PRECIOUS
LITTLE REVIEWS
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Customer Reviews
Reviewer:Kurt
Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) Well,
ain't it about time? Here's an album to give fans of the old-time
Fleetwood Mac something to crow about. The issue of Precious Little
finds Jeremy Spencer back from the dead and in a big way. The first
few notes make it apparent that this isn't some has-been's lame
attempt at cashing in on baby-boomers' nostalgic remembrances of the
legendary Fleetwood Mac of the Peter Green-Jeremy Spencer years, but
a brilliant new work that should stand on its own and bring Spencer
new fans. 1)Bitter Lemon-Who said white boys can't write real blues? This has Delta written all over it. 2)Psychic Waste-a
wry look at the state of the entertainment industry. 3)It Hurts Me
Too-An Elmore James classic I first heard 40 years ago performed by
another legend, John Mayall. 4)Dr J-A new twist
on a classic made famous by the original Fleetwood Mac. 5)Bleeding
Heart-Another Elmore James classic, exquisitely rendered here. 6)Trouble and
Woe-One of the two best Spencer originals here. Its a stunner! and, 7)Maria de
Santiago-Soulful guitar and vocals with a Latin flavor.
Reviewer:
Vibrolux45
(Xiamen,China) – It's
funny how things work in this life I was always hoping for some new
music from Jeremy and lo and behold here it is!!!!! Jeremy
Spencer and Fleetwood Mac during my younger days were my band ...I
just loved to hear Peter Green's fine playing and Jeremy's amazing
slide! Well Jeremy has released a new cd and it’s a good one! The
new cd is a real treat ....highly recommended to all who enjoy the
early Mac records when the band were a quality blues outfit....not
the pop mess they have become now. Jeremy's
playing on this cd is just perfect ...his tone and style are
fabulous...It Hurts Me Too sounds like vintage Jeremy and Bleeding
Heart as well is superb!
Reviewer:
David
W. Raphael "E.B. Slothead" (Montgomery, AL)
– I
can't tell you how excited I was after I got a couple songs into
this wonderful record. I was a bit skeptical at first after all
these years and life changes. Like "Tom from the Foothills"
writes above, I was fortunate to see about 8 Mac shows during "the
day." I was at Shrine '69 and I was also at the Whiskey the
night Jerry went missing. We just loved and lived that band and the
music. I've probably listened to this record about 30 times now and
really expected to get the old vibe from a Peter Green (he was/is my
hero) or Splinter Group record but, I must say, from the first
moment of "Please don't Stop" it was back. Then I just
fell in love with everything from the liner notes, the band, the
dobro work, his vocals, song selection and terrific production. I'm
proud and happy for Jeremy and don't hesitate for a second to rave
honestly about this. Five stars is not enough!
Reviewer:
J.
McVie "shipreich" (Houston, TX United
States) Precious
Little is simply a wonderful blues album. The slide guitar work on
it is amazing and Jeremy Spencer's voice has held up remarkably well.
After all these years, Spencer seems inspired again. I hope this
album is a taste of more good things to come
Reviewer:
rick
from Boston Amazing.35
years after literally disappearing from the music scene, Jeremy
Spencer pops up with a brilliant new album. His voice hasn't
suffered and his slide playing is better than ever. Mellow and
bluesy, these songs will transport you back to the late sixties when
Fleetwood Mac ruled the British blues scene. Reminds me of the Kiln
House album and Spencers solo record from the late sixties.The
backup band does a great job on all the tracks, but it's Spencers
slide guitar and vocals that take center stage. Some blues, some
50's style rock, all Jeremy! One can only hope he decides to tour.
Reviewer:
Alan
Petsche (Castro Valley, CA) I
read that Jeremy Spencer released a CD and I couldn't wait to get to
the store. It exceeded ALL my expectations. The slide and that voice,
I closed my eyes and heard, with excitement, the sounds I heard when
I first got turned onto Fleetwood Mac in 1969. I've
listened to the CD three times already and it gets richer and better
each time.
Reviewer:
Davesdd3
"DD" (Washington) - I heard Bitter Lemon
and Psychic waste on KLCC (Lane college) a station in Oregon while
on a vacation. Ordered the CD and it arrived the same day I returned
home. Played it the next day and listened to the whole album about
15 times the next 2 days. The music is clean, not overproduced,
extremely easy to listen to. There is enough variety in style
between songs, that you don't get tired of the same thing after 3-4
songs. Love
the slide guitar on Bitter Lemon and Serene Serena. If
you want something that you can listen to anywhere, get this album.
Reviewer:
popsolo@hotmail.com
"Tom from the Foothills" (ohio) I
well recall Jeremy Spencer and his sweet slide guitar from the
Fleetwood Mac days and I still think that the Mac put on the best
concert I have ever heard that hot and sweaty night back in Detroit
when about 300 of us were totally blown away by this unknown and
unlikely English blues band. When I tell people today that the Mac
were great back then, they think of the post-Green and Spencer group
and immediately roll their eyes, but let me tell you the Mac that
night were beyond awesome and would have played all night but for
Mick Fleetwood finally tiring. Spencer would sit out the occasional
number and sit, on the stage, and stare out at the audience. He
struck me as an odd duck and so I wasn't too surprised when I heard
he quit the group to join the Children of God. And that was the last
of Jeremy Spenser. But,
no! Through the years, I've trolled search engines for word of him
and was jacked to find out, a month ago, that he was releasing a CD.
It came the other day and I popped it on, figuring I would hear 12
Elmore James variations, but that wasn't the case at all. The CD
starts out slowly, as one reviewer on here has already mentioned. My
advice is start listening on track 5, a sweet remake of "Corrine,
Corrina," and take it from there. It gets better and better,
finally climaxing with the sublimely soulful "Precious
Little." It's been 35 years in the making and it's been worth
the wait. Welcome back, Doctor J. From
Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Daily 11/2/06, 6:41 pm EST Fricke’s
Picks: New CDs from Gary Lucas, Soft Machine and Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Spencer was the second guitarist to quit the original
Fleetwood Mac for virtual seclusion - in 1971, a year after Peter
Green. Spencer bolted to join a Christian sect and has made few
records since. Precious Little
(Blind Pig) is his first studio release in nearly thirty years. But
the slippery fire of his slide work in the Mac is in full blaze here.
Spencer’s life in God is evident in the original songs, but the
album is an ecumenical treat because he conducts these services in
the spirit of his blues father, Elmore James, with the earthy warmth
of Spencer’s last Mac album, the wonderful Kiln House. -- David
Fricke Holler Magazine November 2006 Jeremy Spencer, Precious Little, 2006 Blind Pig Records BPCD 5106 Whatever
happened to Jeremy Spencer? Well he's back and he's still slidin'
and singin ... maybe not (in my opinion) quite as intensely as
before, but with more taste and dexterity. That was how I felt after
listening to his first recording, (known to me) in many years, Precious Little. For
those too young to remember, Jeremy was the slashing slide guitarist/vocalist
in the original majestic line-up of Fleetwood Mac. He was the
"Hardy" to Peter Green's "Laurel, and what
a blues band the original Mac were! I saw their very first gig ... Windsor
Jazz Festival 1967 in UK, which was stunning-and is indelibly
stamped in me brain to this day. Jeremy was last heard (bv me) on
the Mac LP, Kiln House,
then disappeared from view in the mid-70s. There was a solo
LP called Flee, scheduled for reissue on the
Wounded Bird label this October (originally released in 1979 on
Atlantic, and produced by Ahmet Ertegun). Jeremy
was known back in the classic "Mac" period for his Elmore
James impressions and his penchant for going into spontaneous
1950s-stvle rave-ups on Little Richard standards, like "Keep a
Knockin” ... there is a little of that here on "Please Don't
Stop." There are two Elmore James-related tunes here: a very
subdued "It Hurts Me Too"
(originally
done by Tampa Red) and an equally laid-back "Bleeding Heart."
Instrument-wise Jeremy now seems to favor the acoustic, metal-body
Dobro pictured on the excellent and informative sleeve/booklet. He
gives us a taste of the Mac days of yore with the mid-tempo
slide-shuffle-with-horns "Dr J," and on track 10 there is
a "touch of the Knopflers" on "Maria De
Santiago" and again on the title track, which rounds off the
CD. The sessions were recorded in Norway, and the excellent band
have names like Sven, Trond and Leif'. This is a nice example of the
new, mature, laid-back Jeremy Spencer. If
you want to get really rockin', I suggest you get the original
Fleetwood Mac discs. Now if only we could send Stevie Nicks and
Lindsav Buckingham to the glue factory; give Danny Kirwan a bath, a
shot of vitamin B12 and a hot meal; get Peter Green some new
DNA and some brain cell replacement; hell, we could get this band
back on track! A resounding "A" for Jeremy here ...
welcome back, mate. Jeremy Spencer/ Precious Little Blind
Pig Long
before they became infamous as a 70's pop supergroup/soap opera,
Fleetwood Mac was a fine British Blues band known for ace guitarists,
Jeremy Spencer a nd Peter Green, both of whom were long gone by the
time Mac became a hit machine. Meanwhile, Spencer has soldiered on,
doing occasional projects when the spirit moved him and he's in
great Spirits here. Recorded in Norway, of all
places, it sounds like it could have been done decades ago in
Memphis or Chicago. Spencer's
new Norse pals wisely give him plenty of room to sling and play and
he clearly has a good time working with them. The dozen songs are a
nice mix of covers and Spencer originals. They take on two Elmore
James classics - 'It Hurts Me Too" and
Bleeding Heart’ - along with "Take And Give", a
slinky Blue s number done for Sun Records by Slim Rhodes in 1956 and
the cheerful Rockabilly of "Please Don't Stop," an obscure
Fabian record. Spencer's
songs have an easy Blues sound. Although the bitter 'Psychic Waste
has a contemporary theme taking on what he sees as the toxic content
of movies, music and other modern media. The I-can-love-you-right
theme of "Dr. J" could be something he got from an old
Delta Blues guy. But there’s
a sweeter side to the gentle Latin flavored flow of ‘Maria De
Santiago' and his re-write of the traditional ‘Corrine Corrina’ as
‘Serene Serena.’ No
matter where he cut this material,
Spencer's Blues chops
are as real as ever. Mark Marymont From Goldmine: Jeremy
Spencer “Precious Little" BPCD5106 UPC:
019148510623 Jeremy Spencer Precious Little Bluestown/Blind Pig Records (BPCD 5106) Grade: A For those of us old enough to remember, Fleetwood Mac used to be a blues
band. The two links to the U.K. blues scene in the original quartet
were guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Both had a
brilliant take on how to crank blues up a notch for their manic
fans, but both would also leave the band within four years and drop
into relative obscurity as their rhythm section made millions.
The shame is not so much that the guitarists were left at the
station as the gravy train pulled out, but more that the record
buyers and concert-goers have not heard much from either Green or
Spencer in the past few decades. When a fine American blues label
found out that Spencer had issued his first record in more than 30
years on the Norwegian label Bluestown, they licensed Precious
Little for stateside release. God bless Blind Pig, for
this is a fine, fine record. Spencer exhibits a confidence in his ability that rubs salt in the wound
of his absence. When he laments the current state of pop culture on
the track "Psychic Waste," his slide guitar and mellow,
Mose Allison croon stabs at the heart of violent society like a
gentleman with a stiletto. His renditions of two Elmore James
classics, "It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart,"
are smoky and subdued. The songs are a part of his soul, and you
can't help but smile as he shares them with us. The gentle
arrangement beneath them allows Spencer to stay smack-dab in the
spotlight where he belongs. The Spencer original "Many Sparrows"
has him going it alone as if he were sitting on the porch of a
shack in the Mississippi Delta. The only vocals are his occasional
mourn echoing very tasty slide and pick work on his National Steel.
His "Maria De Santiago" adds a beautiful, laid-back Latin
feel as his Norse counterpart Espen Liland plucks a faux flamenco
accompaniment. Spencer waits for God to tell him when to take part in projects these
days. If you're ever having a conversation with the man
upstairs, you might want to remind him that we'd like to hear a bit
more from Spencer. Talent like his shouldn't be sequestered
for one moment, let alone three decades.- Mark
Polzin JEREMYSPENCER Precious Little Blind Pig Records BPCD 5106 Jeremy
Spencer was part of the British blues scene in the late '60s when he
shared guitar duties with Peter Green in the band Fleetwood Mac.
Disillusioned with the rock star life, Spencer quit the band in 1971
to pursue spiritual callings. Thirty-five years later. Spencer still
plays a mean slide guitar. Norwegian festival promoter Jostein
Forsberg was a big fan of Spencer's singing and playing in his
Fleetwood Mac days. So when Forsberg was organizing the 2005
Notodden Blues Festival in Norway, he made it a point to book
Spencer for the festival. Spencer's 2005 festival performance was such a success that Forsberg was
inspired to record Spencer for his Bluestown Records label, which is
distributed in the States by Blind Pig. Forsberg arranged studio
time and backed Spencer with fine musicians including Trond Ytterbo
on harmonica and mandolin, Rune Endal on bass, Runar Boyeson on
keyboards, Anders Viken on drums, and Espen Liland on rhythm guitar. Spencer
wrote six of the tunes on the album. His Bitter
Lemon. Psychic Waste, and Trouble
And Woe all share world-weary lyrics underscored by Spencer’s
mournful guitar licks. Serene
Serena is Spencer's adaptation of the traditional Corinne
Corrina. Cover tunes include Elmore James It Hurts Me Too and Bleeding
Heart. On the slow blues numbers, Spencer wrenches a lot of
emotion out of each slide guitar note. The album isn’t all blues
though: Maria de Santiago is a catchy adult contemporary number with
Spanish guitar flourishes. Please
Don’t Stop is a bouncy rockabilly tune. The
album has a relaxed vibe centered around Spencer’s warm, clear
slide guitar tone. Spencer has a soft plaintive voice that exudes
sincerity. Precious
Little proves Jeremy Spencer still has considerable skills
on the slide guitar and showcases his songwriting and vocal chops. -JEFF FORLENZA BLUESRAG • OCTOBER 2006 JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little Bluestown/Blind Pig 5106 Once
upon a time, in a land far away, there was a fabled band of blokes
who could rock with a blues vengeance. And they didn't live happily
ever after. That's because four years after their 1967 inception,
two-thirds of Fleetwood Mac's founding guitarists had splintered off
into the void, never to be heard from again. Or so it would seem.
Peter Green sporadically surfaces and re-submerges, most notably
when thumbing through Robert Johnson's songbook a few years back.
But Jeremy Spencer hasn't materialized- until now. With slide in
hand, the 58 year-old is still smearing bottleneck grease over all
that's touched. This
time, though, it's in a studio in Norway. And this time, instead of
old mates like Mick Fleetwood and John McVie rhythmically holding
down the bottom, now there's a Viking crew with names like Rune
Endal and Svenn Frydenberg. It's a safe, ber-relaxed musical
environment, conducive to road-testing new material and shaking
off any rust that's accumulated over these past 35 years. But
there's Precious Little rust on either Spencer's pliantly expressive
voice or steel-on-steel skills. Unlike
the fate of his once head full of flowing locks, some signature
pastimes have remained. Like overhauling 1950's songs- here, a
rockabilly rave-up of Fabian's "Please Don't Stop"
albeit with far less the gonzo craziness of yore, or drawing
inspiration from within the pages of the Elmore James book of tricks.
"It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart," however,
don't rock with a vengeance, but more simmer with a nuanced blue
mellowness. The same sensitive touch out of that big, brass slide
does wonders for turning the aptly-titled "Serene Serena"
into an adult lullaby, and getting the title track to flow in gentle
waves. That
said, "Dr. J" shakes its moneymaker, quickens your pulse,
and lets Spencer air it out on one of the year's most unexpected
surprises. Dennis Rozanski
From Modern Guitars Magazine CD Review: "Precious Little" by Jeremy Spencer (October 16, 2006) by Brian D. Holland. Precious Little is the
new release from British bluesman Jeremy Spencer. His name is far
from being unfamiliar to enthusiasts of Sixties British blues,
contemporary rock of that era, or especially to fans of early
Fleetwood Mac. His slide guitar aptness and subtle piano playing
style, along with his dynamically high tonal singing voice, set the
stage for the diversity and fullness Fleetwood Mac was to become
known for, especially within the astounding range of talent
exchanged alongside that of counterparts Peter Green and Danny
Kirwan. Spencer’s emulation qualities in performance, of
expressing and imitating just about anyone and anything, was an
attribute Mac utilized fittingly, in both the studio and during live
shows. His skill was greatly utilized and relied upon, especially by
the time Peter Green vacated the band. Even so, Spencer’s last
recordings with the band were on the Kiln House album, the record that officially saw the end to
Fleetwood Mac’s stint with the blues. Spencer had other things going on
at the time, and still does to this day. While other rockers were
sidelined with bouts of alcoholism, substance abuse, and mental
instability, Spencer’s shift in lifestyle was a religious calling,
one influential enough to draw him away from his successes and
accomplishments. Over the years since, Jeremy Spencer has been
involved sporadically in a few different solo projects. However, the
new CD on Blind Pig Records appears to be making the biggest splash
in the music world, and with good reason. His previous release,
1979's Flee, which, in title alone, sort of described what
Spencer had done to Fleetwood Mac, the music business, and his
initial fans, was received with only mediocre interest. Not so for Precious Little. It’s mostly a blues based album with some
contemporary soft rock thrown in. It’s tasteful in quality and
diverse in style and technique. Spencer’s blues approach is
authentic and precise, just as it was in the early Mac days. His
superb slide guitar playing appears to have only gained in
competence, as displayed on the album’s opener, ‘Bitter Lemon’,
a pleasant shuffle that segues nicely into the railroad bluesy
‘Psychic Waste’. It’s only fitting he’d add a cover of
Elmore James’s (his blues hero since the beginning) ‘It Hurts Me
Too’ on the record; it’s mellow and easy flowing. ‘Please
Don’t Stop’ shows his rockabilly side, and an ageless mannerism,
as the song has a youthful and energetic feel. The guitars of both
he and Espen Liland are superb on this one. ‘Serene Serena’, a
remake of Corrina Corrina’, is pleasant and tuneful. ‘Bleeding Heart’ is a unique slow blues.
Spencer gets into some splendid electric slide here, lead guitar
also. His singing voice never sounded better. Next is an acoustic
blues, ‘Many Sparrows’. Again, there’s some nice slide work
going on. There is a couple of pleasing soft rock numbers on the CD
as well. Two that come to mind are the Spanish influenced ‘Maria
De Santiago’, and the CD’s closer, ‘Precious Little’. This is a pleasantly listenable CD, and one not to
be taken lightly; it’ll be considered a gem to fans of the early
Mac sound. The album includes excellent musicians, too, which is
always an advantage in producing a perfect CD. It’s nice to hear
some new music, genuine and of good quality, come out of the mind
and fingers of one of Fleetwood Mac’s greatest original players. Precious Little was recorded in a Norwegian studio in 2005 during the
Notodden Bues Festival. Blind Pig Records has recognized the
importance in re-releasing this amazing CD. Blind Pig Records 2006 From Boston Herald Lost and found Jeremy Spencer Precious
Little For all but the most ardent Fleetwood Mac devotees, “Precious Little”
will be little more than a historical curiosity, a pleasantly bluesy
but lightweight album by the guitarist who vanished from the Peter
Green-era band into a religious cult in 1971. Fa-Mac-tics may find
Spencer’s reappearance revelatory but - his meaty guitar chops
aside - it’s hard to imagine Spencer’s reedy voice, slight
originals and frosty Norwegian backing making much of an impact
otherwise. Download: “Psychic Waste.” DAILY
CAMERA BOULDER, CO Discs - Oct. 13 October 13, 2006 JEREMY
SPENCER Precious
Little (Blind Pig) The
original late-'60s lineup of Fleetwood Mac lasted just a few years
before the blues outfit morphed into a pop band. Slide guitarist
Jeremy Spencer left the group in 1971 to join a Christian sect
called the Children of God and vanished from public view. Nearly 30
years after his last solo outing, Spencer has made the most unlikely
of comebacks. Precious
Little, originally recorded for a Norwegian label, shows Spencer
has lost none of his chops, and commands a varied repertoire of
roots and blues music. Whether he's revisiting Elmore James on
"It Hurts Me Too," exploring Spanish textures on
"Maria de Santiago" or delving into '50s rock on a cover
of the obscure "Take and Give," the singer and guitarist
exhibits the laid-back approach of someone having a good time rather
than making a last-gasp bid at success. The
title track may allude to the life Spencer has lived since evading
fame and the consequences he has endured from going his own way:
"At the end of the day, who will stand by you? Precious little,
precious few," he sings. Hard-found
wisdom from someone who took his time coming back from the shadows. — MICHAEL COTE/Camera Staff Writer Tampa Tribune SPIN THIS Published:
Oct 6, 2006 JEREMY
SPENCER: PRECIOUS
LITTLE (BLIND
PIG) B+ He
walked away from rock stardom 33 years ago, abandoning Fleetwood Mac
to join a religious cult. Singer/writer/slide guitarist Jeremy
Spencer re-emerges with this coolly paced but fervently proficient
blues-rock assortment. He
found the perfect accompaniment in the electric blues Mecca of &hellip
Norway. Believe it. These dedicated Nordic traditionalists possess
the purity and passion of the most skilled devotees. Spencer's
smooth slide and mellow voice regale us with covers (Elmore James,
of course. And Fabian!), and originals including the exquisite title
tune. Spencer's
virtuosity and precision make the songs sound almost effortless.
Don't be fooled. This is a master at work. Bob
Ross Blues
News September/October 2006 JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little Blind Pig
Records BPCD 5106 www.blindpigrecords.com When
I played blues harp in the Soho district of London 3 months ago, I
was told to go to Norway if I wanted to hear real down-home blues
and meet blues fanatics. Well, this CD by Jeremy Spencer came about
because a blues festival promoter from Norway had been searching for
the founders of blues and rock. Jostein Forsberg found Spencer
hanging out somewhere in India and persuaded him to come to a blues
festival in Norway to see if Jeremy still had his blues chops. Did
he ever! If
you are old enough to be in my generation, you may remember that
Spencer was one of the founders of Fleetwood Mac. He was known as
one of the finest young slide guitarists of his era. He and another
Fleetwood Mac guitarist/founder, Peter Green, mysteriously dropped
out and all but disappeared over 30 years ago. The'Norwegians found
them both and both have reemerged at their annual Notodden Blues
Festival. The audience liked Spencer so well that they clamored for
a new album. After much persuasion from Norway and even prayer by
Spencer, Jeremy decided to give it a shot. The result was the
blending of an American blues & slide master with a great and
fresh group of Norwegian sidemen. There are no slick studio gimmicks
on this CD. Precious
Little has
a full boat of styles from Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too"
to Latin themes such as in "Maria de Santiago." In between
is a host of Spencer's own compositions which encompass bits of
early rock, blues and rock-a-billy. If you listen carefully to his
lyrics you will find hints and subtle overtones of what seem to be
strong and positive moral/religious overtones. More on his
interesting background can be found on Google. Spencer's personal
beliefs aside, this CD has a lot of good easy listening and is great
entertainment and an excellent buy. Blind Pig did not record a
pig-in-a-poke here! Ronny
Parker From Blues News Blues Reviews … Jeremy Spencer Precious
Little Reviewed by Ed Parker It seems
as if most guitarists nowadays try to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan
(who has, to many people, come to define the blues) or release
albums that serve as tribute discs to Robert Johnson, the most
commercial of the prewar players. So it's
quite refreshing to hear Precious
Little, the
new disc bv Jeremy Spencer. Yes,
that Jeremy Spencer, one-time member of the original Fleetwood Mac
lineup who played guitar for the band from 1967 - the year of their
formation - to early 1971, when he quit to join a religious cult,
the Children Of God. The two
other guitarists during this early period were founder Peter Green,
who quit in 1970 after experiencing guilt trips for being successful
and wanted Fleetwood Mac to become a charity band (he returned
briefly to replace the permanently-departed Spencer), and Danny
Kirwan, who joined the band in 1968 as a 19 year-old guitar
slinger He was
fired for strange and erratic behavior in 1972 and eventually ended
up in a mental hospital. I should
say that Peter Green released disc of Robert Johnson's music a few
years ago and did a fine job of it, too. Precious Little,
Spencer’s newest album since his 1979 Atlantic release Flee is a
perfect balance of traditional and modern front porch (via the Dobro)
and electric blues, both covers and originals. As a
member of Fleetwood Mac, Spencer covered several classics by his
main inspiration. Chicago blues singer-guitarist Elmore lames,
perfectly nailing James' guitar tone and slide technique,
so it's no surprise to find that he includes Elmore here,
too: "Bleeding Heart" and the much-covered "It Hurts
Me Too,' credited here to Elmore James, who first recorded the song
in 1957 and then again in 1963. "It
Hurts Me Too" was actually written and originally recorded by
Tampa Red in 1940 for Bluebird. The two tracks are taker at a nice,
relaxed tempo None of
the tracks here are taken beyond a mid-tempo pace; nothing is done
in the flashy "look-at-me" guitar style which, to me
is partly why I find the album so appealing.
In fact,
in the liner notes, Spencer states that he did not want a
`Whiz flash Ham who could 'do anything while reading the newspaper.' For this
I applaud him. He ended up with Espen Liland on second guitar. wise
choice The other notable covers are "Serene Serena," a
take on the standard "Corrine Corrina," first recorded in
19?8 by Bo Carter for Brunswick Records, and Slim Rhodes "Take
and Give," first released as a B-side on Sun Record,
In 1956. "Psychic
Waste,' an original written with a young musician friend with the
last name of Phoenix, is melodically catchy and lyrically engaging
in that it comments on the current state of our culture, calling it
garbage: 'Just a look at this garbage oughta tear us apart,’
he sings, "all the crime and the carnage they feed in our
hearts." Nice to know I I'm in good company. Also noteworthy is the beautiful
title track, with its passage ‘Precious Little, precious few …
Don't worry ‘cause the majority doesn't think like you… You're
one in a million, but not one of the crowd! … Yet your whispered
opinions speak so loud.” Perfect. Of the originals, however, "Maria De Santiago is, in my opinion,
the standout, with its gorgeous melody rounded out with tasteful,
flamenco-like guitar fills. Originally recorded as an instrumental,
Spencer comes off sounding a tad like Steve Forbert (of "Romeo's
Tune" fame) who could have penned both "Maria De
Santiago" and 'Precious little" back in 1978. Overall
this is a wonderful CD. It would be terrific if people, as a bonus,
discover Jeremy Spencer through this album, late `60s era Fleetwood
Mac through Jeremy Spencer, and then finally the early blues
pioneers through Fleetwood Mac. Welcome
back, Jeremy. Please don't wait another 2 years to release your next
album. Monday, September 18, 2006 Skip
this if you can't stand blues, seriously. One
of those biting regrets of mine is never actually hearing Jeremy
Spencer play live, all my life I was in serious awe (I was
fascinated by "802 south”: D and a MWM recording of "sad
day for a poorman".) I always looked forward to seeing him play
live but it just never happened, and then he moved from dear old
Brazil, darn... (plus I found he was all into Miklós Rózsa who
composed the music for knights of the round table and ben hur and
lots of those epics which I thought were the coolest trumpet things
ever. -you can notice that in a bit of his stuff those odd full
chord orchestratish changes. Actually, I don't know what I'm talking
about I just thought there was something there...-) So
I always thought... why doesn't he just release some good
ol'hardcore full of guitar blues? And lo and behold! I was so very
happy to hear that he released an album this year "Precious
Little" (totally recorded analog and like in 5 days or sumtin).
I've been meaning to post about it for months but this gospel gypsy
pirate hasn't found any mp3's to share, nevertheless I managed to
hear all the tracks on yahoo (after waiting forever for them to show
up on my playlist) anyway I seriously recommend it for all you slide
appreciators. (What, there's like 2 or 3 of us?) I particularly
liked "Maria de Santiago". Anyway
lately I'm fascinated by the blues, I can't get enough I'm all
digging into Elmore James and Skip James again... (and I feel like
Kirwan doesn't get enough respect, he would kick the @%*# out of
Jack White, in that raw way, I can see why he had a hard time with
being on stage.. anyway it's just different times I think nowadays
te puedes mandar el mega moco y te dicen "esta re-loco, wow!")
But seriously, Jeremy rocks the shiatza. Blues
Bytes pick hit September
2006 Jeremy
Spencer Precious
Little Blind
Pig Records
Rarely do you come across a blues record
with the subtleties of blues so elegantly displayed like Jeremy
Spencer has done with his new CD on Blind Pig records, Precious
Little. Ably backed by a wonderful group of Norwegian musicians
who are true to the old traditions, five days in Norway has produced
a record that may very well earn Spencer a BMA nomination for
comeback blues album of the year. Elegant in its simplicity, Precious
Little is just a joy to listen to. The sounds of slide guitar provide the
opening licks to “Bitter Lemon.” What else can you do with
bitter lemon except make lemonade? Sure times are tough and you
don’t always get what you want, so take the bitter lemon….and
“make sweet lemonade!” “Psychic Waste” has more of a Delta
feel to it. We’ve all been exposed to too much television,
newspapers, radio, etc. and the end result is an advance case of
mind pollution. We’re better off to ignore the mind numbing
effects of the media and learn to find out the truth for ourselves.
A sax solo by Leif Winther highlights to call to arms to think for
ourselves. Spencer slows things way down with his
rendition of the Elmore James classic, “It Hurts Me Too.”
Melodic strains of slide guitar convey the pain that he feels at the
injustices done to his lover and is complimented again by Winther on
saxophone. The beauty of Spencer’s playing is in the intricacy of
his fretwork, reflective of experiences gained over 35 years of
playing. “Please Don’t Stop” has a rock-a-billy feel to it and
is a cover of a Fabian original from the ’50s. Keyboards by Runar
Boyesen contribute to the original ’50s feel as Spencer intones
“Please don’t stop….making love to me!” “Understand a little loving…a little
loving is all we need…in this stone cold world a misunderstanding
can cause a heart to bleed” echoes the sad tones of Spencer’s
resonator on another classic James tune, “Bleeding Heart”. The
quality of the Norwegian musicians backing Jeremy cannot be
understated. He notes, “In my opinion they retained the
‘purity’ of the old blues in their playing…..I can close my
eyes as they play and imagine someone is playing back there in the
50’s….” Their outstanding musicianship permeates throughout
the songs on this CD. This musicianship continues to shine on the
instrumental “Many Sparrows.” Wonderful slide guitar accompanied
by upright bass by Rune Endal and bass guitar by Roger Arntzen
compliment the Delta feel Spencer achieves on this tune. “Trouble and Woe” lets us know that
we are all still searching for a glimmer of hope in what has become
a crazy world. “Trouble everywhere you go….people looking for
just a glimmer of hope….people try so hard to pretend….all they
need is friend in this world of trouble and woe.” Fortunately this
feeling of depression leaves us in “Maria de Santiago,” an
instrumental original that Jeremy was encouraged to write lyrics for
by producer Kjetil Draugedalen. Portrayed as a saint, Maria de
Santiago inspires, “your invisible presence…I treasure next to
my heart…you’ve been my muse…help me not to faint.” Moving on to “Take and Give,” Spencer
resurrects an obscure B-side recording by Slim Rhodes and gives it
new legs. “We’ll be happy as long as we live and learn to take
and give.” It’s a song that has stayed in the back of his mind
for over 30 years and finally made it to the light of day. This
wonderful record closes with the title track, “Precious Little”,
a tribute to those who often feel ostracized for the courage of
their convictions. “Precious little…..precious few…don’t
worry because the majority doesn’t think like you…you’re one
in a million but not one of the crowd…yet your whispered opinions
speak so loud!” Jeremy Spencer remains an enigma in
American music lore. He left Fleetwood Mac in the early ’70s to
join a religious cult and has followed the callings of his
spirituality for all of his adult life. Fortunately he felt called
to record Precious Little with a wonderful group of Norwegian
musicians for Norway’s Bluestown Records, and luckily Blind Pig
Records saw fit to release it in the United States. This record will
be one of the sleepers for 2006 and showcases the talents of an
artist that unfortunately we’ve heard all too little of. --- Kyle Deibler From
Stony Plain Records Jeremy Spencer: "Precious Little" - Blind
Pig/Stony Plain BPCD-5106. It's been 35 years since Spencer left Fleetwood Mac,
but his vocals and his acoustic slide guitar blues chops are
completely intact. Recorded in Oslo with wonderfully
sympathetic Norwegian musicians, this is a real gem. Well worth
discovering Living Blues (p.46) - "The album has a relaxed vibe centred
around Spencer's warm, clear slide guitar tone. Spencer has a soft
plaintive voice that exudes sincerity." No Depression (p.132) - "Spencer sounds both confident and relaxed
throughout this set of parlor blues, and his slide guitar is nothing
less than virtuosic." rockin lobster Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:17 pm Post subject: Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 3647 Location: Bahston Jeremy Spencer......Precious Little 35 years seems a little long between new releases, but
in this case, it's definitely worth it. One of the founding members
of Fleetwood Mac, Spencer was famous for his over the top Elmore
James covers, and his covers of early rock obscurities. Disappearing
during a Fleetwood Mac tour of the states back in 1970, he joined(or
was brainwashed) into joining the "children of god"(who
were everywhere back then; I remember them all over Boston in the
early 70's giving away donuts to save your soul?). Then: silence. So then, this is a big deal for we old Mac fans and
fans of the blues in general. I stumbled across this on the Amazon
site recently and liked the samples so when my local music store had
it on sale, well, you know the rest. He may have mellowed a bit over the years, but his
slide playing is incredibly tasteful. A bit like Count Basie on the
piano, he now says a lot with a few notes. That's hard to do. All
the tracks feature Norwegian blues musicians who lay down a
sympathetic backdrop for Spencer’s blues, R&B, and rockabilly
songs. A few of the tracks also have harmonica and saxophone. Many
of the tunes have a "kiln house" feel to them. He covers 2 Elmore James tunes, “it hurts me too"
and "bleeding heart", dropping the heavy Chicago rhythms
and having the songs float along over an acoustic background. It
fits what he's doing now really well. "Please don't stop" could have been done by
Elvis, and would have fit on either the Macs Kiln house lp or
Spencer’s own solo album from 1970. "Trouble and woe",
one of my favorites (today) shuffles along nicely over a gritty
r&b rhythm. “Serene Serena" is a remake of the old
standard "Corinne, Corinna" with a new set of lyrics.On
"Dr J", he does the same thing to a 50's blues "Dr.
Brown" (from the second Fleetwood Mac album). I'll stop now. Buy the album. It's a mature work done
by a mature artist and you can tap your foot too. Always a good
thing in my book. I just hope he decides to go on tour now. I'll be
in the front row. The Virginian Pilot The
Daily Break Aug 4 2006 Jeremy
Spencer Precious Little Talk about an auspicious comeback! For
blues singer/slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, "Precious
Little" - his first serious recording after dropping out of
the original Fleetwood Mac more than 30 years ago - has a lot
going for it. When he co-fronted Fleetwood Mac with
band founder Peter Green, Spencer used to chew the musical scenery
with his over-the-top versio,ns of Elmore James blues. He's back
with musical chops intact, only this time his prodigious slide work
and expressive boyish tenor are tempered with restraint, taste and
economy. The CD opens with "Bitter Lemon"
a laid-back shuffle sweetened with expressive slide-guitar riffs.
Then there's the tasty country-blues of "Many Sparrows"
and "Serene, Serena" - his take on the classic "Corrina,
Corrina" - and the melodic "Maria de Santiago." The
disc rocks with Elmore James flames in the raucous "Dr.
J." and the hiccupy "Please Don't Stop." Surprisingly,
he's backed with conviction and empathy by a combo of Norwegian
blues veterans. Nothing is overproduced or too slick. Jeremy
Spencer's back, blues fans! ~
Tracks to download: "Dr. J," "Please Don't Stop," "Serene,
Serena" -
Eric Feber, The Pilot Senior Ledgie
Precious Little I just got Jeremy's new cd Precious
Little and it is amazing. Its a great cd from start to finish. His
voice still sounds like it did in the early 70's and his guitar
playing blues is very "Fleetwood Macish" I'm glad to get
this great solo record. This is one of the things I love about the
Fleetwood Mac Family there is much music out there. Get this one! From Bad Dog Blues Jeremy Spencer:
Precious Little (Blind Pig) Those who know
their British blues rock may raise a few eyebrows upon seeing that
ex-Fleetwood Mac member and long time reclusive Jeremy Spencer has a
new record out. More surprising, unlike the few solo efforts he's
put out, "Precious Little" is not a religious outing but a
(mostly) full fledged blues record, and a superb one at that. In 1971,
hours before the Los Angeles gig on Fleetwood Mac's American tour,
Spencer vanished without warning. It turned out that he had fell in
with a Christian sect called the Children of God, which he had
apparently joined after being approached on the street. Over the
years Spencer has issued a few records with Children of God members,
cut his last studio effort in 1979, toured India a few times but has
otherwise retained a very low profile. Now, after a 25-year absence
from the recording studio, Spencer is back and in fabulous form on
"Precious Little" issued on Blind Pig (the album was
licensed from Norway's Bluestown Records, which originally released
it). It's obvious
on "Precious Little" that Spencer has never stopped
playing and delivers a gorgeous, relaxed performance here filled
with terrific guitar work, especially on slide with superb vocals in
the service of some first rate originals and covers. Backed by some
very good Norwegian musicians, Spencer exudes a laid back, confident
air creating a beautiful mellow atmosphere that pervades the whole
record. Opening with the original "Bitter Lemon," Spencer
and the band amble through a laid-back shuffle punctuated with
Spencer's mellow, creamy slide and warm assured vocals. Spencer
kicks up the tempo on the strutting, blues shuffle "Dr. J"
laying down some elegant Elmore James inspired licks backed by
riffing horns and rolling piano and takes a more 60's rock approach
to the grooving "Psychic Waste" a term referring to all
the trash spewed out by the media. It's the blues that most impress
and Spencer has a masterful, delicate feel for the music as
evidenced on the gorgeous country blues of "Many Sparrows"
as he hums along hypnotically to his snakey slide playing and the
sublime "Serene Serena", a lyrical rewrite of the
traditional "Corrine Corrina." Elmore James is a big
influence (the first two Fleetwood Mac albums feature several Elmore
covers) and Spencer delivers beautifully fragile versions of
"It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart" that
really get to the emotional core of these songs. Spencer also tosses
in a rockabilly tune and a world music number for good measure,
handled as impeccably as everything else on this wonderful record. "Precious
Little" ranks as a near perfect comeback record by a master
musician who has a unerring feel for the blues. Filled with subtle
shadings, beautiful playing, a deeply emotional feel and nary a
trace of rock excess, Spencer proves he's a bluesman of the highest
order.
RECORDINGS Jeremy
Spencer Precious Little (Blind Pig) Greg Kot Published September 8, 2006 British singer-guitarist Jeremy Spencer's history is
far stranger than his first record in 27 years: He was an early
member of Fleetwood Mac, then vanished one day in 1971, only to turn
up later in a mysterious religious group called the Children of God.
He put out oddball spiritual albums in the '70s, then resurfaced
last year at a Norwegian blues festival. So you wouldn't expect
"Precious Little," starring Spencer and sidemen with names
like Anders, Trond and Espen, to be this erudite and well-crafted.
Spencer can still play the blues, his plaintive regular-guy voice
recalls Jerry Garcia and this version of personal hero Elmore James'
"It Hurts Me Too" is like the CD--gentle, reverential and
filled with a sort of suppressed passion. Copyright © 2006, Chicago
Tribune
Precious Little Blind Pig CD 5106 By Randy Hoffman (From Blues Blowtorch) It is a real pleasure to review a CD and think to myself…this one’s
staying in the CD player! Jeremy Spencer was a member of the
original Fleetwood Mac and recently made a trip to Norway to meet
and play with some local blues-men and cut a great album. The most
amazing quality of this recording is the ability of all the players
(2nd guitar, harmonica, mandolin, horns and keys) to blend into a
harmonic melody with Jeremy’s slide guitar. The production work is
outstanding throughout. Many albums start out with an acoustic slide
with a nice blues feel, but sometimes that’s about all there is.
Not on this CD! There’s an old blues feel, but the styles are
swing, swamp, smoke and rock. The opener “Bitter Lemon” grabbed
my attention with dual guitar licks and a great piano mix.
Jeremy’s vocals were intriguing right from the start and proved
engaging as each tune unfolded. “Psychic Waste” has a hot sax
and great lyrics. I think this is the best rendition of Elmore
James’ “It Hurts Me Too” I have ever heard. The stand up bass
in the rockin’ 50’s piano boogie “Please Don’t Stop” was
killer. “Dr. J” turned out to be my favorite tune on this CD.
Clever lyrics and so cool horn arrangement, complimenting the slide
guitar, made it a winner. Later in the album, you get some Knopfler
and Stray Cats like flavors. No doubt about it, the purity of the
blues sound is “like the pure Norwegian water!” Best CD I
listened to this year. Buy it!! From the Toledo
Blade PRECIOUS LITTLE Jeremy Spencer (Bluestown/Blind Pig) During the '60s, Jeremy Spencer was a member of the pre-eminent British
blues band of the time - Fleetwood Mac. Thirty-five years after
leaving the band, Spencer has released a disc that reminds us how
good a slide guitarist, and singer, he is. The 12 tracks are
predominantly Spencer originals, though he adds a couple of Elmore
James classics. The tenor of the disc is rather low-key, the arrangements mostly basic
blues with some nice horn-section embellishment, and lyrics that
range from upbeat to the jaundiced perspective of "Psychic
Waste." And although broadly contained within a blues framework,
the disc reaches out to include bare bones rock and roll ("Please
Don't Stop") and the Dire Straits-like title track. A mix of the incisive guitar playing of old with a new, more subdued
approach, Spencer's comeback is both welcome and successful. - RICHARD PATON Jeremy
Spencer Bluestown
/ Blind Pig From: Nightflying. The Entertainment Guide By Doug
Treadway PRECIOUS LITTLE Where have
I heard that name before? It is quite familiar to me and yet I
cannot place it. Oh well, just enjoy the music, I say. One of the
more interesting aspects of it is that it was recorded in the frozen
north, and I do not mean Maine or Minnesota. I refer to Juke Joint
Studio and Supermono Studio in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. Spencer
plays some mean slide and resonator guitar on these blues tunes that
transcend the genre by as simple a move as adding a taste of
baritone saxophone. There is also a taste of something very much
rockabilly. Other than Spencer, the music is made by Norwegians, the
result of an invitation to play the Notodden Blues Festival. In the
liner notes, it is mentioned that there are as many as twenty-five
blues festivals a year over there. Ah hah! Here it is in the liner
notes: Jeremy Spencer used to be part of Fleetwood Mac (back in the
Peter Green days, when it was one of the premier blues bands in the
whole wide world). I knew I knew that name. Nice to know the cat
still has the touch. Tom Wright from Staten Island Advance “Precious Little,” Jeremy Spencer (Blind Pig Records) One of the things that made
Fleetwood Mac such a great band was a revolving-door roster that
never failed to produce a singular sound. Among them was Jeremy
Spencer, whose slide guitar and vocal stylings added an indelible
charm and unique voice to the original line-up. With a love for classic
‘50s rock’ n’ roll (Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly etc.) and
Chicago Blues (specifically Elmore James’ fiery slide guitar)
Spencer helped Fleetwood become an iconic British blues bands and
more. Unfortunately, he left, and
after Fleetwood Mac, Spencer made an obscure, semi-compelling and
uneven self-titled solo album. Then, departing mysteriously he all
but disappeared for decades after becoming a member of the religious
group, Children of God; a shame considering all the potential the
man exhibited. It’s time to catch up. After 30 years, with all his
six-string prowess and vocal abilities intact , Spencer, 58, has now
returned with one of the more enjoyable modern blues and roots
records of the year. Like labelmate Elvin Bishop
(“Fool Around and Fell in Love”), Spencer’s affable laid-back
humor, poignancy, and soulfulness is as delightful and comforting as
revisiting a dearly missed, old friend. Evoking the good feeling of
some lazy-day strumming on the porch, “Bitter Lemon” invites
listens in with some amiable, woozy slide guitar played on an
acoustic national steel. Stepping it up to some
electric swamp blues, “Psychic Waste” is deftly bolstered by a
warm horn section and some undulating harmonica fills; being
perfectly at home on Fleetwood Mac’s “Kiln House” album. Not surprisingly, Spencer
offers two tasty Elmore James covers (“It Hurts Me Too,”
“Bleeding Heart”) along with a remake of the traditional
classic, “Corrina Corrina,” retitled “Serene Serena.” The Delta, gospel-influenced
“Many Sparrows” is a touching acoustic instrumental,
showcasing more of Spencer’s dulcet slide guitar work. Recalling another phase of
his Fleetwood Mac tenure, Spencer shakes it up when he gets into
some jumping barrel-house, piano-driven rockabilly on songs like
“Please Don't Stop” and “Take and Give” — a ‘50s ballad
— replete with doowop background vocals and slap-back echo. By contrast, the album closes
with two beautiful numbers: The Spanish-southwestern flavored
ballads “Maria De Santiago” and “Precious Little.” While
some might draw comparisons with Mark Knopfler’s Dire Straits,
this was actually a sound that Spencer helped to create and define
with Fleetwood Mac a full decade earlier. This winning 12-song
collection is a welcome and triumphant return by an artist who has
been absent far too long. One can only hope there will be substantially more of than this precious
little gem. Hey Peter, Roger
here from KVRX in Austin. Just wanted to let you know I really enjoy
the Jeremy Spencer release. That's a beautiful, beautiful, sweet
record. He lays down some nice acoustic bluesy stuff man. --Roger MUSIC
REVIEW Jeremy
Spencer : Precious Little (3 stars out of 5) Ex-Fleetwood
Mac guitarist surfaces a little too subtly From
The Daily Sentinel, Orlando Jim
Abbott Sentinel
Pop Music Critic Jeremy
Spencer has been off the radar for decades since his abrupt
defection from the earliest incarnation of Fleetwood Mac to join a
religious cult in 1971. There
has been the occasional solo project since, but the focus and ease
he exhibits on Precious Little make it apparent that Spencer still
has something to offer. In
Fleetwood Mac, Spencer's slide solos provided the blues DNA on
albums such as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968) and English Rose
(1969). That sound never goes out of style and is accurately echoed
on these 12 songs, a mixture of traditional tunes and originals
recorded in Norway with Norwegian musicians. Spencer's
electric guitar solo on Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too" is
economical and elegant. His ringing solitary notes are reminiscent
of B.B. King's signature style, although without King's fiery
intensity. Other
songs, such as his own "Bitter Lemon," feature Spencer's
slide work on resonator guitar. He handles that instrument with
delicacy, too, opting for precision rather than raw emotion. If
there's a complaint about Precious Little, it's a nagging sense that
Spencer never really lets go, either in his playing or easygoing
vocals. A little more punch would have been a nice contrast to his
consistently subtle approach. Precious
Little comes close with the chugging "Trouble and Woe" and
the percolating "Psychic Waste." The latter is Spencer's
rumination on what he considers the dearth of pop culture nowadays. These
songs will help raise the bar, but Spencer could have lifted it
higher with energy and passion that was a little more obvious. Jim
Abbott jabbott@orlandosentinel.com Precious
Little *** To
hear an excerpt from this or other recently reviewed albums, go to
OrlandoSentinel .com and click on Music. Reviewing
key: ***** excellent, **** good, *** average, ** poor, * awful Recent release:
Precious Little Jeremy Spencer / 3 1/2 stars By Jim Carnes – Sacramento Bee Staff Writer Jeremy Spencer goes back to the early, early days of
Fleetwood Mac, when it was more a blues band than a rock icon --
when, in fact, it was known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Green
left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 after a mental breakdown that was
attributed to LSD bingeing. He cut guitarist Spencer loose before
leaving, however, and Spencer has been heard from only sporadically
in the 35 intervening years. Spencer was a slide guitarist of great skill and a good
singer, too, but he became a sort of religious recluse and says he
accepted or rejected gigs only after praying about the offer. He
accepted one to play at the Notodden blues festival in Norway in
2005, and it is from that gig -- with the Scandinavian musicians who
accompanied him there -- that "Precious Little" arises. It is a simple and elegant album, with two Elmore James
blues classics ("It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart")
and a 1950s rockabilly rarity, "Please Don't Stop," in the
mix. Most of the other songs are Spencer originals, and they have a
distinct and not entirely optimistic focus. "Trouble and Woe"
declares, "Love is dying in the heart of man." The title
cut relies upon the biblical reference to the wide gate and the easy
road that leads to destruction and the narrow road and straight gate
through which the righteous must pass. The best song of the lot is
"Psychic Waste," which was inspired by Don Feder's book
"A Conservative Jew Looks at Pagan America," in which
Feder decries what he calls the mental trash produced by the media.
Spencer can be a little preachy, and the altered cover of Slim
Rhodes' 1956 Sun Records "Take and Give," with its Ricky
Nelson-style vocal, is a prime example. Ah, but "Precious
Little," which follows it and closes the album, is brilliant.
Twenty-seven years after his last solo album, Spencer has come back
with what Mick Fleetwood himself rightly calls "a righteous
album." Triple
Play top 10 Wednesday, August
09, 2006 9. Jeremy Spencer, “Precious Little.” Spencer just
walked away from Fleetwood Mac during a concert tour some 30 years
ago, leaving the rest of the band at the lurch. Well, now he is back
with great chops, a superb voice and one of the best blues discs of
the year, if not the best one. From a message boarder
called Buddy: Jeremy Spencer has
a new album out, his first in two decades. I heard the title track
"Precious Little' on xm sat. radio and it sounds very good.
Thought it was Mark Knopfler before I glanced at the TV from
Reuters: NEW YORK (Billboard)
- Jeremy Spencer, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a
founding member of Fleetwood Mac, will release his first album in
more than two decades. "Precious
Little" is due out July 18 via Blind Pig. Spencer released his
last solo set, "Flee," in 1979. Jeremy Spencer: Precious Little (Blind Pig) This satisfyingly crafted surprise from
an “exiled” Fleetwood Mac founding member could be hauntingly
nostalgic for fans of the original British blues band from almost 40
years ago. As one of the “cursed” early guitarists of Mac,
Spencer emerges as not only musically intact, but richly evolved as
well. No small feat for a guy who walked away from it all 37 years
ago, literally disappearing (into a religious cult he remains a
member of) hours before a Stateside gig, in the midst of the
band’s first incarnation and ascendance to popularity. They were a
swaggering, slide-guitar-driven, uncannily Chicago-sounding blues
band fronted by a very young foursome of English lads. The mythic guitarist Peter Green, a more
evocative player than his (soon to be far more successful)
contemporaries Clapton, Beck, Mayall, et al, fronted the
original line-up with Spencer. Rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and
John McVie rounded out the band, enduring to the bitter,
multi-million dollar platinum AOR hit-studded three-decades-later
end. Green also walked on the band early on and wandered into a life
of erratic behavior and hermitage, allegedly turning his back on big
dollar royalties for his original “Black Magic Woman.” A
somewhat lackluster comeback in recent years reveals little of the
young transcendent Green guitar of days when he’d record with the
likes of Otis Spann, or the risk-taking creator of “End of the
Game,” nor his underrated ’80s output: see In the Skies
(1979) and Little Dreamer (1980). Third guitarist Danny
Kirwan – yes, it was unusual for a band to have three guitarists
back then – spiraled down into obscurity and semi-depravity,
leaving an unsteady Mac mid-tour and mid-breakdown in 1972. Mac shed its final blues trappings and
went on to mega-success. Jeremy Spencer flew below the media radar
for decades, music-wise. With the cult Children of God (later
calling themselves The Family, around which allegations of child
abuse swirled in England), Spencer never abandoned his guitar
playing nor his devotion to the blues. His faithful slide work
deeply evokes the Elmore James/Otis Rush/Johnny Littlejohn/J.B.
Hutto school of blues guitar. It’s as strong today as it was in
his young raw Mac days of the late ’60s. The pleasant surprise
beyond this is the graceful mellowing of his playing and singing,
while still retaining its earnest quality. His vocals and playing
have an audible glow. Spencer suggests a spiritual path and
spiritual decisions led to the creation of Precious Little.
The result is divine. The opening “Bitter Lemon,” a Napoleon
brandy-smooth slide-guided original, offers sage “turn it into
sweet lemonade” advice. Two Elmore James favorites, “It Hurts Me
Too” and “Bleeding Heart,” are sweetly, and deeply
blues-steeped. “Dr. J” is pure vintage Mac-cago blues, refined
but still with kick. “Please Don’t Stop” reflects Spencer’s
continued fondness for late ’50s at-the-hop rock obscurities.
Several nice self-penned quiet ballads turn up as well, including
the Dire Straits-veined title song. The accompanying band, a group of
Norwegian blues players, some playing together 20 years, have
remarkable savvy and telepathy. At first somewhat skeptical of the
union, Spencer quickly fell in love with them. Discovery of Stax
Records’ late-’60s mixing desk at the Oslo recording studio was
another comforting sign for Spencer. The band’s musical empathy
bears out Spencer’s observation that “there was more
appreciation of and passion for the blues in Norway than I’d
encountered anywhere else in the world…to the point Norwegians
have as many as 25 blues festivals a year.” Who knows when or if Spencer might
surface again? He’s left this precious little gem for those who
care to notice. - Tali Madden
Jeremy Spencer – Precious Little
(Blind Pig) Quite
possibly the best of the British blues guitarists of the 1960s,
Spencer was responsible for some excellent blues with the first
version of Fleetwood Mac, then quit the band for a religious life
that rejected wealth (he refused to accept the massive royalties for
“Black Magic Woman” – yes, that’s his song) Not
mine! Peter Green’s. Every once in a while he reappears to make
an album, and this one’s especially fine. Accompanied by some ace
Norwegian musicians, Spencer displays his superb slide playing
throughout on both acoustic and electric guitar, and nods to his
major influence with two Elmore James covers. There are also a
rockabilly cover (Slim Rhodes’s “Take and Give”) and believe
it or not a Fabian song (“Please Don’t Stop”), both attesting
to Spencer’s love of 1950s rock. An altered version of the old
folk blues tune “Corrine Corrina” (here “Serene Serena”),
like many of Spencer’s originals, reflects his spiritual outlook.
His warm voice has mellowed with age and if anything sounds better
than ever. From Americana News and Notes NEW RELEASE http://americanahomeplace.com/Buy.htm Former Fleetwood Mac Guitarist
Revisits the Blues
In 1967, Spencer was invited to join
Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie as an original member of
the group, which was initially billed as "Peter Green's
Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer." The young slide
guitarist was prominently featured on the band's early releases, but
his talents clearly paled in comparison to the highly regarded
Green. His initial contribution to the band's sound consisted mainly
of Elmore James-derived songs and imitations of other well-known
artists during the group's live performances. The addition of
Danny Kirwan as a third guitarist in 1968 further marginalized
Spencer within the group. Filled with self-doubt and strongly-held
religious views that questioned his occupation and lifestyle,
Spencer's role in the band diminished to the point that his presence
was barely noticeable on the band's 1969 release Then Play On.
Spencer's self-doubt reappeared on
the 1971 American tour in support of Kiln House. His last
performance with the band occurred on February 9, 1971 at San
Francisco's legendary Fillmore West. The performance coincided
with a massive Los Angeles earthquake. The band's next gig was in
the epicenter of the earthquake at L.A.'s Whiskey A-Go-Go. A
reluctant Spencer has to be convinced to get on the airplane to L.A.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the aftershocks of the earthquake
mixed with the ozone and yellow haze of the atmosphere to create a
strange and eerie setting. The band checked into its hotel and
Spencer announced he was going to step out for a few minutes to
check out a bookstore down the street. Spencer left the hotel room
never to return to Fleetwood Mac. When Spencer failed to returned to
the hotel, the band started a frantic search for the missing guitar
player. Four days later, the band's manager located Spencer at a
warehouse in downtown Los Angeles which served as the headquarters
for the Children of God religious sect. Spencer renounced his
music career and essentially disappeared from the music scene
altogether. For the next three decades, he traveled around the world
as a member of the Children of God. Occasional reports placed
Spencer in Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. In the wake of
Fleetwood Mac's stunning success after the release of Rumors in the
late 1970s, Spencer briefly reappeared with a largely forgettable
solo album entitled Flee.
Now, 35 years after he walked away
from Fleetwood Mac, Spencer has once again entered the studio and
released a blues-based solo album entitled Precious Little. Perhaps
the most surprising aspect of Spencer's return to the music business
is the quality of his latest recording. Backed by a Norwegian band,
Spencer mixes original songs like "Psychic Waste" with
blues classics like "It Hurt's Me Too" and "Bleeding
Heart" to produce a compelling collection of contemporary
blues. Another highlight is a reworked version of "Corina
Corina" entitled "Serene Serena." It is rare that a musician returns to recording after
such a long absence from the music business. It is even rarer to
reappear in prime form. In the words of the Grateful Dead,
what a long strange trip it's been. Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:46 am by
Stormy Monday Jeremy Spencer,
slide guitar player for early Fleetwood Mac, has a solo album out
called "Precious Little". As far as I know, this is the
first thing he's really done since he left Fleetwood Mac for some
religious cult (still with them, apparently). Shocked to see that
the guy was actually doing something, I listened to the album and
really enjoyed it. The album is mostly blues. I never cared for
his work at all while with Fleetwood Mac. Pretty much everything I
heard from him was that same old cliched Elmore James lick played ad
nauseam. He seemed pretty one-dimensional. But his slide playing
here (and his regular playing too for that matter) is much, much
better and more original IMO. On "Bleeding Heart" it
sounds like he's been listening to some Derek Trucks. Check it out. Good
stuff. JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little BLIND PIG Back when Fleetwood Mac was Peter Green’s blues band,
slide guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Spencer provided the group with
energetic Elmore James covers and spunky originals strongly
influenced by that same blues master. Spencer soon thereafter
emerged in the counterculture’s burgeoning Christian subgroup-
b/k/a/ “Jesus Freaks” and recorded with a group called the
Children of God. His new disc quotes James more directly than it
does the New Testament and its quality play and congenial atmosphere
will likely win Spencer more than a few converts. Not that there
isn’t a good lesson or two about the wrongful ways of the world
encased in some of Spencer’s lyrics, but the low-key delivery of
these messages should not put most listeners at un-ease. Spencer’s
voice seems much more youthful than his grizzled countenance on the
disc’s jacket and his slide work, both electric and acoustic, is
an underplayed pleasure throughout the set. The Scandinavian band
behind him matches Spencer in its sure-handed and laid-back
character, delivering sparing, subtly textured support. Even with
the lyrical urgency of tracks such as “Trouble and Woe” and
“Psychic Waste”, the overall atmosphere of Precious
Little is an inviting one and one that
listeners should find more appealing with repeated plays. Duane Verh From MP3.com An
early member of Fleetwood Mac, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer left
behind a fine (if limited) musical legacy, but is perhaps better
remembered for his sudden defection from the group to join a
religious cult. Spencer was born in West Hartlepool, England on July
4, 1948; he started taking piano lessons at age nine, switched to
guitar at 15 to emulate his rock & roll idols, and the following
year discovered Elmore James, who became his chief influence. In
1967, Spencer became the fourth member of the fledgling Fleetwood
Mac, concentrating primarily on slide guitar but also doubling up on
piano. He was a major component of the group's early blues-rock
sound on albums like 1968's Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and 1969's
English Rose. A gifted musical impressionist, Spencer's affectionate
send-ups of early rock & roll styles and artists were sometimes
incorporated into the group's live shows; in 1970, Spencer released
a self-titled solo LP in that vein on Reprise, featuring parodies of
rockabilly, teen idol ballads, surf, Elvis, psychedelia, and even
Mac itself. That same year's Kiln House would prove to be the last
Mac album Spencer played on, however. In
early 1971, hours before the Los Angeles gig on Mac's American tour,
Spencer vanished without warning; five days later, police traced him
to the headquarters of a Christian sect called the Children of God,
which Spencer had apparently joined after being approached on the
street. Always somewhat religious, Spencer later revealed that he'd
been feeling spiritually unfulfilled in the wake of the group's
success; nonetheless, his abrupt departure left the group in a lurch.
Not only did they have to call upon the unstable Green (who'd left a
year earlier) to complete the tour, but in Green's absence, Spencer
had been the main link to Mac's blues-rock past, which sent them
into an identity crisis that wouldn't be resolved for several years.
Meanwhile, Spencer re-emerged in 1973 with a new album, Jeremy
Spencer & the Children, on CBS; influenced by psychedelia and
folk-rock, it was wholly devoted to Spencer's newfound faith. In
1975, Spencer returned to London and formed a blues-rock group
called Albatross, which featured other Children of God; in 1979, he
released another solo album on Atlantic, titled Flee. Though Spencer
remained silent on record, he continued to play music and tour, and
devoted much of his time to charitable causes. As the millennium
drew to a close, Spencer toured India three times (in 1995, 1998,
and 2000), worked on material for an instrumental album, and
remained an active member of the Family (as the Children of God were
later called). Then, suddenly in 2006, after a thirty plus year
absence from the recording studio, Spencer resurfaced with a new
album on Blind Pig Records, the impressive Precious Life (the album
was licensed from Norway's Bluestown Records, which originally
released it), suggesting that Spencer's musical story was far from
over. ~
Steve Huey, All Music Guide From Good Times Magazine: Blues Guitar Stars: More New Sounds http://www.myspace.com/thejimilalumia Two
working bluesmen – Albert Cummings and Bill Perry
– return with new releases while an old friend, Jeremy Spencer
of Fleetwood Mac fame, is back with his first original work in many
a moon. All three new albums are available now on the national
Blind Pig label.
Indeed, this is something of a comeback for Spencer, as his new disc,
Precious Little (Bluestown/Blind Pig), is a return to
form for a guitar master. Unbeknownst to most rock radio
types, Fleetwood Mac was around a long time before the Stevie Nicks/Lindsey
Buckingham band that produced scads of Top 40 hits. In their
early incarnations, Mac was a blues/rock hybrid – and Spencer was
a driving force behind their sound.
It's only been 35 years since Spencer left Fleetwood Mac (and a
whopping 27 years since his last solo album), and he's worked
sporadically since, most notably in the Peter Green Splinter Group
(a fellow Mac alumnus) some time ago. Apparently, Spencer has
found spirituality in a big way along the trail.
"Since leaving Fleetwood Mac 35 years ago, I have received many
offers and most of them have been accepted or denied on the basis of
prayer." Spencer may have found God, but he hasn't lost
his guitar, singing, or songwriting skills, and few artists plying
their trades today are better on the resonator guitar than Spencer.
There's a hodge podge of originals and covers here, with some songs
faring better than others; the aging Spencer's overall style
meanders a bit, given his elder statesman status. However,
there are several gems here, particularly his cover of Elmore James'
"It Hurts Me Too" which rivals Eric Clapton's recent
version, and his original tune "Trouble And Woe" is the
best original, pure blues song we've heard in a long time, rife with
real passion and emotion. Spencer may have gone from the green
Fleetwood Mac to a graying veteran, but as he was in his tenure with
the British legends, he's a bluesman through and through. From
Illinois Entertainer: Early Fleetwood Mac guitarist,
Elmore James devotee, and former cult member Jeremy Spencer
is back with Precious Little (Blind Pig), a mellow album
recorded in Norway with native musicians. Spencer performs
selectively these days, mainly on the basis of prayer. He claims to
have consulted with the Lord before jumping into this project and
got the divine green light. Spencer is in top form on Precious
Little, featuring a range of tunes that encompass blues, rock
‘n’ roll, and folk. Fans of early Fleetwood Mac will reminisce
about Elmore James tunes “It Hurts Me Too” and “Bleeding Heart.”
Spencer also includes a fine reworking of “Corina, Corina”
entitled “Serena, Serena” . . . From The Arizona Republic: ‘Precious
Little' Jeremy Spencer (Blind Pig) 4 out of 5
stars Slide-guitar player
Jeremy Spencer co-founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 with the
long-departed Peter Green and charter members Mick Fleetwood and
John McVie. Before
female voices were brought on board, Mac had a heavy blues leaning.
In the early ’70s, Green and Spencer abruptly left to explore
religion. Spencer joined a cult, the Children of God, and continued
to perform with little commercial success. After surfacing at some
recent European blues festivals, Spencer, 58, returns to the
mainstream with a collection of bluesy original and traditional
tracks. His high, gentle voice remains intact and his guitar work,
on a chrome resonator and other axes, is impeccable. He surrounded
himself with Norwegian players because “they have retained the
purity of the old blues.” He also ventures into Spanish stylings
with an original, Maria de Santiago, and mellow rock with the
self-penned title cut. —Larry Rodgers From
Blues Source: Jeremy Spencer Has it been
so long that you need to be reminded that Fleetwood Mac started out
as a blues band, splintering off from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
after that act recorded an instrumental called "Fleetwood
Mac?" Well, you know now, whether you knew two minutes ago or
not, and they were a very good British blues act, too, less pop
oriented than many and more possessed of a real grasp of backbeat
rhythm, slide guitar, apocalyptic scary devil chords and lyrical
themes than most. And their
slide man was Jeremy Spencer, who left the band to join an obscure
religious organization before they began to find commercial success.
Coincidentally, while the tabloid press was wallowing in lurid
headlines of sexual activity within Fleetwood Mac, the legal systems
of various countries were examining similarly extreme activity
within Spencer's church, and the scandal did touch him a decade or
more ago. In any event,
the 1948-vintage guitarist seems fully devoted to music on this
record, which has an understated George Harrison sound to it,
musically and lyrically. Indeed, it could almost be peddled as a
George Harrison blues album. It's that close, and Spencer and
Harrison were of the same generation of British slide players.
Jeremy Spencer claimed Elmore James as his main influence with the
early Fleetwood Mac, at approximately the same time John Lennon was
exclaiming about Harrison, "Elmore James got nothin' on THIS
Fender." "Precious
Little" is a sweet, mellow album, passionate and right. Well
enunciated in that British former-blues way. There are few records
like it coming out these days. I'm glad to own it. (©) 2006,
Arthur Shuey BluesSource.com From
itunes: Precious
Little "Serene
At Last!" ***** by
Grimmbo "Jeremy
Spencer"; why does that name sound so familiar, I asked myself?
Could this be the same Jeremy Spencer who was a founding member of
the original Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack? @1967-70: Jeremy
Spencer on screaming slide guitar and Peter Green on howling lead
guitar; devotees of our American Chicago Blues! (Musical History
tells us that Jeremy Spencer just abandoned the other members of
Fleetwood Mac on a USA tour in 1971 and was rumoured to have taken
up with "The Children Of God"). Well, let me tell you
people, this Jeremy Spencer is back, and he did not forget how to
"Play The Blues" Y'all! (Delights within: Serene Serena,
It Hurts Me Too, Trouble And Woe and Precious Little. With
a voice and a style reminiscent of Eric Clapton, Jerry Garcia &
Mark Knopfler; "Precious Little" is really a "precious
lot of fine, tasteful, satisfying licks from a nearly forgotten
fretmasterl" "Please Don’t Stop" anywhere else;
give some of your "Precious Little" time to listen to this
pleasantly pleasing set of slow-brewed Blues! by
Grimmbo. JEREMY SPENCER/PRECIOUS
LITTLE 2006-07-20Translated
from Japanese!! http://blog.diskunion.net/user/uncledog/tapestry/image/3415.jpgJEREMY
SPENCER/PRECIOUS LITTLE (BLUESTOWN RECORDS/NORWAY/BTR-1017/CD) It was the early [huritoutsudo] Mac member, Jeremy
Spencer which is known as the master of the sliding
guitar the blues special label of Norway, release had done the after
a long time new work from Bluestown
Records. (2006) The musician of local end of Norway the cover of [erumoa] you have
played [jiemusu] and the original in the back. (The vocal, sliding
& resonator guitar charge) it is the new 譜
which becomes matter of concern in the fan of white blues. -> The American board was done the BLIND PIG label (BPCD 5106)
from release. The vocal which has taste you can hear the splendid
guitar. The old friend, it is the kind of feeling which meets again. Posted on Fri, Jul. 21, 2006 Disc Notes Jeremy Spencer, Precious Little
Blind Pig/Bluestown Records: Ace slide-blues guitarist
Spencer hasn't recorded much since leaving Fleetwood Mac after
1971's Kiln House to join Christian sect Family International.
But as he proves on this new studio effort, he hasn't lost his chops.
His gift for mimicry also hasn't left him, as he swaggers between
Buddy Holly and Elvis-like vocals on Please Don't Stop, his
guitar blazes a controlled fire behind his slightly amused wail. Psychic
Waste is the most successful of his religious songs, with a mean
harmonica hovering low over his trademark wailing slide. Evansville Courier Mark
Wilson: Jeremy
Spencer "Precious
Little" (Blind
Pig) Part
of three-pronged guitar juggernaut that spearheaded the original
lineup of British blues band Fleetwood Mac (before its metamorphosis
to pop megastars) in the late 1960s, Spencer was known for his
tireless, note-perfect renditions of bluesman Elmore James and early
rock 'n' roll. However, fame took its toll, and like the band's
other frontman, guitarist Peter Green, he left unexpectedly under
strange circumstances. Spencer ran off to join a religious group
called the Children of God. Although he has played and recorded
occasionally since then, he has lived a private life. Spencer
not only has retained his chops, as this CD proves, but there was
apparently much more to his playing than his wild man blues-rock
antics in Fleetwood Mac all those years ago. Recorded with an ace
band of Norwegian blues players (blues remains huge in Europe),
Spencer's guitar tone is beautiful and vibrant, his voice warm and
relaxed. Although there is a pair each of Elmore James and early
rock gems here, Spencer surprises with a set of strong original
compositions. It is hoped that this album will succeed enough that
Spencer will record more frequently. Nashville City Paper - Nashville,TN,USA By
Ron Wynn, rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com July
21, 2006 Before
they made the shift from blues traditionalists to pop titans,
Fleetwood Mac was a magnificent blues band, particularly the unit
that included a flamboyant slide guitarist and vocalist named Jeremy
Spencer. His new CD Precious Little (Blind Pig) sounds at
times like what Fleetwood Mac would probably be doing now had they
retained their blues orientation. But
he’s now working with a group of blues musicians from Norway, and
some of them (harmonica/mandolin player Trond Ytterbo, keyboardist
Runar Boyesen, guitarist Espen Liland) are extremely fine, though
none are as gifted or exciting as Spencer. While the title track
serves as his combination mantra and lament, he also adds other
hard-hitting cuts like “Bitter Lemon” and “Trouble and Woe,”
though he balances the scales a bit thematically with “Dr. J”
and “Maria De Santiago.” He also does two excellent Elmore James
covers, one familiar tune (“It Hurts Me Too”) and one that’s
more obscure (“Bleeding Heart”). It’s great to hear Jeremy
Spencer playing the blues again, and hopefully there will be more
discs from him issued in the near future. From
Philadelphia Daily News: By
JONATHAN TAKIFF **** Jeremy Spencer ran away from Fleetwood Mac to join a religious
order, amidst the group's transition from British blues to
Americanized pop rock, and just before their career skyrocketed.
Thirty-five years later, he's re-emerged on "Precious
Little" (Bluestown/Blind Pig, B+)and scant has changed. The man
sounds remarkably youthful and together, his shockingly sweet,
high-pitched tenor voice and sublime slide guitar work still intact.
And he's mixing in gently pointed acoustic blues and rockabilly
tunes like they did "back in the day." The originals "Bitter Lemon" and "Psychic Waste"
set a high moral tone, as Spencer squeezes bitter stuff into "sweet
lemonade" and laments the horrible imagery we're spoon-fed on
the telly. Turning back the clock are "Please Don't Stop"
- a hit first for Fabian, though Spencer does it more in an Elvis
voice - plus his cover of Elmore James' "It Hurts Me To"
and a re-write of "Corina, Corina" as "Serena, Serena." Review from Allmusic: by Thom Jurek **** It's been nearly 33 years since Jeremy Spencer, the slide guitarist
and vocalist in the original Fleetwood
Mac, walked into silence, obscurity, and cult mystery —
not unlike his bandmate Peter
Green, who returned to active recording before Spencer
had. Precious Little was licensed to Blind Pig from the
Bluestown Records label in Norway. This isn't some stodgy codger
trying for one last blast of fame before he goes out into the long
good night. In fact, Precious Little is an effortless,
relaxed presentation of the blues through the fantastic voice and
stellar guitar playing of a bona fide British bluesman. One might
complain that this set is perhaps a bit too laid-back, but that
complaint is small when taking in the communication that's happening
between Spencer and his Norwegian blues band in a studio that has
the old mixing board from Stax! The material is a mixture of
originals and covers that Spencer plays either on his National Steel
with a humbucking pickup or one of his fine electric guitars. The
warmth in his voice and the ease of his playing is that of a master
musician. Opening with "Bitter Lemon," Spencer and band
stroll through the laid-back shuffle that immediately introduced his
slide playing backed by a second electric guitarist, Espen
Liland. Slippery, hushed, yet firm, his approach is deft.
His humor is authentic and gratifying. The electric slide comes out
on "Psychic Waste," and the firm conviction in the grain
of his voice is anything but novel; it's an exhortation to
responsibility. The cover of Elmore
James' "It Hurts Me Too" is one of the most
laid-back, jazzy versions ever recorded. The quiet authority that
Spencer displays in his vocal delivery is startling. "Please Don't Stop" is a smoking rockabilly tune written
by Gordon
Gaibraith for Fabian.
This is followed by a remake of "Corrina Corrina," with
different lyrics and entitled "Sere Serena." The blues
stroll — complete with horns — in "Dr. J" brings the
uptempo strut back into the music. Spencer can wail and moan with
the best. He displays it on another James
tune, "Bleeding Heart," with incredible verve on the slide
and without playing an extra note. This is true economy of scale and
only a master would attempt it. The country blues of "Many
Sparrows" is yet another side of Spencer's blues vocabulary.
His long snaking and high lonesome moan as he plays is actually
chilling. "Maria de Santiago" is the strongest cut here.
It's executed with a wealth of slide and baritone saxophone in honk
mode. When he sings his devotion to the saint, the entire world
opens and Spencer's cosmic spiritual universe is revealed; the
entire thing breaks open and the disillusionment and fear expressed
in the tune become enmeshed in the band's presentation. His cover of
the Slim
Rhodes tune "Take and Give" is the most obscure
thing here, but Spencer makes it a keeper with its laid-back
rockabilly shuffle; it could have been covered by Fleetwood
Mac. The title track is one Mark
Knopfler would kill to have written. Its beautifully
fluid and languid guitar lines play counterpoint to one another and
carry his lyrics home. All listeners can hope for now is that
Spencer will take his time but stay on the scene, playing and
recording again. Precious Little was worth the wait. From Blues Wax Magazine:
Historic Comeback,
(07/19/06)
* * * * * * * * *
(out of 10) In
1967, Jeremy Spencer was one of the founding members of Fleetwood
Mac. It was Spencer's penetrating slide guitar born from his
love of Elmore James' Chess recordings that rooted the group
in the Chicago Blues they all loved. Throughout Europe and America,
Spencer's slide guitar, which effortlessly transforms emotions into
notes, became as important a guitar influence as "Clapton
Is God." In 1971, Spencer walked away from the spotlight to
join the Church of God and search out more fulfilling personal
endeavours. Fleetwood Mac moved to Los Angeles, hired on Lindsey
Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, turned to soft Rock and
found commercial success. Jeremy
Spencer found success of a different type. Through those years, he
never put his music aside. But it was always music that served a
higher purpose. After years of infrequent performances and
recordings, Spencer was sought out by Norway's Jostein Forsberg. In
2005, Spencer was coaxed out of seclusion to perform at the Notodden
Blues Festival in Norway. He'd lost nothing. His playing was as
strong and his singing was as powerful as it was in his early
Fleetwood days. One thing led to another and, to the delight of
Blues fans around the world, Spencer agreed to record in the fall of
2005 in Notodden's Juke Joint Studio with an all-Norwegian backing
band. This stellar recording is the result. Unlike
the frantic slide guitar work of today's electric guitarists,
Spencer's slide floats like the flight of a fragile butterfly.
Spencer's lyrical slide technique turns his Resonator into another
harmonious voice. Unlike his Fleetwood guitar mate Peter Green,
whose playing offers sporadic brilliance, Spencer is always deep in
the music. Because it was the slide guitar of Elmore James that
stopped Spencer's teenage universe, he records two of James' tunes
here. The seminal "It Hurts Me Too" is recorded much
differently than other versions. There is a late night Jazz aura to
the tune, which features Spencer's succinct note-picking over Espen
Liland's quiet chording. Spencer's vintage vocals plead and ache
with maturity. James' "Bleeding Heart" is played in a
similar low, light style. There
are many originals showcasing Spencer's love of all music. On the CD
opener, "Bitter Lemon," the traditionally adapted "Serena,
Serena," and "Many Sparrows," Spencer's heavy brass
slide works an old school sound on his Resonator. Spencer darkens
his music on "Psychic Waste," a blistering, juke joint
free-for-all. On "Dr. J," a song reminiscent of hot 1950s
R&B, Spencer enlists vintage horns lines to pay tribute to the
full-bodied Chess music he grew up hearing. (Could Dr. J be Elmore?)
When he also records Gordon Gaibraith's "Please Don't
Stop," Spencer is set in Sun Studios on Union Avenue in
Rockabilly Memphis. Runar Boyesen's Jerry Lee Lewis-style
piano rises above the other musicians and steals the song. Put on
your blue suedes and start the boppin'! The
title cut, "Precious Little," offers a simple philosophy
of life that Spencer has lived by since 1971. The lyrics are so
meaningful, only Spencer's voice is needed. But adding a Mark
Knopfler sounding slide and the band's strong melodic backing
and you have a masterpiece song to hang on your walls and get lost
in the detail of each musical stroke. Look
for this to cop the Blues Music Award for 2007's Comeback Album of
the Year. This Blind Pig record could be one of the most historic
comeback records of the decade. Art
Tipaldi is a contributing editor at
BluesWax From Chicago Sun Times. Spin Control BLUES Jeremy Spencer, "Precious Little" (Blind Pig) **** One week after losing Syd Barrett, the music world is treated to this
comeback album by another famous British rock dropout, Jeremy
Spencer. The Fleetwood Mac guitarist, whose virtuoso slide work was
featured on the classic LPs "Then Play On" and "Kiln
House," has seldom been heard from since leaving the group in
1971. Spencer says God told him to do the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway in
August 2005, although the man upstairs failed to supply his dream
lineup of Chicago blues survivors such as Pinetop Perkins and Hubert
Sumlin. Nonetheless, the Norwegian musicians who backed Spencer for
the gig were plenty good enough to take into a studio in Oslo, where
they recorded this disc of seven Spencer originals and five
traditional tunes. The reclusive guitarist clearly had been developing this material for
years. There's "Serene Serena," a takeoff on the
traditional "Corrina Corrina" about a girl that Spencer
sees as a Florence Nightingale type in Bosnia, and "Maria de
Santiago," the melody for which came to Spencer during a visit
to Mexico. And "Please Don't Stop" continues a Spencer
tradition of reinventing Fabian material. This is pure,
unadulterated, mostly acoustic blues straight from the heart of an
artist whose return is so welcome, and so needed. Jeff Johnson From Miles of Music: Precious
Little represents a sensational comeback for Jeremy Spencer, one of
the original members of Fleetwood Mac, whose signature slide guitar
and vocals helped define the early sound of that legendary group.
After thirty years, with his chops fully intact, Jeremy has returned
with a stunning new album that easily equals any of his early
triumphs. As his former bandmate, Mick Fleetwood, remarked after
hearing Precious Little, "Great! All the passion, humour,
poignancy, and yes, the magic touch. Congratulations on a righteous
album." (Blind Pig) From Blues Matters: Jeremy Spencer - Precious Little JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little Bluestown Records. 12 tracks. 47.01 mins. Yes, that Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac fame and in pretty good form
too! Plenty of slide and Resonator here, easy to digest slabs of his
Blues of which seven are originals plus a few covers like Elmore
James’ Bleeding Heart and It Hurts Me Too, then names new to me
such as Hesselbein & Rhodes’ Take and Give. So who accompanies
Jeremy here, well only the best bunch of Norwegian Blues players in
the last 25 years so that speaks well. Jeremy writes several pages
of sleeve notes for you and it is clear that he has not been ready
to record for the sake of it. He has checked out the band carefully
and tested them until he was satisfied and when you listen you know
why and can tell that he was satisfied and at ease. There is humour
too. The playing flows like sweet honey mead and it bubbles like a
pure stream flowing down the hills. The sound takes you back a long
way. Jeremy’s songs are special to him and you can feel the care
taken here, yet there was a good amount of spontaneity with the band
adding their twopence worth in the studio to his joy. Jostein
Forsberg is the man who has brought Jeremy back and he is also the
organiser of the great Nottenden Blues Festival in Norway where
Jeremy ‘made his comeback’ un-announced and stunned the
audiences. This album will thrill his many admirers and satisfy
those who have been wondering for years what he did with his talent,
it is here on this super album. Caleb Editorial
Reviews Amazon.com Jeremy
Spencer was part of the creative heart of the original,
pre-Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac--a talented songwriter and slide
guitar foil to the estimable Peter Green, blessed with the sweet,
high voice of a teen idol. Thirty-five years after his departure
from the band to find God, and twenty-seven since his last solo
recording, Spencer still has that angelic voice and a touch on slide
guitar that makes Precious Little the comeback blues album of
2006. A few songs do misfire. "Bitter Lemon" has a clichéd
premise, but Spencer's buttery ease on the slide resonator is
spellbinding. And "Psychic Waste," which lays humanity's
sorry state at the feet of the entertainment industry, is flatly
delusional. Yet his "Trouble and Woe" is remarkable: a
deep song about wanting and loneliness with twined guitar and
harmonica melodies that moan out the tune's sad emotional core.
Elmore James's "It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart"
shimmer with authenticity as Spencer slows them down to let his
unhurried, dark-toned slide take command. And the title track, which
recalls Mark Knopfler's post-Dire Straits work with an arrangement
built around gentle electric guitar fingerpicking, is a song of
faith and pilgrimage befitting the former rock star's hard-won
spiritual orientation. --Ted Drozdowski Jeremy Spencer, one of
the original members of Fleetwood Mac, has signed with Blind Pig
Records to release his first album since 1979, entitled Precious
Little. The CD will be released on July 18, 2006. Spencer, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for
his work with Fleetwood Mac, left the group rather abruptly during
Mac's 1971 American tour. Always somewhat religious, Spencer later
revealed that he'd been feeling spiritually unfulfilled in the wake
of the group's success. Although he's done little performing in the
intervening years (he did tour India three times in the late 90's),
he has used his artistic illustrating talents and played his guitar
every day for all the time he's been away, and his vocals are as
warm and expressive as ever. Spencer's contributions to the highly successful first albums by
Fleetwood Mac (which also included Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and
John McVie) were his Elmore James-influenced blues stylings and
songwriting, and he was an integral part of their stage shows.
Recently he got together with his former bandmate to record a track
on the Mick Fleetwood Band album Something Big. In 2005, after many years of searching and never giving up, the promoters
of the Notodden Blues Festival coaxed Spencer into performing at
their event in Norway. Given a choice of several accompanying
line-ups (including a group with Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins),
Spencer elected to use a Norwegian blues band, some of whom had been
together twenty-five years. Putting the musicians through their
paces at their first rehearsal, Spencer was amazed at their
sophistication and ability to immediately fall into a sympathetic
understanding of his music. Says Spencer, "I discovered that there was more interest in,
knowledge and appreciation of and passion for blues in Norway than
I'd encountered anywhere else in the world. In my opinion Norwegian
musicians have retained the 'purity' of the old blues in their
playing, with that naive spontaneity and discovery - that element of
'stretching' that puts a 'charm' on the playing." The success of the Festival appearance naturally led to the idea of
recording. With the same group of musicians, Jeremy went into a
studio in Notodden, Norway, which featured the late-Sixties mixing
console from the famous Stax recording studio. "I felt
immediately at home with the studio's vintage 'vibe,' which rarely
happens to me in most state-of-the-art premises," said Spencer.
The resulting album, Precious Little, shows a return to the blues
and slide guitar style that he became famous for while he was with
Fleetwood Mac, although with a more gentle touch, as well as
shadings somewhat reminiscent of the stylings of Richard Thompson,
Mark Knopfler, and Buddy Holly. Upon hearing the completed album, Mick Fleetwood commented, "Great!
All the passion, humour, poignancy, and yes, the magic touch.
Congratulations on a righteous album!" From
Yahoo shopping: Pro Reviews EXPERT
RATING:
From
AMG Reviews It's
been nearly 33 years since Jeremy Spencer, the slide guitarist and
vocalist in the original Fleetwood Mac, walked into silence,
obscurity, and cult mystery not unlike his band mate Peter Green,
who returned to active recording before Spencer had. Precious Little
was licensed to Blind Pig from the Bluestown Records label in Norway.
This isn't some stodgy codger trying for one last blast of fame
before he goes out into the long good night. In fact, Precious
Little is an effortless, relaxed presentation of the blues through
the fantastic voice and stellar guitar playing of a bona fide
British bluesman. One might complain that this set is perhaps a bit
too laidback, but that complaint is small when taking in the
communication that's happening between Spencer and his Norwegian
blues band in a studio that has the old mixing board from Stax. The
material is a mixture of originals and covers that Spencer plays
either on his National Steel with a humbucking pickup or one of his
fine electric guitars. The warmth in his voice and the ease of his
playing is that of a master musician. Opening with "Bitter
Lemon," Spencer and band stroll through the laidback shuffle
that immediately introduced his slide playing backed by a second
electric guitarist, Espen Liland. Slippery, hushed, yet firm, his
approach is deft. His humor is authentic and gratifying. The
electric slide comes out on "Psychic Waste," and the firm
conviction in the grain of his voice is anything but novel; it's an
exhortation to responsibility. The cover of Elmore James' "It
Hurts Me Too" is one of the most laidback, jazzy versions ever
recorded. The quiet authority that Spencer displays in his vocal
delivery is startling. From
Yahoo shopping: Pro Reviews EXPERT
RATING:
From
AMG Reviews Jeremy
Spencer, one of the original members of Fleetwood Mac, has signed
with
Blind Pig Records to
release his first album since 1979, entitled Precious Little. The CD will be released on July 18, 2006. Spencer, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for
his work with Fleetwood Mac, left the group rather abruptly during
Mac's 1971 American tour. Always somewhat religious, Spencer later
revealed that he'd been feeling spiritually unfulfilled in the wake
of the group's success. Although he's done little performing in the
intervening years (he did tour India three times in the late 90's),
he has used his artistic illustrating talents and played his guitar
every day for all the time he's been away, and his vocals are as
warm and expressive as ever. Spencer's contributions to the highly successful first albums by
Fleetwood Mac (which also included Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and
John McVie) were his Elmore James-influenced blues stylings and
songwriting, and he was an integral part of their stage shows.
Recently he got together with his former bandmate to record a track
on the Mick Fleetwood Band album Something Big. In 2005, after many years of searching and never giving up, the promoters
of the Notodden Blues Festival coaxed Spencer into performing at
their event in Norway. Given a choice of several accompanying
line-ups (including a group with Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins),
Spencer elected to use a Norwegian blues band, some of whom had been
together twenty-five years. Putting the musicians through their
paces at their first rehearsal, Spencer was amazed at their
sophistication and ability to immediately fall into a sympathetic
understanding of his music. Says Spencer, "I discovered that there was more interest in,
knowledge and appreciation of and passion for blues in Norway than
I'd encountered anywhere else in the world. In my opinion Norwegian
musicians have retained the 'purity' of the old blues in their
playing, with that naive spontaneity and discovery - that element of
'stretching' that puts a 'charm' on the playing." The success of the Festival appearance naturally led to the idea of
recording. With the same group of musicians, Jeremy went into a
studio in Notodden, Norway, which featured the late-Sixties mixing
console from the famous Stax recording studio. "I felt
immediately at home with the studio's vintage 'vibe,' which rarely
happens to me in most state-of-the-art premises," said Spencer.
The resulting album, Precious Little, shows a return to the blues
and slide guitar style that he became famous for while he was with
Fleetwood Mac, although with a more gentle touch, as well as
shadings somewhat reminiscent of the stylings of Richard Thompson,
Mark Knopfler, and Buddy Holly. Upon hearing the completed album, Mick Fleetwood commented, "Great!
All the passion, humour, poignancy, and yes, the magic touch.
Congratulations on a righteous album!" Editorial
Reviews Amazon.com Jeremy
Spencer was part of the creative heart of the original,
pre-Buckingham/Nicks Fleetwood Mac--a talented songwriter and slide
guitar foil to the estimable Peter Green, blessed with the sweet,
high voice of a teen idol. Thirty-five years after his departure
from the band to find God, and twenty-seven since his last solo
recording, Spencer still has that angelic voice and a touch on slide
guitar that makes Precious Little the comeback blues album of
2006. A few songs do misfire. "Bitter Lemon" has a clichéd
premise, but Spencer's buttery ease on the slide resonator is
spellbinding. And "Psychic Waste," which lays humanity's
sorry state at the feet of the entertainment industry, is flatly
delusional. Yet his "Trouble and Woe" is remarkable: a
deep song about wanting and loneliness with twined guitar and
harmonica melodies that moan out the tune's sad emotional core.
Elmore James's "It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart"
shimmer with authenticity as Spencer slows them down to let his
unhurried, dark-toned slide take command. And the title track, which
recalls Mark Knopfler's post-Dire Straits work with an arrangement
built around gentle electric guitar fingerpicking, is a song of
faith and pilgrimage befitting the former rock star's hard-won
spiritual orientation. --Ted Drozdowski From Blues Matters: Jeremy Spencer - Precious Little JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little Bluestown Records. 12 tracks. 47.01 mins. Yes, that Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac fame and in pretty good form
too! Plenty of slide and Resonator here, easy to digest slabs of his
Blues of which seven are originals plus a few covers like Elmore
James’ Bleeding Heart and It Hurts Me Too, then names new to me
such as Hesselbein & Rhodes’ Take and Give. So who accompanies
Jeremy here, well only the best bunch of Norwegian Blues players in
the last 25 years so that speaks well. Jeremy writes several pages
of sleeve notes for you and it is clear that he has not been ready
to record for the sake of it. He has checked out the band carefully
and tested them until he was satisfied and when you listen you know
why and can tell that he was satisfied and at ease. There is humour
too. The playing flows like sweet honey mead and it bubbles like a
pure stream flowing down the hills. The sound takes you back a long
way. Jeremy’s songs are special to him and you can feel the care
taken here, yet there was a good amount of spontaneity with the band
adding their twopence worth in the studio to his joy. Jostein
Forsberg is the man who has brought Jeremy back and he is also the
organiser of the great Nottenden Blues Festival in Norway where
Jeremy ‘made his comeback’ un-announced and stunned the
audiences. This album will thrill his many admirers and satisfy
those who have been wondering for years what he did with his talent,
it is here on this super album. Caleb From Miles of Music: Precious
Little represents a sensational comeback for Jeremy Spencer, one of
the original members of Fleetwood Mac, whose signature slide guitar
and vocals helped define the early sound of that legendary group.
After thirty years, with his chops fully intact, Jeremy has returned
with a stunning new album that easily equals any of his early
triumphs. As his former bandmate, Mick Fleetwood, remarked after
hearing Precious Little, "Great! All the passion, humour,
poignancy, and yes, the magic touch. Congratulations on a righteous
album." (Blind Pig) From Chicago Sun Times. Spin Control BLUES Jeremy Spencer, "Precious Little" (Blind Pig) **** One week after losing Syd Barrett, the music world is treated to this
comeback album by another famous British rock dropout, Jeremy
Spencer. The Fleetwood Mac guitarist, whose virtuoso slide work was
featured on the classic LPs "Then Play On" and "Kiln
House," has seldom been heard from since leaving the group in
1971. Spencer says God told him to do the Notodden Blues Festival in Norway in
August 2005, although the man upstairs failed to supply his dream
lineup of Chicago blues survivors such as Pinetop Perkins and Hubert
Sumlin. Nonetheless, the Norwegian musicians who backed Spencer for
the gig were plenty good enough to take into a studio in Oslo, where
they recorded this disc of seven Spencer originals and five
traditional tunes. The reclusive guitarist clearly had been developing this material for
years. There's "Serene Serena," a takeoff on the
traditional "Corrina Corrina" about a girl that Spencer
sees as a Florence Nightingale type in Bosnia, and "Maria de
Santiago," the melody for which came to Spencer during a visit
to Mexico. And "Please Don't Stop" continues a Spencer
tradition of reinventing Fabian material. This is pure,
unadulterated, mostly acoustic blues straight from the heart of an
artist whose return is so welcome, and so needed. Jeff Johnson From
Blues Wax Magazine:
Historic
Comeback, (07/19/06)
* * * * * * * * *
(out of 10) In
1967, Jeremy Spencer was one of the founding members of Fleetwood
Mac. It was Spencer's penetrating slide guitar born from his
love of Elmore James' Chess recordings that rooted the group
in the Chicago Blues they all loved. Throughout Europe and America,
Spencer's slide guitar, which effortlessly transforms emotions into
notes, became as important a guitar influence as "Clapton
Is God." In 1971, Spencer walked away from the spotlight to
join the Church of God and search out more fulfilling personal
endeavours. Fleetwood Mac moved to Los Angeles, hired on Lindsey
Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, turned to soft Rock and
found commercial success. Jeremy Spencer found success of a different type. Through
those years, he never put his music aside. But it was always music
that served a higher purpose. After years of infrequent performances
and recordings, Spencer was sought out by Norway's Jostein Forsberg.
In 2005, Spencer was coaxed out of seclusion to perform at the
Notodden Blues Festival in Norway. He'd lost nothing. His playing
was as strong and his singing was as powerful as it was in his early
Fleetwood days. One thing led to another and, to the delight of
Blues fans around the world, Spencer agreed to record in the fall of
2005 in Notodden's Juke Joint Studio with an all-Norwegian backing
band. This stellar recording is the result. Unlike the frantic slide guitar work of today's electric
guitarists, Spencer's slide floats like the flight of a fragile
butterfly. Spencer's lyrical slide technique turns his Resonator
into another harmonious voice. Unlike his Fleetwood guitar mate Peter
Green, whose playing offers sporadic brilliance, Spencer is
always deep in the music. Because it was the slide guitar of Elmore
James that stopped Spencer's teenage universe, he records two of
James' tunes here. The seminal "It Hurts Me Too" is
recorded much differently than other versions. There is a late night
Jazz aura to the tune, which features Spencer's succinct
note-picking over Espen Liland's quiet chording. Spencer's
vintage vocals plead and ache with maturity. James' "Bleeding
Heart" is played in a similar low, light style. There are many originals showcasing Spencer's love of all
music. On the CD opener, "Bitter Lemon," the traditionally
adapted "Serena, Serena," and "Many Sparrows,"
Spencer's heavy brass slide works an old school sound on his
Resonator. Spencer darkens his music on "Psychic Waste," a
blistering, juke joint free-for-all. On "Dr. J," a song
reminiscent of hot 1950s R&B, Spencer enlists vintage horns
lines to pay tribute to the full-bodied Chess music he grew up
hearing. (Could Dr. J be Elmore?) When he also records Gordon
Gaibraith's "Please Don't Stop," Spencer is set in Sun
Studios on Union Avenue in Rockabilly Memphis. Runar Boyesen's
Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano rises above the other musicians
and steals the song. Put on your blue suedes and start the boppin'! The title cut, "Precious Little," offers a simple
philosophy of life that Spencer has lived by since 1971. The lyrics
are so meaningful, only Spencer's voice is needed. But adding a Mark
Knopfler sounding slide and the band's strong melodic backing
and you have a masterpiece song to hang on your walls and get lost
in the detail of each musical stroke. Look for this to cop the Blues Music Award for 2007's
Comeback Album of the Year. This Blind Pig record could be one of
the most historic comeback records of the decade. Art
Tipaldi is a contributing editor at BluesWax Review from Allmusic: by Thom Jurek **** It's been nearly 33 years since Jeremy Spencer, the slide guitarist
and vocalist in the original Fleetwood
Mac, walked into silence, obscurity, and cult mystery —
not unlike his bandmate Peter
Green, who returned to active recording before Spencer
had. Precious Little was licensed to Blind Pig from the
Bluestown Records label in Norway. This isn't some stodgy codger
trying for one last blast of fame before he goes out into the long
good night. In fact, Precious Little is an effortless,
relaxed presentation of the blues through the fantastic voice and
stellar guitar playing of a bona fide British bluesman. One might
complain that this set is perhaps a bit too laid-back, but that
complaint is small when taking in the communication that's happening
between Spencer and his Norwegian blues band in a studio that has
the old mixing board from Stax! The material is a mixture of
originals and covers that Spencer plays either on his National Steel
with a humbucking pickup or one of his fine electric guitars. The
warmth in his voice and the ease of his playing is that of a master
musician. Opening with "Bitter Lemon," Spencer and band
stroll through the laid-back shuffle that immediately introduced his
slide playing backed by a second electric guitarist, Espen
Liland. Slippery, hushed, yet firm, his approach is deft.
His humor is authentic and gratifying. The electric slide comes out
on "Psychic Waste," and the firm conviction in the grain
of his voice is anything but novel; it's an exhortation to
responsibility. The cover of Elmore
James' "It Hurts Me Too" is one of the most
laid-back, jazzy versions ever recorded. The quiet authority that
Spencer displays in his vocal delivery is startling. "Please Don't Stop" is a smoking rockabilly tune written
by Gordon
Gaibraith for Fabian.
This is followed by a remake of "Corrina Corrina," with
different lyrics and entitled "Sere Serena." The blues
stroll — complete with horns — in "Dr. J" brings the
uptempo strut back into the music. Spencer can wail and moan with
the best. He displays it on another James
tune, "Bleeding Heart," with incredible verve on the slide
and without playing an extra note. This is true economy of scale and
only a master would attempt it. The country blues of "Many
Sparrows" is yet another side of Spencer's blues vocabulary.
His long snaking and high lonesome moan as he plays is actually
chilling. "Maria de Santiago" is the strongest cut here.
It's executed with a wealth of slide and baritone saxophone in honk
mode. When he sings his devotion to the saint, the entire world
opens and Spencer's cosmic spiritual universe is revealed; the
entire thing breaks open and the disillusionment and fear expressed
in the tune become enmeshed in the band's presentation. His cover of
the Slim
Rhodes tune "Take and Give" is the most obscure
thing here, but Spencer makes it a keeper with its laid-back
rockabilly shuffle; it could have been covered by Fleetwood
Mac. The title track is one Mark
Knopfler would kill to have written. Its beautifully
fluid and languid guitar lines play counterpoint to one another and
carry his lyrics home. All listeners can hope for now is that
Spencer will take his time but stay on the scene, playing and
recording again. Precious Little was worth the wait.
By
JONATHAN TAKIFF **** Jeremy Spencer ran away from Fleetwood Mac to join a religious
order, amidst the group's transition from British blues to
Americanized pop rock, and just before their career skyrocketed.
Thirty-five years later, he's re-emerged on "Precious
Little" (Bluestown/Blind Pig, B+)and scant has changed. The man
sounds remarkably youthful and together, his shockingly sweet,
high-pitched tenor voice and sublime slide guitar work still intact.
And he's mixing in gently pointed acoustic blues and rockabilly
tunes like they did "back in the day." The originals "Bitter Lemon" and "Psychic Waste"
set a high moral tone, as Spencer squeezes bitter stuff into "sweet
lemonade" and laments the horrible imagery we're spoon-fed on
the telly. Turning back the clock are "Please Don't Stop"
- a hit first for Fabian, though Spencer does it more in an Elvis
voice - plus his cover of Elmore James' "It Hurts Me To"
and a re-write of "Corina, Corina" as "Serena, Serena." Nashville City Paper - Nashville,TN,USA By
Ron Wynn, rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com July
21, 2006 Before
they made the shift from blues traditionalists to pop titans,
Fleetwood Mac was a magnificent blues band, particularly the unit
that included a flamboyant slide guitarist and vocalist named Jeremy
Spencer. His new CD Precious Little (Blind Pig) sounds at
times like what Fleetwood Mac would probably be doing now had they
retained their blues orientation. But
he’s now working with a group of blues musicians from Norway, and
some of them (harmonica/mandolin player Trond Ytterbo, keyboardist
Runar Boyesen, guitarist Espen Liland) are extremely fine, though
none are as gifted or exciting as Spencer. While the title track
serves as his combination mantra and lament, he also adds other
hard-hitting cuts like “Bitter Lemon” and “Trouble and Woe,”
though he balances the scales a bit thematically with “Dr. J”
and “Maria De Santiago.” He also does two excellent Elmore James
covers, one familiar tune (“It Hurts Me Too”) and one that’s
more obscure (“Bleeding Heart”). It’s great to hear Jeremy
Spencer playing the blues again, and hopefully there will be more
discs from him issued in the near future. Evansville Courier Mark
Wilson: Jeremy
Spencer "Precious
Little" (Blind
Pig) Part
of three-pronged guitar juggernaut that spearheaded the original
lineup of British blues band Fleetwood Mac (before its metamorphosis
to pop megastars) in the late 1960s, Spencer was known for his
tireless, note-perfect renditions of bluesman Elmore James and early
rock 'n' roll. However, fame took its toll, and like the band's
other frontman, guitarist Peter Green, he left unexpectedly under
strange circumstances. Spencer ran off to join a religious group
called the Children of God. Although he has played and recorded
occasionally since then, he has lived a private life. Spencer
not only has retained his chops, as this CD proves, but there was
apparently much more to his playing than his wild man blues-rock
antics in Fleetwood Mac all those years ago. Recorded with an ace
band of Norwegian blues players (blues remains huge in Europe),
Spencer's guitar tone is beautiful and vibrant, his voice warm and
relaxed. Although there is a pair each of Elmore James and early
rock gems here, Spencer surprises with a set of strong original
compositions. It is hoped that this album will succeed enough that
Spencer will record more frequently. Posted on Fri, Jul. 21, 2006 Disc Notes Jeremy Spencer, Precious Little
Blind Pig/Bluestown Records: Ace slide-blues guitarist
Spencer hasn't recorded much since leaving Fleetwood Mac after
1971's Kiln House to join Christian sect Family International.
But as he proves on this new studio effort, he hasn't lost his chops.
His gift for mimicry also hasn't left him, as he swaggers between
Buddy Holly and Elvis-like vocals on Please Don't Stop, his
guitar blazes a controlled fire behind his slightly amused wail. Psychic
Waste is the most successful of his religious songs, with a mean
harmonica hovering low over his trademark wailing slide. GRADE: B JEREMY SPENCER/PRECIOUS
LITTLE 2006-07-20
http://blog.diskunion.net/user/uncledog/tapestry/image/3415.jpgJEREMY
SPENCER/PRECIOUS LITTLE (BLUESTOWN RECORDS/NORWAY/BTR-1017/CD) It was the early [huritoutsudo] Mac member, Jeremy
Spencer which is known as the master of the sliding
guitar the blues special label of Norway, release had done the after
a long time new work from Bluestown
Records. (2006) The musician of local end of Norway the cover of [erumoa] you have
played [jiemusu] and the original in the back. (The vocal, sliding
& resonator guitar charge) it is the new 譜
which becomes matter of concern in the fan of white blues.
Amazon
Customer Reviews
Reviewer:
J.
McVie "shipreich" (Houston, TX United
States) Precious
Little is simply a wonderful blues album. The slide guitar work on
it is amazing and Jeremy Spencer's voice has held up remarkably well.
After all these years, Spencer seems inspired again. I hope this
album is a taste of more good things to come
Reviewer: rick
from Boston Amazing.35 years after literally disappearing from the music scene,
Jeremy Spencer pops up with a brilliant new album. His voice hasn't
suffered and his slide playing is better than ever. Mellow and
bluesy, these songs will transport you back to the late sixties when
Fleetwood Mac ruled the British blues scene. Reminds me of the Kiln
House album and Spencers solo record from the late sixties.The
backup band does a great job on all the tracks, but it's Spencers
slide guitar and vocals that take center stage. Some blues, some
50's style rock, all Jeremy! One can only hope he decides to tour.
Reviewer:
Alan
Petsche (Castro Valley, CA) I
read that Jeremy Spencer released a CD and I couldn't wait to get to
the store. It exceeded ALL my expectations. The slide and that voice,
I closed my eyes and heard, with excitement, the sounds I heard when
I first got turned onto Fleetwood Mac in 1969. I've
listened to the CD three times already and it gets richer and better
each time.
Reviewer:
Davesdd3
"DD" (Washington) - I heard Bitter Lemon
and Psychic waste on KLCC (Lane college) a station in Oregon while
on a vacation. Ordered the CD and it arrived the same day I returned
home. Played it the next day and listened to the whole album about
15 times the next 2 days. The music is clean, not overproduced,
extremely easy to listen to. There is enough variety in style
between songs, that you don't get tired of the same thing after 3-4
songs. Love
the slide guitar on Bitter Lemon and Serene Serena. If
you want something that you can listen to anywhere, get this album.
Reviewer:
popsolo@hotmail.com
"Tom from the Foothills" (ohio) I
well recall Jeremy Spencer and his sweet slide guitar from the
Fleetwood Mac days and I still think that the Mac put on the best
concert I have ever heard that hot and sweaty night back in Detroit
when about 300 of us were totally blown away by this unknown and
unlikely English blues band. When I tell people today that the Mac
were great back then, they think of the post-Green and Spencer group
and immediately roll their eyes, but let me tell you the Mac that
night were beyond awesome and would have played all night but for
Mick Fleetwood finally tiring. Spencer would sit out the occasional
number and sit, on the stage, and stare out at the audience. He
struck me as an odd duck and so I wasn't too surprised when I heard
he quit the group to join the Children of God. And that was the last
of Jeremy Spenser. But,
no! Through the years, I've trolled search engines for word of him
and was jacked to find out, a month ago, that he was releasing a CD.
It came the other day and I popped it on, figuring I would hear 12
Elmore James variations, but that wasn't the case at all. The CD
starts out slowly, as one reviewer on here has already mentioned. My
advice is start listening on track 5, a sweet remake of "Corrine,
Corrina," and take it from there. It gets better and better,
finally climaxing with the sublimely soulful "Precious
Little." It's been 35 years in the making and it's been worth
the wait. Welcome back, Doctor J. From
itunes: Precious
Little "Serene
At Last!"
***** by Grimmbo "Jeremy
Spencer"; why does that name sound so familiar, I asked myself?
Could this be the same Jeremy Spencer who was a founding member of
the original Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack? @1967-70: Jeremy
Spencer on screaming slide guitar and Peter Green on howling lead
guitar; devotees of our American Chicago Blues! (Musical History
tells us that Jeremy Spencer just abandoned the other members of
Fleetwood Mac on a USA tour in 1971 and was rumoured to have taken
up with "The Children Of God"). Well, let me tell you
people, this Jeremy Spencer is back, and he did not forget how to
"Play The Blues" Y'all! (Delights within: Serene Serena,
It Hurts Me Too, Trouble And Woe and Precious Little. With
a voice and a style reminiscent of Eric Clapton, Jerry Garcia &
Mark Knopfler; "Precious Little" is really a "precious
lot of fine, tasteful, satisfying licks from a nearly forgotten
fretmasterl" "Please Don’t Stop" anywhere else;
give some of your "Precious Little" time to listen to this
pleasantly pleasing set of slow-brewed Blues! by
Grimmbo. From Blues Source: Jeremy Spencer Has it been so long that you need to be reminded that
Fleetwood Mac started out as a blues band, splintering off from John
Mayall's Bluesbreakers after that act recorded an instrumental
called "Fleetwood Mac?" Well, you know now, whether you
knew two minutes ago or not, and they were a very good British blues
act, too, less pop oriented than many and more possessed of a real
grasp of backbeat rhythm, slide guitar, apocalyptic scary devil
chords and lyrical themes than most. And their slide man was Jeremy Spencer, who left the band to
join an obscure religious organization before they began to find
commercial success. Coincidentally, while the tabloid press was
wallowing in lurid headlines of sexual activity within Fleetwood
Mac, the legal systems of various countries were examining similarly
extreme activity within Spencer's church, and the scandal did touch
him a decade or more ago. In any event, the 1948-vintage guitarist seems fully devoted
to music on this record, which has an understated George Harrison
sound to it, musically and lyrically. Indeed, it could almost be
peddled as a George Harrison blues album. It's that close, and
Spencer and Harrison were of the same generation of British slide
players. Jeremy Spencer claimed Elmore James as his main influence
with the early Fleetwood Mac, at approximately the same time John
Lennon was exclaiming about Harrison, "Elmore James got nothin'
on THIS Fender." "Precious Little" is a sweet, mellow album,
passionate and right. Well enunciated in that British former-blues
way. There are few records like it coming out these days. I'm glad
to own it. (©) 2006, Arthur Shuey BluesSource.com From The
Arizona Republic: ‘Precious Little' Jeremy Spencer (Blind Pig) 4 out of 5 stars Slide-guitar player Jeremy Spencer
co-founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 with the long-departed Peter Green
and charter members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
Before female voices were brought on board, Mac had a heavy
blues leaning. In the early ’70s, Green and Spencer abruptly left
to explore religion. Spencer joined a cult, the Children of God, and
continued to perform with little commercial success. After surfacing
at some recent European blues festivals, Spencer, 58, returns to the
mainstream with a collection of bluesy original and traditional
tracks. His high, gentle voice remains intact and his guitar work,
on a chrome resonator and other axes, is impeccable. He surrounded
himself with Norwegian players because “they have retained the
purity of the old blues.” He also ventures into Spanish stylings
with an original, Maria de Santiago, and mellow rock with the
self-penned title cut. —Larry Rodgers From
Illinois Entertainer: Early Fleetwood Mac guitarist,
Elmore James devotee, and former cult member Jeremy Spencer
is back with Precious Little (Blind Pig), a mellow album
recorded in Norway with native musicians. Spencer performs
selectively these days, mainly on the basis of prayer. He claims to
have consulted with the Lord before jumping into this project and
got the divine green light. Spencer is in top form on Precious
Little, featuring a range of tunes that encompass blues, rock
‘n’ roll, and folk. Fans of early Fleetwood Mac will reminisce
about Elmore James tunes “It Hurts Me Too” and “Bleeding Heart.”
Spencer also includes a fine reworking of “Corina, Corina”
entitled “Serena, Serena” . . . From Good Times Magazine: Blues Guitar Stars: More New Sounds http://www.myspace.com/thejimilalumia Two
working bluesmen – Albert Cummings and Bill Perry
– return with new releases while an old friend, Jeremy Spencer
of Fleetwood Mac fame, is back with his first original work in many
a moon. All three new albums are available now on the national
Blind Pig label.
Indeed, this is something of a comeback for Spencer, as his new disc,
Precious Little (Bluestown/Blind Pig), is a return to
form for a guitar master. Unbeknownst to most rock radio
types, Fleetwood Mac was around a long time before the Stevie Nicks/Lindsey
Buckingham band that produced scads of Top 40 hits. In their
early incarnations, Mac was a blues/rock hybrid – and Spencer was
a driving force behind their sound.
It's only been 35 years since Spencer left Fleetwood Mac (and a
whopping 27 years since his last solo album), and he's worked
sporadically since, most notably in the Peter Green Splinter Group
(a fellow Mac alumnus) some time ago. Apparently, Spencer has
found spirituality in a big way along the trail.
"Since leaving Fleetwood Mac 35 years ago, I have received many
offers and most of them have been accepted or denied on the basis of
prayer." Spencer may have found God, but he hasn't lost
his guitar, singing, or songwriting skills, and few artists plying
their trades today are better on the resonator guitar than Spencer.
There's a hodge podge of originals and covers here, with some songs
faring better than others; the aging Spencer's overall style
meanders a bit, given his elder statesman status. However,
there are several gems here, particularly his cover of Elmore James'
"It Hurts Me Too" which rivals Eric Clapton's recent
version, and his original tune "Trouble And Woe" is the
best original, pure blues song we've heard in a long time, rife with
real passion and emotion. Spencer may have gone from the green
Fleetwood Mac to a graying veteran, but as he was in his tenure with
the British legends, he's a bluesman through and through. Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:46 am by Stormy Monday Jeremy Spencer, slide guitar player for
early Fleetwood Mac, has a solo album out called "Precious
Little". As far as I know, this is the first thing he's really
done since he left Fleetwood Mac for some religious cult (still with
them, apparently). Shocked to see that the guy was actually doing
something, I listened to the album and really enjoyed it. The album
is mostly blues. I never cared for his work at all while
with Fleetwood Mac. Pretty much everything I heard from him was that
same old cliched Elmore James lick played ad nauseam. He seemed
pretty one-dimensional. But his slide playing here (and his regular
playing too for that matter) is much, much better and more original
IMO. On "Bleeding Heart" it sounds like he's been
listening to some Derek Trucks. Check it out. Good stuff. JEREMY SPENCER Precious Little BLIND PIG Back when Fleetwood Mac was Peter Green’s blues band,
slide guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Spencer provided the group with
energetic Elmore James covers and spunky originals strongly
influenced by that same blues master. Spencer soon thereafter
emerged in the counterculture’s burgeoning Christian subgroup-
b/k/a/ “Jesus Freaks” and recorded with a group called the
Children of God. His new disc quotes James more directly than it
does the New Testament and its quality play and congenial atmosphere
will likely win Spencer more than a few converts. Not that there
isn’t a good lesson or two about the wrongful ways of the world
encased in some of Spencer’s lyrics, but the low-key delivery of
these messages should not put most listeners at un-ease. Spencer’s
voice seems much more youthful than his grizzled countenance on the
disc’s jacket and his slide work, both electric and acoustic, is
an underplayed pleasure throughout the set. The Scandinavian band
behind him matches Spencer in its sure-handed and laid-back
character, delivering sparing, subtly textured support. Even with
the lyrical urgency of tracks such as “Trouble and Woe” and
“Psychic Waste”, the overall atmosphere of Precious
Little is an inviting one and one that
listeners should find more appealing with repeated plays. Duane Verh From MP3.com An
early member of Fleetwood Mac, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer left
behind a fine (if limited) musical legacy, but is perhaps better
remembered for his sudden defection from the group to join a
religious cult. Spencer was born in West Hartlepool, England on July
4, 1948; he started taking piano lessons at age nine, switched to
guitar at 15 to emulate his rock & roll idols, and the following
year discovered Elmore James, who became his chief influence. In
1967, Spencer became the fourth member of the fledgling Fleetwood
Mac, concentrating primarily on slide guitar but also doubling up on
piano. He was a major component of the group's early blues-rock
sound on albums like 1968's Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and 1969's
English Rose. A gifted musical impressionist, Spencer's affectionate
send-ups of early rock & roll styles and artists were sometimes
incorporated into the group's live shows; in 1970, Spencer released
a self-titled solo LP in that vein on Reprise, featuring parodies of
rockabilly, teen idol ballads, surf, Elvis, psychedelia, and even
Mac itself. That same year's Kiln House would prove to be the last
Mac album Spencer played on, however. In
early 1971, hours before the Los Angeles gig on Mac's American tour,
Spencer vanished without warning; five days later, police traced him
to the headquarters of a Christian sect called the Children of God,
which Spencer had apparently joined after being approached on the
street. Always somewhat religious, Spencer later revealed that he'd
been feeling spiritually unfulfilled in the wake of the group's
success; nonetheless, his abrupt departure left the group in a lurch.
Not only did they have to call upon the unstable Green (who'd left a
year earlier) to complete the tour, but in Green's absence, Spencer
had been the main link to Mac's blues-rock past, which sent them
into an identity crisis that wouldn't be resolved for several years.
Meanwhile, Spencer re-emerged in 1973 with a new album, Jeremy
Spencer & the Children, on CBS; influenced by psychedelia and
folk-rock, it was wholly devoted to Spencer's newfound faith. In
1975, Spencer returned to London and formed a blues-rock group
called Albatross, which featured other Children of God; in 1979, he
released another solo album on Atlantic, titled Flee. Though Spencer
remained silent on record, he continued to play music and tour, and
devoted much of his time to charitable causes. As the millennium
drew to a close, Spencer toured India three times (in 1995, 1998,
and 2000), worked on material for an instrumental album, and
remained an active member of the Family (as the Children of God were
later called). Then, suddenly in 2006, after a thirty plus year
absence from the recording studio, Spencer resurfaced with a new
album on Blind Pig Records, the impressive Precious Life (the album
was licensed from Norway's Bluestown Records, which originally
released it), suggesting that Spencer's musical story was far from
over. ~
Steve Huey, All Music Guide From Americana
News and Notes NEW RELEASE
http://americanahomeplace.com/Buy.htm Former Fleetwood Mac Guitarist Revisits
the Blues
In 1967, Spencer was invited to join Peter
Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie as an original member of the
group, which was initially billed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood
Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer." The young slide guitarist
was prominently featured on the band's early releases, but his
talents clearly paled in comparison to the highly regarded Green.
His initial contribution to the band's sound consisted mainly of
Elmore James-derived songs and imitations of other well-known
artists during the group's live performances. The addition of
Danny Kirwan as a third guitarist in 1968 further marginalized
Spencer within the group. Filled with self-doubt and strongly-held
religious views that questioned his occupation and lifestyle,
Spencer's role in the band diminished to the point that his presence
was barely noticeable on the band's 1969 release Then Play On.
Spencer's self-doubt reappeared on the
1971 American tour in support of Kiln House. His last performance
with the band occurred on February 9, 1971 at San Francisco's
legendary Fillmore West. The performance coincided with a
massive Los Angeles earthquake. The band's next gig was in the
epicenter of the earthquake at L.A.'s Whiskey A-Go-Go. A reluctant
Spencer has to be convinced to get on the airplane to L.A. Upon
arriving in Los Angeles, the aftershocks of the earthquake mixed
with the ozone and yellow haze of the atmosphere to create a strange
and eerie setting. The band checked into its hotel and Spencer
announced he was going to step out for a few minutes to check out a
bookstore down the street. Spencer left the hotel room never to
return to Fleetwood Mac. When Spencer failed to returned to the
hotel, the band started a frantic search for the missing guitar
player. Four days later, the band's manager located Spencer at a
warehouse in downtown Los Angeles which served as the headquarters
for the Children of God religious sect. Spencer renounced his
music career and essentially disappeared from the music scene
altogether. For the next three decades, he traveled around the world
as a member of the Children of God. Occasional reports placed
Spencer in Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. In the wake of
Fleetwood Mac's stunning success after the release of Rumors in the
late 1970s, Spencer briefly reappeared with a largely forgettable
solo album entitled Flee.
Now, 35 years after he walked away from
Fleetwood Mac, Spencer has once again entered the studio and
released a blues-based solo album entitled Precious Little. Perhaps
the most surprising aspect of Spencer's return to the music business
is the quality of his latest recording. Backed by a Norwegian band,
Spencer mixes original songs like "Psychic Waste" with
blues classics like "It Hurt's Me Too" and "Bleeding
Heart" to produce a compelling collection of contemporary
blues. Another highlight is a reworked version of "Corina
Corina" entitled "Serene Serena." It is rare that a musician returns to recording after such
a long absence from the music business. It is even rarer to reappear
in prime form. In the words of the Grateful Dead, what a long
strange trip it's been. Jeremy Spencer – Precious Little (Blind Pig) Quite possibly the best of the British blues
guitarists of the 1960s, Spencer was responsible for some excellent
blues with the first version of Fleetwood Mac, then quit the band
for a religious life that rejected wealth (he refused to accept the
massive royalties for “Black Magic Woman” – yes, that’s his
song) Not mine! Peter Green’s.
Every once in a while he reappears to make an album, and this
one’s especially fine. Accompanied by some ace Norwegian musicians,
Spencer displays his superb slide playing throughout on both
acoustic and electric guitar, and nods to his major influence with
two Elmore James covers. There are also a rockabilly cover (Slim
Rhodes’s “Take and Give”) and believe it or not a Fabian song
(“Please Don’t Stop”), both attesting to Spencer’s love of
1950s rock. An altered version of the old folk blues tune “Corrine
Corrina” (here “Serene Serena”), like many of Spencer’s
originals, reflects his spiritual outlook. His warm voice has
mellowed with age and if anything sounds better than ever. Jeremy Spencer:
Precious Little (Blind Pig) This satisfyingly crafted surprise from an “exiled”
Fleetwood Mac founding member could be hauntingly nostalgic for fans
of the original British blues band from almost 40 years ago. As one
of the “cursed” early guitarists of Mac, Spencer emerges as not
only musically intact, but richly evolved as well. No small feat for
a guy who walked away from it all 37 years ago, literally
disappearing (into a religious cult he remains a member of) hours
before a Stateside gig, in the midst of the band’s first
incarnation and ascendance to popularity. They were a swaggering,
slide-guitar-driven, uncannily Chicago-sounding blues band fronted
by a very young foursome of English lads. The mythic guitarist Peter Green, a more evocative player
than his (soon to be far more successful) contemporaries Clapton,
Beck, Mayall, et al, fronted the original line-up with
Spencer. Rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie rounded out
the band, enduring to the bitter, multi-million dollar platinum AOR
hit-studded three-decades-later end. Green also walked on the band
early on and wandered into a life of erratic behavior and hermitage,
allegedly turning his back on big dollar royalties for his original
“Black Magic Woman.” A somewhat lackluster comeback in recent
years reveals little of the young transcendent Green guitar of days
when he’d record with the likes of Otis Spann, or the risk-taking
creator of “End of the Game,” nor his underrated ’80s output:
see In the Skies (1979) and Little Dreamer (1980).
Third guitarist Danny Kirwan – yes, it was unusual for a band to
have three guitarists back then – spiraled down into obscurity and
semi-depravity, leaving an unsteady Mac mid-tour and mid-breakdown
in 1972. Mac shed its final blues trappings and went on to
mega-success. Jeremy Spencer flew below the media radar for decades,
music-wise. With the cult Children of God (later calling themselves
The Family, around which allegations of child abuse swirled in
England), Spencer never abandoned his guitar playing nor his
devotion to the blues. His faithful slide work deeply evokes the
Elmore James/Otis Rush/Johnny Littlejohn/J.B. Hutto school of blues
guitar. It’s as strong today as it was in his young raw Mac days
of the late ’60s. The pleasant surprise beyond this is the
graceful mellowing of his playing and singing, while still retaining
its earnest quality. His vocals and playing have an audible glow. Spencer suggests a spiritual path and spiritual decisions led
to the creation of Precious Little. The result is divine. The
opening “Bitter Lemon,” a Napoleon brandy-smooth slide-guided
original, offers sage “turn it into sweet lemonade” advice. Two
Elmore James favorites, “It Hurts Me Too” and “Bleeding Heart,”
are sweetly, and deeply blues-steeped. “Dr. J” is pure vintage
Mac-cago blues, refined but still with kick. “Please Don’t Stop”
reflects Spencer’s continued fondness for late ’50s at-the-hop
rock obscurities. Several nice self-penned quiet ballads turn up as
well, including the Dire Straits-veined title song. The accompanying band, a group of Norwegian blues players,
some playing together 20 years, have remarkable savvy and telepathy.
At first somewhat skeptical of the union, Spencer quickly fell in
love with them. Discovery of Stax Records’ late-’60s mixing desk
at the Oslo recording studio was another comforting sign for Spencer.
The band’s musical empathy bears out Spencer’s observation that
“there was more appreciation of and passion for the blues in
Norway than I’d encountered anywhere else in the world…to the
point Norwegians have as many as 25 blues festivals a year.” Who knows when or if Spencer might surface again? He’s left
this precious little gem for those who care to notice. - Tali
Madden
Triple Play top 10 Wednesday, August
09, 2006 9. Jeremy Spencer,
“Precious Little.” Spencer just walked
away from Fleetwood Mac during a concert tour some 30 years ago,
leaving the rest of the band at the lurch. Well, now he is back with
great chops, a superb voice and one of the best blues discs of the
year, if not the best one. From a message boarder called Buddy: Jeremy Spencer has a new album out, his
first in two decades. I heard the title track "Precious Little'
on xm sat. radio and it sounds very good. Thought it was Mark
Knopfler before I glanced at the TV from Reuters: NEW YORK (Billboard) - Jeremy Spencer,
a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a founding member of
Fleetwood Mac, will release his first album in more than two decades. "Precious Little" is due out
July 18 via Blind Pig. Spencer released his last solo set, "Flee,"
in 1979.
Recent release: Precious Little Jeremy Spencer / 3 1/2 stars By Jim Carnes – Sacramento Bee Staff Writer Jeremy Spencer goes back to the early, early days of
Fleetwood Mac, when it was more a blues band than a rock icon --
when, in fact, it was known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Green
left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 after a mental breakdown that was
attributed to LSD bingeing. He cut guitarist Spencer loose before
leaving, however, and Spencer has been heard from only sporadically
in the 35 intervening years. Spencer was a slide guitarist of great skill and a good
singer, too, but he became a sort of religious recluse and says he
accepted or rejected gigs only after praying about the offer. He
accepted one to play at the Notodden blues festival in Norway in
2005, and it is from that gig -- with the Scandinavian musicians who
accompanied him there -- that "Precious Little" arises. It is a simple and elegant album, with two Elmore James
blues classics ("It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart")
and a 1950s rockabilly rarity, "Please Don't Stop," in the
mix. Most of the other songs are Spencer originals, and they have a
distinct and not entirely optimistic focus. "Trouble and Woe"
declares, "Love is dying in the heart of man." The title
cut relies upon the biblical reference to the wide gate and the easy
road that leads to destruction and the narrow road and straight gate
through which the righteous must pass. The best song of the lot is
"Psychic Waste," which was inspired by Don Feder's book
"A Conservative Jew Looks at Pagan America," in which
Feder decries what he calls the mental trash produced by the media.
Spencer can be a little preachy, and the altered cover of Slim
Rhodes' 1956 Sun Records "Take and Give," with its Ricky
Nelson-style vocal, is a prime example. Ah, but "Precious
Little," which follows it and closes the album, is brilliant.
Twenty-seven years after his last solo album, Spencer has come back
with what Mick Fleetwood himself rightly calls "a righteous
album." MUSIC REVIEW Jeremy Spencer : Precious Little (3 stars out of 5) Ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist surfaces a little too subtly
Jim Abbott Sentinel Pop Music Critic Jeremy
Spencer has been off the radar for decades since his abrupt
defection from the earliest incarnation of Fleetwood Mac to join a
religious cult in 1971. There
has been the occasional solo project since, but the focus and ease
he exhibits on Precious Little make it apparent that Spencer still
has something to offer. In
Fleetwood Mac, Spencer's slide solos provided the blues DNA on
albums such as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968) and English Rose
(1969). That sound never goes out of style and is accurately echoed
on these 12 songs, a mixture of traditional tunes and originals
recorded in Norway with Norwegian musicians. Spencer's
electric guitar solo on Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too" is
economical and elegant. His ringing solitary notes are reminiscent
of B.B. King's signature style, although without King's fiery
intensity. Other
songs, such as his own "Bitter Lemon," feature Spencer's
slide work on resonator guitar. He handles that instrument with
delicacy, too, opting for precision rather than raw emotion. If
there's a complaint about Precious Little, it's a nagging sense that
Spencer never really lets go, either in his playing or easygoing
vocals. A little more punch would have been a nice contrast to his
consistently subtle approach. Precious
Little comes close with the chugging "Trouble and Woe" and
the percolating "Psychic Waste." The latter is Spencer's
rumination on what he considers the dearth of pop culture nowadays. These
songs will help raise the bar, but Spencer could have lifted it
higher with energy and passion that was a little more obvious. Jim
Abbott jabbott@orlandosentinel.com Precious
Little *** To
hear an excerpt from this or other recently reviewed albums, go to
OrlandoSentinel .com and click on Music. Reviewing
key: ***** excellent, **** good, *** average, ** poor, * awful Hey Peter, Roger
here from KVRX in Austin. Just wanted to let you know I really enjoy
the Jeremy Spencer release. That's a beautiful, beautiful, sweet
record. He lays down some nice acoustic bluesy stuff man. --Roger Tom Wright
from Staten Island Advance “Precious Little,” Jeremy
Spencer (Blind Pig Records) One of the things that made
Fleetwood Mac such a great band was a revolving-door roster that
never failed to produce a singular sound. Among them was Jeremy
Spencer, whose slide guitar and vocal stylings added an indelible
charm and unique voice to the original line-up. With a love for classic ‘50s
rock’ n’ roll (Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly etc.) and Chicago
Blues (specifically Elmore James’ fiery slide guitar) Spencer
helped Fleetwood become an iconic British blues bands and more. Unfortunately, he left, and after
Fleetwood Mac, Spencer made an obscure, semi-compelling and uneven
self-titled solo album. Then, departing mysteriously he all but
disappeared for decades after becoming a member of the religious
group, Children of God; a shame considering all the potential the
man exhibited. It’s time to catch up. After 30 years, with all his
six-string prowess and vocal abilities intact , Spencer, 58, has now
returned with one of the more enjoyable modern blues and roots
records of the year. Like labelmate Elvin Bishop (“Fool
Around and Fell in Love”), Spencer’s affable laid-back humor,
poignancy, and soulfulness is as delightful and comforting as
revisiting a dearly missed, old friend. Evoking the good feeling of some
lazy-day strumming on the porch, “Bitter Lemon” invites listens
in with some amiable, woozy slide guitar played on an acoustic
national steel. Stepping it up to some electric
swamp blues, “Psychic Waste” is deftly bolstered by a warm horn
section and some undulating harmonica fills; being perfectly at home
on Fleetwood Mac’s “Kiln House” album. Not surprisingly, Spencer offers
two tasty Elmore James covers (“It Hurts Me Too,” “Bleeding
Heart”) along with a remake of the traditional classic,
“Corrina Corrina,” retitled “Serene Serena.” The Delta, gospel-influenced
“Many Sparrows” is a touching acoustic instrumental,
showcasing more of Spencer’s dulcet slide guitar work. Recalling another phase of his
Fleetwood Mac tenure, Spencer shakes it up when he gets into some
jumping barrel-house, piano-driven rockabilly on songs like
“Please Don't Stop” and “Take and Give” — a ‘50s ballad
— replete with doowop background vocals and slap-back echo. By contrast, the album closes with
two beautiful numbers: The Spanish-southwestern flavored ballads
“Maria De Santiago” and “Precious Little.” While some might
draw comparisons with Mark Knopfler’s Dire Straits, this was
actually a sound that Spencer helped to create and define with
Fleetwood Mac a full decade earlier. This winning 12-song collection is
a welcome and triumphant return by an artist who has been absent far
too long. One can
only hope there will be substantially more of than this precious
little gem. From:
Nightflying. The Entertainment Guide By Doug
Treadway PRECIOUS
LITTLE Jeremy
Spencer Bluestown
/ Blind Pig Where have
I heard that name before? It is quite familiar to me and yet I
cannot place it. Oh well, just enjoy the music, I say. One of the
more interesting aspects of it is that it was recorded in the frozen
north, and I do not mean Maine or Minnesota. I refer to Juke Joint
Studio and Supermono Studio in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. Spencer
plays some mean slide and resonator guitar on these blues tunes that
transcend the genre by as simple a move as adding a taste of
baritone saxophone. There is also a taste of something very much
rockabilly. Other than Spencer, the music is made by Norwegians, the
result of an invitation to play the Notodden Blues Festival. In the
liner notes, it is mentioned that there are as many as twenty-five
blues festivals a year over there. Ah hah! Here it is in the liner
notes: Jeremy Spencer used to be part of Fleetwood Mac (back in the
Peter Green days, when it was one of the premier blues bands in the
whole wide world). I knew I knew that name. Nice to know the cat
still has the touch. From the Toledo Blade PRECIOUS LITTLE
Jeremy Spencer (Bluestown/Blind Pig) During the '60s, Jeremy Spencer was a member of the pre-eminent British
blues band of the time - Fleetwood Mac. Thirty-five years after
leaving the band, Spencer has released a disc that reminds us how
good a slide guitarist, and singer, he is. The 12 tracks are
predominantly Spencer originals, though he adds a couple of Elmore
James classics. The tenor of the disc is rather low-key, the arrangements mostly basic
blues with some nice horn-section embellishment, and lyrics that
range from upbeat to the jaundiced perspective of "Psychic
Waste." And although broadly contained within a blues framework,
the disc reaches out to include bare bones rock and roll ("Please
Don't Stop") and the Dire Straits-like title track. A mix of the incisive guitar playing of old with a new, more subdued
approach, Spencer's comeback is both welcome and successful. - RICHARD PATON
Precious Little Blind Pig CD 5106 By Randy Hoffman (From Blues Blowtorch) It is a real pleasure to review a CD and think to myself…this one’s
staying in the CD player! Jeremy Spencer was a member of the
original Fleetwood Mac and recently made a trip to Norway to meet
and play with some local blues-men and cut a great album. The most
amazing quality of this recording is the ability of all the players
(2nd guitar, harmonica, mandolin, horns and keys) to blend into a
harmonic melody with Jeremy’s slide guitar. The production work is
outstanding throughout. Many albums start out with an acoustic slide
with a nice blues feel, but sometimes that’s about all there is.
Not on this CD! There’s an old blues feel, but the styles are
swing, swamp, smoke and rock. The opener “Bitter Lemon” grabbed
my attention with dual guitar licks and a great piano mix.
Jeremy’s vocals were intriguing right from the start and proved
engaging as each tune unfolded. “Psychic Waste” has a hot sax
and great lyrics. I think this is the best rendition of Elmore
James’ “It Hurts Me Too” I have ever heard. The stand up bass
in the rockin’ 50’s piano boogie “Please Don’t Stop” was
killer. “Dr. J” turned out to be my favorite tune on this CD.
Clever lyrics and so cool horn arrangement, complimenting the slide
guitar, made it a winner. Later in the album, you get some Knopfler
and Stray Cats like flavors. No doubt about it, the purity of the
blues sound is “like the pure Norwegian water!” Best CD I
listened to this year. Buy it!! RECORDINGS Jeremy
Spencer Precious
Little (Blind Pig) Greg Kot Published September 8, 2006 British singer-guitarist Jeremy Spencer's history is
far stranger than his first record in 27 years: He was an early
member of Fleetwood Mac, then vanished one day in 1971, only to turn
up later in a mysterious religious group called the Children of God.
He put out oddball spiritual albums in the '70s, then resurfaced
last year at a Norwegian blues festival. So you wouldn't expect
"Precious Little," starring Spencer and sidemen with names
like Anders, Trond and Espen, to be this erudite and well-crafted.
Spencer can still play the blues, his plaintive regular-guy voice
recalls Jerry Garcia and this version of personal hero Elmore James'
"It Hurts Me Too" is like the CD--gentle, reverential and
filled with a sort of suppressed passion. Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune Senior Ledgie
Precious Little I just got Jeremy's new cd Precious
Little and it is amazing. Its a great cd from start to finish. His
voice still sounds like it did in the early 70's and his guitar
playing blues is very "Fleetwood Macish" I'm glad to get
this great solo record. This is one of the things I love about the
Fleetwood Mac Family there is much music out there. Get this one! From Bad Dog Blues Jeremy Spencer:
Precious Little (Blind Pig) Those who know
their British blues rock may raise a few eyebrows upon seeing that
ex-Fleetwood Mac member and long time reclusive Jeremy Spencer has a
new record out. More surprising, unlike the few solo efforts he's
put out, "Precious Little" is not a religious outing but a
(mostly) full fledged blues record, and a superb one at that. In 1971,
hours before the Los Angeles gig on Fleetwood Mac's American tour,
Spencer vanished without warning. It turned out that he had fell in
with a Christian sect called the Children of God, which he had
apparently joined after being approached on the street. Over the
years Spencer has issued a few records with Children of God members,
cut his last studio effort in 1979, toured India a few times but has
otherwise retained a very low profile. Now, after a 25-year absence
from the recording studio, Spencer is back and in fabulous form on
"Precious Little" issued on Blind Pig (the album was
licensed from Norway's Bluestown Records, which originally released
it). It's obvious
on "Precious Little" that Spencer has never stopped
playing and delivers a gorgeous, relaxed performance here filled
with terrific guitar work, especially on slide with superb vocals in
the service of some first rate originals and covers. Backed by some
very good Norwegian musicians, Spencer exudes a laid back, confident
air creating a beautiful mellow atmosphere that pervades the whole
record. Opening with the original "Bitter Lemon," Spencer
and the band amble through a laid back shuffle punctuated with
Spencer's mellow, creamy slide and warm assured vocals. Spencer
kicks up the tempo on the strutting, blues shuffle "Dr. J"
laying down some elegant Elmore James inspired licks backed by
riffing horns and rolling piano and takes a more 60's rock approach
to the grooving "Psychic Waste" a term referring to all
the trash spewed out by the media. It's the blues that most impress
and Spencer has a masterful, delicate feel for the music as
evidenced on the gorgeous country blues of "Many Sparrows"
as he hums along hypnotically to his snakey slide playing and the
sublime "Serene Serena", a lyrical rewrite of the
traditional "Corrine Corrina." Elmore James is a big
influence (the first two Fleetwood Mac albums feature several Elmore
covers) and Spencer delivers beautifully fragile versions of
"It Hurts Me Too" and "Bleeding Heart" that
really get to the emotional core of these songs. Spencer also tosses
in a rockabilly tune and a world music number for good measure,
handled as impeccably as everything else on this wonderful record. "Precious
Little" ranks as a near perfect comeback record by a master
musician who has a unerring feel for the blues. Filled with subtle
shadings, beautiful playing, a deeply emotional feel and nary a
trace of rock excess, Spencer proves he's a bluesman of the highest
order.
rockin lobster Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:17 pm Post subject: Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 3647 Location: Bahston Jeremy Spencer......Precious Little 35 years seems a little long between new releases, but
in this case, it's definitely worth it. One of the founding members
of Fleetwood Mac, Spencer was famous for his over the top Elmore
James covers, and his covers of early rock obscurities. Disappearing
during a Fleetwood Mac tour of the states back in 1970, he joined(or
was brainwashed) into joining the "children of god"(who
were everywhere back then; I remember them all over Boston in the
early 70's giving away donuts to save your soul?). Then: silence. So then, this is a big deal for we old Mac fans and
fans of the blues in general. I stumbled across this on the Amazon
site recently and liked the samples so when my local music store had
it on sale, well, you know the rest. He may have mellowed a bit over the years, but his
slide playing is incredibly tastefull. A bit like Count Basie on the
piano, he now says a lot with a few notes. That's hard to do. All
the tracks feature Norwegian blues musicians who lay down a
sympathetic backdrop for Spencer’s blues, R&B, and rockabilly
songs. A few of the tracks also have harmonica and saxophone. Many
of the tunes have a "kiln house" feel to them. He covers 2 Elmore James tunes, “it hurts me too"
and "bleeding heart", dropping the heavy Chicago rhythms
and having the songs float along over an acoustic background. It
fits what he's doing now really well. "Please don't stop" could have been done by
Elvis, and would have fit on either the Macs Kiln house lp or
Spencer’s own solo album from 1970. "Trouble and woe",
one of my favorites(today) shuffles along nicely over a gritty
r&b rhythm. “Serene Serena" is a remake of the old
standard "Corinne, Corinna" with a new set of lyrics.On
"Dr J", he does the same thing to a 50's blues "Dr.
Brown" (from the second Fleetwood Mac album). I'll stop now. Buy the album. It's a mature work done
by a mature artist and you can tap your foot too. Always a good
thing in my book. I just hope he decides to go on tour now. I'll be
in the front row. From
Stony Plain Records Jeremy Spencer: "Precious Little" - Blind
Pig/Stony Plain BPCD-5106. It's been 35 years since Spencer left Fleetwood Mac,
but his vocals and his acoustic slide guitar blues chops are
completely intact. Recorded in Oslo with wonderfully
sympathetic Norwegian musicians, this is a real gem. Well worth
discovering Living Blues (p.46) - "The album has a relaxed vibe centred
around Spencer's warm, clear slide guitar tone. Spencer has a soft
plaintive voice that exudes sincerity." No Depression (p.132) - "Spencer sounds both confident and relaxed
throughout this set of parlor blues, and his slide guitar is nothing
less than virtuosic." Blues
Bytes pick hit September
2006 Jeremy
Spencer Precious
Little Blind
Pig Records
Rarely do you come across a blues record
with the subtleties of blues so elegantly displayed like Jeremy
Spencer has done with his new CD on Blind Pig records, Precious
Little. Ably backed by a wonderful group of Norwegian musicians
who are true to the old traditions, five days in Norway has produced
a record that may very well earn Spencer a BMA nomination for
comeback blues album of the year. Elegant in its simplicity, Precious
Little is just a joy to listen to. The sounds of slide guitar provide the
opening licks to “Bitter Lemon.” What else can you do with
bitter lemon except make lemonade? Sure times are tough and you
don’t always get what you want, so take the bitter lemon….and
“make sweet lemonade!” “Psychic Waste” has more of a Delta
feel to it. We’ve all been exposed to too much television,
newspapers, radio, etc. and the end result is an advance case of
mind pollution. We’re better off to ignore the mind numbing
effects of the media and learn to find out the truth for ourselves.
A sax solo by Leif Winther highlights to call to arms to think for
ourselves. Spencer slows things way down with his
rendition of the Elmore James classic, “It Hurts Me Too.”
Melodic strains of slide guitar convey the pain that he feels at the
injustices done to his lover and is complimented again by Winther on
saxophone. The beauty of Spencer’s playing is in the intricacy of
his fretwork, reflective of experiences gained over 35 years of
playing. “Please Don’t Stop” has a rock-a-billy feel to it and
is a cover of a Fabian original from the ’50s. Keyboards by Runar
Boyesen contribute to the original ’50s feel as Spencer intones
“Please don’t stop….making love to me!” “Understand a little loving…a little
loving is all we need…in this stone cold world a misunderstanding
can cause a heart to bleed” echoes the sad tones of Spencer’s
resonator on another classic James tune, “Bleeding Heart”. The
quality of the Norwegian musicians backing Jeremy cannot be
understated. He notes, “In my opinion they retained the
‘purity’ of the old blues in their playing…..I can close my
eyes as they play and imagine someone is playing back there in the
50’s….” Their outstanding musicianship permeates throughout
the songs on this CD. This musicianship continues to shine on the
instrumental “Many Sparrows.” Wonderful slide guitar accompanied
by upright bass by Rune Endal and bass guitar by Roger Arntzen
compliment the Delta feel Spencer achieves on this tune. “Trouble and Woe” lets us know that
we are all still searching for a glimmer of hope in what has become
a crazy world. “Trouble everywhere you go….people looking for
just a glimmer of hope….people try so hard to pretend….all they
need is friend in this world of trouble and woe.” Fortunately this
feeling of depression leaves us in “Maria de Santiago,” an
instrumental original that Jeremy was encouraged to write lyrics for
by producer Kjetil Draugedalen. Portrayed as a saint, Maria de
Santiago inspires, “your invisible presence…I treasure next to
my heart…you’ve been my muse…help me not to faint.” Moving on to “Take and Give,” Spencer
resurrects an obscure B-side recording by Slim Rhodes and gives it
new legs. “We’ll be happy as long as we live and learn to take
and give.” It’s a song that has stayed in the back of his mind
for over 30 years and finally made it to the light of day. This
wonderful record closes with the title track, “Precious Little”,
a tribute to those who often feel ostracized for the courage of
their convictions. “Precious little…..precious few…don’t
worry because the majority doesn’t think like you…you’re one
in a million but not one of the crowd…yet your whispered opinions
speak so loud!” Jeremy Spencer remains an enigma in
American music lore. He left Fleetwood Mac in the early ’70s to
join a religious cult and has followed the callings of his
spirituality for all of his adult life. Fortunately he felt called
to record Precious Little with a wonderful group of Norwegian
musicians for Norway’s Bluestown Records, and luckily Blind Pig
Records saw fit to release it in the United States. This record will
be one of the sleepers for 2006 and showcases the talents of an
artist that unfortunately we’ve heard all too little of. --- Kyle Deibler
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From the Dead! December 3, 2006
Jeremy
" It's Like You Never Left" , November 6, 2006
Precious
is right..., September 29, 2006
The
deeper you go, the better it is, July 27, 2006
Precious
is right..., September 29, 2006
worth
the 35 year wait !, September 6, 2006
The
deeper you go, the better it is, July 27, 2006
