I used to go and see these guys in the clubs, like Toby Jug at Tolworth. They were always brilliant. Today I’ll play some good old blistering Blues.
(13) Fleetwood Mac “Mr Wonderful” – Full Album – YouTube
My favourite late Sixties Blues Bands
The Blues was seen as an authentic music.
The British Blues boom started back in the fifties with Chris Barber. That gave rise to Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies with Blues Incorporated which was a breeding ground for the Rolling Stones.
After the initial British Beat boom of the mid sixties with bands like the Stones, Yardbirds, Animals, Graham Bond, Them and Pretty Things had moved into pop and psychedelic there was a second wave of Blues Bands. They focused around John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
My Favourites were
Cream
Fleetwood Mac
John Mayall
Chicken Shack
Keef Hartley
Aynsley Dunbar
John Dummer
Hendrix did a bit of Blues too!
Peter Green – a guitar genius – Fare Thee Well and Thank you!
I have just heard the sad news that Pete Green, the founder and guitar genius of Fleetwood Mac, has died at the age of 73.
I first saw Pete playing with John Mayall and was greatly impressed by his fluent, flowing guitar. He had followed Eric Clapton into the band and I reckon he was the better guitarist.
He formed the great Fleetwood Mac which I was lucky enough to see regularly. They had their roots in Blues but soon developed into something so much more with impressive progressive tracks like Green Manalishi. They were such a great band to see live – so full of fun, skill and great music. Pete wrote such brilliant songs.
After Pete suffered his psychedelically initiated breakdown and left the band they were never as good. I cherish those early albums and live shows – one of the best bands in the world (thanks to Pete Green).
If only we had music like that, venues like that and bands who were as exciting. For 25p you got to see Pete Green up close, to dance and laugh, and to watch in awe as he conjured brilliance out of his guitar. There was always such a range of styles and music – Pete duelling with Danny Kirwin or Jeremy Spencer summoning up the spirit of Elmore James.
I rate Pete Green as one of the greatest guitarists to have come out of Britain and count myself fortunate to have seen him play.
I shall be dusting off all my albums and thinking about you, playing the memories of seeing you play in my head, and celebrating such wonderful times with sad tears.
Goodbye Pete – thank you so much! I’ve been missing you for a long time but am still heartbroken at your death! You were the best (and such a nice guy too!).
More R@B for Kathy – Fleetwood Mac – Rattle Snake Shake
Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – Opher’s World pays tribute to genius.
Unlike Chicken Shack, who ill-advisedly added all those dreadful jokes on ‘OK Ken’, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac managed to combine fun and frolics, obvious enjoyment and lunacy with a great respect for authentic Blues. I used to see them regularly at the local Blues clubs. They were brilliant to listen to, great to dance to and a wonder to watch.
I’d first seen Pete Green with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers so I knew the standard of his guitar playing. In my estimation he was better in the Bluesbreakers than Clapton. He had a real finesse about the way he conjured pure notes out of the guitar. He got even better than that with Fleetwood Mac.
What also greatly attracted me to Fleetwood Mac was that superb Elmore James mimicry of Jeremy Spencer. I just loved Elmore James and delighted in someone being able to recreate it so well. It was the nearest I ever got to Elmore James.
The band was founded when Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green and John Mcvie broke away from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Mick and John provided the perfect rhythm section for Mick and the additional guitarist Jeremy Spencer to play from. The result was Blues perfection. They were effectively two different bands. When Pete played there was the beautifully crafted Blues with crystal clear notes bent and curled into immaculate shapes that slavered into your ears. When Jeremy let fly with his rollicking Elmore impressions they rocked. You can get a glimpse of that on their first album but live it was all so much greater.
Jeremy also brought in some Rock ‘n’ Roll and then they started getting Progressive along with the times and the effects of lysergic acid. Apart from the mediocre Albatross the Pete Green forays into the Progressive style were also spectacular and varied. ‘Green Manalishi’ live was a wonder to behold. It was all going great. It all added another dimension.
This was further enhanced by the addition of Christine Perfect (who married John to become McVie) and then a third and highly original guitarist and songwriter with the young Danny Kirwin.
What brought things down was the drugs and religion. Pete was given a big dose of acid in Germany and never really touched down. He ended up a messed up recluse with severe problems. Jeremy jumped ship to join an American cult.
What followed as Fleetwood Mac was another group altogether; a group that was neither a Blues group, a Progressive Rock Band nor a Rock Group. They were a Pop group and highly successful at it too.
I miss that old Blues group I used to bop about with and listen to with awe. I miss Pete’s beautiful guitar and John’s raucous slide. I’m getting all nostalgic!