Comments on Albatross
 

So I was thinking yesterday here's a hardcore blues guy in Peter Green that comes up with something that's a total departure from his normal MO, and it's absolutely brilliant! The best instrumental I've ever heard. What a genius!:cool:

Albatross was the (I was going to say song but that's not right) piece of music that got me into FM in the first place.

The BBC used it on a sports programme (slow motion action of hurdlers) and when they said it was FM I was astounded! As you say a hardore bluesman like Peter comes up with such a wonderful instrumental. Apparently he wrote it when he was on a plane.

After that I got the original Greatest Hits for Christmas, found out the band hand changed somewhat, saw them play live in '73 and bought Penguin and the rest as they say is history. They then had the dubious honour of being "my band"

Gail

PS I haven't listened to it in a long time - I must put that right this evening.

A fun thing to do is listen to "Albatross", then put on the Beatles' "Sun King". Shame on you John & George! :laugh:

Hey, I feel fine, but you'd better watch your step! :laugh:

Even more fun is listening to Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk" then "Albatross."

Why did Peter name it Albatross, with its obvious Romantic-era parallels to Coleridge, De Quincy, Shelley & Holderlin?

I hear more of a similarity in the Beatles' tune. I've always thought the comparison between "Albatross" & "Sleepwalk" wasn't accurate.

Parts of Pink Floyd "Echoes" reminds me of Albatross...been listening to Peter's versions from the Frankfurt 84', and Splinter group 02', always a great musical piece.

Nope. Traffic had a huge hit in Europe with the Dave Mason-penned tune "Hole In My Shoe," which had a section where this little girl was talking, saying "I flew on the back of a giant albatross." That's where Peter got the name. See, it all comes full circle!

Does Hoelderlin have an albatross poem?

How about Baudelaire? Peter was probably into the whole "tortured artist" thing by the time he wrote his "Albatross."

Which of course opens with "Overhead the albatross..."

- and then later includes the line "inciting and inviting me...", potentially a reference to The Beatles' Across The Universe.

:sorry: "Hole In My Shoe" was released long after Peter wrote "Albatross". So I guess it's where Dave Mason got the name....
Cheers

"Hole In My Shoe" was recorded during the sessions for Traffic's first album in 1967. "Albatross" was written in 1968.

I'd say Peter got the title from the bird itself, no reason to read any more into it than that.

Speaking of Albatross, any of you hear the cover by B-Tribe?
It appears on Suave, Suave and it fits perfectly to the style of that particular album.

I've no idea what Peter's exact inspiration for the song, but there's every reason to believe there's more to it than just the bird itself. The albatross is a major literary symbol. It's almost impossible to think of without thinking of Baudelaire or, especially, Coleridge.

At any rate, it might be a good question to throw John's way. Or perhaps Jeremy knows, if he's still reading through all our drivel.

Nope, the truth IS that Green got the title from "Hole in my shoe". He's said so himself in an interview. So any litterary theory should be applied to Mason's tune. It's a quote from a poem I think, can't remember who. An English poet.

By the way, the melody was based on a group of notes he had heard Clapton play at one time.

Good enough for me!

The applicable lyric from the Traffic song:

"I climbed on the back of a giant albatross
Which flew through a crack in the cloud
To a place where happiness reigned all year round
Where music played ever so loudly"

I'd say Peter's song definitely captures the feeling of riding on the back of an albatross through the clouds, though perhaps not to a place where the music is playing terribly loudly.

Mason's albatross seems to come from the more traditional sailor's view of the animal as a pious bird of good omen, though, rather than from the more negative literary representations in Coleridge or Baudelaire.

Regardless of the title's genesis, the composition must have held great personal significance for Green as it was performed at almost every show after first being introduced into the set list.
More than just giving the audience what it wanted to hear (that never seemed a high priority for the Green led version of the band)it was as much for himself as them. He would usually introduce the number with some variation of how the number was the best thing he'd done or how the number brought him a sense of peace, and hopes it can do the same for the audience,etc.
He could even get defensive about it, like at the mid-1969 show at the College of Distributive Arts - throughout the show, some bloke had been shouting for "Moneymaker" and after finishing "Albatross" the hooligan continues his demand once more and now others have picked up on it also.
Green begins to speak, but backs down momentarily under the onslaught of calls and then forges on, thanking all those who bought “that record”, thanking them for making it the success that it was, before adding, in a very calm voice, “anyone who doesn’t like it…can get ****ed. ‘Cause I like it and that’s why it’s in the set…” :cool:

Thats one thing I adore about Peter. He just doesnt give a **** what people think. If it makes him happy that's all that matters.:nod:

Think you the nail on the head there! He still seems to be that way, despite all the trouble he's been through.

Thats a sign of a person with good character as far as I'm concerned. He always stays true to himself.