In the previous post I briefly spoke about Peter Green, and what a terrific english guitarist he was. In fact, I`d go as far to say that he was the first englishman ever to sound like a born and bred american bluesman, although I am not saying that Beck, Clapton, Mayall and Page were not gifted blues players.
Green was just more of a purist, the four other heavyweights of english blues rock simply cut their rhythm from a more rock stained cloth, Green stuck to the trad Chicago sound more, a harmonica never too far away.
Of course Green left Fleetwood Mac in
controversial circumstances after recording a number of shows in Boston in 1970 which in more recent years has finally seen the light of day on a double set of CD`s simply called `Live in Boston`.
It has some really great songs on there, especially the somewhat autobiographical and virtuoso guitar epic `Jumping At Shadows`.
Oh man is this song amazing for its time, slow going at the beginning but Green really tears it into the song after the first couple of minutes.
Rumour has always had it that the real reason why Green quit Fleetwood Mac at the apex of the bands rise was because he actually fried his brain after going on the acid benders to end all benders over a two day period.
Just like Syd Barrett, the original lead singer and guitarist for Pink Floyd, had done only a couple of years beforehand.
Not even rock stars back in those days were knowledgeable about the dangers of hard drug use, LSD was thought by many to be no worse for you than cannabis, but of course in more recent years we not that is not true.
Cannabis is very bad for you, especially for your brain, not to mention when you dont cool the smoke down in a bong, a joint literally burns the lining off your lungs.
I am not up on all this because I smoke the stuff for the record OK lol. Anyway, my guess is that Green did go out on this rumoured drug bender and it did give him some sort of brain damage, and that is why his songwriting ability came to a screaming halt in the years after he left the band.
What a shocking waste of musical talent, Green tried on a number of occasions in the mid 1970`s to record some new music, he basically needed to be spoon fed everything and handed an artistic walking stick by Mick Fleetwood and John McVie to finally get enough material to record three albums under his own namen in the very late 70`s to very early 80`s.
Rumour also has it that talented blues session player Snowy White played so much of the more inspiring blues improvisation which got credited to Green. We`ll probaly never find out if the rumours were true or false.
But I have to say that some of the stuff from Peter Green (or Snowy White) from this period is great progressive blues playing, the song `Last Train to San Antone` is classic Peter Green.
Not much has been heard from Green since the beginning of the 80`s, with only an odd recording here and there.
Mick Fleetwood, who got through the years
of drugs and infidelity of late 60`s Britain and being a member of the `second` Fleetwood Mac, with Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham added after 1975, never turned his back on Peter Green and he done all he could to salvage a career for him in any way he could.
of drugs and infidelity of late 60`s Britain and being a member of the `second` Fleetwood Mac, with Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham added after 1975, never turned his back on Peter Green and he done all he could to salvage a career for him in any way he could.
But in the end, it was all to no avail. Mick Fleetwood however could always pay homage to Green on stage, and that`s exactly what he did when he formed his own moonlighting band away from the Mac called `The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band`.
I dont know how much Mick has recorded with this band exactly, but I have in front of me `Blue Again `, a live album recorded at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 8th, 2008.
Green copycat Rick Vito does a fantastic job of replicating the original Mac vocalist, 4 of the songs Vito wrote, 7 of them were written by Green and the MFB chucked in Elmore Jame`s ballbuster `Shake Your Moneymaker`.
One of Vito`s tunes, `Fleetwood Boogie` is just no nonsense driving rhythm and blues with a thumping workout from one of the masters of British drums.
And unlike what you may be thinking, it isn`t some hocus pocus instrumental, Vito does put an inspiring vocal to it.
The tunes of Peter Green`s are not just tired old retreads, Vito and Fleetwood jazz them up a bit and put a bit more virtuoso on Green`s sturdy melodies.
They include the following - `Looking for Somebody`, Black Magic Woman`, `Rattlesnake Shake`, `Stop Messin' Around`, and the seminal blues instrumental 'Albatross'.
It`s just a great blues album, with enough rock influence to appeal to a wider audience. When I saw the words Mick Fleetwood and Band after them, there was no way I was leaving it behind in the shop, no way man!
There is something about Peter Green, isn't there, and despite his later stuff and rumours of overdubs making his stuff presentable for public listening, he was a guitar great and would make the top ten list of a greater number of those looking for guitar players.
ReplyDeleteMick Fleetwood is another story, a leviathon of a man and one whos very instinct is in percussion in fact there is no denying that his style is instantly recognisable, even in the more popularversion of Fleetwood Mac since rumours, his drumming is a standout along with Johns basslines. Its great that these guys try to look after each other, (remember floyds tribute to Sid) and I think you might have just got yourself a bargain with that recording.