Green, Peter Splinter Group - Reaching The Cold 100

Year of Release: 2003
Label: Eagle Records
Catalog Number: 20004
Format: CD
Total Time: 75:14:00

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. Green's 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 Green's 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.

Tracklisting:
Ain't Nothin' Gonna Change (3:28) / Look Out For Yourself (4:29) / Cool Down (3:59) / Dangerous Man (4:06) / Needs Must The Devil Drives (4:16) / Must Be A Fool (4:33) / Don't Walk Away (4:33) / Can You Tell Me Why (A.K.A. Legal Fee Blues) (3:49) / Spiritual Thief (4:57) / I'm Ready For You (4:39) / Smile (5:16) / Nice Girl Like You (4:37) / When Somebody Cares (5:26) / Bonus Tracks: Black Magic Woman (6:53) / It Takes Time (5:27) / Green Manalishi (4:43) / Albatross (3:23)

Musicians:
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

Discography:
Peter Green Splinter Group (1997)
The Robert Johnson Songbook (1998/2008)
Destiny Road (1999)
Time Traders (2001)
Reaching The Cold 100 (2003)
The Consummate White Blues Guitarist (2008)

Genre: Other

Origin UK

Added: March 24th 2003
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.petergreen-splintergroup.co.uk
Hits: 2242
Language: english