Albatross
By Pete Clemons
As a young teenager I remember my attention being grabbed by the instrumental Albatross. But strangely when you began to investigate the group behind Albatross, Fleetwood Mac, you soon discovered that it was unlike anything they had done before. At the time the tune was written Fleetwood Mac were still very much a blues band from the 'underground scene' and were struggling financially.
As the British Blues scene was fading toward the end of the 1960s Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green had began to look outside of the blues for more diverse ideas. At the same time musical creativity, as a whole, was going to a completely new level. Music with a jazz background or a blues feeling was beginning to emerge and stretch itself.
After being camped in London the early version of Fleetwood Mac had also spent time in America. There they toured with bands like The Grateful Dead. The Dead had opened the eyes of the individuals within Fleetwood Mac to the art of free playing. And Peter Green, particularly, was now investigating whole areas of music where few, at that time, had ventured.
Albatross was recorded October 1968 and released a few weeks later during the same year. Initially CBS, the record company who handled Blue Horizon releases, were reluctant to release Albatross as a single. A couple of singles, released previously by the band, had flopped and the label needed persuading with this one.
However, soon after Fleetwood Mac had performed Albatross on the Simon Dee show there were suddenly 60,000 advance orders for it. Entering the chart at number 36, the single crept quietly up the till it hit the top spot at the end of January 1969.
Having been touring in America again, Fleetwood Mac arrived home to a number 1. It was the bands first real hit record. It undoubtedly came as a surprise. When asked to comment on Albatross, the tunes creator Peter Green, simply put it down to listening to Eric Clapton.
The whole tune had been Peter's idea. He played Fender Stratocaster on his lap for the main theme. It included two bass guitars. One played by Peter the other by Fleetwood Mac's bass player John McVie. Even the overdubs were Peter's idea. Fleetwood Mac's drummer Mick Fleetwood mentioned that the whole idea was 'as simple as it gets, but yet, it was so beautiful'.
Fleetwood Mac's second guitarist, Danny Kirwan had not long joined the band, and this was possibly his first recording with them. Danny had added a new dimension to the band. For a top of the pops appearance, performing Albatross, Danny took a prominent role. But the bands slide guitarist, Jeremy Spencer, appeared to go through the motions as he had contributed nothing to the recording of the tune.
About the singles title, Peter Green once said, 'We had to call it something and I had just been listening to Blind Faith and the track that had the lyric 'I climbed on the back of a giant albatross, which flew through a crack in the cloud, to a place where happiness reigned all year round, where music played ever so loudly' – I assume Peter meant 'Hole in My Shoe' by Traffic. Regardless, Albatross went on to sell a million copies.
After having his own personal struggles Peter Green became more and more uncomfortable with the fame and fortune that Albatross brought. The next Fleetwood Mac single, Man of the World, was, in hindsight, possibly his first real cry for help. What happened next is a whole different story.
By 1973, and after a few turbulent years, Fleetwood Mac had relocated to America and were steadily rebuilding. By now, I think it is fair to say, that they had been largely forgotten about in the UK. CBS decided to reissue Albatross.
Another million copies of the record were sold bringing the tune to a whole new generation. But the reissue was not without its controversy.
Fleetwood Mac had changed beyond recognition of its early blues band days. The band had changed personnel, and a spokesperson called the single 'unwanted attention'. The, new more American version of the band sought to distance themselves further from the release when they refused to play it live. However an advert placed in the music press a few weeks after those statements did acknowledge the achievement of Albatross and remind the UK that Fleetwood Mac were still very much active.
Reflecting back to the late 1960s Peter Green once mentioned that he had always felt very dissatisfied with whatever he did. The rest is incredibly complicated. But what a incredible legacy Peter left us with.
Influences
In Martin Clemins’ 1998 biography on Green, he explained that an early inspiration for what became ‘Albatross’ came from “a group of notes from an Eric Clapton solo, played slower”. Classically Green, the name of the Clapton song has remained a mystery. However, we would posit that it might have stemmed from Clapton’s mid-’60s stint in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, ironically, the band that would welcome Green to eventually replace Clapton in 1967.
In the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Green is quoted as saying: “I heard John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers cover of blues singer Jimmy Rogers ‘The Last Meal.’ I thought I would take it and develop it.” The song does not exist in a recorded capacity in The Bluesbreakers’ back catalogue, so he must have caught them live, a brilliant reappropriation.
The most memorable part of the composition is that it evokes the feelings of being at sea, on a relaxed boat trip, the complete opposite to the traditional feelings an albatross stokes. Drummer Mick Fleetwood created the sound of waves by using timpani mallets, and this dreamy sound was augmented by Green’s blissful solo.
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