I’ve heard a lot of stories about Peter Green and, it’s hard to get an angle on the guy because, the accounts are always from somebody else’s perception. Beyond that, you don’t ever know how factual any of it is.
There is a mystery around him but, I suspect that, as is often the case with people of a certain charisma, that the truth is simpler than the implications.
As a player, he understands that within the note there is a complete picture. It isn’t about playing the perfect thing; it’s about channeling the thing that digs in to the subconscious.
Paul Sexton has an interesting interview/article at the TimesOnline. Sexton actually does get Green to talk a little bit but, seems unsatisfied with some of the hard won, sometimes, evasive sounding on the surface, answers.
He refers to Clapton frequently, clearly regarding him as the yardstick by which, in his mind, his work has always fallen short. “My playing’s got more cracks in it, it’s more human. More typical of someone who can’t play guitar at all.” I tell him that he is way too modest. “No, I know my limitations,” he smiles.
Possibly, the best stuff Green has done, exists because he does recognize his limitations but at the same time, recognizes what is coming across. The human factor, the cracks in his playing.
On his post Fleetwood Mac story, that has reached mythic status in the eyes of some.
Was his descent inevitable? “When I think of it, it was just me that was the sucker,” he says. “They kept publishing things in the newspaper, saying I threatened them to take back money they were offering me, but it’s not true. If I hadn’t taken LSD, I would have kept up with the money, been able to play, wouldn’t have stayed with the group, because they didn’t know how to handle the situation.”
It’s an interesting article. Once again, it’s difficult to get a clear picture of Green. He remains elusive but, it may just be because he sees himself as a simple man that, at times, found himself in extraordinary circumstances.
And, I took a little time over at YouTube where I found this 1969 clip of “Oh Well” that actually shows Peter grinning then, cranking it up.
As always, don’t ask me what I think of you but do press pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTube.
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