Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac question

I recently got the 2-CD set "Jumping At Shadows - The Blues Years" (2002 Castle). But it doesn't seem like it has anything new that didn't already come out on other box sets (Vaudeville Years, Show-Biz Blues, etc.).

Are there any tracks or takes unique to this collection, or can I sell it without losing anything?

 

As long as I mentioned Peter Green, I might as well pass on this story that appeared in the Mail On Sunday newspaper last weekend. I don't think it's available online.


Rock legend told to ditch his band - by order of his Government minders

ONE of Britain's greatest music legends is at the centre of an
extraordinary wrangle over his career and private life.

Friends of troubled Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green say a
Government-run legal body which controls his money wants to break up
the band credited with rescuing him from obscurity.

Members of the Peter Green Splinter Group insist only they can look
after him and nurture his talent.

But Green's family says officials are acting in his best interests and
protecting him from people who want to profit from him financially.

Now there are fears that the guitarist could be plunged back into the
drugs and mental health nightmare that nearly killed him a decade ago.

Fans were shocked when the Public Guardianship Office decided Green,
57, should leave the group. It claimed he was in danger from another
band member and insisted he was better off without them.

But the move appeared to have backfired this month after Green's first
solo outing was panned by critics. And The Mail on Sunday reveals today
how Green's career is again in doubt, amid claims that the PGO,
controlled by Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer's Constitutional Affairs
Department, 'kidnapped' Green to keep him away from the band.

Born in Bethnal Green, East London, Peter Green shot to stardom in the
Sixties as Fleetwood Mac's lead guitarist. His compositions, such as
Albatross and Black Magic Woman, were hits worldwide. As recently as
1996, Mojo magazine voted him one of the top three rock guitarists of
all time, alongside Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.

But Green loathed his success. Turning to drugs, he became increasingly
unstable. He left the band in 1970 and became a hermit. In 1977 he was
arrested after threatening his accountant with a rifle for trying to
give him a royalty cheque.

Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Green spent several years in and
out of mental institutions where he was given electric shock treatment.

When lifelong friend and fellow guitarist Nigel Watson tracked him down
in the Nineties, Green's fingernails were six inches long and he was
unable to play a note. Watson nursed him back to health and taught him
to play guitar again.

In 1996 the pair formed Splinter Group, which has recorded four albums
and performed nearly 1,000 concerts, all to widespread acclaim.

Watson protected the deeply introverted Green on and off stage. It was
Watson who arranged for his affairs to be handed to the PGO, an
official body set up to safeguard the financial interests of the infirm
or mentally ill. It pays Green £250 a week and invests the rest of his
£30,000-a-year earnings. Green is said to have complained to friends
about the PGO's control. 'He said they wouldn't even let him buy a new
guitar,' said one.

Now the PGO has turned the tables on Watson and obtained an injunction
banning him from contact with Green or speaking publicly about the
musician. However, last week, the High Court threw out its bid to keep
the dispute secret.

Watson's friends believe the PGO wants to launch Green as a major star
and help him earn another fortune. But they say that will lead to a
repeat of his breakdown.

Green disappeared in December after the PGO announced he was leaving
Splinter Group.

Friends tracked him to Sweden, where he had been for three months with
the agency's full knowledge. The PGO said it acted to safeguard the
guitarist, but some claim it 'kidnapped' him to break his links with
the band.

'Peter cannot cope on his own,' said a friend. 'Nigel is the only
person who understands him and his music, and the group takes care of
all his needs.

'Separating them is cruel and could be dangerous. He doesn't want to be
rich, he just wants to play guitar.'

Manager Arthur Anderson said:'The PGO won't tell us where he is. We're
desperately worried.'

The agency's actions have been defended by Green's older brother
Michael, a guitar tutor who lives in Peacehaven, East Sussex. 'It was
Peter's decision to leave the band,' he said. 'He was unhappy and
getting stressed.'

And a PGO spokesman said: 'The Public Guardianship Office has a
statutory duty to act in the best interests of its clients, who are
vulnerable people. We cannot talk about individual cases and have a
duty to maintain confidentiality at all times.'

 

Thanks for posting this Mr. Peabody-

As for Jumping At Shadows, that's the only Green disc I haven't picked up. I was told that there is nothing on there not represented on "Vaudeville" or "Showbiz"--I'm not so sure though. Is the single mix of "Man Of The World" on "Shadows"? If so, keep it as it doesn't show up on the previous two titles.

As for Peter's sudden departure from Splinter Group...an interesting read. Very briefly, there was a bewildered post on his website from a band member (IIRC) confused about what really happened. I believe that if it weren't for Nigel Watson, Peter might likely be dead now. Nigel took him in '94, got him off the mind numbing tranquilizers, gave him a place to live and got him playing guitar again. Nigel is a stunning guitarist by the way...just watch the new live Splinter Group DVD--the guy is incredible. With my eyes closed, I could have sworn it was circa 1969 Peter Green--complete with the "reverse phase" pickups in the Les Paul. (although Nigel got this tone from a Strat) Nigel somehow got that "elusive sound". The new DVD is very good though a little shocking for someone like me who hadn't seen any Peter Green footage later than 1970. In the interview segment, he seems very fragile and scattered in thought.

IMO, If it's true that that the PGO "kidnapped" him and hopes to make him a major star...it could be the most tragic thing to happen to Peter since his long term use of misdiagnosed prescription drugs.

 

very sad story.
Peter Green IMO is a truly historic musical figure. You only have to listen to his Mac compositions to know what you're hearing is sincerity. In an age of over calculated music, pure emotional feeling is all but lost. Songs like Man Of The World show a subtle nuance that is like a window to the soul....it's not about ultra-flash, it's about the very heart of music, the ability to express your innermost feelings and create an enduring representation which others may also relate to and learn from.

 

I listened to the FM Complete Blue Horizon Sessions box set this past weekend once again.

No further proof of Peter Green's genius is needed.

Certainly hope this recent event doesn't set him back.

 

I hope that this ordeal is resolved soon. The last thing Peter needs is to be thrust into the spotlight as the PGO are alleged to want. If this is the case, it may be 1970 revisited.

 

I did check "Man Of The World", and it is the single version on JAS. But it's also on the Fuel 2000 "Peter Green Collection", so I've already got it. All other tracks are the same as the other two sets, as you say, except for the Brunning Sunflower tracks (available on a separate CD) and the Duster Bennett tracks (also available on a separate Duster Bennett CD).

Thanks for your help.

 

Is it just me or is there something very Orwellian-1984ish about this tragic turn of events concerning Peter Green? We will control your destiny-we will utilize your talent for it's maximum potential benefit. We know what is best for you. I would say it's England and they slid into the authoritarian muck a long while back but seeing what's happening in my own country -those words may come back to haunt me. I hope Peter Green will persevere and be able to pursue his interests with whomever he personally desires to create music with in whatever context he chooses of his own free will.

 

Two questions:
1) I already own almost every other PG/F.Mac set, so do I really need this one?
2) Did Peter leave the Splinter Group on his own or did someone make him? I don't really understand what's going on with this matter.

 

Boy, this episode reminds me of the Eugene Landy-Brian Wilson story.

 

I feel so sorry for poor Peter Green, I love his early Mac stuff. I hope it works out for him. Personally I always suspicious of social works and that stuff. I think most people, families and even minors are better off working out there own problems.

 

Looks like there's another comp on the way:

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?style=MUSIC&pid=6713325&cart=183378399