Peter Green: Splinter Group in Concert

Rating:
Summary: Green's Still Good
Review: He's still good and so is Splinter Group. His band does the best interpretations of Robert Johnson tunes of anyone I've heard to date. The acoustic section is especially good and the band is tight. Definitely check out the acoustic version of Albatross, nice interplay between Green and Nigel Watson
Good show!

Rating:
Summary: This Is An Interesting Concert!
Review: I must say this is an interesting presentation. After reading the previous review and as a guitarist for 40 years, I was very curious about this DVD. I first re-bought the old "Hard Road" CD after getting Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert. I thought Green on Hard Road (an album I personally had not heard since 1970) was excellent and it contained perhaps Mayall's best straight Blues writing attempts. Anyway, I saw this DVD and got it!

Peter Green to me was always an enigma. He came out of the blue and took Clapton's place in the Bluesbreakers and then went off to form Fleewood Mac. Not being a fan of the latter band, I never really listened to their bluesy interpretations. I thought Green in 1967 was better than Clapton and he certainly could perform vocals better-his version of "You Don't Love Me" is one of Mayall's best recordings! Of course not enough can be said of Green's masterpiece instrumental "The Supernatural". The Stumble (even with a big mistake in one chrous) is the best Freddie King instrumental copy ever done!

This DVD is down memory lane. I think the band is fairly competent, but not great. They are ok musicians and show a great love for the Blues. Peter Green is still an enigma (probably why I love this DVD!) He can hadly talk, but the NUANCE of his playing is fabluous-if you are a guitaist you can see it! His slide, while not as good (now) as, say, Mick Taylor, it is tinged with Elmore James on the high strings. He plays well on the first two Electric Set numbers. I was really impressed with his harp playing! He is much better tha John Mayall and has great tone and bending (still?). But is guitar playing for a guy his age (three years older than me!) is very good.
Nigel Watson is an ok lead guitarist. He plays fat and very overdriven thuumb picked leads which are about as good as your average Pub or Club band in Europe, Australia or America. He does hold the band together. Peter contributes very interesting fills and solos with hardly any effects (a little wah-wah in places). His solo on the Little Willie John tune is really awesome, no effects, no speed, but great phrasing. The highlight of this concert, for me, is The Stumble. How great is his playing with nuance, no effects, total control and mastery of the difficult chrous break-one of the most difficult in Blues. Twice as hard as the stop break in "Hideaway".

Lastly, I find is interesting in the bonus clip On Tour, they are with John Mayall on tour. Mayall should have gotten Green on his 70th Birthday concert!!! Amazon has offered both Green's DVD and Mayall's concert toghter at a special price, what a great deal! It is too bad that in today's world players can be judged by the difficulty of their techniques rather than the feeling of their music. That is the Blues. Best tracks are "Real World" (good chord progression and melody), the Stumble (great!!!!), Green Manalisi (brings back the 1960s styles!) and Black Magic Woman (great minor key chord progression). Get this DVD it is interesting!

Rating:
Summary: This Is An Interesting Concert!
Review: I must say this is an interesting presentation. After reading the previous review and as a guitarist for 40 years, I was very curious about this DVD. I first re-bought the old "Hard Road" CD after getting Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert. I thought Green on Hard Road (an album I personally had not heard since 1970) was excellent and it contained perhaps Mayall's best straight Blues writing attempts. Anyway, I saw this DVD and got it!

Peter Green to me was always an enigma. He came out of the blue and took Clapton's place in the Bluesbreakers and then went off to form Fleewood Mac. Not being a fan of the latter band, I never really listened to their bluesy interpretations. I thought Green in 1967 was better than Clapton and he certainly could perform vocals better-his version of "You Don't Love Me" is one of Mayall's best recordings! Of course not enough can be said of Green's masterpiece instrumental "The Supernatural". The Stumble (even with a big mistake in one chrous) is the best Freddie King instrumental copy ever done!

This DVD is down memory lane. I think the band is fairly competent, but not great. They are ok musicians and show a great love for the Blues. Peter Green is still an enigma (probably why I love this DVD!) He can hadly talk, but the NUANCE of his playing is fabluous-if you are a guitaist you can see it! His slide, while not as good (now) as, say, Mick Taylor, it is tinged with Elmore James on the high strings. He plays well on the first two Electric Set numbers. I was really impressed with his harp playing! He is much better tha John Mayall and has great tone and bending (still?). But is guitar playing for a guy his age (three years older than me!) is very good.
Nigel Watson is an ok lead guitarist. He plays fat and very overdriven thuumb picked leads which are about as good as your average Pub or Club band in Europe, Australia or America. He does hold the band together. Peter contributes very interesting fills and solos with hardly any effects (a little wah-wah in places). His solo on the Little Willie John tune is really awesome, no effects, no speed, but great phrasing. The highlight of this concert, for me, is The Stumble. How great is his playing with nuance, no effects, total control and mastery of the difficult chrous break-one of the most difficult in Blues. Twice as hard as the stop break in "Hideaway".

Lastly, I find is interesting in the bonus clip On Tour, they are with John Mayall on tour. Mayall should have gotten Green on his 70th Birthday concert!!! Amazon has offered both Green's DVD and Mayall's concert toghter at a special price, what a great deal! It is too bad that in today's world players can be judged by the difficulty of their techniques rather than the feeling of their music. That is the Blues. Best tracks are "Real World" (good chord progression and melody), the Stumble (great!!!!), Green Manalisi (brings back the 1960s styles!) and Black Magic Woman (great minor key chord progression). Get this DVD it is interesting!

Rating:
Summary: An evening with nigel watson splinter group !
Review: if you like nigel watson ,this is for you
but if you like peter green ....

Rating:
Summary: Does Peter really play?
Review: Since Nigel Watson coaxed 60s legend Peter Green out of retirement in the late 1990s, and formed the Splinter Group, there's been controversy about how much Green --- the marquee player of the band --- really contributes. Watson reportedly does most of the heavy lifting on guitar, adopting a style based on Green's brilliant work of 30+ years ago. This concert video gives you the chance to see for yourself.

There are two sets, an acoustic set made up of blues standards, including the Robert Johnson covers for which the band is noted. Then there's an electric set in which the Splinter Group performs original compositions, concluding with two of Peter Green's old songs. This has been the formula since the band's inception: new arrangements of the Green classics; blues covers, and new material by the other members of the band.

Those other members play well, and this is an enjoyable concert. Sadly, however, Peter Green does not do very much. His voice, never strong since his return from retirement, is very shaky. (Significantly, Nigel now sings "Need Your Love So Bad", since Peter is no longer able to hit the higher notes at all.) And while Green plays some harp, and some guitar, it's really Nigel who's doing the work here. There are one or two spots where Green seriously gets to work, but for the most part he picks indifferently at his guitar, backing Nigel's fiery solos with a few notes here and there.

The disc also includes an interview segment, and here Peter looks and sounds even worse. I could barely understand a word he said. Tragically, he comes across almost as a caricature of a fallen rock star, although those familiar with his life story are aware that serious health problems are responsible for his deterioration, and that he's still in much better shape now than he was before Nigel dragged him back into the spotlight.

Another DVD feature is an MTV-style video of "Real World", a Splinter Group original from their latest CD, "Reaching the Cold 100". Amazingly, in this video Peter smiles, seems awake, actually PLAYS his guitar and seems fully engaged. Did the concert just catch him on a bad night, has his health gone downhill, or does he just feel more comfortable without a live audience?

I'd recommend this disc for die-hard Green fans like myself, but anyone who hasn't heard his seminal work with John Mayall and the original Fleetwood Mac will probably be shaking their heads, asking "What's the big deal about this guy, anyway?" It's a shame, because those of us who love Peter's work know that, after Jimi Hendrix, he was the greatest rock or blues guitar player of his generation. While I'm glad he's enjoying himself (finally), I can't help wishing he still had his songwriting ability. Watching him do other people's songs and warmed-over versions of 35-year-old hits is, finally, getting a bit old.

The disc is in anamorphic widescreen with a fine Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Emotions
Review: When Peter Green made his first trip back to the USA in 1998 his first stop was Wilberts in Cleveland and I drove 4 hours to see him. Having seen a BBC documentary and a German Ohne Filter show just before going I knew what to expect. Yes, this isn't the same Peter Green that in my opinion was the best blues guitarist to ever come out of Britain, bar none. Peter obviously has had a lot to overcome and if you read his biography you'll understand what a miracle it is that he is even able to stand on stage. The room at Wilberts was so full of love and understanding it was one of the most memorable concerts I have ever attended. That is how you have to view this dvd, with love and understanding for one of the kindest most gentle, and talented human beings I've ever met.
The band behind him is really pro. Nigel Watsons guitar work is very tasty. It's hard to believe that when he met Peter (through his sister who was married to Fleetwood Mac's manager at one time)he was working construction. The rest of the band is a pleasure to listen to.
Enjoy it for what it is, and if you want to see the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup search out a copy of Fleetwood Mac The Early Years that was released on DVD a few years ago.
It's just great to see Peter enjoying life again.