University of Virginia Library

RECORDS

Playing Games With Fleetwood Mac

By NORVELL ROSE

Someone familiar with
Fleetwood Mac's previous
musical offerings would have a
hard time recognizing Future
Games as an album by the same
group. Future Games is not a
collection of songs
characterized by strains of
early sixties rock 'n' roll as were
Kiln House et al.; it is an
imaginative and somewhat
refined group of songs that are
Fleetwood's most "together"
performance to date.

Future Games is not a
masterpiece; it is a promise of
things to come. The guitars of
Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch
are conscious of their interplay,
which is balanced and
complemented by the
restrained keyboard of
Christine McVie, Mick
Fleetwood on drums and John
McVie on bass provide the
necessary rhythm support, but
nothing outstanding.

Contemplative Note

The album is full of talent
and interesting ideas, all of
which have not yet found their
place. It strikes a contemplative
note between happy and sad
which coaxes one to sit down,
close his eyes, nod to the beat,
listen closely. It doesn't take
thoughtful listening, however,
for one to pick out the album's
major weakness: vocals
drowned in an already subdued
musical arrangement. While this
"major weakness" is obvious in
several places, it does not
outweigh the strong points of
the album: the imaginative use
of instruments, the freshness of
approach to the material, and
the high overall quality of the
music.

The first cut, "Woman of a
Thousand Years," exemplifies
the restrained, low-key
presentation of the other
selections. It is a distant,
melodic song in which some of
the words are unfortunately
lost in the music. The vocal
quality is good, the movement
smooth and easy; but some of
the lyrics make the listener
strain to try to understand, and
even then prove unintelligible.
"Woman" is also typical of the
softly electric quality of most
of the songs.

Listen for shades of Crosby,
Stills, Nash, and Young in
"Morning Rain," which comes
to life after a strong, but
uninteresting, start. Spots of
interplay between the still
muffled vocals and the guitar,
along with a bright background
piano, hold the listener's car
throughout.

Photo By Lovelace Cook

Imaginative Crossplay

After "What a Shame," an
appropriately named filler
which contributes little to the
flow of the album, the title
song, "Future Games," drops
the listener into an interesting,
but somewhat structured and
weakly coherent, dream-like
atmosphere. This song, while
featuring an imaginative
crossplay among well-handled
instruments, stretches beyond
its potential and keeps the
weary listener hanging onto
drawn-out musical phrases.

We flip now to the second
side and the best reasons for
buying the album. You are
suddenly into the "Sands of
Time" with a subtle fade-in
followed by diverse and
well-balanced elements of
instrumentation and staggered
beat. The softly piercing
slide-guitar lead is outstanding,
with the opening theme of the
song recurring to tie it
together. However, "Sands" is
appropriately enough
open-ended, offering no
profound answers to
far-reaching questions.

Trite Lamentation

The country-rock sound of
"Sometimes" is refreshing; and
although the song initially
seems to be a trite lamentation
of lost love, one soon realizes
that writer Kirwan is poking
fun at the heartbreak theme, if
not at "Heartbreak" itself. A
Beatles influence can be heard
at several points in the vocals,
the lightness of these spots
being matched by a keyboard
that peeks through now and
then. The smoothest and most
natural lead guitar also stands
out in this cut.

"Lay it all Down" is the
most coherent selection,
although the hard beat
introduced with the first guitar
licks tends to lag in a few spots.
The vocals, drowned only a
couple of times, drive along
with the music and help to tie
the song together. The
"sing-along" phrases, "Lay
down your burden of sorrow,"
and "Lay down your burden of
hurt" draw the listener up into
the song and carry him along,
not too far, to the end, which
is a disappointment because of
its standardization.

Keeping In Touch

We're back down to a soft,
floating melody in "Show me a
Smile," the only selection that
features the young, yet mature
voice of Christine McVie. The
few rather abrupt and powerful
segments of this song hold its
touch with the real world and
prevent the listener from being
fooled by a sugar-coated love
song. "Show Me a Smile" ends
the album on a soft, but
positive note, similar to the one
with which our experience
began.

Future Games is worthy of
attention because it reveals the
talent, diversity, innovation,
and imagination of a "new"
Fleetwood Mac. The album is
an enjoyable and relaxing
declaration of change which
provides a look into the
promising future of a capable
group.

Future Games is now
available at the Band Box.