WORDS FOR DANNY KIRWAN

DANNY KIRWAN

MAY 13, 1950-JUNE 8, 2018

I am compelled to write in tribute to a musical figure who has delivered so powerfully much yet whose level of recognition remains sadly obscured to the point of possibly even having been forgotten. 

It was early in the morning on Saturday, June 9th when I read the news straight from Mick Fleetwood's Facebook page via a message written directly by him and dated June 8th at 8:05 p.m....

"Today was greeted by the sad news of the passing of Danny Kirwan in London, England.  Danny was a huge force in our early years. His love for the Blues led him to being asked to join Fleetwood Mac in 1968 where he made his musical home for many years. 

Danny's true legacy, in my mind, will forever live in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over than fifty years. 

Thank you, Danny Kirwan. You will forever be missed." 

To that, I can only begin by uttering a solemn "Amen" to those sentiments. To continue, I have to fully express to you the words I first shared after reading this sad, sad news. For all of the attention and acclaim that Fleetwood Mac has received, and deservedly so, since 1975 onwards, I have urged friends over these last 30 years or so to give listens to the likes of the band's "Then Play On" (released September 19, 1969), "Kiln House" (released September 18, 1970), "Future Games" (released September 3, 1971) and "Bare Trees" (released March 1972), all albums that stand as tall as "Rumours" (released February 4, 1977) as far as I'm concerned. 

 

 

Dear readers and listeners, please at this time, allow me to impress upon you what is to me a musical truth in the history of rock and roll music. What singer/songwriter/guitarist Danny Kirwan contributed to the artistic and musical legacy of Fleetwood Mac is eternal and immeasurable. And truthfully, if we are still able to hear the ghosts and influences of Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Bob Welch, now the recently jettisoned Lindsey Buckingham plus all members of the past coursing through the heart, veins and soul of this band, then without question, Danny Kirwan's musical voice would be one of the loudest...despite his comparative quietness to that of his bandmates.

I first became aware of Danny Kirwan sometime in 1987, after I had started college, when Fleetwood Mac was simultaneously riding high with the release and success of "Tango In The Night" (released April 13, 1987) as well as undergoing a serious period of transition with the (first) departure of Lindsey Buckingham just in time for their tour. 

My roommate Bob, with whom I shared a nearly perfect symmetry with our respective musical tastes, was as curious about the history of Fleetwood Mac as I was. With his bi-monthy paychecks he received from his student job of washing out test tubes in Chemistry labs, he (and sometimes, we) would venture to Stare Street each Friday afternoon or early evening to purchase two CDs to add to his expanding collection, a bounty of which I was blessed to have equal access due to our friendship.

By the time Bob decided upon exploring the discography of Fleetwood Mac, I vividly recall my interest perking upwards considerably, because of my love for the band, which by that year had been significantly rekindled. I was curious as to how all of the threads connected, from British blues to California pop and all in between and by listening, I gathered the full picture of what Fleetwood Mac actually was, and they were so profoundly much more than I had really ever given them credit for...even as much as I loved them..  

What I discovered for myself was that where original member/co-founder Peter Green unquestionably brought the anguish and grit of the blues to the proceedings, Jeremy Spencer displayed his deep affection for 1950's rock and roll and Bob Welch elicited a certain California post psychedelic mysticism, Danny Kirwan's contributions slid somewhere in between all three men while also crafting, cultivating and carving out a fully idiosyncratic landscape: the one of an inexplicable pastoral melancholia and fragile soulfulness that conjured up hazy daydreams, mournful solemnity, an aching romanticism and a delicate wistfulness while always discovering entrancing ways to honor the base of the blues.

On "Then Play On," Fleetwood Mac's sensational third album, the first song and voice we hear is Danny Kirwan's in the chugging long distance dusty road momentum of "Coming Your Way," which the percussive driven selection explodes into raw, guitar retribution by song's conclusion. Yet, Kirwan's musical agility only proved itself with the plaintive tenderness of "When You Say," the quiet heartbreak of "Although The Sun Is Shining," the late afternoon backporch blues of "Like Crying" and the glorious sunset entitled "My Dream," a more than worthy successor to the band's top charting "Albatross," on which Kirwan contributed.

I do not know if the following sentiment is necessarily true for Danny Kirwan but I do not think that it would be terribly far-fetched to consider, but it seems to me that for each personnel change within Fleetwood Mac, changes within each member's performances would also occur due to the shifts within band chemistry. For "Kiln House," with the departure of Peter Green and the (nearly) full arrival of Christine McVie, who contributed her signature vocals, keyboards and even cover art to the proceedings, Kirwan's own songwriting, singing and playing became more enhanced.

As the dual Sunday morning meditative/ Saturday night anguished remembrance of "Jewel Eyed Judy," the slow churning locomotive epic of "Station Man" and the stinging "Tell Me All The Things You Do" found Kirwan stretching out and stepping confidently into the large hole created by Green's absence, it was the lyrical instrumental of the quiet "Earl Grey," that found's Kirwan's compositional skills growing more elegant and contemplative, conjuring up sustained imagery and emotions that longed to be embraced as the track contained a luxurious quality that would be further expanded upon to crystalline effect.

More personnel changes featuring the departure of Jeremy Spencer, and the arrival of Bob Welch plus Christine McVie's official band status being confirmed, created an era of Fleetwood Mac that I  honestly feel rivals the beloved 1975 lineup of the band, as song for song, and album by album, "Future Games" and "Bare Trees" are two of the finest works the band has ever created. And Danny Kirwan truly arrived as a musical force to be reckoned wt as he delivered his finest material without question. 

As my former roommate would tell you himself, I adore "Future Games." It is indeed one of those albums that I could have on repeat and could never grow tired of. I know this because I have performed this very feat so often over these past 30 plus years. It is an album of sustained, dreamworld sophistication and grace and Danny Kirwan's songwriting, singing and guitar heroics were at the forefront of the album's absolute finest material. He claims center stage on the simmering acoustic based pastoral wonder that is "Woman Of 1000 Years,"a song that, for my ears and spirit, could play for album length but if it did, we would then not be able to hear the stunning brilliance that is the outstanding "Sands Of Time." 

That song, which follows Bob Welch's fantastic organ drenched title track, is a wonderland that actually proves how band chemistry is affected and altered when the principals are shifted and shaken up. Not only do I think that Kirwan probably would not have even written a song like "Sands Of Time" had the lineup from "Then Play On" remained intact, Kirwan and his bandmates are even paying differently than ever before and the result is gloriously mesmerizing. 

For a bit over seven wondrous minutes, just listen to the seashore melody, on which Kirwan's lovely, thoughtful vibrato carries us along as if it were an ocean breeze but more impressively, the time signature changes within the song are simultaneously dramatic and subtle, making for something you hardly recognize is happening yet you know that something has changed the scenery. Christine McVie's supremely warm electric piano perfectly compliments the peerless rhythm section of bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, whose own performance upon this track, I still contend, is one of his finest drum performances ever. 

This superior bed of sound, so enveloping, so lush, allowed Kirwan to build a guitar interplay with Welch that was...ahem...hypnotizing, all circular, intertwining and climbing into the song's final, heartbreaking grace note. And to think, Kirwan also had the gentle meditation of "Sometimes" at the ready as well. 

Astonishing.

On what would become Danny Kirwan's swan song with the band, the appropriately autumnal "Bare Trees" album found Fleetwood Mac, and Kirwan in particular at the top of their games. All three songwriters delivered material that was essentially bullet proof, including the original version Welch's "Sentimental Lady." Yet for Kirwan, it is almost as if he knew this album would feature his final statements within Fleetwood Mac as he congealed everything he had accomplished within the band and delivered material that truly felt to be definitive as messages of his artistry.

Album opener "Child Of Mine," the wah-wah drenched "Danny's Chant," and the astounding title track (I vividly remember my Dad stopping cold as he heard this song and exclaimed, "Those guitars!") were great enough but with the instrumental of "Sunny Side Of Heaven" and the album penultimate selection, the gently pensive ode to our collective mortality entitled "Dust," Danny Kirwan's creative voice became majestic as he took the base of the blues and created existential hymns of the soul.

It felt fitting that he would depart the band after that album for what else was there to say after a song like "Dust"? In many ways, it felt as if he personally closed the door on this particular phase of Fleetwood Mac with a unique yet quietly defiant finality, that not only forced a change for his former bandmates but allowed his work to fully reverberate through everything that was recorded after his absence...if listeners could allow themselves to hear the sonic threads.

Dear listeners, for a band like Fleetwood Mac, where a certain mysticism was always a crucial piece of their musical fabric, the work of Danny Kirwan contains enormous echoes. For those of you who already know the work, I think that you will understand what I mean. But, more importantly, for those of you who do not know of Danny Kirwan's legacy and how he fit into Fleetwood Mac, I urge you to go forth and make those discoveries for yourselves as it would be a shame if his contributions were lost to faded memories and the sands of time.

I believe that it is indeed up to us listeners and fans to serve as beacons for those who can no longer speak and advocate for themselves. Please do take the time to listen to Danny Kirwan's tenure within  Fleetwood Mac and I guarantee you will experience a sophistication of sound and songwriting that contains tremendous texture, shadings and melodicism--the sort that has existed at the foundation of this band for over 50 years. Now that he has passed onwards, I invite you to investigate and then, celebrate with what he shared with the world, for what he shared was sensational to say the least. 

Thank you, Danny Kirwan. May you rest in power.