Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – Live at Cue Club, Gotesburg Sweden – November 2, 1969 – Sveriges Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
With tributes pouring in as news of the passing of Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green spread, it’s giving time to pause and reflect just how much of an influence Peter Green had and how pivotal Fleetwood Mac was during the period of the late 60s up until Green’s leaving the band in 1970.
Earlier today I ran a few of sessions the band recorded for the BBC during the 1967-1968 period – an introduction to the band, as it were, for those of you who came late to Fleetwood Mac or only know them during the later Pop period.
So I’ve been spending most of the day poring over concerts outlining the 1968-1970 period when they were, for all intents and purposes, at the pinnacle of this phase of their careers. I wanted to run the Fillmore Concert from their 1968 U.S. tour as it was during their appearance at the Shrine Expo Hall in L.A. that I first encountered the band, and they left an indelible impression.
Unfortunately, the sound was awful, as was the sound of a concert they performed later that year in The Hague and a few others between then and early 1969. So it was with fingers crossed that I put this one up and hit the play button and waited. Luckily, this concert gives a good overall impression of what you would have heard if you went to one of their concerts during this time and sat, most likely stoned, and let the music sweep over you.
They were also a very tight ensemble.
All this by way of saying this is who we lost today – and why his loss is so pronounced in the music world. Peter Green’s contribution has been considerable and it’s still influencing musicians up and coming and discovering. It’s an enduring legacy, and will be for a long, long time.
Blessings.
