5 amazingly overlooked debut albums of the 1960s

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

In February 1968 Fleetwood Mac launched their self-titled debut album, sometimes referred to as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac album. The band had formed around Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie. Then it all got rather a lineup messy for a few years. Peter Green left, others came and went too, and rival band versions formed leading to disputes over who was the real Fleetwood Mac. 

By 1975, with Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, and Stevie Nicks all on board the band, now based in the US, had reinvented themselves and their musical style. That year they somewhat confusingly released a second album with the same Fleetwood Mac title, often referred to as The White Album. It was a huge hit around the world and number one in the US. Then followed the superb Rumours album and the band were major artists around the globe for years to come.

Given there's certainly quite a difference between the early British blues band and that of its prime success period, maybe it’s less of a shock that the 1968 debut album was pretty much ignored in the US. After heavy promotion through touring in America, the first Fleetwood Mac did limp into the very lower end of the Billboard 200, at position 198. It was a decent hit in their then-UK homeland.

That debut album was full of great blues music though. It's an album where looking back retrospectively it’s seen as a very strong debut disc. There aren't any hit singles on the album nor any of their better-known tracks from that early Peter Green period. But it’s still well worth a blast if you like good blues music and want to hear what has been overlooked by US listeners.