The Fleetwood Mac founder's 1970 solo debut for Reprise. Features six tracks, all written & produced solely by Green,including 'Bottoms Up' and 'Timeless Time'.
The Fleetwood Mac founder's 1970 solo debut for Reprise. Features six tracks, all written & produced solely by Green,including 'Bottoms Up' and 'Timeless Time'.
CD Reviews
Somewhere out in Deep Space ...
B. Lynch | USA | 12/03/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...there might be a planet where radio stations play great music. Until we find that planet, you'll have to check out CD's and other media."The End Of The Game" is Peter Green's foray into something that is truly genre bending. Is it Jazz? Rock? Blues? Is it Ambient music? Or is it variations on Folk melodies? It's a bit of all of the above, and the terms "mind expanding", or "stunning" come to mind upon listening.The expansive musical exploration suggests why Peter Green and his former bandmates in Fleetwood Mac evenutally parted company. Fleetwood Mac wanted to play more traditional and familiar blues variations and rock tunes, while Green seems as if he wanted to fuse the improvisations of Jazz/rock musicians like Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin, with the blues of early John Mayall and Jimi Hendrix at his peak. The music here is wordless, and it is as compelling as anything released by the likes of John Coltrane or Miles Davis. Because it is not easily classified as to musical type (rock, blues, or jazz are all equally applicable), it is not "radio friendly", and probably doesn't fit into any pop or other contemporary radio formula--so don't expect to hear it on most stations. "The End Of the Game" is probably a bit too "far out" for many listeners' tastes, like most of the output by the aforementioned jazz legends. Like a lot of jazz and ambient music, this is not a collection of catchy melodies and clever hooks. Unlike a lot of avant-garde music, though, this stays based in blues chord and rhythmic strucutes and never drifts into the "wierdness for the sake of wierdness" realm that ultimately sinks most expermimental music. Of Green's subsequent CD's, only "In The Skies" even comes close to this. While I liked the songs, rhythms, and melodies on "In The Skies", it left me with none of the sense of exploration and adventure that this CD does. This CD holds up well to many repeat listenings, and all but demands to be digitally remastered."
A guitar that burns
David Kinney | San Francisco, Ca. United States | 02/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I normally avoid instumental guitar albums like the plague, but being a Peter Green die-hard I had to pick this up back in 1970. I did'nt really care for it then but I love it now! No other guitarist had the burning tone of Peter Green. Some were faster, some more skilled technically, but no one was as expressive with the six strings as Peter Green. This CD is kinda short. You'll wade through a few boring moments in the jamming, but the rewards are far greater than the downside. Five stars for a incindiery talent who never burnt out. Fans of The Mac, fans from Peter's recent and welcome return to form, and fans of red hot and blue guitar need this one."
Awesome... Hypnotic.. A "must have" for serious guitarists.
B. Lynch | 07/30/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are looking for the conventional Original Fleetwood Mac or traditional blues, Don't buy this album.(Get Live at the BBC instead) If you are interested in the raw essence of music and the soul exposed via electricity, Don't pass this one by.. Truly incredible. Peter Green playing at his prime. Goes way beyond words. Everytime I listen to this album I hear something new. I own over 2000 albums and CDs, If I had to choose just one, It would be this one. "Professional Reviewers" that constantly hang a bad grade on this album should stick to Donny Osmond or the Beegees. "It aint for the faint of heart!" Consider yourself a flashy guitarist?? Prepare to be horribly humbled."
Defying description
running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 01/22/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Peter Green, fresh from his late-1960's endeavors with Fleetwood Mac, offered up his first solo album in 1970, something akin to George Harrison's 'Wonderwall' or Neil Young's 'Arc', a thirty-five minute series of instrumental works ranging in length from under two and one-half minutes (the aptly named 'Timeless Time') to the lengthy opener, the nine-minute workout on the wah-pedal titled 'Bottoms Up'. While the production and writing credits are all assigned to Green, each track was culled from a single six-hour improvisational session featuring Green and four other musicians.
This disc comes as sparsely packaged as just about any you will see. The German import lists only one date, 1979, although the disc was originally released on vinyl in 1970. Three times the track listings are offered, but nowhere are the running times provided. The musicians and their instruments are identified. Other than that there are two photographs of a cheetah and a bar code. That's it. What's more, the song titles offer basically no insight into the texture of the compositions, which is fitting since they pretty much defy description. You will notice that fully one-half of the front insert is completely blank, so I guess we can claim that lyrics are included!
Perhaps the most instructive insight into the disc can be gained by investigating the backgrounds of the relatively unknown, but not unaccomplished musicians Green is performing with. All possess fairly lengthy resumes, with most of their touchstones on the radical cusp of recorded music. Bassist Alex Dmochowski, for instance, performed on several of Frank Zappa's studio discs from the early 1970's, and also recorded a disc with Anysley Dunbar. Keyboardist Zoot Money had stints with Spencer Davis, Alex Korner, Andy Summers, and even Eric Burdon's New Animals. Nick Buck on organ was a member of Hot Tuna, and drummer Godfrey MacLean was a member of Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, and recorded with Lou Reed. Out of this group one could certainly expect an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, rock, as well as the experimental rhythms and moods they create.
The most conventional of the six tracks is the funky, pulsing opener, 'Bottoms Up', which also features Green's most impressive guitar lines. The wah-pedal, which Green indulges in throughout the disc, lends a psychedelic impression over all the other musical textures the band explores. 'Timeless Time' follows, a slow, whispy, and brief interlude, marking time between the conventional and unconventional, which breaks loose on track three. 'Descending Scale' is another lengthy track, running about eight minutes, the first six of which are perhaps the most unstructured in the set. With each instrument seemingly pursuing its own course, it is surprising the finished product sounds as coherant and cohesive as it does. The last two minutes of the track, however, follow the rhythm section to a more standard conclusion. The last three tracks run about five, four, and six minutes respectively. 'Burnt Foot' features a nice drum solo, and a sweet rock jam with pulsing bass lines. 'Hidden Depth' is another many-textured track, including one soft, flowing segment. The title track closes out the disc, sounding like an aural summary paragraph for the disc, experienced as a cosmic journey.
Recordings such as 'End of the Game' obviously are not going to elicit widespread popular interest. The fact that Warner Brothers chose to release the disc speaks partly to the musical sensibilities of the time, which was a fertile ground for experimental exploits of this sort. It also speaks to the accomplished status Peter Green had achieved as the prime componant in one of the seminal blues-rock bands of the era, especially from a European perspective. No surprise therefore, that 'End of the Game' exists only as an imported product. If you're a fan of the 1960's work of Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac, or if you just enjoy experimental music, this disc qualifies as essential listening. However, I would doubt that people outside of those categories would have much use for what Peter Green and company are doling out here."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1