Fleetwood Mac had gone from one of the best blues-rock bands of the late 60's with great albums such as Fleetwood Mac(1968), Then Play On(1969), and Kiln House(1970). Well, the band overcame heartbreak when they both lost guitarist/singers Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer within a year of each other (the former due to mental problems; the latter to the Children Of God religious cult). With guitarist/singer Bob Welch in tow, the band cut the brilliant Future Games, which had some nice pop-rock songs with a mystical quality. But what's even great about that is that the band followed it up with another great album that I'm about to discuss now, and it's called Bare Trees.

Originally released on the Reprise label in 1972, Bare Trees is a brilliant album of pop/rock, with great contributions from singer/keyboardist Christine McVie, rhythm guitarist/singer Bob Welch, and lead guitarist/singer Danny Kirwan.

Side one starts off with the track, "Child Of Mine". Written and sung by Danny, this is a song that's an ode to his son that was born at time. As Danny sings, Little child of mine/You'll be loving like your little mother did/Heard it somewhere before/I wont leave you no not like my father did", he seems like a devoted daddy. Music-wise, this is a tough, straight-ahead rocker with some blistering guitar work that stings like a bee with bassist John McVie adding some pumping bass lines.

Next, there's the track "The Ghost". Written and sung by Bob, this song is about encounters with an entity. As Bob sings, Hold on/Until the ghost appears/That day is gonna last for years/Strange wind, is gonna blow through town/Lightnin is gonna strike us down/Blue hills, are looking good to me/I go there, when I'm fast asleep/Ghost town, and the desert wind/Strange sounds, at the worlds end/And then the winds start to blow
/and the fire comes scorching down (yeah)/And then the sky dissapears/In the cloud with an awful sound (yeah)/And when you cant hold out/Then you run to the underground", it's like something from a Stephen King novel. This is an easygoing laid-back track with drummer Mick Fleetwood does some nice conga playing, while Christine adds some nice mellotron flute lines to make the song sound like a haunting piece.

Next, we have the track "Homeward Bound". No, this ain't the Paul Simon song of the same name, but rather a song written and sung by Christine. This deals rather with wanting to enjoy home life after being constantly on the road all the time. I like how on this track Christine adds a nice piano solo which is simple and direct (She's no Keith Jarrett, but who cares?), and Danny does a great guitar solo as well.

Closing out side one is the track, "Sunny Side Of Heaven". Written by Danny, this is a brilliant instrumental reminiscent of an earlier song they did called "Albatross". Here Danny plays searing lead guitar that rises like a phoenix which sounds like a cross between Chet Atkins and Dave Gilmour. I always liked listening to instrumentals, and this one is a classic in my book.

Side two starts off with the title track, "Bare Trees". This song seems to be about a person who's homeless on a winter's day wandering about the bare trees. As Danny sings,"Bare trees, gray light/Oh yeah it was a cold night/Bare trees, gray light/I was alone in the cold of a winters day/You were alone and so snug in your bed/I was alone in the cold of a winters day/You were alone and so snug in your bed", he seems envious of the person in bed. Music-wise, this is a power-pop song showing great guitar skills. I like how he scat sings, and how he plays the melody he scat-sang on his guitar.

Next, there's the original version of "Sentimental Lady", which is written and sung by Bob that's an ode to his wife. To me, this is much better than the solo version. This version had more folk leanings while the later had more of a slick California pop-rock sound.

Next, there's the instrumental (well, sort of) called "Danny's Chant". This is really just Danny and Christine singing melody lines. But what makes the track great is hearing Danny's great slide-guitar skills and Mick's almost tribal-like drumming. It showed that the band could do something experimental if they wanted to.

Next, we are treated to one of Christine's great love songs with the track, "Spare Me A Little Love". As Christine sings, Now I know that I feel much more/Oh in every single way/And its not the same as before
It gets stronger everyday/So spare me a little (just a little bit)/Spare me a little (just a little bit)/Spare me a little of your love (of your love)/Spare me a little (just a little bit)/Spare me a little (just a little bit)/Spare me a little of your love (of your love)", it's a nice tribute to someone you love. I like how it starts out with a standard beat, and then it gets faster at the end. Danny does a great job on guitar as well.

Next, we have another great song written and sung by Danny entitled "Dust", which deals with the ending of life, which is death of course. As Danny sings, When the white flame in us is gone/And we that lost the worlds delight/Stiffen in darkness/Left alone/To crumble in our separate light/When your swift hair is quiet in death/And through the lips corruption thrust to still the labor of my
breath/When we are dust, when we are dust/When we are dust, when we are dust", he sounds like a modern Edgar Allen Poe. Music-wise, this is another folk-based tune with him doing great guitar work that's reminiscent of Chet Atkins again, but it sounds a lot like Buffalo Springfield.

Closing out side to is the spoken-word track, "Thoughts On A Grey Day". This is a poem narrated by a friend and neighbor of the band known as Mrs. Scarrot, in which she talks about life and love on a grey day. I thought it was a nice way to close out the album, and you can hear Mick talking to her at the end of the track (he's the one who recorded her poem too).

Sadly, Bare Trees would be the last album to feature's Danny's writing, playing, and singing. While the band was touring in support of this LP, Danny was kicked out of the band, reportedly due to personality differences. Danny had reportedly clashed with Bob concerning tuning, and he smashed his guitar and refused to play with them onstage. Because of this, he was then sacked from the band. He went on to cut three solo LP's for DJM Records in the late 70's, before he became a basket case and is now in a mental hospital in England. It's a tragedy that the guy fell apart, but that's life.

Anyway, Bare Trees is a great pop/rock album that showed the band had honed their songwriting skills to a great degree, and that they finally climbed out of the shadows of both Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer.


Please see my review for the Then Play On album:

http://www.epinions.com/content_121290722948

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving