Chicago Reissue

[michelej1]

[This is a 1994 interview with Mick that I had not seen uploaded online yet, which covers the reissue of "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago 1969" but also gets into a discussion of the current FM line up]

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), May 2, 1994

Section: L.A. LIFE

THE MAC IS BACK 'Chicago' reissue recalls guitarist Green's greatness

Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer


Years before Fleetwood Mac became a purveyor of soporific West Coast pop, it was a pretty credible blues outfit featuring one of Britain's most revered lost lead guitarists, Peter Green.

At the time, in the mid-to-late-'60s, the British blues boom was in full swing and London's clubs were full of groups formed by musicians who had splintered from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, from whose ranks Fleetwood Mac emerged in the summer of 1967.

Inspired by Chicago bluesmen Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf and especially Elmore James, Fleetwood Mac played endless 12-bar boogies, shuffles, slow blues and instrumentals. But the element that set the group apart back then was Green, a musician's musician who played evocative solos as if he were cutting diamonds.

Green suffered emotional problems and quit Fleetwood Mac in 1970, after composing the group's early hits, "Black Magic Woman," "Albatross," "Oh Well" and the sorrowful "Man of the World," but he left a mark that remains to this day.

One of the band's earliest and most beloved albums with Green, "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago 1969" (Blue Horizon/Sire), was issued Tuesday on compact disc and Mick Fleetwood was available to talk about Green's influence on the group.

The Chicago sessions came about when Mac - Green, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, rhythm guitarist Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood and Christine McVie - flew to the Windy City to open a show for Waters and cut an album at the legendary Chess Studios. The members of Mac were in their late teens and early 20s, and the blues elders that awaited them under the direction of Dixon were at first puzzled at these young Englishmen.

"They wondered what these English punks were doing there," Fleetwood, 51, recalled during a recent interview at a Beverly Hills hotel. "The vibe was a little strange at first. Then Peter Green got up and played at Willie Dixon's club on the South Side and that's when everything changed."

Green's playing on the Chicago sessions is classy and restrained. A master of tone and attack, his solos are both sharp and melodic, particularly on the double album's opening tracks, "Watch Out" and "Ooh Baby."

"This album enables you to hear Green for the finesse player he was," Fleetwood said. "This guy had the goods."

Mike Vernon, producer of albums by Mayall and early Fleetwood Mac - including the Chicago disc - agrees. In a recent issue of the British music magazine Mojo, Vernon is quoted saying Green was "just the very best blues guitarist this country has ever produced, and if anybody wants any proof of that, all they have to do is listen to the Otis Spann album I did with Fleetwood Mac, 'The Biggest Thing Since Colossus' (soon to be reissued on CD)."

Fleetwood said Green was "one of those guys who shouldn't have gone near drugs. The guy was tormented. There was something in his eyes. He flipped himself out. It's tragic not to have him in my life. I miss his playing."

Toward the end of his three years with Fleetwood Mac, Green began turning up on stage in long messianic white robes. He wrote "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)," which Fleetwood said was about "the battle between God and the devil. Peter really saw those things."

"And he saw the only way out for him was to pull out entirely. And he got out by the skin of his teeth. He opened himself up to everything and that was dangerous. He was a wonderfully sensitive man. For the relatively short time he was functioning within Fleetwood Mac, the mark he left was extraordinary."

Today, Green lives with his mother and brother in the South End section of London and spends his days at a day-care center or watching TV. He could not be reached for comment.

"He chose the Brian Wilson route," Fleetwood said. "He knows his mental condition and chooses not to put himself in stressful positions."

Now 25 years later, McVie and Fleetwood are the only founding members left in Fleetwood Mac. Kirwan, Green and Spencer walked out long ago, the latter guitarist having dropped out in 1971 in the midst of a U.S. tour, after telling his comrades he was dashing out of their Los Angeles hotel to buy newspapers.

Instead, he joined a religious cult and his fellow musicians didn't see him again for two years.

Green returned briefly to take Spencer's place that time, but only on the condition the band not play songs - only jam, Fleetwood recalled.

"So, we got him a wah-wah pedal and a Fender Super Reverb amp and played things like 'Black Magic Woman' - the only song he would play - for 20 minutes at a time," the drummer said. "It was plug in and go. Each song lasted a half-hour. We would find a rhythm and that was it. He would never run out of juice."

New Mac ready to record, tour

The latest edition of Fleetwood Mac is in the studio recording a follow-up to 1990's "Behind the Mask."

The band has two new members - vocalist Bekka Bramlett (daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett) and guitarist-songwriter Dave Mason, formerly of Traffic who has a long solo career.

Mick Fleetwood said the band will tour shortly after the fall release of the as-yet untitled disc.

"We're going to be a working band," he said.

In addition, Fleetwood has his own blues combo, Blue Whale, which plays clubs around the country. The drummer is in the process of moving from Los Angeles to Virginia, where he plans to open a nightclub.

"I want to live somewhere where there's some serenity," he said.

[aleuzzi]

The Chicago sessions are among my favorite Green-period recordings. There is such a warm, spontaneous vibe there. And Otis Span--oh, man, what a revelation!

[Wouter Vuijk]

Originally Posted by michelej1

[This is a 1994 interview with Mick that I had not seen uploaded online yet, which covers the reissue of "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago 1969" but also gets into a discussion of the current FM line up]

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), May 2, 1994

Section: L.A. LIFE

THE MAC IS BACK 'Chicago' reissue recalls guitarist Green's greatness

Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

The Chicago sessions came about when Mac - Green, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, rhythm guitarist Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood and Christine McVie - flew to the Windy City to open a show for Waters and cut an album at the legendary Chess Studios.

Somehow I have the feeling that it was John McVie who flew with the band to Chicago.

[slipkid]

Originally Posted by michelej1

[This is a 1994 interview with Mick that I had not seen uploaded online yet, which covers the reissue of "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago 1969" but also gets into a discussion of the current FM line up]

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), May 2, 1994

Section: L.A. LIFE

THE MAC IS BACK 'Chicago' reissue recalls guitarist Green's greatness

Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer


Years before Fleetwood Mac became a purveyor of soporific West Coast pop, it was a pretty credible blues outfit featuring one of Britain's most revered lost lead guitarists, Peter Green.

At the time, in the mid-to-late-'60s, the British blues boom was in full swing and London's clubs were full of groups formed by musicians who had splintered from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, from whose ranks Fleetwood Mac emerged in the summer of 1967.

Inspired by Chicago bluesmen Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf and especially Elmore James, Fleetwood Mac played endless 12-bar boogies, shuffles, slow blues and instrumentals. But the element that set the group apart back then was Green, a musician's musician who played evocative solos as if he were cutting diamonds.

Green suffered emotional problems and quit Fleetwood Mac in 1970, after composing the group's early hits, "Black Magic Woman," "Albatross," "Oh Well" and the sorrowful "Man of the World," but he left a mark that remains to this day.

One of the band's earliest and most beloved albums with Green, "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago 1969" (Blue Horizon/Sire), was issued Tuesday on compact disc and Mick Fleetwood was available to talk about Green's influence on the group.

The Chicago sessions came about when Mac - Green, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, rhythm guitarist Danny Kirwan, Fleetwood and Christine McVie - flew to the Windy City to open a show for Waters and cut an album at the legendary Chess Studios. The members of Mac were in their late teens and early 20s, and the blues elders that awaited them under the direction of Dixon were at first puzzled at these young Englishmen.

"They wondered what these English punks were doing there," Fleetwood, 51, recalled during a recent interview at a Beverly Hills hotel. "The vibe was a little strange at first. Then Peter Green got up and played at Willie Dixon's club on the South Side and that's when everything changed."

Green's playing on the Chicago sessions is classy and restrained. A master of tone and attack, his solos are both sharp and melodic, particularly on the double album's opening tracks, "Watch Out" and "Ooh Baby."

"This album enables you to hear Green for the finesse player he was," Fleetwood said. "This guy had the goods."

Mike Vernon, producer of albums by Mayall and early Fleetwood Mac - including the Chicago disc - agrees. In a recent issue of the British music magazine Mojo, Vernon is quoted saying Green was "just the very best blues guitarist this country has ever produced, and if anybody wants any proof of that, all they have to do is listen to the Otis Spann album I did with Fleetwood Mac, 'The Biggest Thing Since Colossus' (soon to be reissued on CD)."

Fleetwood said Green was "one of those guys who shouldn't have gone near drugs. The guy was tormented. There was something in his eyes. He flipped himself out. It's tragic not to have him in my life. I miss his playing."

Toward the end of his three years with Fleetwood Mac, Green began turning up on stage in long messianic white robes. He wrote "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown)," which Fleetwood said was about "the battle between God and the devil. Peter really saw those things."

"And he saw the only way out for him was to pull out entirely. And he got out by the skin of his teeth. He opened himself up to everything and that was dangerous. He was a wonderfully sensitive man. For the relatively short time he was functioning within Fleetwood Mac, the mark he left was extraordinary."

Today, Green lives with his mother and brother in the South End section of London and spends his days at a day-care center or watching TV. He could not be reached for comment.

"He chose the Brian Wilson route," Fleetwood said. "He knows his mental condition and chooses not to put himself in stressful positions."

Now 25 years later, McVie and Fleetwood are the only founding members left in Fleetwood Mac. Kirwan, Green and Spencer walked out long ago, the latter guitarist having dropped out in 1971 in the midst of a U.S. tour, after telling his comrades he was dashing out of their Los Angeles hotel to buy newspapers.

Instead, he joined a religious cult and his fellow musicians didn't see him again for two years.

Green returned briefly to take Spencer's place that time, but only on the condition the band not play songs - only jam, Fleetwood recalled.

"So, we got him a wah-wah pedal and a Fender Super Reverb amp and played things like 'Black Magic Woman' - the only song he would play - for 20 minutes at a time," the drummer said. "It was plug in and go. Each song lasted a half-hour. We would find a rhythm and that was it. He would never run out of juice."

New Mac ready to record, tour

The latest edition of Fleetwood Mac is in the studio recording a follow-up to 1990's "Behind the Mask."

The band has two new members - vocalist Bekka Bramlett (daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett) and guitarist-songwriter Dave Mason, formerly of Traffic who has a long solo career.

Mick Fleetwood said the band will tour shortly after the fall release of the as-yet untitled disc.

"We're going to be a working band," he said.

In addition, Fleetwood has his own blues combo, Blue Whale, which plays clubs around the country. The drummer is in the process of moving from Los Angeles to Virginia, where he plans to open a nightclub.

"I want to live somewhere where there's some serenity," he said.

While I don't judge why he did this interview in 1994, Mick Fleetwood just threw Peter Green under a very large bus. I'm sure MF was still pissed about the incident in 1977 when Peter Green freaked out with Warner Brothers about a "one million dollar" record contract.

I hope that Mick, and Peter have mended their relationship since 1994.

[sharksfan2000]

Originally Posted by slipkid

While I don't judge why he did this interview in 1994, Mick Fleetwood just threw Peter Green under a very large bus.

How do you figure that, slipkid? I didn't read that into what Mick Fleetwood said. The myth that he perpetuated about Peter only jamming to "Black Magic Woman" when he returned for that '71 tour has been pretty well exploded now though. But maybe that was genuinely Mick's memory of that tour, I don't know.

You have to remember that this interview was done before Peter's return to playing in the mid-'90s too - from all accounts I've read, Peter was not in the best condition at that point.

[slipkid]

Originally Posted by sharksfan2000

How do you figure that, slipkid? I didn't read that into what Mick Fleetwood said. The myth that he perpetuated about Peter only jamming to "Black Magic Woman" when he returned for that '71 tour has been pretty well exploded now though. But maybe that was genuinely Mick's memory of that tour, I don't know.

You have to remember that this interview was done before Peter's return to playing in the mid-'90s too - from all accounts I've read, Peter was not in the best condition at that point.

The reason I "read into that" is because Mick Fleetwood remembers everything. If you have seen the BBC Peter Green documentary from four/five years ago, Mick Fleetwood, along with Jeremy Spencer is reminding John McVie what actually happened.

I think deep down Mick Fleetwood is out to protect the FM franchise. Go back in the Ledge archives and read the then recent post 5/70 interviews with MF. Mick practically dismisses Green's "The End of The Game" as another Hendrix copy attempt. Mick was pissed off! Mick Fleetwood has been behind the "Munich incident" hype since 3/70. As you said, we now know the 1971 winter/spring post concerts were not all about "Black Magic Woman". Thanks to the internet, we now have audible proof that Peter Green probably played his best guitar post Munich 3/70. What MF wanted to hide is that Peter Green was just simply "bored". The late Gary Moore has said as early as 1969, Peter Green told him personally that wanted out of Fleetwood Mac.

While it's possible PG's behavior changed from 1967, his life-force didn't switch off over one night in Munich Germany.

So this 1994 interview is MF speaking as if Peter Green is dead musically, and not coming back.

Jump to the late winter of 2008, FM is about to start on a big US tour, and Mick Fleetwood is interviewed for Sirius radio. All of a sudden, Peter Green is now the god Fleetwood saw him before he abandoned him, and FM in May, 1970. Mick Fleetwood now brags that Green was the "English guy" the Chicago bluesmen respected over Eric Clapton.


Mick Fleetwood was crushed, and very bitter when Peter Green left FM. Here's a scenario; Stevie Nicks , and Lindsey Buckingham agree to join FM New Year's Eve 1974. The next day, Peter Green appears, and admits he misses being in FM, and wants to re-join. I would bet the economies of all countries of the western world that Mick Fleetwood would choose Peter Green over Buckingham/Nicks.

[sharksfan2000]

Originally Posted by slipkid

The reason I "read into that" is because Mick Fleetwood remembers everything. If you have seen the BBC Peter Green documentary from four/five years ago, Mick Fleetwood, along with Jeremy Spencer is reminding John McVie what actually happened.

Thanks for the clarification, slipkid. I agree with some of your take on the interview but not on other things.

Originally Posted by slipkid

I think deep down Mick Fleetwood is out to protect the FM franchise. Go back in the Ledge archives and read the then recent post 5/70 interviews with MF. Mick practically dismisses Green's "The End of The Game" as another Hendrix copy attempt. Mick was pissed off! Mick Fleetwood has been behind the "Munich incident" hype since 3/70. As you said, we now know the 1971 winter/spring post concerts were not all about "Black Magic Woman". Thanks to the internet, we now have audible proof that Peter Green probably played his best guitar post Munich 3/70. What MF wanted to hide is that Peter Green was just simply "bored". The late Gary Moore has said as early as 1969, Peter Green told him personally that wanted out of Fleetwood Mac.

While it's possible PG's behavior changed from 1967, his life-force didn't switch off over one night in Munich Germany.

I do suspect you're right that Mick Fleetwood has "selective memory" about some things regarding the band, and maybe other things - as I mentioned in my earlier post - are just the way he remembered them. I've expressed my frustration with some of the inaccuracies in his book more than once here on the Ledge. But overall, I still don't see his words in this particular interview as being as harsh as you do.

A lot of people dismissed - and still dismiss - "The End of the Game". Fleetwood would hardly have been alone in that viewpoint. And being so different from Green's work with the band, you can see how Fleetwood might have been particularly disappointed with it, maybe even seeing it as Green being dismissive of his own past with the band. If, as you note later in your post, Fleetwood was "crushed" by Green leaving the band, it's not hard to see how that would have colored his opinion of Green's new album.

We've discussed the Munich incident many times on the Ledge, and what I've said is that although I think it's doubtful that there was any instant transformation to Green from that, I can see where the other band members may have felt that way - since it sounds like it was immediately afterwards that he told them he was leaving the band, though as you correctly note, he'd considered doing that for some time.

Originally Posted by slipkid

So this 1994 interview is MF speaking as if Peter Green is dead musically, and not coming back.

In 1994, virtually everyone would have come to the same conclusion. His comeback not that long afterwards was regarded as a huge surprise.

Originally Posted by slipkid

Jump to the late winter of 2008, FM is about to start on a big US tour, and Mick Fleetwood is interviewed for Sirius radio. All of a sudden, Peter Green is now the god Fleetwood saw him before he abandoned him, and FM in May, 1970. Mick Fleetwood now brags that Green was the "English guy" the Chicago bluesmen respected over Eric Clapton.

Mick Fleetwood was crushed, and very bitter when Peter Green left FM. Here's a scenario; Stevie Nicks , and Lindsey Buckingham agree to join FM New Year's Eve 1974. The next day, Peter Green appears, and admits he misses being in FM, and wants to re-join. I would bet the economies of all countries of the western world that Mick Fleetwood would choose Peter Green over Buckingham/Nicks.

There seems little question that Fleetwood was crushed when Green left the band, and much of what Fleetwood remembers (or chooses to remember) has to be seen in that light.

Would he have chosen Green over Buckingham/Nicks after Bob Welch left the band? I think he would have made every effort to find room for all of them. As you noted, Fleetwood has been the main "protector" of the "FM franchise". At that point in their history, with the band being far more popular in the (much more lucrative) US market, where Green was little-known, going with Buckingham/Nicks would have been the direction that was more likely to carry them further there - that choice obviously turned out all right for the band! And Green might very well have been happier not to have to carry the weight of the band at that point too - integrating his talents with those of B/N might have proved challenging, but not impossible. All speculation, but an interesting scenario.

[slipkid]

Originally Posted by sharksfan2000

Thanks for the clarification, slipkid. I agree with some of your take on the interview but not on other things.


A lot of people dismissed - and still dismiss - "The End of the Game". Fleetwood would hardly have been alone in that viewpoint. And being so different from Green's work with the band, you can see how Fleetwood might have been particularly disappointed with it, maybe even seeing it as Green being dismissive of his own past with the band. If, as you note later in your post, Fleetwood was "crushed" by Green leaving the band, it's not hard to see how that would have colored his opinion of Green's new album.

.

I have a hypothesis about this album, and it's directly involved with the "night in Munich". That was the night Peter Green discovered "Krautrock". "Krautrock" is German progressive rock, and were they ever progressive. King Crimson would be seen as The Beatles in comparison to Krautrock.

If you are aware of a show in the UK (I see it on Youtube in US) called "Nevermind the Buzzcocks", one of the regular captains from the past four years, Noel Fielding named the German Krautrock band "Can" as the best band from the 1970's. Look up the band "Can" on Youtube, 1) You will then realize "The End of the Game" was not completely insane, and 2) Krautrock broke up Supergrass, my favorite 90's-00's rock band.

Would he have chosen Green over Buckingham/Nicks after Bob Welch left the band? I think he would have made every effort to find room for all of them. As you noted, Fleetwood has been the main "protector" of the "FM franchise". At that point in their history, with the band being far more popular in the (much more lucrative) US market, where Green was little-known, going with Buckingham/Nicks would have been the direction that was more likely to carry them further there - that choice obviously turned out all right for the band! And Green might very well have been happier not to have to carry the weight of the band at that point too - integrating his talents with those of B/N might have proved challenging, but not impossible. All speculation, but an interesting scenario.

If you watched the Peter Green documentary, Mick Fleetwood actually admitted to playing old Peter Green era FM tapes in front of the Rumours era band while he was depressed. I'm sure his cocaine come-down had something to do with that, but Mick Fleetwood's first love is blues shuffle drumming. You do realize the song "Don't Stop" is a blues shuffle drum beat?

In my silly "what-if" scenario, I know MF would choose Green over B/N because FM with Peter Green would've been "rock stars" AKA Stones, Zeppelin, Who. If Peter Green only stayed with the band another six months, the best live rock album next to the Allman's at the Fillmore East would've been released in America in late 1970, almost a year before the Allmans album. Those Boston Tea Party tapes weren't released officially until Lindsay Buckingham left FM in 1985. Do we even have to wonder why?

[Evan Morris]

I agree that Mick would have chosen Peter over Buckingham-Nicks, if Peter was up to it at the time. Mick has said more than once that he only wanted Buckingham to begin with, and that L.B.would not join the band without Nicks.
As long as Peter was playing well and "writing" too, it would have been a no brainer.

I've heard a few unusual theories about the Boston Tea Party tapes being sup-pressed. The most common view seems to be that Peter somehow used his influence to have the pressing held back until after he had left the band. It always seemed strange to me that a record label like Reprise would have intentionally missed out on any opportunity to profit from these tapes, not to mention Mick's desire for fortune.

Perhaps the weirdest theory I've heard is that Peter wanted the tapes held back until after Santana's version of Black Magic Woman was released. Supposedly, Peter didn't want his version from the BTP release to compete with the Santana single, and that he didn't want to be associated with any success that it might have. Of course, the vast majority of information regarding Peter Green is typically inaccurate, I'm sure this is no different, just another wild theory.

[slipkid]

Originally Posted by Evan Morris

I've heard a few unusual theories about the Boston Tea Party tapes being sup-pressed. The most common view seems to be that Peter somehow used his influence to have the pressing held back until after he had left the band. It always seemed strange to me that a record label like Reprise would have intentionally missed out on any opportunity to profit from these tapes, not to mention Mick's desire for fortune.

Perhaps the weirdest theory I've heard is that Peter wanted the tapes held back until after Santana's version of Black Magic Woman was released. Supposedly, Peter didn't want his version from the BTP release to compete with the Santana single, and that he didn't want to be associated with any success that it might have. Of course, the vast majority of information regarding Peter Green is typically inaccurate, I'm sure this is no different, just another wild theory.

I'm confident "Reprise" (Warner Bros.) knew that releasing the BTP tapes after Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac would caused confusion against "Kiln House". It would've ruined the then post Peter Green Fleetwood Mac. If Peter Green had only agreed to stay with Fleetwood Mac another six months, rock history is changed forever.

Years later, I'm VERY SURE releasing the BTP tapes against a band that was making a bazillion dollars as a 70's POP band would be very confusing, and prove they don't stand tall to the original FM. The execs at WB made sure that tape wouldn't see the light of day until one of the US members left. That would be Lindsay Buckingham, in 1985.