Blues Peter Green Peter Green - The Anthology (2008)
Peter Green - The Anthology (2008)
Peter Green - The Anthology (2008)
CD 1 01. Evil Woman Blues with John Mayall 02. The Stumble with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers 03. Sitting In The Rain with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers 04. The World Keep On Turning with Fleetwood Mac 05. The Supernatural with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers 06. Looking For Somebody with Fleetwood Mac 07. Long Grey Mare (feat. Bob Brunning) with Fleetwood Mac 08. Stop Messin’ Around with Fleetwood Mac 09. Train Is Coming with Eddie Boyd & His Blues Band 10. Greeny with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers 11. Soul Dressing with Peter B’s Looners 12. I Loved Another Woman with Fleetwood Mac 13. No Place To Go with Fleetwood Mac 14. You Don’t Love Me with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers 15. Lazy Poker Blues with Fleetwood Mac 16. Merry Go Round With Fleetwood Mac 17. Trying So Hard To Forget with Duster Bennett 18. Ramblin’ Pony with Fleetwood Mac 19. Drifting with Fleetwood Mac CD 2 01. Black Magic Woman with Fleetwood Mac 02. Albatross with Fleetwood Mac 03. Ain’t Nobody’s Business with Otis Spann 04. Someday Baby with Otis Spann 05. Watch Out with Fleetwood Mac (Blues Jam At Chess) 06. Ooh Baby with Fleetwood Mac (Blues Jam At Chess) 07. Horton’s Boogie Woogie – Take One with Walter Horton, Otis Spann & S.P. Leary 08. Love That Burns with Fleetwood Mac 09. First Train Home with Fleetwood Mac 10. Need Your Love So Bad with Fleetwood Mac 11. Don’t Goof With The Spook with Peter Bardens 12. The Answer with Peter Bardens 13. Homage To The God Of Light with Peter Bardens 14. Oh Well Part 1 and Part 2 with Fleetwood Mac CD 3 01. Man Of The World with Fleetwood Mac 02. Before The Beginning with Fleetwood Mac 03. Momma Don’tcha Cry - solo 04. Underway with Fleetwood Mac 05. Rattlesnake Shake with Fleetwood Mac 06. It’s Gonna Be Me Peter Green - solo 07. White Sky (love that evil woman) with Fleetwood Mac 08. The Green Manalishi with The Two Prong Crown and Fleetwood Mac 09. Show-biz Blues with Fleetwood Mac 10. In The Skies - solo 11. Like A Hot Tomato - solo 12. Whatcha Gonna Do? - solo 13. Carry My Love - solo 14. Corners Of My Mind - solo 15. Hidden Depth (feat. Zoot Money) - solo CD 4 01. Big Change Is Gonna Come with Splinter Group 02. I’m A Steady Rollin’ Man (feat. Otis Rush) with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 03. It Takes Time with Splinter Group 04. Don’t Walk Away with Splinter Group 05. Heart Of Stone with Splinter Group 06. Love In Vain Blues with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 07. From Four Until Late (feat. Dr John) with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 08. I’m Ready For You with Splinter Group 09. Cruel Contradictions with Dick Heckstall-Smith 10. Me And The Devil Blues with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 11. Cross Road Blues (feat. Buddy Guy) with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 12. Dead Shrimp Blues (feat. Hubert Sumlin) with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 13. Travelling Riverside Blues (feat. Joe Louis Walker & Honey Boy Edwards) with Nigel Watson & Splinter Group 14. Time Keeps Slipping Away with Splinter Group 15. Look Out For Yourself with Splinter Group 16. Albatross with Chris Coco
Some Peter Green fans might be put off by this 64-song/four-CD collection, owing to the fact that they are likely to already own a significant chunk of what's here (especially the Fleetwood Mac material). (And in fairness, there apparently isn't a lot of -- or any -- unreleased material to draw on from Green's classic period with the band). But this reviewer had to spring for this four-and-a-half hour showcase of his work, and for one major reason -- vitality. Green's virtuosity is a given, and his taste and his insights into blues and what can be done with it -- while still leaving it as blues -- are well known to anyone who's heard his work. But what the makers have done here is to truly assemble his finest, most energetic and inspired work across over 35 years and well over four hours' listening time, into a collection that's greater than the sum of its parts -- in that regard, this set rivals the Eric Clapton Crossroads retrospective, except that doing this set took a bit more courage, as Green hasn't gotten nearly the publicity for his musicianship that Clapton has for his across the last four decades. The first two discs and the first half of the third contain a track list that, distilled slightly more, could be a strong contender for a "best of Fleetwood Mac" in their pre-pop incarnation, 23 tracks that, thanks to some ambitious cross-licensing, combine the group's Blue Horizon and Reprise catalog material into a comprehensive whole, and the makers have even included one cut off of Green's post-Mac End of the Game solo album. Green's earlier work with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers is represented, if not quite so thoroughly, and his two distinct periods working with Pete Bardens, under his own name and earlier as part of Peter B's Looners, is offered, along with material done with Duster Bennett and Otis Spann. The quality of the playing (and singing) speaks for itself, but the producers have also assembled the material in not quite strict chronological order -- "Soul Dressing" with Peter B's Looners is right in the middle of a disc that includes work with Mayall, Duster Bennett, Otis Spann, and early Fleetwood Mac -- so that there's a lot of variety in the listening. The sounds range from Mississippi Delta and electric Chicago blues to prog rock-ish and psychedelic pieces, and into R&B-based material, acoustic tracks placed just right in the middle of electric sides, and all manner of variation. The fourth disc covers the highlights of Green's solo career, and while the tendency of some would be to dismiss it or, at least, regard it as more of an appendix to his classic years, it turns out to be as vital as the rest of the set -- whatever personal demons Green had to overcome to get to the point represented here, it will be plain to anyone that he brought as much energy and finely tuned musical insights to his post-1971 career as he did to his work with his early bands. In other words, for anyone who truly loves the blues, Green's solo work with the Splinter Group (and some other contexts), represented on Disc Four, is every bit as worthwhile as his early stuff. And that -- and the killer sound, and the excellent annotation -- more than makes up for any repetition that might be entailed in buying this set. For longtime fans it's still essential, and for anyone who's ever wondered what the big deal was about Peter Green, or the "other" Fleetwood Mac, or even British blues, it's a great place to start, and might just be a revelation. (And it will also be a good introduction to the work of Pete Bardens, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Zoot Money, et al.). ---Bruce Eder, Rovi
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