Peter Green R.I.P.

TopDog

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Peter Green, the guitarist who founded Fleetwood Mac, has passed away.
Over the past thirty odd years, a long running argument has taken place between my Brother In law and myself. As a blues fan who discovered Peter Green on John Mayalls 'A Hard Road' album, (and the singles around that time) I was instantly a fan of the man, and of the band Peter formed when he left Mayall, which was of course Fleetwood Mac. Brother in law, being a non-blues fan, considers the Buckingham/Nicks line up of the band to be the 'real' Fleetwood Mac.
He raves about the album 'Rumours' and to a lesser extent 'Tusk'. I don't. But then after a long abscence from music owing to his health issues, Peter returned with the 'Splinter Group' line up, aided by his long time friend Nigel Watson. Following SG, Peter toured with various line ups, generally as Peter Green and friends. It didn't matter what the name of the band was, so long as Peter was there and playing.
Fans of Carlos Santana, ought to listen to the track 'The Supernatural' from Mayalls 'A Hard Road'.
Every note was magic when Peter played, and the spaces between the notes was equally important. Ask any decent musician. We all know supersonic guitar players who can play 'a million notes a minute' but they pale into insignificance beside the flowing, melodic lines of Peters playing. A large part of my musical life, he will be sadly missed by me.But I have the consolation of his recorded body of work, and will revisit them regularly,as I do in any case!
The Fleetwood Mac album 'Then Play On' which was the band's official third album, was unobtainable in some areas, due to demand from the die hard fans. I was lucky, I got it on the release day,thanks to a friendly local record dealer!
So play on Peter Green, and thank you for the many magical moments your music has given me during my life. You were truly an original.
 
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Like you, I've enjoyed listening to his playing from the John Mayall days too - he'll be missed.

(I liked both line ups of Fleetwood Mac for their differences.)
 
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and Fleetwood Mac could hardly be more different and one would never be confused with the other. The second incarnation might as well have been known as Buckingham Nicks McVie since it was their sound that shaped the band. Does the original band make it "real" or does the much more successful and well known band make it "real"? Both answers are right of course but it would most likely come down to which you prefer. I like the blues but can only listen to them sparingly. I like both incarnations of the band.

Green was a monster on the blues guitar and could stand with the best of them. He had a bumpy road, I hope he found peace at the end.
 
I hope Greeny found peace as well.

There really were 3.5 if not 4 iterations of Fleetwood Mac: The original, led by Green with Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan (RIP, too); the Kirwan-transitioning-to-Bob Welch outfit (Future Games, Mystery to Me); and the Buckingham/Nicks Juggernaut, with a few variations along the way.

I enjoyed all of them, for different reasons. Kirwan in all his incarnations was terrific, as was Welch. The continual drama must have been a delight for the rhythm section, who helped out with the drama.

The current Nicks-led group has fine musicians, but it’s more like Ringo’s All-Starr Band, without the nod-nod, wink-wink fun. Too bad.
 
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