DISCUSSION: Peter's songs from Then Play On
 

first pass from mel and vinnie
 

Before The Beginning... A beautiful post modern blues song. I use blues song on purpose as this is completely structured and precise except for the variability of the instrumental. A magnificent work. Better yet it got even better live.

Closing My Eyes. This song must have been an artifact of the "religious themed musical that Spencer and Green had been rumored to be thinking about. Has anyone ever asked Peter if they had stuff tucked away from that. hmmmm

fighting for madge / searching for madge. We have the luxury of having the raw files that these two projects were made from. It seemed that they(peter) were(was) having fun in the editing room after the initial jam. Of course this is the underpinning of the extraveganza live after rattlesnake shake. I read that Mick and Mac did the orriginal beat for this. In any event it is a feast for the Jam Band lovers and was in my opinion would be the audio file to use as an example in a musical dictionary for the jam band piece. much more alive than Lovelight or mountain jam.
I like Underway as a piece better than albatross. This is the third movement of the rattlesnake shake orchestral jam
Rattlesnake shake. I am not sure what the subject is?
Showbiz Blues. a sort of homage to Buckka White (BB Kings uncle and first guitar mentor). resigned yet uplifting with exquisite slide work. I could listen to an album of him playing in this style. alas
Oh Well.... So much has been said already........

doodyhead

Two words:

"OH WELL"

At the moment I find it impossible to choose ONE from this album. They are all great songs/pieces of music in their own right! Seeing them lined up like this makes this even clearer.

And also there are many great versions of many of theses pieces live, like Before the Beginning (as doodyhead also points out), Underway (which is PG's own favourite), Rattlesnake...And the many different takes of Showbizz Blues....Arrrghh this hurts!

Ms Moose

Are the Madge Jams Peter's alone--or are they really collaborations with Danny? Whichever the case, I love them.

Show Biz Blues is such a fun song. Rattlesnake Shake sizzles (though only when Peter does it--not a fan of Welch's version).

Before the Beginning is gorgeous, dark, eerie.

Oh Well--my god what a great song. Parts I and II

Underway is one of my favorite instrumentals period.

Underway-- when used live within Rattlesnake Shake it shows Peter's adept ability to control sustain, volume, and tone in the class with Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix. I hear guitarists such as Joe Bonamassa rave about Peter Green's Mayall period. Green had well advanced to another level of player by this point.

Madge jams-- I agree with Vinnie on this. This proved that if FM continued with Peter Green it would've launched a separate jam band core influence from the Grateful Dead, and the Allman Brothers. With all the Phish clone bands out there today, with only a couple real AB jam bands, it would be nice to hear a fresh young band pick up where this band left off. Also, those "October Jams" from "Vaudeville Years" were recorded after the release of "TPO". Another glimpse into an unrealized future.

Oh Well-- Ralph Vaughan Williams' (English composer) influence on Peter is heard here (part 2). It's amazing how open minded Peter became within a short period. A strict blues purist guitarist is now playing classical guitar? As for part 1, Jimmy Page should send Peter Green royalty checks for "Black Dog". Actually, also include "Since I've Been Loving You". Page stole Peter Green's adaptation of electric slow blues.


Closing My Eyes -- "Man of the World" part 2. It's very personal, or as written as such.

Show Biz Blues -- Peter Green had a Delta blues slide style vs. Spencer's Chicago blues slide approach. While it may sound like a Bukka White song, the lyrics are a window into Peter's self-doubt in the music industry. Did they really give a damn for him? I'm sure they did, they certainly missed him when he left (as did the band). Unfortunately Peter wasn't feeling the love, and he wanted out.

Rattlesnake Shake -- The song that launched FM as a true jam band. The studio version is short, and sweet. The live version became a monster, and influenced Aerosmith most notably. Joe Perry had his Les Pauls altered to have the flipped magnet in the neck pickup, ala Green.


Before the Beginning -- This is Peter Green's masterpiece. Again as Vinnie stated, it's post modern blues. Peter Green broke through the standard blues structure barrier with this song. That was his goal with this album, and he pulled it off. It's ashame he couldn't expand upon this, but I'm glad for what he gave us. The song is so dark, and haunting, yet ethereal at the same time. Robert Johnson would be very proud.

I thought this coincided nicely with this thread: it's a blogger review, posted September 15, 2010 by Dr. T on the Mississippi Moan Blog:

http://mississippimoan.blogspot.com/...y-on-1969.html

by Michael G. Nastos

This Peter Green-led edition of the Mac isn't just an important transition between their initial blues-based incarnation and the mega-pop band they became, it's also their most vital, exciting version. The addition of Danny Kirwan as second guitarist and songwriter foreshadows not only the soft-rock terrain of "Bare Trees" and "Kiln House" with Christine Perfect-McVie, but also predicts Rumours. That only pertains to roughly half of the also excellent material here, though; the rest is quintessential Green. The immortal "Oh Well," with its hard-edged, thickly layered guitars and chamber-like sections, is perhaps the band's most enduring progressive composition. "Rattlesnake Shake" is another familiar number, a down-and-dirty, even-paced funk, with clean, wall-of-sound guitars. Choogling drums and Green's fiery improvisations power "Searching for Madge," perhaps Mac's most inspired work save "Green Manalishi," and leads into an unlikely symphonic interlude and the similar, lighter boogie "Fighting for Madge." A hot Afro-Cuban rhythm with beautiful guitars from Kirwan and Green on "Coming Your Way" not only defines the Mac's sound, but the rock aesthetic of the day. Of the songs with Kirwan's stamp on them, "Closing My Eyes" is a mysterious waltz love song; haunting guitars approach surf music on the instrumental "My Dream"; while "Although the Sun Is Shining" is the ultimate pre-Rumours number someone should revisit. Blues roots still crop up on the spatial, loose, Hendrix-tinged "Underway," the folky blues tale of a lesbian affair on "Like Crying," and the final outcry of the ever-poignant "Show Biz Blues," with Green moaning "do you really give a damn for me?" Then Play On is a reminder of how pervasive and powerful Green's influence was on Mac's originality and individual stance beyond his involvement. Still highly recommended and a must-buy after all these years, it remains their magnum opus.

:nod: I haven't heard anything like it...

Haven't heard anything like any of those songs.

It's impossible for me to pick one..
guess it would be "Oh Well", because of the impact it made.

[QUOTE=slipkid;910627] As for part 1, Jimmy Page should send Peter Green royalty checks for "Black Dog". Actually, also include "Since I've Been Loving You". Page stole Peter Green's adaptation of electric slow blues.

[QUOTE]

Page has always acknowledged that the influence for Black Dog was from Oh Well but to suggest royalties should be paid to Green??? No :shrug:

All Page did was replicate the stop/start music/vocal idea. He wasn't the first nor the last to do this. It works very well on both tunes.

[QUOTE=Almost Simon;910825][QUOTE=slipkid;910627] As for part 1, Jimmy Page should send Peter Green royalty checks for "Black Dog". Actually, also include "Since I've Been Loving You". Page stole Peter Green's adaptation of electric slow blues.

I was half joking, since lifting the stop/start from "Oh Well" was the least of his offenses compared to Willie Dixon, and bands such as Spirit.


Yet you have to admit "Since I've Been Loving You", has a direct connection to Fleetwood Mac. A very simple, but HEAVY 4/4 drum beat, and a guitarist who builds his solos through dynamics, and pace. Jimmy Page "borrowed" that from Peter Green. What takes away from "Since...", is that the vocalist isn't Steve Marriot, or Rod Stewart.

Before the End
 

Why it is hard to Choose:

1. Closing My Eyes - for it´s echo of Oh Well pt. II and somehow lyrically of Show Bizz Blues.

2. Show-Bizz Blues - for the supreme slide and the Salvation Army Tambourine...and topic.

3. Underway - for coming out of nowhere - like a large bird (an albatross, maybe?) hovering and diving over the sea...

4. Oh Well - for the masterfull intro, riff and vitriolic character of sarcasm and humour integrated in the lyrics (part I). And part II for being so surprising and having the girlfriend playing the recorder. Parts I + II for the polarity of it...

5. Rattlesnake Shake - For the extreme at-the-edge intro, contained energy (special to PG - in my opinion), humour and of course the tempo change at the end..

6. Searching for Madge
7. Fighting for Madge - for almost not being able to be contained on vinyl and for wishing I had been there

8. Before the Beginning - for the search for identity and place in life - bluuuueze (searching for the key...can't even find the door...) and six-string bass...

Now to the Polls.....

Ms Moose

Ms Moose, you have a way with words. Especially for a Danish girl. :nod:

My faves are Closing My Eyes and Befor the Beginning. The former has some beautiful acoustic guitar and the lyric is almost unbearably sad, dealing with broken faith as it is.

Oh Well part 1 has one of the classic riffs of all time and is sooo cool.

Rattlesnake Shake shows the humour in Peter's music. I feel it ends too early though, one longs for the improvisational genius of the live versions.

I like Underway but again it's a song that was better suited to live playing.

Like Crying is a wonderful country blues duet.

The lyrics of Showbiz Blues are explanation enough for why for Greeny bowed out of the music business.