It's interesting how, when in a discussion about Fleetwood Mac's legacy as a band, rarely do any of the six albums between the release of
Then Play On and the band's evocative self-titled record come up. Sure, none of those albums are as particularly vital as say,
Rumours when regarding distinctive musical turnarounds, but you have to admire the fact that, after Peter Green's departure following the release of
Then Play On, the band just carried on. The first of these aforementioned six albums,
Kiln House was consequently the last to feature Jeremy Spencer, and so considering that, the fourth album is a somewhat important one.
Kiln House is quite a mixture. There's a staggering difference between the quieter, country-influenced "This is the Rock" and the louder, more eclectic likes of "Tell Me All the Things You Do". This, if it wasn't obvious already, is a direct cause of different members of the band writing completely different songs to one another. Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons why
Kiln House isn't quite as memorable as one would have hoped it to be, since it's clear what the real highlights of the album are. The quieter, slower-paced songs (mostly written by Spencer, who by no means whatsoever had any less influence on the album's production than his cohorts) such as opener "This is the Rock" and "Blood on the Floor" revel in influences from 50s/60s rock 'n' roll and in places, a heavier country style. Yet as simplistic and accessible as these songs are, they are somewhat lackluster when you compare them to the heavier, more electric songs on
Kiln House. These songs are appropriately straightforward, but one thing which seems missing is how the instrumental performance just isn't as prominent as in other albums, and so much of the focus is eventually forced on vocal delivery, which, as vibrant as it can be, never really moves the listener.
That's practically the only thing which lets
Kiln House down a bit, and it's not a particularly memorable flaw either. As a tight-knit musical unit however, Fleetwood Mac definitely hit their stride in the second half of the album, not discounting the upbeat "Hi Ho Silver" or the somewhat exciting "Jewel Eyed Judy". Songs like the slow-moving albeit heartfelt "Buddy's Song" its faster successor "Earl Gray" both show a vast improvement in emotional songwriting and musical performance. The instrumental "Earl Gray", if anything, proves how talented the band were when letting themselves go, whereas its predecessor, apparently crediting Buddy Holly's mother, has an upbeat vibe throughout, something which eclipses the more lackluster moments of the album. To add to this, the vocal delivery also varies itself a bit, and although that aspect of the album's sound still doesn't seem as important, it serves as a suitable accompaniment to the band's instrumental prowess.
As the first of six albums to precede Fleetwood Mac's more mainstream years,
Kiln House certainly proves an important record. Jeremy Spencer would bow out of the band's line-up, following Peter Green from previous album
Then Play On, yet the only way in which this line-up change seemed to affect the songwriting is with a greater sense of accessible musicianship and more straightforward song structures. That said, it's a reliable source of information for those who want to know what happened between the band's latter 60s era and their mainstream success from the mid 70s onwards.
