Some folks consider Peter Green as the greatest white blues guitar
player ever. I would have a hard time disagreeing with that statement
myself. When you look at what he has accomplished since the sixties
with Fleetwood Mac and beyond, he is arguably one of the best
to ever strap on electric guitar and play the blues.
With The Splinter Group Green came back onto the scene five
years ago with their first release and he continues his revitalization
with the latest release titled Reaching The Cold 100. His legacy continues
with yet another blues-rock classic. Greens guitar playing and vocals
are exemplarily and his group is a compliment to his well-developed
talents and style. Nigel Watson also plays some excellent guitar while
he adds his deep throaty laid-back vocals to the mix; he is perfect
for the blues and for Green. Lest I not forgot the outstanding contributions
of Roger Cotton, Pete Stroud and Larry Tolfree, as all three men are
a vital part of the band.
While this is a solid album full of great new tracks, I found the
bonus tracks to be amazing. They are all revised classics that sound
better than ever. Black Magic Woman, It Takes Time, Green Manalishi,
and Albatross show the group in excellent form hitting on all cylinders.
Albatross is terrific with delicate acoustic guitar picking and strumming
done to perfection while Black Magic Woman features Greens snappy
biting guitar licks, which reinvent the song once more. Green Manalishi
is a stroke of musical genius with equal amounts of rock and blues
with a prosperous influx of keyboards; it is easily the most authoritative
performance on the entire album. Out of all the new tracks, I particularly
enjoyed Cool Down and Dangerous Man with their cool and to-the-point
lyrics accompanied by the sharp guitar lines that make blues-rock so stimulating.
As excellent as it can be, I did notice that a lot of Greens playing
is on the mellower more tasteful side in comparison to the previous
studio release I heard in 2001 titled Time Traders. I will take it
any way he dishes it out though, because I know there is only one
Peter Green in this world and nobody can play like him or come close
to sounding as he does. I do not think you will find too many CDs
that are as good as this one in the blues section of your local brick
and mortar outlet this year.
1. Ain't Nothin' Gonna Change - 3:28
2. Look Out for Yourself - 4:29
3. Cool Down 3:59
4. Dangerous Man - 4:06
5. Needs Must the Devil Drives - 4:16
6. Must Be a Fool - 4:33
7. Don't Walk Away - 4:33
8. Can You Tell Me Why (A.K.A. Legal Fee Blues) - 3:49
9. Spiritual Thief 4:57
10. I'm Ready for You - 4:39
11. Smile - 5:16
12. Nice Girl Like You - 4:37
13. When Somebody Cares - 5:26
Bonus Tracks:
14. Black Magic Woman - 6:53
15. It Takes Time - 5:27
16. Green Manalishi - 4:43
17. Albatross - 3:23
Credits
Peter Green - Vocals, lead guitar, slide guitar, harmonica, banjo
Nigel Watson - Vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar
Roger Cotton - Piano, Hammond C3, rhythm guitar
Pete Stroud - Fretless and fretted bass guitars, double bass
Larry Tolfree - Drums, percussion
