Fleetwood Mac – 1973 To 1974

I have recently been given this as a gift for Christmas. I have been wanting this for a long time since release, so I'm glad to have this. I'm not a big fan of their later work, but this box set is a great set of earlier albums. Very well presented also. 😀🌞✌️

The 7” is “hidden” in the Mystery To Me sleeve, for those who can’t find it easily.

A box set , all the discs are flat and the noise floor is quiet. No ticks, pops, skips or scratches. I've had good luck with everything Chris Bellman has been associated with. The live set is worth the price of ission. Strange that this December 15th 1974 show was very near the end of Bob Welch's time with the band. The Mac is tight. Strange because one of the first shows the more famous Mac line-up with Buckingham Nicks recorded is a mixed bag. Of course that iteration of the Mac would eclipse all the line-ups that came before. So if you love Bob Welch this box set is a no brainer.

Mystery To Me had some scratches on side one. Same with Penguin. Ordered another copy. Penguin is okay now, while Mystery To Me has a different set of scratches. HOW?! They come in poly-lined inners. How can you fuck up packaging and quality control so badly?!

DEAD QUIET! Well crafted box set! All are pressed at Optimal and cut by Chris Bellman. These are a wonderful complimentary piece to the 2012 release of “Fleetwood Mac” (also cut by Bellman), and the 2009 release of Rumours (cut by KG and SH). Although, my jackets all had seam splits

“To ensure superb sound quality, Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering cut the lacquers for all the albums from the original analog masters, which are pressed on 140-gram vinyl and presented in replica sleeves made to look like the original pressings.” Per Rhino’s US website

I've been hearing that this set is all analogue from the original master tapes (except for the live concert and probably the 7") but what is there to this? and does it apply for both the US and EU boxsets?
I know there was a similar boxset 1969 To 1972 which was apparently digitally sourced.
Anyone have any info?

Hard to believe that with all the amazingly consistent songwriting here, Bob Welch’s name was omitted with all the other past and present of Fleetwood Mac at their R’n’R Hall of Fame induction at Mick Fleetwood’s insistence. Even his signature is blatantly missing from the award. There would be no “Stevie and Lindsey” era Fleetwood Mac without Bob Welch’s songwriting leadership between the years 1971-1974. I don’t know what bad blood was spilt but c’mon Mick, give Bob the honour his memory deserves even if it’s a posthumous one.

Been listening to the Mac from the beginning. The Bob Welch days are my favorite. I've had a partial copy of the concert from the old original Napster days that survived the virus. Getting this concert was my main reason for wanting this box and another stab at Mystery To Me. I have listened to these two so far and the concert sound is definitely excellent as presented here. I am very familiar with Side 2 having given remastering a go with the crappy mp3 version I had that was probably recorded off the radio broadcast. Yes, I am satisfied with this recording.

Mystery To Me is actually an improvement on my original copy, a first pressing Fleetwood Mac - Mystery To Me. The whole album is improved. Nothing is lost. Stills sounds and feels analogue. The cannons and what not on Emerald Eyes, the first track on Side 1 are now clear as a bell. Hypnotized is also noticeably improved, these two tracks being the ones that I know very well.

I expect the rest of the box to be as good. So far everything clean, quiet and flat out of the box. Very pleased. I have originals of the others to compare when I get to them and will likely update this post.

Finished playing the set. Great pressings, all of them. Very revealing. Flat, black and relatively clean out of the box.

A great way to get these albums if you never had them or to replace the ones you have that are worn or if you are looking for an improvement plus the concert.