This Peter Green-led edition of the Mac isn't just an important transition between their initial blues-based incarnation and the mega-pop band they became, it's also their most vital, exciting version. The addition of Danny Kirwan as second guitarist and songwriter foreshadows not only the soft-rock terrain of "Bare Trees" and "Kiln House" with Christine Perfect-McVie, but also predicts Rumours. That only pertains to roughly half of the also excellent material here, though; the rest is quintessential Green. The immortal "Oh Well," with its hard-edged, thickly layered guitars and chamber-like sections, is perhaps the band's most enduring progressive composition. "Rattlesnake Shake" is another familiar number, a down-and-dirty, even-paced funk, with clean, wall-of-sound guitars. Choogling drums and Green's fiery improvisations power "Searching for Madge," perhaps Mac's most inspired work save "Green Manalishi," and leads into an unlikely symphonic interlude and the similar, lighter boogie "Fighting for Madge." A hot Afro-Cuban rhythm with beautiful guitars from Kirwan and Green on "Coming Your Way" not only defines the Mac's sound, but the rock aesthetic of the day. Of the songs with Kirwan's stamp on them, "Closing My Eyes" is a mysterious waltz love song; haunting guitars approach surf music on the instrumental "My Dream"; while "Although the Sun Is Shining" is the ultimate pre-Rumours number someone should revisit. Blues roots still crop up on the spatial, loose, Hendrix-tinged "Underway," the folky blues tale of a lesbian affair on "Like Crying," and the final outcry of the ever-poignant "Show Biz Blues," with Green moaning "do you really give a damn for me?" Then Play On is a reminder of how pervasive and powerful Green's influence was on Mac's originality and individual stance beyond his involvement. Still highly recommended and a must-buy after all these years, it remains their magnum opus. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
The album has been released with four different song lineups. The current CD lineup compiles all songs from the two US LP lineups, both of which were deviations from the original UK song order.
This was the band's first release with Warner/Reprise after being lured away from Blue Horizon and a one-off with Immediate Records. Forty years on, Fleetwood Mac remain with Warner.
The two songs deleted from the US lineup had already appeared on the US compilation English Rose. They are also not included on the CD release of the album.
Side 1:
"Coming Your Way" (Kirwan) – 3:47
"Closing My Eyes" (Green) – 4:50
"Fighting for Madge" (Fleetwood) – 2:45
"When You Say" (Kirwan) – 4:22
"Showbiz Blues" (Green) – 3:50
"Underway" (Green) – 2:51 (US timing, fades out), 3:06 (UK timing, no fade, cuts to next song)
"One Sunny Day" (Kirwan) – 3:12*
Side 2:
"Although the Sun Is Shining" (Kirwan) – 2:31
"Rattlesnake Shake" (Green) – 3:32
"Without You" (Kirwan) – 4:34*
(3-US) "Searching for Madge" (McVie) – 6:56
(4-US) "My Dream" (Kirwan) – 3:30 (a long giggle links this to next song)
(5-US) "Like Crying" (Kirwan) – 2:21
(6-US) "Before the Beginning" (Green) – 3:28
*Missing from the original US LP.
Revised US Song Lineup, post-November 1969
After "Oh Well (pts 1 & 2)" (released November 1969) became a hit single, it was added to the US lineup, and some of the other songs were either deleted or moved to side two. The edit of "Oh Well" actually contains an error: the first minute or so of "Part 2" is heard twice, as this section of the song was heard on both the A-side and B-side of the single. (The B-side was a clean mix of the complete part 2 with no crossfade.) If the error were corrected, the song would run at 7:58.
Another change was putting the two edits from the "Madge" jam back to back, fading down and up between them. The giggle that previously linked "My Dream" to "Like Crying" was now edited onto the end of "Fighting for Madge".
Side 1:
"Coming Your Way" (Kirwan) – 3:47
"Closing My Eyes" (Green) – 4:50
"Showbiz Blues" (Green) – 3:50
"Underway" (Green) – 2:51
"Oh Well" (Green) – 8:56
Side 2:
"Although The Sun Is Shining" (Kirwan) – 2:31
"Rattlesnake Shake" (Green) – 3:32
"Searching For Madge" (McVie) – 6:56
"Fighting for Madge" (Fleetwood) – 2:45 (a long giggle links this to next song)
"Like Crying" (Kirwan) – 2:21
"Before the Beginning" (Green) – 3:28
CD Track listing
The currently in-print late 1980s–early 1990s re-release sticks mostly to the order of the revised US track listing, but reinserts two of the deleted songs in new locations. The giggle which originally preceded "Like Crying" is separated from its original location by the reinsertion of "When You Say" after "Fighting For Madge" (which "When You Say" followed when "Fighting for Madge" was in its original "Track 3" location.) The mix of "Oh Well" still contains the repeated minute. The two songs which appeared only on the UK LP are still missing here.
Chat groups and online music stores feature many consumer complaints that the current issue of the CD uses poor copies of the tapes, several generations removed from the original master. Dropouts, distortion and excessive hiss are evident, some of it missing from the original UK pressing.[citation needed]
"Coming Your Way" (Kirwan) – 3:47
"Closing My Eyes" (Green) – 4:50
"Showbiz Blues" (Green) – 3:50
'"My Dream" (Kirwan) – 3:30
"Underway" (Green) – 2:51
"Oh Well" (Green) – 8:56
"Although the Sun Is Shining" (Kirwan) – 2:31
"Rattlesnake Shake" (Green) – 3:32
"Searching for Madge" (McVie) – 6:56
"Fighting for Madge" (Fleetwood) – 2:45 ("Like Crying" giggle still left here)
'"When You Say" (Kirwan) – 4:22
"Like Crying" (Kirwan) – 2:21
"Before the Beginning" (Green) – 3:28
Unreleased Bonus EP: The Milton Schlitz Show
The original intention was to include a bonus EP in the "Then Play On" album. The EP was to be compensation for the fact that Jeremy Spencer barely appeared on the album. The EP consisted of Spencer's parodies of doo wop ("Ricky Dee and the Angels"), Alexis Korner, country blues ("Texas Slim"), acid rock ("The Orange Electric Squares"), and John Mayall. It was finally released on Fleetwood Mac's The Vaudeville Years compilation in the 1990s.
"Jeremy's Contribution to Doo Wop" (Spencer) – 3:34
