Maps of Music

Kiln House (1970)

Where the lyrics of Kiln House take you, and where it was really made.

The album is named after two converted hop-drying buildings in Hampshire, and it was made after founder Peter Green had left the band.

Key places

Where Kiln House was recorded (1970)

Recording site De Lane Lea Studios — The band spent two weeks recording Kiln House at De Lane Lea Studios in London. The album was made here after Peter Green had left the band. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Kiln House: fourth studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac
• Released 18 September 1970 by Reprise Records
• First album after founder Peter Green left the band
• Last album featuring guitarist Jeremy Spencer
• Christine McVie contributed backing vocals, keyboards and cover art

Background

• Recorded after Peter Green's departure, around his final performance with the band on 28 May 1970
• Remaining members moved to the English countryside with their wives, children and road managers
• Title taken from two converted oast houses called Kiln House, in Truncheaunts Lane, East Worldham, near Alton, Hampshire
• The oast houses had been used for drying hops for beer brewing and were later combined into one building
• The property became a listed building in 1977
• The band leased Kiln House and lived there communally with their families for six months in 1970
• Mick Fleetwood married Jenny Boyd at the house on 20 June 1970

Recording

• The band spent two weeks recording at De Lane Lea Studios
• Christine McVie, then still known as Christine Perfect, lived in Kiln House and took part in the sessions
• She was signed to Blue Horizon as a solo artist, so she could not be credited in the liner notes
• Spencer's retro 1950s homages and parodies dominate the album; Danny Kirwan's songs are almost equally prominent
• Spencer recorded demos on Revox machines and overdubbed multi-track vocal harmonies
• Microphones were placed close to the drums for a sound Mick Fleetwood described as very closed down and tight

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in July 1967 by Peter Green after leaving John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, with Mick Fleetwood on drums.
• The name combines Fleetwood's surname with bassist John McVie, who joined in 1967.
• Early line-up was primarily a British blues band; "Albatross" reached UK No. 1 in 1968.

Members

• Core members over time: Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham.
• Buckingham and Nicks joined at the end of 1974 and drove the band's global success.

Career

• Rumours (1977) is one of the best-selling albums of all time and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1978.
• The band has sold more than 120 million records worldwide.
• Received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1979 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Received the MusiCares Person of the Year award in 2018.
• Christine McVie died in 2022; Stevie Nicks later said she saw no reason to continue the band.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone (J.R. Young): the album was carefully conceived and prepared, and marked a shift from the band's earlier work with Green
• J.R. Young: Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer took up the slack and built a new engine for the band
• Billboard: described the album as a foray into the roots of contemporary rock
• Record World: noted the band's pivot away from blues toward straightaway rock entertainment
• Cashbox: thought the album showed the band's ability to create new and exciting material
• Beat Instrumental: described the band as a mighty fine unit without Green

Reappraisal

• AllMusic (Bruce Eder, retrospective review): the album lacked the intensity of some earlier work with Green
• Eder: the album broadened the band's use of blues into other contexts and added new influences without Green's laser-like focus
• Robert Christgau: rated the album higher than Then Play On
• Christgau: the mansions in their jazzy blues rock and roll guitar heaven were spacier than ever

Records

• UK: peaked at number 39, the band's last top 40 album there until their 1975 self-titled album
• Canada: peaked at number 67 in RPM Magazine, 19 December 1970
• US: peaked at number 69 on the Billboard 200 on 7 November 1970, the band's highest-charting US album up to that point
• At the time, the album was Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album in the US

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album title comes from two converted oast houses in East Worldham, near Alton, Hampshire, which had been used for drying hops.
• Christine McVie took part in the sessions but could not be credited on the album for contractual reasons, since she was signed to Blue Horizon as a solo artist.
• Five days before the band was due to leave for its American tour, it asked Christine Perfect to join Fleetwood Mac.
• Spencer's song Buddy's Song is derivative of Peggy Sue Got Married, with new lyrics listing a number of Buddy Holly song titles.
• In 1971 Spencer left the band before a scheduled Los Angeles show; the performance was cancelled when he did not return.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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