PETER GREEN AND DANNY KIRWAN

I've had less spare time than usual for posting lately, so fortunately my man in the field, Charlie McCardell, forwarded me this clip of the early Fleetwood Mac.

This group, one of the best white blues bands ever, always gets overshadowed or overlooked for various reasons. This undeserved obscurity sometimes leads to partisan bickering amongst fans, as people feel the need to say that the underrated Peter Green is better than Clapton, or that the twin guitar team of Green and Danny Kirwan is better than the Allman Brothers, etc. I'm not sure any of these guys are "better" than each other; they've all done excellent work when they were in their prime. Let's just say that Green has all the technique of the early Clapton, with an intense and personal emotional sound. Kirwan might have been better known if he'd been in a different band.

A personal note about my own playing-- years ago, Paul DeBlois (my boss at the time) told me that anyone who wanted to learn about stringbending should study Kirwan's playing on Fleetwood Mac's "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues." I took his advice, and I now pass the same advice along to anyone reading this!

I'd like to add that, listening to this track for the first time in years, I was shocked (but pleasantly!) to hear how much I stole from Danny Kirwan. Here he is playing Django-esque ideas, but with string-bending and a semi-dirty tone. Upon reflection, I realize that this description could apply to a fair amount of my own playing. The main difference when I play is, I'm not as good at it as he was. So, while Kirwan is essentially an also-ran guitarist, this is merely due to his being overshadowed by the stunning Green. Kirwan's virtues include charm, understatement, and wit, none of which are elements most rock fans are looking for in a guitar hero. If I have any of these attributes in my own playing, I thank Danny Kirwan. (I thank Paul Deblois also, for telling me about this recording years ago.)