Meets High School / Hound Dog / Hot Rod Man

Top Gear, January 21st 1968

Where You Belong

Top Gear, March 24th 1968

Please Find My Baby

Black Magic Woman

Peggy Sue Got Married

Saturday Club, April 13th 1968

That Ain t It

Psychedelic Send-Up

Dead Shrimp Blues

Top Gear, June 2nd 1968

Sheila

Top Gear, July 7th 1968

Mean Old World

The Blues Roll On, July 23rd 1968

Evening Boogie

Radio One O clock, August 26th 1968

You Need Love

May I Have A Talk With You

Bo Diddley

Wine, Whiskey, Women

Top Gear, October 13th 1968

Crutch And Kane

If You Be My Baby

Crazy For My Baby

Top Gear, November 24th 1968

Note: the dates provided in the liner notes for the tracks are the broadcast dates, not the recording dates, so the that dates run from January 1968 to November of that year.

Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac

Live at the BBC London 1968 (Radio Loop Loop) – Vinyl only

A-side

I Can’t Hold Out

Sweet Little Angel

Why Did You Go Away

The World Keeps on Turning

Don’t Be Cruel

I Need Your Love

You’re A Mean Mistreater

Talk With You

B-side

Sweet Home Chicago

Mean Old World

Whole Lotta Love

Bo Diddley

Hang On to a Dream

I Got A Mind of My Own

Oh Well

Shady Little Baby

A-side: Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 recorded January 16, 1968 / Track 6 recorded August 26, 1968 /

Track 7 recorded May 27, 1968 / Track 8 recorded August 27, 1968

B-side: Tracks 1 & 5 recorded October 09, 1968 / Track 2 recorded July 23, 1968 /

Tracks 3, 4 & 6 recorded August 27, 1968 / Track 7 recorded October 06, 1969 / Track 8 recorded March 17, 1969

Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 (Roxvox)

 Madison Blues (4:28)

 My Baby’s Gone (5:38)

My Baby’s Skinny (4:46)

 Worried Dream (9:44)

 I’ll Dust My Broom (4:28)

 Got To Move (2:45)

 Trying So Hard To Forget (4:36)

 Blues Jam (8:22)

Have You Ever Loved A Woman? (7:45)

 Lazy Poker Blues (4:26)

The Warehouse Tapes (Good Ship Funke)

Before The Beginning (4:52)

It Takes Time (8:00)

 Like It This Way (5:04)

 Only You (4:32)

 Madison Blues (3:37)

 Oh Baby (5:41)

 Albatross (4:34)

 Green Manalishi (12:29)

 World In Harmony (4:24)

 Stranger Blues (4:05)

Transmission Impossible (Eat to the Beat)

Disc 1

Madison Blues (4:28)

My Baby’s Gone (5:38)

My Baby’s Skinny (4:46)

Worried Dream (9:44)

I’ll Dust My Broom (4:28)

Got To Move (2:45)

Trying So Hard To Forget (4:36)

Blues Jam (8:22)

Have You Ever Loved A Woman? (7:45)

Lazy Poker Blues (4:26)

I Loved Another Woman (ft. Paul Butterfield) (5:29)

I’ll Dust My Broom (ft. Paul Butterfield) (5:02)

The Sun Is Shining (ft. Paul Butterfield) (4:48)

Long Tall Sally (ft. Paul Butterfield) (4:14)

Willie & The Hand Jive (4:03)

Tutti Frutti (3:02)

Disc 2

Sweet Little Angel (4:29)

Bee-I-Bicky-Bop Blue Jean Honey Babe Meets High School Hound Dog Hot Rod Man (3:24)

Where You Belong (2:13)

Please Find My Baby (3:15)

Black Magic Woman (2:33)

Peggy Sue Got Married (1:45)

That Ain’t It (2:31)

Intergalactic Musicians Walking On Velvet (4:29)

Dead Shrimp Blues (3:13)

Sheila (2:05)

Mean Old World (3:18)

Evening Boogie (2:56)

You Need Love (4:49)

Talk With You (4:13)

Bo Diddley (2:46)

Wine, Whiskey, Women (2:15)

Crutch And Cane (3:10)

If You Be My Baby (3:31)

Without You (3:11)

Disc 3

Before The Beginning (4:52)

  It Takes Time (8:00)

  Like It This Way (5:04)

 Only You (4:32)

  Madison Blues (3:37)

  Oh Baby (5:41)

  Albatross (4:34)

  Green Manalishi (12:29)

  World In Harmony (4:24)

  Stranger Blues (4:05)

Before the Beginning – Live 1968 – 1970

Live & Demo Sessions (Sony 2019)

CD1

Madison Blues (4:34)

Something Inside Of Me (5:46)

The Woman That I Love (4:51)

Worried Dream (9:46)

Dust My Blues (4:30)

Got To Move (2:55)

Trying So Hard To Forget (4:41)

Instrumental (9:23)

Have You Ever Loved A Woman (7:50)

Lazy Poker Blues (4:28)

Stop Messin’ Round (1:10)

I Love Another Woman (5:25)

I Believe My Time Ain’t Long (Version 1) (5:04)

The Sun Is Shining (4:49)

CD2

Long Tall Sally (4:19)

Willie and the Hand Jive (4:13)

I Need Your Love So Bad (1:29)

I Believe My Time Ain’t Long (Version 2) (4:46)

Shake Your Moneymaker (Elmore James) (8:40)

Before The Beginning (3:35)

Only You (4:19)

Madison Blues (Version 2) (3:24)

Can’t Stop Lovin’ (3:37)

The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) (11:56)

Albatross (3:39)

World In Harmony (Version 1) (3:43)

Sandy Mary (5:09)

Only You (4: 01)

World In Harmony (Version 2) (3:31)

CD3

I Can’t Hold Out (Elmore James) (7:25)

Oh Well (Part 1) (2:50)

Rattlesnake Shake (13:05)

Under Way (7:33)

Coming Your Way (11:35)

Homework (3:53)

My Baby’s Sweet (3:19)

My Baby’s Gone (3:25)

You Need Love (4:48)

Talk With You (4:11)

If It Ain’t Me (GK Edit) (2:37)

Mean Old World (3:13)

See Reviews https://smilingcorgipress.com/fleetwood-mac-before-the-beginning-1968-1970-live-demo-sessions-sony-music/ for the sources of the material found on this collection