The Fleetwood Mac song that Peter Green “used to hate playing”
There is only one song in the entire Fleetwood Mac canon that had survived every iteration of the band. Although early tracks like ‘Black Magic Woman’ and the chart-topping ‘Albatross’ were among the best-known material from the Peter Green era, later iterations of the band didn’t feel the need to revive those songs in their live sets. But one song was an absolute must for every version of the Mac – ‘Oh Well’.
The riff-based rocker was an instant smash for Fleetwood Mac, climbing to number two on the UK singles chart when it was first released in 1969. Most fans recognised the song for its first part – an insistent hard rock number featuring one of Green’s most memorable riffs and some classic Mick Fleetwood cowbell work. But ‘Oh Well’ was more than just the heavy lead guitar line from the song’s first part.
In fact, ‘Oh Well’ is a nearly nine-minute composition with two distinct sections. The first is the most well-known, appearing as the A-side of the single and being played by Fleetwood Mac live. The second part is a flamenco-inspired guitar piece featuring Green on nearly every instrument, save for the piano lines provided by Jeremy Spencer. Oddly enough, Spencer wasn’t featured on Part 1 of ‘Oh Well’, with guitars coming from Green and fellow Fleetwood Mac axeman Danny Kirwan.
“It represents my two extremes,” Green would tell Rolling Stone about the song’s two-part structure. “As wild as I can be, and my first sort of semiclassical attempt.” Green was surprised when ‘Oh Well’ was bookmarked for a single release, and in later years, he became frustrated by the fact that only the first part of the composition was known to the public.
“The best bit was Part 2 on the other side of the record,” Green told Mojo in 1996. “You miss the best bit, the Spanish guitar break. The first side was what we played on stage. I didn’t think it would be a hit, and I used to hate playing that one because we played the part that wasn’t as good. I wanted a bit of moody guitar playing. They wanted the bit that was easy to do, that everyone knew.”
When Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970, ‘Oh Well’ was still among the band’s best-known songs. As a potent part of their live shows, the rest of Fleetwood Mac continued to play the song with a new succession of guitarists. The Bob Welch-led version of Fleetwood Mac performed the song, as did the fake version of the group put together by manager Clifford Davis when the band briefly split up in 1973.
When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in 1975, Buckingham revived ‘Oh Well’, along with Green’s ‘The Green Manalishi’ and Welch’s ‘Hypnotized’ as the new version of Fleetwood Mac attempted to put together material. Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell continued the song’s tradition by using it as his own spotlight track when he joined Fleetwood Mac in 2018.
Check out the full version of ‘Oh Well’, featuring Parts 1 and 2, down below.
