Peter Green Splinter Group - The Very Best of

by Carl Bookstein

published: 8 / 5 / 2013

Peter Green Splinter Group - The Very Best of

Label: Madfish Music
Format: CD

Splendid mix of blues classics, Robert Johnson covers and original tracks on double CD compilation from Fleetwood Mac founding guitarist Peter Green's late 1990s/early 2000s blues project, the Splinter Group

Review

Blues aficionado, guitar guru and virtuoso musician Peter Green, the legendary founding guitarist of Fleetwood Mac, remains an enigma. After knowing great success beginning in the sixties as one of the most heralded guitarists of his generation, Peter Green in the early seventies left his famed band to spend much of the next three decades in the wilderness, plagued by demons and mental illness. The life of Peter Green has been truly mythologized - making his late 1990s/ early 2000s comeback with the Splinter Group all the more welcome. 'The Very Best of Peter Green Splinter Group' is thus cause for celebration- a deluxe two CD collection comprised of selections from seven albums steeped in Green’s blues rock styling, released from 1997 to 2003. A Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee for his work with Fleetwood Mac, Green’s work with the Splinter Group includes a mix of blues classics, Robert Johnson covers and Peter Green and Splinter Group originals. The very best of collection begins with 'Look on Yonder Wall', a funky old Elmore James tune - straight ahead blues. With fine Peter Green-played harmonica bolstering the inspired guitar, bass, drums and piano, Green and company lay down a steady groove. This is healing blues as Green is joined by old friend and band mate Nigel Watson (a guitarist/singer/percussionist) who helped inspire Green to get back in the music game. A talented cadre of other musicians would change a bit as the Splinter Group evolved. This collection is heavy on covers of the blues great and originator Robert Johnson, as the Splinter Group would release two highly recognised albums of all Johnson songs. This is well played and welcome fare including the Peter Green sung 'Steady Rollin’ Man' - down home blues played with an easy natural flow. The birthplace of rock is blues, and this surprising quality collection takes the listener back home with a grooving steady back beat and sharp appealing guitar leads. The classic 'Walkin’ Blues' is an authentic and true treatment of another Johnson gem. Green’s husky vocals are very effective here. With how long Peter Green was out of the music game, one’s expectations are necessarily low, but he and his fine Splinter Group exceed these hopes easily, with consistently solid musicianship. There are a number of Splinter Group originals here too, but. during the Splinter Group era, Green now shied away from writing new original material, instead preferring to contribute to the group collaborative process, adding his guitar input to the arrangements and so on. There are nevertheless new versions here of Green originals that date back to the seventies, including a shimmering jazz guitar highlight 'The Supernatural' which conjures the ghost of Green’s guitar god past and was originally written for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Another Green penned original here is a moving version of the stellar Fleetwood Mac blues rock classic 'The Green Manalishi', including a fine intricate Green guitar lead and a real meshing together of his current band. In 2003 Green suddenly quit without warning and the Splinter Group was over. It remains unclear whether Green will ever again return to the musical fray. This very best of collection remains a special document as Green and company are blues to the core.

Track Listing:-

1 Look on Yonder Wall (Live)
2 The Stumble (Live)
3 Steady Rollin' Man (Live)
4 It Takes Time (Live)
5 When You Got a Good Friend
6 Walkin' Blues
7 Ramblin' On My Mind
8 Me and the Devil Blues
9 Sweet Home Chicago
10 The Supernatural (Live)
11 Shake Your Hips (Live)
12 Last Fair Deal Gone Down
13 If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
14 The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)
15 Big Change Is Gonna Come
16 Heart of Stone
17 Burglar
18 Hiding in Shadows
19 Man of the World
20 Dead Shrimp Blues
21 Little Queen of Spades
22 They're Red Hot
23 Cross Road Blues
24 Come on in My Kitchen
25 Downsize Blues (Repossess My Body)
26 Feeling Good
27 Time Keeps Slipping Away
28 Underway (feat Snowy White)
29 Ain`t Nothin` Gonna Chnage It
30 Look Out For Yourself
31 Don`t Walk Away
32 I`m Ready For You