hey mr bassman

[doodyhead]

one of the aspects of Peter Green that does not get noticed when looking at his career and music choices is the fact that his instrument of choice when he started playing was a bass and not a guitar. funk and reggae are not out of line for a bass temperment. neither is that heavy hear,t drum heavy period. and using a fender bassman?

any thoughts?

[THD]

In the man of the world Doc Peter says himself he played a 2nd bass (together with Mc Vie )on the recording of Albatross ,so he knew what he wanted in that composition bass wise It was also implied ,by Mick I think ,that For Green Manalishi he was telling each member how he wanted each part played (always a risky thing to do in a band !) this is by far his most sophisticated song with the guitar and bass fills after each verse which get more complex each time . I would almost say it becomes orchestral .


The best concert I ever saw them do was a the Lyceum ball room in April 1970 (I think )by this time the set involved a section with just Mick and Peter on stage , Peter playing vituoso bass - I think I may have been a 5 or 6 string , and my recollection is that part of the time he was using a wah wah pedal (stangely though, I don't think he used a wah wah in any other song that night !)I think some how one of the songs had morphed into a jam typical of the period ,and then Peter was handed the bass ,whilst the others continued , and then Danny and John left the stage so the music never stopped ! he and Mick then played for at least ten minutes ,and it was great stuff Mick is always very modest about his drumming abilities, but it was fantastic the way he kept the hi =hat going and would then throw in a sort of unexpected off beat with his bass drum which would surprise you- much more difficult to do than a continuous bass drum beat against the hi hat rhythm I think there is some of this on the Boston tea party recordings and I'm sure the casual listener assumes John Mc Vie is doing the bass playing !

For those interested in the music theory side :
Playing bass gives you an interesting perspective on the music because you are essentialy creating inversions (or not ,if youre playing the root note ) of the chords you are playing against In blues these inversions are against a continuing chord eg your boogie type bass -Mc Vie's playing on Shake your Money Maker would be an example Compare this to Mc Cartney's style on say Hello Goodbye where each note descends the scale and there is a different chord against each note producing an iversion To me ,this is one of the essential differences between blues and other music the bass plays patterns starting on the root note the patterns follow the chord changes Peter's knowledge of bass playing meant that he woulsd be more aware of the overall sound of a blues record and how to achieve it . He wouldnt just be listenig to what BB King was doing he'd be listening to what the bass player was doing (similary with the Shadows, previously, I should imagine !)

[THD]

Originally Posted by THD

The best concert I ever saw them do was a the Lyceum ball room in April 1970 (I think )by this time the set involved a section with just Mick and Peter on stage , Peter playing vituoso bass - )

The Lyceum is in the Strand. London where it joins the to the curve of the Aldwych A grand building with a Greek columned frontage( more like side-age really) I remember queuing to get in with some friends , whilst buskers played. I think the concert was to raise money for charities helping Jewish old people , and the Grateful Dead were supposed to be playing, but they certainly weren’t there that night )….. whilst we waited they showed two films The Plank ,a brilliant English silent comedy starring and written by Eric Sykes, with appearances by other great British comedians such as Tommy Cooper and the like , and a film about the Wild Horses of the Carmargue (That bit about the films is moot (whereas the characters in the Plank were mute)-I definitely saw these films at a FM concert, but it might have been another one- I don’t think so but……. )
Humour was a big part of Fleetwood Mac .At a previous Roundhouse concert Mc Vie had been wearing a green tee shirt with Filmore West emblazoned across the chest in yellow , so we had prepared our own tee shirt of the same colours with Filmore EAST on it ,thinking we were being ultra clever ,and that if McVie spotted it he might be amused My good fiend Paul wore this creation . In our schoolboy minds we thought we were being incredibly funny, but little did we know there really was a Filmore East ! Meanwhile , I had brought a special comedy gift for Mick!
Glen Cornick’s Wild Turkey were on the bill ‘he wore a bandana, and had his trousers tucked into knee length boots ! I think they played as a complete out fit ,but “Blue horizon” in his posting is probably right that Nick Picket ,with others played first
When the Mac played their set , Peter was dressed in his Russian peasants outfit with a white top and possibly black baggy trousers, I don’t think he was wearing the full length coat thing ,but I could well be wrong The Lyceum Ballroom was formerly a theatre, and the stage was overlooked by small elaborate highly decorated balconies .In the right hand one was a very , very beautiful woman blonde I think!! and Peter acknowledged her when they took to the stage, or some point during the show, maybe she was his then current amour ?They played brilliantly - Coming Your Way - Albatross,- World in Harmony , -Jeremy’s slide numbers - I’m a stranger in your town was one I think- Before the Beginning ( thought there must have been hundreds of people there, some how you felt Peter was looking at you personally Obviously he wasn’t but there was something about him ,but there was this sort of intimacy with the audience that you just don’t get at a FM gig or anybody elses now a days -at Earl’s court for example ,and I especially felt it in this number ).The Green Manalishi – Big gong behind Mick’s kit for the intro’-probably the 6 string bass Peter And Mick interlude followed within the jam stemming from this song . Peter seemed very happy, and enjoying it ,as did the whole band ,not to mention the audience They went into a night club type vamp repeating, and repeating, and Peter introduced their very special celebrity guest ,which of course turned out to be Jeremy in one of his alter Egos Elvis probably ,and it was just fabulous. I cannot emphasise enough, what an important part of the show Jeremy was. People post that he was redundant after Danny joined Not so! It would have been a far poorer show if he hadn’t been there If he had quit to form his own band ,I can’t see them matching the excitement of the backing by John ,Peter And Danny Mick , ( I saw plenty of fancy drummers , but very few could get this aspect right ) , and as I say FM’s shows would have been the poorer without Jeremy ,!.

This band had everything : Humour mainly Peter and Jeremy , Peter’s playing could make you cry(but be sure that this depended on sympathetic playing from the others , He(Peter) and Danny played and interwove together like demons,(and two strong composers ) and the whole band could rock better than anyone I ever saw, and then take it up a notch above that (Sorry! Almost a Spinal Tap moment ), This was so important in Jeremy’s slide numbers too ! And there was the delight of seeing Mick, all knees and elbows,and grimaces , like some sort of demented a human steam hammer!(you can barely see him now ,as he has with such a huge kit enveloping him )

But I digress !I think they did Twist and Shout ,and McVie was doing backing vocals !!And Peter seemed to radiate this sense of humour when they were doing this sort of number. I truly can’t remember what the last number was ,or what other songs they did possibly Twist and Shout was the last . Then various people returned to the stage for a jam -Clen Cornick ,Mick Fleetwood amongst them. My friend Paul ,who’d driven us there wanted to go , or maybe other friends to whom he’d given a lift were putting pressure on him, but I just had to give my gift to Mick , so I waited till he left the stage -others were still playing,collared him ,and presented him with two giant mahogany balls each about 7 inches in diameter, tied together with string (obtained when my friend Dave "castrated " the staircase of his house, when he was forced to leave it against his will- the balls not the string ) saying something like “these are for you Mr Fleetwood- hope you like them “ever so politely and pathetically , and then turning and running to catch up with my friends who were already leaving . Other friends who stayed later than us (it may have gone on all night ) ,told me that Mick returned to the stage, to much laughter, flaunting these monsters hanging from his belt , having temporarily replaced his own( by comparison) modest spherical danglers !(but not for long I’ll wager - wearing them for any length of time would have been a real strain as they were heavy you couldnt play the drums wearing them !)
So it was a fantastic night ,and the best I’d ever seen them ,before or since ,or anybody else for that matter (with the possible exception of Brian Wilson about 5 years who was almost as good but in a different way )

Finally, when FM were over a couple of years ago to play Wembley , after many years of waiting for the opportunity, I had a good talk with Mick , and he couldn’t remember the giant balls incident at all. ,

Still it meant a lot to me at the time !

[doodyhead]

thanks for your memories.
it is wonderful to hear these stories from the way back machine
i was a frequent inhabitant of the Fillmore East during this time and my feeling is that the whole music scene was far different back then and more intimate. The era of Arena Rock made things far less personal.

I too think that Jeremy's contribution is underestimated after all these years. Peter excelled as a sideman, and the whole band embraced the act so well. It was like having two or three bands at the same time. The essential ingredient is all of them playing to the song, not egos.

great stuff THD

vinnie c

[sharksfan2000]

Great stories, THD! Thanks.

[THD]

Originally Posted by doodyhead

thanks for your memories.
and the whole band embraced the act so well. It was like having two or three bands at the same time. The essential ingredient is all of them playing to the song, not egos.


vinnie c

Yes that's exactly it ! I wish I'd thought of describing it in that way !

Thanks for the kind comments

Incidentally, I was trawling the net for any info about this concert ,and someone was selling an ad for the concert cut out of a music paper Tickets cost £1 (one pound ) ! Also ,it was supposed to go on till 11.30 but it surely went on much longer !

Over to you Bluehorizon you must have stayed longer ?

[Muddy]

Thanks for sharing your memories, THD. It was a nice reading. I can only imagine the excitement of watching Greeny and the band in their prime.

[Blue Horizon]

Just a few more details and a review from the music press to add to THD's excellent posts on the subject.

The concert at the Lyceum Ballroom took place on Sunday 12th April 1970 and was billed thus:

AN EVENING WITH
FLEETWOOD MAC
AND FRIENDS

LYCEUM BALLROOM
SUNDAY 12TH APRIL

IN AID OF VARIOUS CHARITIES

This is taken from the front cover of the program which I still have in my Mac collection. I also have the following concert review from one of the weekly music papers ( Melody Maker/ NME/Disc/ can not remember which one )
entitled:

A FLEETWOOD NIGHT TO REMEMBER !

Fleetwood Mac and friends played for charity at London's Lyceum last Sunday, and turned in one of the most exciting nights the Lyceum has seen since it opened its doors to long hair and progressive music.

Fleetwood's friends were Idle Race - who played a very exciting set which concentrated on good music rather than loud music - and Masterpiece who turned out to be only two members of the group, Fleetwood's Peter Green and friend Nick Pickett.

Masterpiece played for half an hour and handed out a gutsy piece of hard driving music not dissimilar to what Fleetwood themselves played, but slightly different due to insidious electric violin.

Fleetwood Mac were greeted back to London with a tremendous welcome. Their early material was from their "Then Play On" album, opening with "Before The Beginning" and going into a lengthy piece which incorporated several tracks from the album, the titles of which Peter Green himself wasn't sure of, but included "Fighting for Madge", "Searching for Madge", "One Sunny Day" and what Peter described as his favourite track "Underway".

Sound was studio perfect. Green's handling of his guitars (he kept changing them) as masterly as ever, and Mick Fleetwood's drumming spellbinding. He must be the most graceful, yet forceful drummer around - those long arms weaving in apparent slow motion through numerous cymbals and drums.

They played a lot of rock, some earthy blues, and some gentle very melodious numbers. The place really came apart when Jeremy Spencer leaped from his piano stool, took to guitar and thrashed out some good old rock-n-roll. His send-up of Presley was very amusing, and there were calls for more when he returned to the keyboard.

In between the lengthy numbers calls from the audience suggested they play their hit tunes, but it wasn't until almost the end we were treated to "Oh Well" and "Albatross", which sounded better than ever.

They broke the tranquil atm0sphere with "Great Balls of Fire" and "Twist and Shout" and finished their set on that. But it wasn't the end of the evening's entertainment. Peter Green, and Danny Kirwin returned to be joined by Masterpiece's electric violin man, and Jethro Tull's Glen Cornick and Clive Bunker. Already Fleetwood had been on stage for three solid hours yet they jammed for another hour. It must rate as the greatest value-for-money, most exciting charity concert ever.
Phil Symes

I can only add that this concert was not only great value for money, but the best Fleetwood Mac concert I have EVER been to..... and I am still very much a BIG fan of the band today.
Peter's playing at that time was just something else, and I will go to my grave knowing that I saw one of the greatest guitarist's at the top of his game that night.

Blue Horizon

[THD]

Thanks very much for posing that review of the Lyceum concert Blue Horizon
It's fascinating. Also thanks for you excellent previous posts about this concert- I had completely forgotten about Nick Picket and his violin playing until I read your post and then it came back to me!

Now back to the review :

I don't remember seeing the Idol Race at all ! Do you ?

And I thought I saw Glen Cornick playing earlier in the evening not just at the jam at the end (but given my previous complete erasing of Nick Picket ,my memory is perhaps not as infallible as I'dlike it to be !)

I don't recall Jeremy being at a keyboard at all
Do you remember that ?
Jeremy, if you're out there, did you play keybord-presumably piano -at this ?

I only remember Peter switching from guitar to the 6 string bass and then back for the Peter Green- Mick Fleetwood interlude . My memory thinks he used the Les Paul at all other times So constanly changing guitar is not my recollection at all

Anyway, glad you posting again after such a long gap Blue Horizon It turns out that we were both at several of these Peter Green's FM concerts !

[THD]

Originally Posted by Blue Horizon

I can only add that this concert was not only great value for money, but the best Fleetwood Mac concert I have EVER been to..... and I am still very much a BIG fan of the band today.
Peter's playing at that time was just something else, and I will go to my grave knowing that I saw one of the greatest guitarist's at the top of his game that night.

Blue Horizon

Ditto!

This was the greatest concert , that I have ever seen by any band ,anywhere ! (so far !)

Reminds me of :

Bart Simpson :"This is the worst day of my life !"

Homer Simpson :" So Far !"

[sharksfan2000]

Thanks to both THD and Blue Horizon for all the great reminiscences! Hope there are more to come.

[Blue Horizon]

Yes, I do recall seeing Idle Race early in the evening's lineup who I thought were quite good at the time. ( Jeff Lynne in the lineup? )
I do not for the life of me remember seeing Glen Cornick on stage before the Jam at the end of the concert........who would he be playing with as he was still with Jethro Tull. (which predates Wild Turkey, I think?? )
I seem to remember there being a piano on stage very much to the side, which Jeremy sat at when not playing slide guitar. It was always well down in the sound mix.
Yes, THD I think you are correct about Peter's guitar changing. I can only recall him using his Les Paul and Fender six string bass, (in green sunburst I seem to remenber) but he may of used a strat on one or two numbers.......my memory may be playing tricks here, I just can not remember after 41 years!

It seems we both went to a fair number of Mac gigs in and around London at this time.....oh, what I would give for a time machine!!
Happy days.

Blue Horizon