Every generation has a group of rock musicians who seem more than human. They may be just like the rest of us in breathing, eating, and putting on trousers, but in the history of rock and roll, nothing compares to the way they can wring life out of their instrument. In the 1980s, Eddie Van Halen was that person for many guitar heroes. However, he felt that in the 1960s, Peter Green nearly outdid his idol, Eric Clapton.
You would have had to look back at Clapton if you were a 1960s guitarist who played any kind of classic rock blues guitar. For most people, Clapton was the epitome of a guitar hero. He was barely surpassed in greatness by Jimi Hendrix as the greatest to ever pick up a guitar. Even though Clapton always gravitated towards the blues, his status remained unmatched. Of course, given his dubious personal perspective, that legacy is now in ruins.
But Peter Green appeared to be among the few who could have matched him once he began working on some of his biggest hits with Cream. His playing was entirely different from Clapton’s. However, he had a deeper knowledge of the blues than anyone could have imagined.
Given that Clapton was away performing with technical masters such as Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, Green collaborated with John Mayall. This collaboration resulted in the formation of Fleetwood Mac. Though the band’s rootsy rock sound and Stevie Nicks’s amazing vocals are what made them famous today, Green opened doors for them. He did this with some of the best blues licks ever.
Green decided to stretch out, avoiding playing the same 12 bars for hours on end. He did this by creating the biggest hits for other artists. He also introduced the world to new blues formulas on songs like “Albatross.” Much of the credit for “Black Magic Woman” goes to Santana. However, Green original is actually much more in line with that ghoulish sound he was going for.
Eddie claimed to Rolling Stone that “when I did dig back to the John Mayall Bluesbreakers days, I found Peter Green. He was actually more Clapton than Clapton himself,” despite the fact that most people still regarded Clapton as a god. You know, he was a little more tasty and smoother. What ever happened to him is unknown to me.
Green is still in charge of some of the best blues rock from the 1960s and early 1970s. Even though he erupted into a ball of confusion akin to Syd Barrett’s last moments in Pink Floyd. Green was the only guitarist on the scene with a clear blues signature. However, his playing wasn’t the easiest to play.
Considering his reputation as one of the world’s best guitarists, it was almost necessary for someone like Lindsey Buckingham to enter later. He then performed an entirely different style. You would spend the rest of your career chasing your own tail if you tried to find someone who could exactly duplicate what Green did.
