Customer Reviews

Alone With the Blues

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Why five? Because you loved the man's touch and feel on the strings; because he sounded so good with soulful down-hearted blues on "Trying So Hard to Forget" and "Coming, I'm Coming"? Dig that slide he's teasing. Or kick it back on the porch with a "Kind Hearted Woman" by way of Mr. Robert Johnson.

And tell me how woeful and hurtin' Peter cries on "Jumping At Shadows"--who's in more pain, his song or his guitar? Listen to those peals of sorrow--the voice AND the tortured notes he's pulling off that Les Paul. You didn't feel the knife cut you that deep until you heard the end of his solo, did ya?

If grief could be made into work, he could sing the nails out of the wall, and don't forget the squeals and squawks he'd grind out on lead guitar. I heard "Same Old Blues" by Bonnie Bramlett; Peter would make the perfect duet. And lookee-here, Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" is as menacing as the original. Those are Albert's signature licks, aren't they?

Shake it, shake it, with "Tribal Dance." It's spacy and it moves. And could that be a hint of a David Gilmore-like influence on "Time for Me To Go"?

Get this because you loved the early Fleetwood Mac. Buy it because you have a friend who loves to learn new guitar ideas from an old source. Keep it because you need it in your collection.

A broad collection of blues covers and originals that spans the curiously blue life of Peter Green. The vocals are every bit as revealing as the fine guitar work (from gritty to smooth, harnessed to wild). I would have loved to hear Peter and Albert together on Born under a Bad Sign, but I guess I'll settle for Peter's short, but reverential cover of this fine blues anthem. An earlier issue of this disc included Black Magic Woman and Green Manilishi, but I think their absence does not detract from this cd. I think inclusion of The Supernatural would have been an important cut, but Oh Well!

I bought this not knowing exactly what it was. I had hoped it would not be Peter doing the weird stuff that I had heard plagued some of his post-Fleetwood Mac solo records. I was not disappointed! This is a really great collection if you are just looking to recapture some of the old Bluesbreakers/Fleetwood Mac sound. Much of what is here would have sat comfortably next to any of the Fleetwood Mac era tracks.

In response to one of the other reviewers, if you had read the back cover notes you would not have been misled into thinking it's all from the Fleetwood Mac days - in any case I knew this couldn't all be from the Mac era since I didn't recognise most of the songs, and I know all of them from the box set. Actually, only Sandy Mary and Jumping at Shadows are definitely from the Fleetwood Mac lineup (from the Boston Tea Party concerts).

It is not clear exactly where some of the rest of the songs originate - the liner notes are no help at all although it is claimed that at least one track is from the Bluesbreakers era (but, no indication as to which one!).

Walkin' Down The Road opens the disc with a classic blues cut that I had never heard - great stuff! Worth the price of admission alone just for that song! The next three songs are probably from a live show and the sound quality suffers, but actually this adds to rather than detracts from the music - gives it a certain vibe! In any case, the performances on those live tracks are really great! Especially "Kind Hearted Woman" which you should compare to the later version that Peter did recently. I think I like this one better!

The rest of the tracks (including the first song) are in fine sound quality and I would guess are from the post-Mac era(?). Good stuff, and every song is blues-based - no weird experimental stuff.

I highly recommend this disc if you want a sample of the post-Mac Peter Green filtered to give you just the real blues stuff, you will not be disppointed!

I thought I was getting an album of Original Fleetwood Mac, but only two of the 16 cuts feature Mac. Eleven are solo Peter Green from after he left the band. I've been a fan of Peter Green since I first heard Albatross in 1967, so I still enjoyed the music, but it is grossly mislabeled.

I had hoped that this recording would include more Peter Green tracks from the original Fleetwood Mac days that I did not have. Instead, the only worthwhile tracks appear on other albums that I already have. The rest unfortunately are very disappointing. Peter was probably the best guitarist of that era and I was hoping to discover other tracks not previously seen. The marketing is a rip off because it emphasises Fleetwood Mac when the only track from that era is on the live `Blues Collection'.

This album shows why Peter Green was considered the best blues guitarist of the late '60s. The sound of his Les Paul was like no other. 'Jumping At Shadows' shows he could write good blues that still stand after over 30 years. The blend of vocals, some were Jeremy Spencer but no matter who sang, the guitar work was way ahead of it's time. Even after leaving Mac he still shows that he was the genius behind the band. Although, John and Mick are the best rythum section around. Having seen them live once, I still get my socks knocked off by these albums.

This album has 16 blues tracks from the career of Peter Green. Excellent music. 4 stars is a very good rating. I save 5 stars for my absolute favorites. A couple of the songs are a little on the rock side, but with a blues flavor. The mix of songs is stimulating because you hear many blues styles. For comparison, another album I think is worth 4 stars is "Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68" by Al Kooper & Mike Bloomfield. An album that I think is overlooked is "Story of My Life" by Guitar Slim, Jr. I'd give that one 5 stars because I love it. It is very, very tasteful. Fabulous skill in singing and very fine, talented, but understated guitar work.

Back to the Peter Green album. I was driving along, tapping my foot to the music and bee-bopping in the car when it dawned on my I was a little undignified. I'm a middle-aged guy. I'm a Confucian and, consequently, concerned about propriety. I questioned my enjoyment and decided that Confucius did appreciate music and fun times. The best blues guitar work shows restraint and good taste, which are Confucian virtues. Yes! A Confucian can enjoy the Blues! By the way, you might enjoy the book that took me into Confucianism: "Achieve Lasting Happiness: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Life" by Robert Canright.

What can I say. I haven't like fleetwood mac since peter green left