Discuss Oh Well

[mzero]

Originally Posted by kowk

That's true. Here is a piece of an article from GuitarPlayer:

If there’s one Fleetwood Macera Peter Green riff you’ve gotta know, it’s the one from “Oh Well” (from Then Play On). How come? There are few honors in the music biz greater than having one of your songs provide the inspiration for another classic-rock standard, so dig this: According to John Paul Jones, who penned Led Zeppelin’s immortal “Black Dog” riff, the song was intentionally modeled after Green’s “Oh Well.” Jones, in a recent feature in the UK publication Record Collector, cited the song’s lengthy, low-register riff and quirkily timed vocal breaks as chief motivational factors. Admittedly, Green’s riff, the studio version of which begins with the growling, low-register syncopations notated in Ex. 9a played on nylon-string acoustic (!), is much longer. This four-bar call-and-response figure— echoed by Green’s overdriven Les Paul on the repeat—features nearly identical passages in bars 1 and 3, the only difference being the B versus Bb in the middle of beat two’s triplet. The song continues with Green and Kirwan matching each other’s phrasing note-for-note in different octaves on the pair of riffs shown in the first two bars of Ex. 9b, before concluding with another “Black Dog”-ish move as Green shifts the meter to 5/4, prefacing his own “B.D.”-like vocal breaks. Depending on which version you reference, G&K either play this measure in octaves, as in bar 3, or in harmony, when Green would replace the lower octave part with the one shown in Ex. 9c. Rock on and keep shakin’ it!

thanks kowk. i hadn't seen a reference to this jpj interview, it sounds fantastic

jimmy page has also said similar things about oh well in 'light and shade' a book that came out in 2012. it is a series of interviews conducted over a number of years.

jp brings up the peter era fleetwood mac, i think, three or four times without being prompted - he's a big fan i gather. also mentions jeremy as well. i'll try and remember to scan those and post here.

z

[LesPaul7]

I've always thought the droning riffs and chords Green plays under the solo are awesome. You can really hear them on a stereo version like the backing track for one of the BBC appearances (this is on that FM, the Early Years DVD). Not the actual version from the BBC CD though, that one has some weird stuff going on in the solo, overdubs?

[slipkid]

This popular UK game panel show based on pop music really angered me after this past series (season in US). There was a completely stupid Fleetwood Mac or Lee Mack segment were the panelists had to guess if a certain story happened to FM or northern English comedian Lee Mack. One of the stories was a certain guy dressed up as Jesus, and told everyone he was resurrected!?!? The UK tabloid press can be very cruel. If that happened, FM isn't talking. Then there was the obvious pointing a shotgun at his agent.

[THD]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Listen to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog"...how much of an inspiration was "Oh Well" in the creation of that song? Quite a bit, it appears.

I don't see that much similarity myself Only the unaccompnied vocal shout really . the Led Zep riff is a good riff, but like a million other riffs of the time(though played better!) - a sort of extended Rock Me Babe riff ? And not really like Peter's riff at all( to my ears anyway )Certainly the song, in general, is an an inspiration .

[THD]

Sometimes people can read too much into lyrics (like art experts do to oil paintings I find )!

When Peter said "When I talk to God ..." did he mean :when I have a chat with Eric Clapton ...Er I don't think so !

But Peter was investigating Christianity at the time ,don't know if he actually converted, so to speak- he did start to wear a cross though .He and Jeremy (who was very religious and presumably still is ) were supposed to be working on a idea about an album about the life of Christ -( I heard Peter talk about it in a BBC radio interview at the time )- which would have pre -dated Jesus Christ Superstar ! Did Peter and Jeremy actually write any songs ?Did they actually record anything that has never seen the light of day ? Jeremy if your out there ................?