This Peter Green-led edition of the Mac isn't just an important transition between their initial blues-based incarnation and the mega-pop band they became, it's also their most vital, exciting version. The addition of Danny Kirwan as second guitarist and songwriter foreshadows not only the soft-rock terrain of Bare Trees and Kiln House with Christine Perfect-McVie, but also predicts Rumours. That only pertains to roughly half of the also excellent material here, though; the rest is quintessential Green. The immortal Oh Well, with its hard-edged, thickly layered guitars and chamber-like sections, is perhaps the band's most enduring progressive composition. Rattlesnake Shake is another familiar number, a down-and-dirty, even-paced funk, with clean, wall-of-sound guitars. Choogling drums and Green's fiery improvisations power Searching for Madge, perhaps Mac's most inspired work save Green Manalishi, and leads into an unlikely symphonic interlude and the similar, lighter boogie Fighting for Madge. A hot Afro-Cuban rhythm with beautiful guitars from Kirwan and Green on Coming Your Way not only defines the Mac's sound, but the rock aesthetic of the day. Of the songs with Kirwan's stamp on them, Closing My Eyes is a mysterious waltz love song; haunting guitars approach surf music on the instrumental My Dream; while Although the Sun Is Shining is the ultimate pre-Rumours number someone should revisit. Blues roots still crop up on the spatial, loose, Hendrix-tinged Underway, the folky Like Crying, and the final outcry of the ever-poignant Show Biz Blues, with Green moaning "do you really give a damn for me?" Then Play On is a reminder of how pervasive and powerful Green's influence was on Mac's originality and individual stance beyond his involvement. Still highly recommended and a must-buy after all these years, it remains their magnum opus. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Coming Your Way
2		Closing My Eyes
3		Show-Biz Blues
4		My Dream
5		Underway
6		Oh Well
7		Although the Sun Is Shining
8		Rattlesnake Shake
9		Searching for Madge
10		Fighting for Madge
11		When You Say
12		Like Crying
13		Before the Beginning