Peter Green -- Founder of Fleetwood Mac

Rating:
Summary: Peter Green, Founder Of Fleetwood Mac
Review: At last, a thorough and balanced account of the life and times of one of the great musicians of the last half of the 20th century, whose personal struggles prevented him from enjoying his fame and cementing his reputation. Most people still think Santana wrote "Black Magic Woman."

Until now it's been maddeningly difficult to get much solid information on the phases of Green's career; other than Mick Fleetwood's autobiography, which leaves many questions unanswered, there hasn't been a good reference. This fine volume also includes an authoritative discography and sessionography. A must for any Green fan.

Rating:
Summary: Peter Green, Founder Of Fleetwood Mac
Review: I have read this book and it is inspiring and tragic about one of the greatest rock and blues guitarist coming out of the Uk as a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreaker before founding one of the most successful supergroups Fleetwood Mac, and his songs as "Black Magic Woman" (covered by Santana), "Rattlesnake Shake" (covered by Aerosmith) and "The Green Manalishi" (covered by Judas Priest) are exceptional. His LSD abuse led to his nervous breakdown and leaving the business for more than two decades despite his low-keyed comeback in the late 1970's and eaerly 1980's. Now he is back and reclaming his throne as a guitar extraordinaire and with his new band in the shack, and it was good to see this Rock n' Roll Hall Of Famer not living in the Syd Barrett example

Rating:
Summary: The blues of Peter Green: an amazing story of salvation.
Review: The beautiful guitar talents of Peter Green lead him to fame and fortune, but his self-doubt mixed with hallucinogenic excesses cast him down a hellish road of mental & emotional anguish. How he escapes from this dark existence is a tribute to the healing powers of the human heart. Sad, humorous, and ultimately inspirational. An excellent telling of the original Fleetwood Mac juggernaut which also featured the fine talents of Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer.

Rating:
Summary: The story of Greeney finally put to text.
Review: The story of Peter Green is a story of triumph, drugs, the fall from grace, redemption, another fall from grace, redemption again, and over half a lifetime of playing the blues, and being one of the greatest guitarists to come out of Britain. Yet he, his story, and his band (The Original Fleetwood Mac) have long been overlooked.

Oh well. At least we have this extraordinarily written biography to add to our Mac collections. Martin Birch certainly delivers here on a book that is well written, insightful, accurate, detailed, and certainly no less than inspiring. It is about time that someone decided to write about the roller coaster ride that is the life of Peter Green. It is also nice to see that Green is still around, playing the blues, and hasn't succumbed to his traumas as so many fellow musicians have. (His bandmate Danny Kirwan, Syd Barret, and all those drug casualties.) Certainly a worthy read, not just for Fleetwood Mac fans, not just for blues or rock and roll fans, but for everyone who wants to stories that will touch your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Nice to get details, but not a truly professional effort
Review: This review is based on the first edition.

Like many rock bio's, the presentation, organization, writing and editing is often inconsistent. This work has many of those shortcomings, and at times I was vexed by the use of British colloquial jargon and jumpy anecdotal constructions. There is also a fair amount of psyco-babble about what went 'wrong' but that is manifest: Peter is a schizophrenic, and drug use in his or any other case has little or no role in this unfortunate illness (despite what a reviewer states below). This is a medical fact.

But for those who, like me, want any kinds of insights into his impetuous and genius, this book provides some texture and history. And the author is obviously a fan and his genuine enthusiasm for the artist provides a sympathetic context for this tragic figure. And although Greeny is back on stage, which is a wonderful story of its own, the performances I've seen are lack-luster. This book provides a means of understanding his personal and musical journey.