Fleetwood Mac's fifth studio album Future Games was released in 1971. It is the band's first album without founding member and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer and their first with American guitarist Bob Welch as well as Christine Perfect's (now Christine McVie as she married bassist John McVie) first album with the band as an official member. Welch moved the band in a soft rock/R&B direction, which helped them achieve some commercial success in the US and somewhat positive reviews, both contemporary and retrospective.
Welch is a talented guitarist who has a soft spot for soporific music--dreamy, undistinguished vocals backed by music so leisurely even Pink Floyd would condemn it. To add insult to injury, Danny Kirwan, who once was a promising rocker and songwriter, mimics Welch's soft rock bullshit to similar, but slightly better, results. Christine McVie's two songwriting efforts are the saving graces of the record but unfortunately her singing debut isn't. It's quite telling that whenever I finish the album, Spotify thinks I want to listen to the Eagles.
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