Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Jeremy Spencer
Company: Reprise
Catalog: K
44105
Year: 1970
Country/State: West Hartlepool, UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: UK pressing
Available: 2
GEMM catalog ID: 5639
Price: $80.00
The internet is full of biographical information on singer/guitarist Jeremy Spencer (particularly his break with Fleetwood Mac) so I'm not going to waste a lot of time rehashing that material. Here's a brief 'executive summary' on his history.
As a kid he took piano lessons, but by the time he was a teenager he'd switched to guitar and discovered blues man Elmore James. In 1967 Spencer was playing in the London-based blues-rock band The Levi Set Blues Group. The band sent producer/Blue Horizon Records owner Mike Vernon a demo tape. Vernon checked the band out and was impressed by Spencer, but didn't think much of the rest of the group. He subsequently brought Spencer to the attention of guitarist Peter Green and arranged for the pair to meet Seemingly like half of the English population, Green had recently been fired from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and was setting up a new band. He asked the 18 year old Spencer to join the newly formed Fleetwood Mac. Spencer agreed adding his distinctive slide guitar and keyboards on the group's early albums. A big fan of America 1950s rock and American R&B, Spencer was also responsible for injecting those influences into the band's repertoire.
left to right: Mick Fleetwood - Peter Green - Jeremy Spencer - John McVie
The dichotomy between Spencer's personality and his role in the band should have given his fellow band members a clear indication of how it would all end. Married at 18 to his then pregnant 15 year old girlfriend, in his personal life Spencer was apparently rather quiet, somewhat insecure, and mildly religious (he had a small bible sewn into his coat). As a musician he was an extremely talented slide guitarist and had a keen ear for impressions giving him an almost chameleon-like ability to mimic different musical styles. In the band's live act his introverted persona was totally abandoned in favor of a loud, undisciplined extrovert who could instantaneously lead the band into John Mayall-styled blues romps, Buddy Holly-styled numbers, or even a mean Elvis impression. Complete with slicked back hair, gold lame coat and a taste for the vulgar, he was renown for using onstage profanity, even playing with condoms hanging from his guitar. The band even managed to get themselves banned from London's famed Marquee Club when Spencer and Fleetwood appeared onstage with beer filled condoms and various other sexual aides.
In 1970 Fleetwood Mac released "Then Played On". Original plans were for the album to be released with an accompanying EP featuring Spencer material, but it didn't happen with the result being Spencer was all but absent from the album. Perhaps an attempt to make it up to the guitarist, 1970 saw Spencer given an opportunity to record a solo album (making him the first Fleetwood Mac member to release a solo effort). Released in the UK by Reprise (which was also Fleetwood Mac's American label), the cleverly-titled "Jeremy Spencer" was essentially another Fleetwood Mac album with band mainstays Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green (who provided banjo on one song), Danny Kirwan, and John McVie providing musical support. (Somewhat ironic, there's an online Fleetwood Mac website that actually refers to the album as being a Fleetwood Mac release.) Musically the collection served as a pretty good representation of Spencer's contributions to Fleetwood Mac's concert performances, which by the late 1960s featured a mixture of standard English blues and Spencer's rock parodies. While there wasn't anything particularly original on the album, Spencer's chameleon writing and performance tendencies were aptly displayed throughout the twelve tracks.
- A Spencer original, 'Linda' was a Buddy Holly knock off complete with Spencer's Holly-styled hiccup vocals and Mick Fleetwood's dead-on drumming.
- 'The Shape I'm In' served to underscore Spencer's vocal limitations. A decent 1950s pastiche, Stephen Gregory's sax solo was probably the highlight. rating: ** stars
- The nightclub introduction sounded like a Monty Python segment and 'Mean Blues' served as a nice stab at the public's mindless obsession with blues-rock. Wonder if Spinal Tap included it in their repertoire. It may have been meant as satire, but Spencer still turned in a nice lead guitar. Complete with blown notes, it sure sounded like it was recorded live in the studio. rating: ** stars
- The only track to feature Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green (on banjo), 'String-a-Long' was a breezy 1950s-styled pop effort. rating: * star
- Another Spencer original, 'Here Comes Charlie (With His Dancing Shoes On)' sounded like it was ripped off of a Bo Diddley album. Nice. rating: *** stars
- Of course Spencer wasn't going to let 1950s teen ballads escape his reach. His high pitched vocal sounded like he'd been suckin' on helium ... rating: * star
- Side two started with the collection's most commercial track - 'Jenny Lee'. rating: *** stars
- 'Don't Go Please Stay' showcased Spencer's longstanding Elmore James fixation and his slide guitar prowess. rating: ** stars
- Up next, a surprisingly likeable 1950s-styled rocker in the form of ' You Made a Hit'. rating: *** stars
- Critics and his fellow band members frequently slammed Spencer for his unwillingness to expand his repertoire beyond Elmore James R&B and 1950s rock. Clearly they were ignoring 'Take a Look Around Mrs. Brown' which complete with opening burps was a fascinating stab at 1960s-styled psychedelia. The track was simultaneously funny and kind of scary given the Beatles nod at the end and the path Spencer's own life was about to take. Easily that album's standout performance. rating: **** stars
- So having taken a stab at the Fab Four, why not Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys via 'Surfin' Girl'? Funny hearing a guy who probably had never touched a surfboard singin' this one. rating: *** stars
- With those two musical icons taken care of Spencer closed the album out with an Elvis Presley impression. Complete with mouth-full-of-marbles delivery the ballad 'If I Could Swim The Mountain' made for a pretty good impression. rating: *** stars
From a technical stand point nothing here was a knock out. Spencer didn't have much of a voice and with the exception of the blues-rocker 'Mean Blues' and the Elmore James-styled 'Don't Go, Please Stay' there was little emphasis on his slide guitar prowess. That wouldn't seem to make for a particularly impressive album, but there was actually something quite likeable in these grooves. Kind of hard to verbalize, but as displayed by the cover photo of a severely depressed looking Spencer, you could tell the guy was trying his best to get out of a horrible personal dilemma.
The album did nothing commercially and didn't even see an American release, making copies rather rare and expensive. I don't think there's ever been an official reissue on CD.
"Jeremy
Spencer" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Linda (Jeremy Spencer)
2.) The Shape I'm In (Cathy - Blackwell)
3.) Mean Blues (Jeremy Spencer)
4.) String-a-Long (Duncan - Doyle)
5.) Here Comes Charlie (With His Dancing Shoes On) (Jeremy Spencer)
6.) Teenage Love Affair (Jeremy Spencer)
(side
2)
1.) Jenny Lee (Jeremy
Spencer)
2.) Don't Go Please Stay (Jeremy Spencer)
3.) You Made A Hit (Maynard)
4.) Take A Look Around Mrs. Brown (Jeremy Spencer)
5.) Surfin' Girl (Jeremy Spencer)
6.) If I Could Swim The Mountain (Jeremy Spencer)
Spencer has a small website at: