Orlando Sentinel Precious Little Review, 3 Stars

Jeremy Spencer : Precious Little (3 stars out of 5)
Ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist surfaces a little too subtly

Jim Abbott | Sentinel Pop Music Critic
Posted August 18, 2006 REVIEW RANK Audio

Audio: Jeremy Spencer - "Bitter Lemon'' (Jeremy Spencer: Precious Little)
Aug 18, 2006

Jeremy Spencer has been off the radar for decades since his abrupt defection from the earliest incarnation of Fleetwood Mac to join a religious cult in 1971.

There has been the occasional solo project since, but the focus and ease he exhibits on Precious Little make it apparent that Spencer still has something to offer.

In Fleetwood Mac, Spencer's slide solos provided the blues DNA on albums such as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (1968) and English Rose (1969). That sound never goes out of style and is accurately echoed on these 12 songs, a mixture of traditional tunes and originals recorded in Norway with Norwegian musicians.

Spencer's electric guitar solo on Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too" is economical and elegant. His ringing solitary notes are reminiscent of B.B. King's signature style, although without King's fiery intensity.

Other songs, such as his own "Bitter Lemon," feature Spencer's slide work on resonator guitar. He handles that instrument with delicacy, too, opting for precision rather than raw emotion.

If there's a complaint about Precious Little, it's a nagging sense that Spencer never really lets go, either in his playing or easygoing vocals. A little more punch would have been a nice contrast to his consistently subtle approach.

Precious Little comes close with the chugging "Trouble and Woe" and the percolating "Psychic Waste." The latter is Spencer's rumination on what he considers the dearth of pop culture nowadays.

These songs will help raise the bar, but Spencer could have lifted it higher with energy and passion that was a little more obvious.