God bless Snowy White’s guitar licks on his live version of Peter Green’s “Slabo Day”
By Steve Newton
I first heard Snowy White when he became the coguitarist in one of my favourite all-time bands, Thin Lizzy. He shared the six-string duties with Scott Gorham on the early-’80s albums Chinatown and Renegade, which weren’t my fave Lizzy discs. And I’d actually preferred the guitar-work of previous Lizzy pickers Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, and Eric Bell.
For some reason White’s playing didn’t resonate with me as much. It seemed too smooth or reserved or something.
At any rate, years later I would see him perform live with Roger Waters, and any doubts about his ability to captivate with his instrument were put to rest.
Then just last night I was searching around on YouTube for a clip of Johnny Winter playing “Johnny B. Goode” and came across “Snowy White and Friends — Slabo Day”. I recognized the song title from In the Skies, a 1977 Peter Green album that I remember buying at a Vancouver used-record store in the ’80s. It was an import on green vinyl, and I loved it. It’s the album that made me a Peter Green fan, because at that point I still hadn’t rediscovered his mind-blowing work with Fleetwood Mac in the ’60s.
Anyway, I freakin’ love every single note Snowy conjures from his goldtop Les Paul on this live rendition. As it turns out, he was also the guy playing lead on Green’s 1977 version.
God bless his guitar licks on both of them, then.
Here’s the other “God bless…” blogs I’ve posted so far:
And if you’re the type of music fan who enjoys hearing rockers talk, consider subscribing to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:
