By Steve Newton
The blues-guitar world lost one of its finest practitioners last month when Peter Green passed away at the age of 73.
But hardcore Greeny fans can take some solace in the fact that a new collection of previously unreleased recordings, Fleetwood Mac Before the Beginning Vol 2: Live & Demo Sessions 1970, will be released by Sony Music this Friday (August 7).
The three-disc, 180-gram vinyl package features “recently discovered” live tracks and demos from Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, which, for the uninitiated, was what Fleetwood Mac was called in its infancy, when it was a straight-up blues-rock band featuring the killer guitar stylings of Peter Green, along with fellow pickers Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer. The rhythm section from what would become the multi-platinum Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac–bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood–is along for the guitar-drenched ride.
The tracklist includes live versions of a song famously given a metal workout by Judas Priest (“The Green Manalashi [With the Two-Prong Crown]”, as well as old blues chestnuts originally recorded by Otis Rush (“Homework”) and Elmore James (“Madison Blues”).
Andy Powell, influential guitarist for prog-rock greats Wishbone Ash and one of the many well-known players inspired by Green, is quoted in the promotional material:
“I was lucky enough to have been at Fleetwood Mac’s first gig at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival in 1967,” recalls Powell, “and Peter Green’s playing up close and personal, did it for me like no one else. It sealed my destiny and life’s inspiration and purpose as a guitar player.”
Before the Beginning Vol. 2 is the followup to Before the Beginning Vol. 1, which was released last November and featured live tracks from 1968. You can order the latest volume here.
Tracklist for Before the Beginning Vol. 2:
VINYL 1 SIDE A
Before the Beginning (Live) (Remastered)
Only You (Live) (Remastered)
Madison Blues (Version 2) (Live) (Remastered)
Can’t Stop Lovin’ (Live) (Remastered)
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) (Live) (Remastered)
VINYL 1 SIDE B
Albatross (Live) (Remastered)
World In Harmony (Version 1) (Live) (Remastered)
Sandy Mary (Live) (Remastered)
Only You (Live) (Remastered)
World In Harmony (Version 2) (Live) (Remastered)
VINYL 2 SIDE A
I Can’t Hold Out (Live) (Remastered)
Oh Well (Part 1) (Live) (Remastered)
Rattlesnake Shake (Live) (Remastered)
VINYL 2 SIDE B
Underway (Live) (Remastered)
Coming Your Way (Live) (Remastered)
VINYL 3 SIDE A
Homework (Live) (Remastered)
My Baby’s Sweet (Live) (Remastered)
My Baby’s Gone (Live) (Remastered)
You Need Love (Demo) (Remastered)
VINYL 3 SIDE B
Talk With You (Demo) (Remastered)
If It Ain’t Me (GK Edit) (Demo) (Remastered)
Mean Old World (Demo) (Remastered)