Two Versions of Oh Well

[michelej1]

Writer discusses the illegal music on his computer. This is a 2003 article, but I just saw it and didn't see it posted on the site already.

Phoenix Sun Times

http://music.phoenixnewtimes.com/200...c/subpoena-me/

Two versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well": Fleetwood Mac, the eternal pop machine featuring still-alluring Scottsdale native Stevie Nicks, performed a rousing show late last month at America West Arena. The band, spearheaded by guitarist/genius Lindsey Buckingham, revisited a healthy portion of its radio-friendly catalogue. Before the Mac attack was a "pop machine," though, it was something else entirely -- sorta blues, sorta jazz, sorta psychedelia. I had never heard any of that, so I piqued my curiosity by downloading songs from the band's earliest phases. Drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and guitarist Peter Green were members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers when they decided they wanted to capitalize on the progressive craze in Britain being led by Pink Floyd and Cream. They formed the original Fleetwood, with the enigmatic, brilliant Green leading the way. Like Floyd's Syd Barrett, acid would melt Green's brain by 1971, but before then, he wrote spooky, unsettling songs for the band, topped by "Oh Well." The song is propelled by a weird, imbalanced acoustic riff, which is then intercut with Green's electric work. In both versions, the song rocks along to that riff until about the two-minute mark, when a wave of Renaissance Fair acoustic guitar and flute take over. In the longer version, that continues for seven increasingly painful prog-rock minutes. In the short version, it taps out after just one minute; that makes it classic. The contrast between the two is instructive for me as a music lover -- and makes them worth keeping.