After almost a decade of personal, drug-addled hell since his 1970 debut The End of the Game,
Peter Green begins his comeback with
In the Skies, and a title tune that sounds downright hopeful compared to where he left off. Although
Green shares lead guitar work with
Snowy White, it's clear from his fluid technique and haunting tone that he can still play. "A Fool No More" is the kind of slow blues
Green excels at.
Robin Trower drummer
Reg Isidore gives way on one track to Godfrey McLean, who played on The End of the Game.
Green dips even farther back into his past, courtesy of keyboards by
Pete Bardens, who gave him his first professional music job in 1966 in a band with
Mick Fleetwood.
Green's singing, never a particular strength, is not a weakness here. Five of the nine songs are instrumentals, continuing a longtime
Green tradition. It's an unambitious but solid and welcome return by a guitarist who in his prime rivaled
Eric Clapton. If that seems far-fetched, listen to
A Hard Road by
John Mayall's Bluebreakers or
Then Play On by
Fleetwood Mac. ~ Mark Allan