Peter+green

This double-disc overview collection of British super guitarist Peter Green. By concentrating on a 20-year period, listeners get a solid selection of Green's creative genius with Fleetwood Mac, his spotty early solo records when his disintegration begins, and his tentative but still brilliant first return to music-making as well as a pair of sideman gigs with Bob Brunning's Sunflower Blues Band tossed in for good measure. There are only two live cuts in the batch, Boston Tea Party-era versions of "Black Magic Woman" and a cover of Duster Bennett's "Jumping at Shadows," and a wildly interspersed series of solo album cuts, Mac singles, and LP grooves like the juxtaposition of Green's "Lost My Love" with FM's "Fast Talking Woman Blues."

This is a reasonably comprehensive collection of Peter Green's catalog, with 78 minutes of music at mid-price, drawn from In the Skies, Little Dreamer, Blue Guitar, White Sky and Legend, the first two albums contributing the majority of the best material here. Green's guitar playing is as impressive as ever, and his singing is nothing to ignore, a sweet, gently soulful rasp that recalls his one-time rival Eric Clapton at his best behind the microphone. There's just a bit of fall-off in quality between tracks like "Apostle" and "Little Dreamer," and later stuff like "Last Train From San Antone" when they're heard side by side. And a lot of this doesn't seem as strong today as it did in the late '70s, when Green was one of the last exponents of British blues still working in that genre and getting heard. But the sound is good, and the price is right.

Peter Green is an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. As a co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Green's songs, such as "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" and "Man of the World", appeared on singles charts, and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians. Green was a major figure in the "second great epoch" of the British blues movement.

Whatcha Gonna Do? is an album by British blues rock musician Peter Green, who was the founder of Fleetwood Mac and a member from 1967–70. Released in 1981, this was his fourth solo album, the third in his 'middle period' of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and his last for PVK Records. All the tracks on the album were written by Green's brother Mike.

Peter Green is one of the best guitarists of his generation and after a period in the wilderness he re-emerged in 1997 to critical acclaim with the Splinter Group. The material Peter Green recorded with the Splinter Group on five albums for Snapper Music represents a true return to form for the ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist, including the W.C. Handy award winning album The Robert Johnson Songbook. This new vitality was confirmed on the classic limited edition double live album Soho Session (sold out week one), recorded at the world-famous Ronnie Scott's club. Then his first original material since the early '80s was presented on Destiny Road, produced by Cream lyricist Pete Brown.

Rudy Rotta is an Italian blues guitarist who lives near Verona. Rotta achieved success in Italy before touring in other European countries. His reputation spread to the United States where he gained great popularity. His music combines a modern style with blues roots and a rocky funk soul character. Some consider him one of the best blues musicians in the world. His current double CD "Me, My Music And My Life" shows his impressive work in celebration of his 40 years in show business. In addition to his best works he also recorded some Italian songs as a bonus.

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.