Fleetwood Mac's sixth studio album Bare Trees was released in 1972. It is their last album to feature guitarist Danny Kirwan, who was fired by Mick Fleetwood after his alcoholism made him difficult to work with and when he refused to join the band on stage for a gig. Although the album only reached 70 on the American charts, it stayed on the charts for 27 weeks and was eventually certified platinum. Reviews are generally positive but not exemplary.
Along with providing his best songwriting since Peter Green days, Kirwan accents not only his own songs but also Welch's snooze-worthy soft rock with some of the heaviness that made Then Play On the best Mac album so far. It's not enough to counter the overall humdrum of a complete album of lethargic rock but it's enough to make this more memorable than their previous Future Games. The songwriting from Christine McVie and Welch also sees a noticeable improvement though Christine's voice still rubs me the wrong way and I'm sure Welch is a just hopeless dope. So once again, the only creative force I have faith in departs the band and leaves their future in great uncertainty. B-
