I've been spinning a disc lately that I can't seem to put down. It's title is "Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits Live". It is an excellent recording in a small venue. It was taped at "The Boston Tea Party", a small club in Boston I presume. Fantastic cd. Does anybody know the date of this show?? It is all blues and was pre-pop F.M. Definitely the best stuff to come from that band. Perhaps not as popular as there later stuff, better just the same.
Another band that comes to mind is Genesis. There early stuff with Gabriel and Hackett blows me away...the later stuff just blows. Can you think of other bands that did a one-eighty like that and came out more successful commercially but not quite up to snuff??

Back in 70 they recorded three consectutive nights live at the Boston Tea Party, from which it was hoped to release an official live album. Unfortunately Peter Green quit before it could be released.

The tapes subsequently emerged in various forms under a variety of titles before being issued as three CDs (and now as a box set) in 1998. The sound quality of the 98 re-issues is excellent and blows previous versions away. It's called Live At The Boston Tea Party (Vols 1-3).

There is some duplication (fairly obviously) across the three CDs and there are some ups and downs, but the Rattlesnake Shakes are brilliant. I think Vol 1 is the best, mostly because it has less of the rather ordinary Jeremy Spencer stuff on it.

It makes it hard to see inside Peter Green's mind though. The band were so good, what pressures were making him give it all up....still, the same applies to Syd and Kurt I suppose.

Coincidence-I've just been playing 'Then play on' & 'Mr Wonderful'.I love the early 'Green' version of Fleetwood Mac - less Breeze FM for a start!I rate Greens playing above Clapton when it comes to playing the Blues - there was always that hint of danger about his style.Unfortunately, he always seems to get overlooked -probably due to the fact he all but disappeared in the early 70's.Be sure to check out his 'Hard Road ' with John Mayalls Bluesbreakers as well.

I don't think Peter Green decided to give it up, he suffered a serious mental health problem (which allegedly was brought on by too much acid)He was fine last time I heard and was touring with the Peter Green band, I have a double CD of them which is good, but not of course up to the early FM brilliance, he was just magnificent then.

Must dig out that FM live again.
What about that brat Gary Moore though ?
Get yourself a copy of Blues for Greeny by GM, now this guy can play a guitar.
Moore said it was "almost like he had a halo around him" when he first saw him play.
Mr Tibbs.

quote:

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He was fine last time I heard

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Unfortunately I believe he has died - sometime this year, last year? Shame as he seemed to be getting it together. There was a UK TV documentary on his recovery and return to music (I seem to remember he played at the Guildford festival), but I can't remember date or channel. Sorry

Especially as he played with The Splinter Group at the Ocean,Hackney last Monday.The venues web site has a nice little summary of his career:

Peter Green Splinter Group
Peter Green is for many the greatest white blues guitarist ever (Mojo readers put him in their top three of all time). For others his life has been a cautionary tale of incredible highs and deperate lows. It's a story of legend and rumour, greatness, resilience and searing hulmility. Born in Bethnal Green, East London, Green was ten when he first picked up a guitar and began playing with his brother. His first break was substituting Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers while the guitarist went on holiday. "I took my chances with the blues because I couldn't see anything else around with any sort of soul in it," he says, "I just got the message and that's what inspired me." He eventually became a permanent fixture when Clapton left to form Cream. In 1967 Green left the band to form Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood. Once the band was complete, and with an unusual 3 guitar frontline, Fleetwood Mac went on to outsell both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones by 1969. Following bad experiences with LSD and dabblings in religious activities, Green left the band having been accused of squandering their money. The early eighties saw him gradually slip out of the business, almost to disappear altogether. It wasn't until 1992 - almost twenty years later he walked into a guitar shop in Essex and announced he was making a comeback…..
…….Peter Green's story is one of the great popular music stories of our time. A legend amongst guitar players, a drug casualty who made his way back - that he survived all that is truly remarkable. The Peter Green Splinter Group was formed in 1995 and recorded new material to acclaim. In 1999 he was awarded the prestigious W.C Handy Award (more commonly known as the blues Grammy) for the 'Robert Johnson Songbook' - the first time the award had gone to a british album.
The new album 'Time Traders' is out now on Eagle Records and a major worldwide tour is scheduled for next year. This time Peter Green really is back!

Zipper mate, you made my day!

Well, mine at least, because I just found out he's playing two nights at the Jazz Cafe, London in April (2nd/3rd).Could be an excellent venue to see him at as its just the right size to keep it nice and personal.The sound is usually pretty good there as well.Should sell out pretty quickly, I'd imagine.

I believe the story is that Peter spent several months out of his head on just about any psychoactive substance he could get hold of, and was frequently spiked at parties and the like. For a while he believed he was Jesus, then the entire thing became too much for him and he withdrew from music altogether. He became a recluse and grew his fingernails to several inches in length to prevent him from playing a guitar.

The recent "Splinter Group" thing was brought on in part by encouragement from his friends, who all wanted to hear him play again. Peter is said to be enjoying it tremendously.