Black Magic Woman by Fleetwood Mac/Peter Green | electric
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An electric guitar lesson on "Black Magic Woman" by Peter Green. This was released as a single in 1968. It didn't appear on an album until the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose and The Pious Bird of Good Omen, as well as Vintage Years.
A lot of people think that "Black Magic Woman" is by Santana, and although he had a massive hit with it, it's originally a Fleetwood Mac song written by the great Peter Green. I was saddened to hear of Peter Green's passing the other day. I know he had suffered with mental illness and had a very troubled life. He was one of the greatest blues guitar players to come out of England. Here's a link to a great New York Times article about him. I've always really loved this song and especially the guitar solo and fills. Peter Green wasn't a flashy player, but he had a real touch on the guitar. Like all of the greats, his phrasing was excellent. He just seems to play the exact right thing at the exact right time. A big part of his sound was the fact that his '59 Les Paul had the pickups wired out of phase. There are a lot of stories about how this happened but the bottom line is that it gave his Les Paul a very unique sound. Here's an interesting article about his guitar which after being sold to Gary Moore, is now owned by Kirk Hammett. I go over the rhythm as well as all of the fills and the solo. Learning these guitar parts is a master class on how to play blues guitar. I made my demo with a drum program (EZ Drummer 2). It's great, but replacing Mick Fleetwood with a computer is almost sacrilegious! Being locked to the grid when playing music like this is not ideal to say the least as it's really hard to get a good feel. To keep the authentic sound, I panned the drums all the way to the left. It just didn't sound right with the drums down the middle! Also, I played the bass part on my demo and I have to say that John McVie is a fantastic bass player. Between him and Mick, they're one of the greatest rhythm sections ever and are HUGE part of the vibe of not only this song, but all of the Fleetwood Mac material over the years. Peter Green has always been one of my favorite blues guitarists. I throw on those old Fleetwood Mac albums all of the time. There's something about those songs, the feel of the band and his playing that is so great. I hope that you get something from the video. R.I.P. Peter Green...Cheers Andy |
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