All-Time Best Essential Peter Green Playlist

Wanna Hear Some Great Lead Guitar?

Fleetwood Mac Songs That Made Peter Green An Early Blues Icon

None of the guitar Gods who emerged from the fabled London Blues Boom of the 1960s teased us more than Peter Green. Some wise guys back then claimed he was better than Eric Clapton. That’s hyperbole. As a pure blues player at that point in Rock History, you can make a pretty good case Green was in the discussion. Clapton progressed, however, became a huge star, certainly a more rounded musician. He played Rock, Psychedelia, a founding father of Heavy Metal, pretty much put Reggae on the map. For me, Layla is the best album ever recorded with electric guitars.

Peter Green never created a monumental document of that stature. Might’ve been different if he didn’t get dosed with bad acid, though some feel he was showing signs of mental decay prior to that. Green was spontaneous. His true genius and his greatest limitation. Music seemed to pour out of Peter Green with little forethought or rehearsal. A 4-Track Recorder considered State-of-The-Art back then, some early Fleetwood Mac albums were recorded live in the studio. Session tapes released show it took a couple takes, but the band cut songs all playing together at the same time. Albatross, an early release which garnered attention, was notable because Peter Green actually worked on the track for two days.

Easy enough to chalk this up to Green’s artistic personality. Back in those days young British musicians were having so much fun playing the Blues – getting paid, getting laid, becoming stars – many simply did not stretch much. Of 12 cuts comprising the first Fleetwood Mac album, eight are 12 Bar Blues of differing tempos and grooves. This became somewhat indicative of Green’s early catalog through the Fleetwood Mac era – 12 bar blues with splendid guitar, so you overlook throwaway lyrics. Yes, we’re talking about you “Long Grey Mare” and/or “Lazy Poker Blues.” Tell me those lyrics weren’t written on a toilet to give Peter Green an excuse to play a new Blues groove he’d just concocted.

One way or the other, however, Peter Green deserves a place in the Pantheon of Guitar Gods along with Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and Alvin Lee. Even if in Green’s case it comes with an asterisk.

As you listen marvel at Green’s spacing, rests between notes and riffs. He did not feel compelled to squeeze lead guitar into every second of a song. He plays a riff. Thinks “That’s cool. Maybe I’ll try a little of this.” Plays another riff. Thinks “Very cool. How ’bout this…”

Known for tasty vibrato and the sweet tone he got from his legendary ’59 Les Paul Standard, which became known as “Greeny,” one of the most famous guitars in Rock History. Peter later sold it to Gary Moore, who used it to record one of the best Blues albums ever. Moore’s tribute homage Blues For Greeny is a pretty good representation of an essential Peter Green playlist all on its own.

Hello, world. I’m Peter Green. “The Super-Natural” was the first track that made everybody sit up, go: “Who is this guy?” When John Mayall arrived at the studio to record his third album, the Producer noticed a different amp, asked: “Where’s Clapton?” Mayall told him Eric left the band, but they’d hired someone better. Probably the same thing he told the guy next album after Peter Green left to form Fleetwood Mac and Mayall brought in Mick Taylor. (Talk about a Golden Age.) Excellent lead guitar is interwoven through A Hard Road from a previously unknown Peter Green, but the track that jumps off this record is “The Super-Natural.” More than an instrumental, it is a composition. Perfectly named for its spooky, ethereal vibe, spectacular vibrato,, also pay attention to the strong, steady bass line of John McVie.

To momentarily digress, given the success Fleetwood Mac later enjoyed through the Rumors era, John McVie might be one of the richest bass players in history. (Yes, we know, except, of course, McCartney – who’s frankly more than a bassist.) Either way it seems McVie doesn’t get the props he deserves as a bass player, but his strong, steady throbbing shines through Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Always right there, almost too perfect, you have a tendency to overlook McVie’s playing. Don’t. Pay attention.

Also worth a listen on Hard Road is the other song Green is credited as writing, “The Same Way.” In addition, Green rips through a hot rendition of Freddie King’s “The Stumble,” and there’s an early version of “Dust My Blues,” a.k.a. “Dust My Broom.” Here credited to Elmore James, Peter Green (like A TON of guitarists) loved this intro, copped it outright for a number of upbeat Blues shuffles. (On Mr. Wonderful they use it four times out of 12 songs, though truth be told it’s Jeremy Spencer playing slide.)

If you get the Expanded Edition double CD also check out “So Many Roads,” a killer track with monster lead, and the Otis Rush cover, “Double Trouble,” an excellent Slow Blues.

We don’t know if there’s another cut that tells you more about Peter Green. Though released on a John Mayall compilation album in 1971, Mayall is not on the cut. Apparently recorded in 1966 during sessions for A Hard Road, Green claimed they didn’t even know they were being recorded, simply jamming in the studio.

Greeny is a serious Rock Document which shows off everything great about Peter Green – the sweet guitar tone, the tasty vibrato, the fluid stream of consciousness.

A little throwaway jam at the time, not much is known about the track, but along with Green you’ve undoubtedly got John McVie on bass, Aynsley Dunbar on drums.

The spontaneity, the fun these guys were having pours right out the speakers. In decades listening to carefully crafted tunes, years hanging out and traveling with bands, enjoying countless concerts, some of the best music I ever heard sprang from impromptu moments when rockstars reverted to great musicians simply enjoying themselves.

One of Peter Green’s signature tunes “Stop Messin’ Round” was first released in 1968 as the B-Side to the Single “Need Your Love So Bad.” A simple upbeat 12 Bar Blues Shuffle, Green is seriously hot on guitar. Five takes were recorded. Take 5 at 2:38 was used for the Single. Take 4 at 2:18 subsequently became the opening cut for Fleetwood Mac’s second LP Mr. Wonderful.

Another quintessential track, as we said before Peter Green did a lot of 12 bar blues with differing grooves. What distinguishes one over another is lead guitar and “Stop Messin’ Round” features some of Green’s hottest. Helped, perhaps, the band recorded five takes, which might actually be considered rehearsal for Peter. The single version was the fifth take, so you gotta think Green had more than enough opportunity to work up his licks.

“Stop Messin’ Round” was covered well by other artists. Gary Moore does not include this tune on Blues for Greeny since he’d recorded a particularly hot rendition for his previous album (the monster) Still Got the Blues. Aerosmith recorded an excellent version for their 1994 Blues tribute LP Honkin’ on Bobo. And one of Green’s peers, Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown, recorded a nice acoustic take on the tune for the 1995 tribute collection Rattlesnake Guitar, The Music of Peter Green.

This track could have easily been Number Three on this list. Actually could have been Number One on this list. A cover of the original written and first performed by Little Willie John it’s got everything – the relaxed, easy-going groove, the pure, sweet tone, the delicious vibrato, the brightness that elevates many tunes by Peter Green to a special plateau.

Of particular note (pun quite intended) are the series of four to six note riffs Green weaves through this tune’s intro. This virtually defines Peter Green. Everything truly divine about his guitar work shines through these scintillating little licks before verses even start. Previously we spoke of Green’s timing and spacing. Here you go. Arguably the tastiest lead guitar Peter Green ever recorded. And that’s saying something.

The first riff is actually a fairly common intro. Compare Peter Green’s to Jimmy Page’s in “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” or Johnny Winter’s in his live rendition of “It’s My Own Fault.” Exact same riff. We’re not saying one is better than the others. It’s an instant illustration of the individuality of their artistic styles.

The Chicago Blues Jam is for Peter Green connoisseurs. Thrown together last minute, a target of opportunity, recorded in one day, it is a window into everything Fleetwood Mac and Peter Green in particular were all about at the time. The spontaneity of this session smacks you in the face. Ever wonder what it’s like to hang out with music legends, have them grab guitars, start playing just for fun?

Fleetwood Mac took a day off from a Club Tour of the U.S. to go into a studio at Chess Records on January 4, 1969, joined by the legendary Willie Dixon, other Chicago Blues Artists like pianist extraordinaire Otis Spann, Shaky Walter Horton on harp, Honeyboy Edwards and Buddy Guy on guitar (though the latter just stopped in for a cup of coffee).

We got the six CD box collection The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions with extensive notes by Producer Mike Vernon, perhaps the definitive Treasure Trove of early Fleetwood Mac. Some true Rock and Blues archeology, the Chess Jam takes two discs, includes a lot of studio chatter. Sounds like they rolled tape, started recording.

Somewhat interesting, perhaps, “Watch Out” is one track from the session recorded by Fleetwood Mac alone, where they are not joined by any of the Chicago musicians, perhaps simply inspired by the scenario. Another upbeat 12 Bar Blues highlighting great lead guitar the track once again illustrates the spontaneity that was both Peter Green’s true genius and his greatest limitation. Contrast this with the rendition recorded in November, 1967, later released on The Original Fleetwood Mac, the album of outtakes which hit record stores in 1971.

Off Fleetwood Mac’s debut album, this may not be one of Peter Green’s major cuts, but it is certainly one of the tastiest. Yet another 12 Bar Blues where you just dig the groove, enjoy the lead. Recording music is an elusive, capricious enterprise. Sometimes songwriting and composition blends with sounds and tones musicians create. “I Loved Another Woman” is one case in which it all comes together. An almost other-worldly document, Green’s vocals and lead guitar are simply as tasty as it gets. Under no circumstances, however, overlook Mick Fleetwood’s minimalistic percussion and John McVie’s almost too perfect bass.

Recorded in 1967 at one of the final sessions for their debut LP the band was obviously beginning to coalesce while still enjoying that initial rush of exhilarating spontaneity. John Mayall had given Peter Green some free studio time in April, after which he’d decided to form his own band. So the musicians were just starting to feel it. “I Loved Another Woman” is ultimately a simple little bluesy tune, but given it’s ethereal feel and superior performance it certainly deserves to rate high on our list.

Gary Moore does a great rendition on Blues For Greeny.

And for those who might feel it was a bit ungracious for Peter Green to take free studio time from his boss, use it as a catalyst to break away, form his own band, I wouldn’t feel too sorry for poor John Mayall. He was the artist, everybody else just hired help. Aside from fostering and nurturing a whole generation of British Blues musicians, when Peter Green left, Mayall just turned around and hired Mick Taylor.

One of the tracks cut with that free time Mayall gave Peter Green in Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London in April 1967 which became the first recording session for Fleetwood Mac, “First Train Home” is a great Slow Blues ultimately deemed unworthy for inclusion on the band’s debut album. It was released in 1971 on The Original Fleetwood Mac, a compilation album of outtakes and previously unissued material cobbled together by the label to cash in following Peter Green’s departure from the band.

Aside from Green’s excellent guitar work there isn’t much to this cut. They run through a slow 12 Bar Blues Progression four times. Green solos through the first and third, sings through the second and fourth. There’s only one verse, which he repeats twice.

Still, “First Train Home” is either the first or second Fleetwood Mac song ever recorded, and it pretty much established the band’s modus operandi – relatively spontaneous 12 Bar Blues of differing tempos and grooves with superior guitar woven through simplistic lyrics.

Documentation from those hazy days somewhat sketchy, exactly which tracks were cut during that initial session is the subject of some conjecture. The free studio time John Mayall gave Peter Green was at Decca Studios. According to the extensive liner notes written by Producer Mike Vernon for the six CD Box Set, the only other track definitely recorded during that free session was an instrumental entitled “Fleetwood Mac,” a mash-up of names of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, later adopted as the name of the band.

Peter Green’s first solo album, The End of the Game is a bunch of loose jams recorded after his bad acid trip, quit Fleetwood Mac and before he was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia, checked into a mental hospital. ’Nuff said. Anybody who coughed up money for this record never forgave the guy. Like paying to see that Pink Floyd movie in Pompeii.

Jam albums tend to get tedious after a couple cuts, but apparently some artists get to thinking people love ’em, will love anything they do. Wrong. Witness: Thick As A Brick.

The most amazing thing about The End of the Game may be that it’s not Blues. It’s almost Jazz Fusion.

Opening track “Bottoms Up” is rather interesting nonetheless. Including something from The End of the Game is almost the Mandatory Eight Count, however, we don’t recommend sitting through the rest of the stuff. Most is incredibly discordant and reminds me of tangents Johnny Winter used to morph off into through his live shows back in the day. You’d listen, think: “Man! Where’s your head at?”

Feel sorry for the poor A&:R guy at Reprise who rushed right out to sign Peter Green to a recording contract after he split Fleetwood Mac. He probably got transferred to scouting talent in nightclubs of Antarctica. Perhaps the most amazing thing The End of the Game was actually re-released in 2020 with “Bonus” Tracks. They take your money, waste more of your life.

This next group of songs are tough to rank one ahead of the other. They come from a series of solo albums produced by the obscure Peter Vernon-Krell, released on his PVK Records which comprise Peter Green’s comeback, after mental hospitals and electro-shock therapy, starting with In The Skies, released in 1979. We’ll talk more about that record in a minute, but Green didn’t really get his groove back until Little Dreamer came out in 1980. With songs written by his brother Mike, Green made a revolutionary discovery. “You mean you can play lead guitar over a chord sequence that is NOT 12-Bar Blues?” These solo albums show Peter Green in a pretty good place. They’re kinda like J.J. Cale records, putting you into a funky little downbeat mood.

“Crying Won’t Bring You Back” and “Baby When the Sun Goes Down” are the highlights of Little Dreamer, and they set the tone for the better tunes Peter Green recorded through this comeback period: mellow, laid-back bluesy grooves with sweet guitar weaving through. Green’s vocals are fuller, more affable, and along with his guitar not quite so “in your face” as they were through Fleetwood Mac.

A heartfelt slow Blues, the best track off Peter Green’s first comeback release, In The Skies. Featuring majestic lead guitar, the depth and intensity of “A Fool No More” is out of character for the record, kinda out of character for anything found through his early 80’s return LPs. Harkens back to “Last Train Home” from the very first Fleetwood Mac recording session in 1967. In The Skies is an uneven album, Green getting his chops back after an eight year absence. His wife Jane wrote some lyrics, and Peter was joined in the studio by friends, most notably Snowy White.

If you are not familiar with Snowy White it is worth your time to check him out. He played guitar for Pink Floyd, Al Stewart and Thin Lizzy, among others. A pretty good candidate for another Essential Playlist, Snowy White’s kind of a one man Wishbone Ash, long flowing guitar. His material’s spotty. Still, give a listen to his version of “Looking For Somebody” off Rattlesnake Guitar, or Snowy’s “Midnight Blues,” or instrumentals “Snow Blues” and “Melting.”

Through In The Skies, aside from “A Fool No More” perhaps, you can see where Green was heading with his solo albums. The feel is there, even if the material doesn’t measure up to subsequent records where his brother did most the writing. Tracks like the title tune, “Slabo Day” and “Tribal Dance” are certainly worth a listen, and you always enjoy Green’s guitar work, but In The Skies is really more of a historical document than a record you’re going to be playing ahead of others in his discography.

Standout tracks from 1981’s Whatcha Gonna Do? these songs share similarities: the bluesy groove, the exquisite lead guitar. As significant as Peter Green was to the London Blues Boom of the 60s these tunes we highlight off his comeback LPs might be some of the best music he ever recorded.

“Gotta See Her Tonight” is the opening cut of Whatcha Gonna Do? Green plays a couple interesting breaks and solos between verses, but the best part of this track is the last minute and a half. An extended instrumental, the whole band digging the groove while Green throws in his perfectly spaced lead when he feels it.

“Last Train to San Antone” revolves around another delicious groove. But wait. That’s a sax doing fills and the short solo between verses. Again, the tail of this song is an extended instrumental. Over two and a half minutes, the band grooving, Peter Green coming in and out with his lead. This is pure music, rivals anything anyone has ever done. These are people who are digging what they are doing.

This track didn’t make the final cut when the album was first released, appearing as a bonus track on the 2005 CD. We cannot imagine why. A really nice track, it’s got that tasty mellow Blues groove that highlights Green’s solo LPs through this era, a throbbing bass line, soft pleading lyrics and (of course) superlative lead guitar.

Notable Omissions

You don’t see “Black Magic Woman,” “Albatross,” or “Oh Well” on this list. Popular cuts, they made the guy some money. Though many correlate commercial success with quality that doesn’t necessarily mean we consider them some of his best work. Anyone who feels these are the more significant and/or most representative tracks of Peter Green is kinda missing the Big Picture.

Copped from “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” by Otis Rush “Black Magic Woman” came out as a single in March, 1968 between the release of their first two albums – their self-titled debut in February and Mr. Wonderful in August. It topped out at Number 37 on the U.K. Charts, would probably be a historical footnote if it hadn’t become such a huge hit for Santana off (what we consider their best album) Abraxas. It made more money for Peter Green than any other song he ever wrote. It’s 12-Bar and kinda bluesy, but (for a change) not the standard 12-Bar progression, with six chords instead of the usual three and lyrics inspired by his girlfriend. We’re not saying it’s not a good song; we just don’t think it’s that high on the list. Even back then it reminded some of “I Loved Another Woman,” and he kinda recycles the opening riff of “The Supernatural” for the intro.

“Albatross” is a lovely instrumental, a real mood piece, notable for the work Peter and the band put into it, taking two days to cut the track. A great feel, overlapping guitars, with lots of slide, and no Peter Green guitar solo. Jeremy Spencer did not play on the song, so it doesn’t start with the “Dust My Broom” intro. Released as a single in November, 1968 “Albatross” is the only song ever hit Number One for Fleetwood Mac on the U.K. Charts. It is a pleasant enough way to spend three minutes and six seconds, but we already have three instrumentals on our list, and if you heard it in an elevator you would not be surprised.

“Oh Well” is kinda like Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Dog.” Another track recorded as a single, released in 1969. It’s got a nice repeating guitar riff but not a lot of substance, fill-in lyrics that don’t tell much of a story, even if they are somewhat humorous.

Released as a single in 1969 shortly before the band’s label Immediate Records collapsed “Man of the World” is often cited by those claiming Peter Green’s mental state was declining even before he was dosed by that bad acid. You think? Lyrics like “I don’t want to be sad anymore” and “I just wish I’d never been born” certainly could be construed as Clue Number One. For guitar, though, you have to check out the instrumental version recorded in 1999 and released as a Hidden Track on The Peter Green Splinter Group’s Destiny Road.

That instrumental rendition of “Man of the World” is the only track we kinda site from the Splinter Group era, seven releases from 1997 to 2003, predominantly Peter Green doing covers. The first self-titled LP were live tracks recorded during a U.K. tour. Two albums were tributes – The Robert Johnson Songbook and Hot Foot Powder were Robert Johnson covers. It is interesting to hear Peter Green playing acoustic Blues and harmonica, and you naturally enjoy cuts where he is joined by Paul Rodgers, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, Dr. John and Honeyboy Edwards. Ultimately, however, these LPs are for connoisseurs. These are tasty versions of good songs, but nothing especially elevates.

Even so, through the Splinter Group era we do have a kinda soft spot for Blues Don’t Change. Maybe it’s just the album’s name. We’re talking about collections of cover songs, so the LP that has the most of our favorite Blues tunes is gonna rank highest in our book. That’s Blues Don’t Change. “When It All Comes Down,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” “Take Out Some Insurance” and “Don’t Start Me Talking” are all great songs. Still don’t understand why these British guys like “Little Red Rooster,” though. We start talking Howlin’ Wolf, that tune’s pretty far down the list.