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Thursday, July 30, 2020

Peter Green - Man Of The World Anthology (1968-88 uk, outstasnding blues rock, 2004 double disc remaster)




The sixties, as we all know, provided us with a slew of cult heroes whose reputations rest almost as much as them either shuffling off this mortal coil or succumbing to the pressures of fame and mislaying their marbles as their musical achievements. In the latter bracket we have names like Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, Skip Spence and Peter Green. Green stands apart from the crowd. He wasn't a psychedelic voyager (though lysergic experimentation doubtlessly helped his decline). He was, first and foremost a bluesman, with the ability to replace Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.He was a fabulous singer and songwriter who was equally adept at adapting blues classics or conjuring new standards, seemingly, with ease. He's returned to something approaching form in recent years, but Man Of The World barely approaches the full story.

There's no getting around the fact that Sanctuary are pulling a little bit of a fast one with this anthology. The bulk of Green's studio work with Fleetwood Mac resides in the Columbia catalogue, leaving them to present us with alternative mixes, demos or live versions to represent the man in his prime. Luckily even offcuts and rarities from this period shine brighter than most artist's main output. While rougher versions of ''Green Manalishi'' (Green's most psychedelic hour and a true indicator of where his mind was headed) and the gorgeous ''Man Of The World'' just leave one hungering for the finished originals, live versions of ''Oh Well'', or ''Jumping At Shadows'' (taken from the legendary Boston Tea Party gig) are simply stunning in their power. The latter is demonstration in itself of Green's mastery of tone and attack with nothing more than a vintage Les Paul and a Marshall stack. His mastery of the blues guitar remains more emotive than any other of his generation.

Unfortunately following his debut solo album, The End Of The Game, and his retreat into psychological turmoil in 1971 he fell mainly silent. By 1980 he was coaxed back into the studio with several famous friends (Pete Bardens, Snowy White, Dave Mattacks etc) and produced several desultory albums that were but a pale shadow of his late 60s output. The bulk of this album comes from these. Add to this a couple of jokey, early extra-curriclar numbers from jams with Bob Brunning's Sunflower Blues Band.
by Chris Jones 2004
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Man Of The World (Peter Green) - 3:00
2. Long Grey Mare (Peter Green) - 1:58
3. Cryin' Won't Bring You Back (Mike Green) - 5:04
4. A Fool No More (Peter Green) - 7:42
5. Trying To Hit My Head Against The Wall (Mike Green) - 3:44
6. Last Train To San Antone (Mike Green) - 5:30
7. Walkin' The Road (Mike Green) - 3:48
8. Uranus (Bob Brunning) - 3:20
9. Whatcha Gonna Do? (Mike Green) - 3:48
10.Born On The Wild Side (Mike Green) - 2:58
11.Lost My Love (Mike Green) - 5:22
12.Fast Talkin' Woman Blues (Peter Green) - 3:21
13.Long Way From Home (Mike Green) - 3:42 
14.Touch My Spirit (Mike Green) - 3:44 
15.Seven Stars (Peter Green) - 3:04 
16.Loser Two Times (Mike Green) - 4:28 
17.Oh Well (Peter Green) - 2:46
18.If You Let Me Love You (B. B. King, Sam Ling) - 10:30  
Tracks 1, 2, 12, 17, 18 with Fleetwood Mac 
Track 8 with Brunning Sunflower Blues Band
Disc 2
1. Jumping At Shadows (Duster Bennett) - 4:22
2. Black Magic Woman (Peter Green) - 7:10
3. Big Boy Now (Mike Green) - 5:53   
4. You Won't See Me Anymore (Mike Green) - 3:35
5. Got To See Her Tonight (Mike Green) - 5:48 
6. Same Old Blues (Traditional) - 3:43 
7. Showbiz Blues (Peter Green) - 4:04
8. Ride With Your Daddy Tonight (Traditional) - 3:28   
9. Tribal Dance (Peter Green, Snowy White, Reg Isidore, Lennox Langton) - 4:27
10.Give Me Back My Freedom (Mike Green) - 5:37 
11.Bandit (Peter Green, Mike Green) - 3:02
12.Baby, When The Sun Goes Down (Mike Green) - 5:33 
13.What Am I Doing Here? (Mike Green) - 3:28 
14.Shining Star (Mike Green) - 3:06
15.Apostle (Peter Green) - 3:10
16.Stranger Blues (Peter Green) - 4:54 
17.Lazy Poker Blues (Peter Green, Clifford Davis) - 3:21
18.The Green Manalishi (Peter Green) - 4:41
Tracks 1, 2, 7, 17, 18 with Fleetwood Mac 
Track 8 with Brunning Sunflower Blues Band

Musicians
Fleetwood Mac
*Peter Green – Guitar, Vocals
*Jeremy Spencer – Guitar, Vocals, Piano
*Danny Kirwan – Guitar, Vocals
*John McVie – Bass
*Mick Fleetwood – Drums, Percussion

Brunning Sunflower Blues Band
*Bob Brunning - Bass
*Pete Banham - Drums
*Colin Jordan - Guitar
*Big Sunflower - Piano
*John Altman - Horns
*Dave Kelly - Guitar
*Peter Blue - Guitar
*Bob Hall - Piano
*Peter Green – Guitar

*Peter Green - Lead Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
*Ronnie Johnson - Rhythm Guitar
*Snowy White – Guitar
*Roy Shipston - Organ
*Paul Westwood - Bass Guitar 
*John 'Rhino' Edwards - Bass Guitar 
*Kuma Harada - Bass Guitar 
*Dave Mattacks - Drums
*Morris Pert - Percussion 
*Peter Vernon-Kell - Piano 
*Pam Douglas - Backing Vocals 
*Carol Ingram - Backing Vocals 
*Lennox Langton – Percussion
*Jeff Daly – Saxophone
*Mike Green – Vocals
*Larry Steele – Bass
*Webster Johnson – Keyboards
*Reg Isidore – Drums
*Jeff Whittaker – Percussion
*Daniel Boone – Keyboards
*Ray Dorset – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Harmonica
*Vincent Crane – Keyboards
*Len Surtees – Bass 
*Greg Terry-Short – Drums

1967-71  Live At The BBC
1968-70  Show Biz Blues
1968-70  Fleetwood Mac - The Vaudeville Years (two disc set)
1968-71  The Best Of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
1969  Shrine '69
1969  Then Play On  (Deluxe Expanded 2013 edition)