Welch and Kirwan both had distinctive guitar styles, yet each compliments the other without one trying to trump the other (much like the interplay of Whitney and Tench of the band Streetwalkers). Christine McVie's keyboards are round out the sound, and the three of them share the songwriting and singing spotlight pretty evenly. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood really showcase why they merit consideration as one of the top rhythm sections of their time, sounding lively throughout. Sadly, this recording was the last for Danny Kirwan as a member of Fleetwood Mac, so their is something bittersweet about listening to his songs now. (He is essentially a derelict wondering the streets of London these days.)

The rocking numbers like Child of Mine, Homeward Bound, or Danny's Chant anchor the recording, but the shimmering quality of selections such as Sentimental Lady, Spare Me a Little of Your Love, and Sunny Side of Heaven make these the most likely songs to continue zipping around your brain through the day.

I'm not sure what the band was thinking about with Thoughts on a Grey Day, but you may as well program your CD player to skip it after you have heard it once. Otherwise, you will be keeping this CD in your rotation for some time.


Nothing Bare Here   April 19, 2001
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Bare Trees finds Bob Welch and Christine McVie taking an even greater role in the band. They contribute their strongest work to date and Danny Kirwan's work is impressive as well. Ms. McVie's "Homeward Bound" is a superb song that showed her gifts as a songwriter and singer were immense. Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady" is his signature and is slightly different than the version he had a hit with in 1977. This version has a more pronounced backing vocal from Christine McVie, but in any version it is a gorgeous song. Mr. Kirwan provides the scorching "Danny's Chant" and the somber "Dust". Bare Trees would prove to be his swan song with the band, but he left on a high note. Bare Trees is the finest pre Buckingham-Nicks Mac album and ranks among the finest the band has ever done in any form.


The PERFECT road album!   May 2, 1999
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

The story goes, at least in one version, that Danny Kirwan completely went insane following this record. What a tragedy! I mourn when I remember the golden and shimmering beauty of "Sunny Side of Heaven." When I sing along with the before-its-time hard rock "Danny's Chant." Or when I listen to Christine McVie's "Homeward Bound," her best song ever, and see how her keyboards work inspired his guitar solo. They, and drummer Mick Fleetwood, pushed each other to heights for that song. "Dust," though, showed Kirwan's time wasn't long, with it's dark look at death. This record, by the way, features hot guitar licks on all the songs, and the original (and only good) version of the Bob Welch song "Sentimental Lady." If you are driving down an interstate, particularly in the winter, then this album will resonate with you. It will affect your mood profoundly. It will make you wish this had not been the swan song for Danny Kirwan.


A classic in every sense of the word   October 21, 1999
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

It's hard to believe that a record could be this good. After 25 years, it's still one of my favorite albums. "Little Child of Mine" is a wonderful rocker, "Bare Trees" evokes powerful images of winter better than any other song I've heard. "Homeward Bound" is so heartfelt that you just want to give Christine McVie a big hug. Laced throughout with Kirwan's wonderful guitar, John McVie's superb bass, Christine McVie's great piano, Fleetwood's solid beat and fine singing by Kirwan, C. McVie and Bob Welch, you have perhaps the best British rock record of the 70's. Combined with "Future Games", this is one of those ten CDs for the proverbial desert island. It's the perfect antidote to an overdose of Stevie Nicks on the FM radio...