Discuss Oh Well

[DavidMn]

Ok, I'm going to try my hand at this. Forgive me for my lack of technical knowledge, but what do I need to know when I hear the line DONT ASK ME WHAT I THInK OF YOU, I MIGHT NOT GIVE THE ANSWER YOU WANT ME TO. Without a doubt probably one of the best if not the best song ever to come out of Fleetwood Mac! Never gets old, Never.

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Forgive me for my lack of technical knowledge, but what do I need to know when I hear the line DONT ASK ME WHAT I THInK OF YOU, I MIGHT NOT GIVE THE ANSWER YOU WANT ME TO.

What is technical about that line, David? I guess I am not understanding your question. I posted a vid for OhWell earlier today in the "what ru listening to" thread. I really enjoy this song too.

[chiliD]

To me, the song isn't just the best Fleetwood Mac song of all-time, it's the best song (bar none) of all-time.

Listen to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog"...how much of an inspiration was "Oh Well" in the creation of that song? Quite a bit, it appears.

[BTFLCHLD]

Hope you guys don't mind...I am posting the video here...so I can have handy...

[kowk]

Originally Posted by chiliD

T
Listen to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog"...how much of an inspiration was "Oh Well" in the creation of that song? Quite a bit, it appears.

That's true. Here is a piece of an article from GuitarPlayer:

If there’s one Fleetwood Macera Peter Green riff you’ve gotta know, it’s the one from “Oh Well” (from Then Play On). How come? There are few honors in the music biz greater than having one of your songs provide the inspiration for another classic-rock standard, so dig this: According to John Paul Jones, who penned Led Zeppelin’s immortal “Black Dog” riff, the song was intentionally modeled after Green’s “Oh Well.” Jones, in a recent feature in the UK publication Record Collector, cited the song’s lengthy, low-register riff and quirkily timed vocal breaks as chief motivational factors. Admittedly, Green’s riff, the studio version of which begins with the growling, low-register syncopations notated in Ex. 9a played on nylon-string acoustic (!), is much longer. This four-bar call-and-response figure— echoed by Green’s overdriven Les Paul on the repeat—features nearly identical passages in bars 1 and 3, the only difference being the B versus Bb in the middle of beat two’s triplet. The song continues with Green and Kirwan matching each other’s phrasing note-for-note in different octaves on the pair of riffs shown in the first two bars of Ex. 9b, before concluding with another “Black Dog”-ish move as Green shifts the meter to 5/4, prefacing his own “B.D.”-like vocal breaks. Depending on which version you reference, G&K either play this measure in octaves, as in bar 3, or in harmony, when Green would replace the lower octave part with the one shown in Ex. 9c. Rock on and keep shakin’ it!

[mzero]

Originally Posted by kowk

That's true. Here is a piece of an article from GuitarPlayer:

If there’s one Fleetwood Macera Peter Green riff you’ve gotta know, it’s the one from “Oh Well” (from Then Play On). How come? There are few honors in the music biz greater than having one of your songs provide the inspiration for another classic-rock standard, so dig this: According to John Paul Jones, who penned Led Zeppelin’s immortal “Black Dog” riff, the song was intentionally modeled after Green’s “Oh Well.” Jones, in a recent feature in the UK publication Record Collector, cited the song’s lengthy, low-register riff and quirkily timed vocal breaks as chief motivational factors. Admittedly, Green’s riff, the studio version of which begins with the growling, low-register syncopations notated in Ex. 9a played on nylon-string acoustic (!), is much longer. This four-bar call-and-response figure— echoed by Green’s overdriven Les Paul on the repeat—features nearly identical passages in bars 1 and 3, the only difference being the B versus Bb in the middle of beat two’s triplet. The song continues with Green and Kirwan matching each other’s phrasing note-for-note in different octaves on the pair of riffs shown in the first two bars of Ex. 9b, before concluding with another “Black Dog”-ish move as Green shifts the meter to 5/4, prefacing his own “B.D.”-like vocal breaks. Depending on which version you reference, G&K either play this measure in octaves, as in bar 3, or in harmony, when Green would replace the lower octave part with the one shown in Ex. 9c. Rock on and keep shakin’ it!

thanks kowk. i hadn't seen a reference to this jpj interview, it sounds fantastic

jimmy page has also said similar things about oh well in 'light and shade' a book that came out in 2012. it is a series of interviews conducted over a number of years.

jp brings up the peter era fleetwood mac, i think, three or four times without being prompted - he's a big fan i gather. also mentions jeremy as well. i'll try and remember to scan those and post here.

z

[LesPaul7]

I've always thought the droning riffs and chords Green plays under the solo are awesome. You can really hear them on a stereo version like the backing track for one of the BBC appearances (this is on that FM, the Early Years DVD). Not the actual version from the BBC CD though, that one has some weird stuff going on in the solo, overdubs?

[THD]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Listen to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog"...how much of an inspiration was "Oh Well" in the creation of that song? Quite a bit, it appears.

I don't see that much similarity myself Only the unaccompnied vocal shout really . the Led Zep riff is a good riff, but like a million other riffs of the time(though played better!) - a sort of extended Rock Me Babe riff ? And not really like Peter's riff at all( to my ears anyway )Certainly the song, in general, is an an inspiration .

[THD]

Sometimes people can read too much into lyrics (like art experts do to oil paintings I find )!

When Peter said "When I talk to God ..." did he mean :when I have a chat with Eric Clapton ...Er I don't think so !

But Peter was investigating Christianity at the time ,don't know if he actually converted, so to speak- he did start to wear a cross though .He and Jeremy (who was very religious and presumably still is ) were supposed to be working on a idea about an album about the life of Christ -( I heard Peter talk about it in a BBC radio interview at the time )- which would have pre -dated Jesus Christ Superstar ! Did Peter and Jeremy actually write any songs ?Did they actually record anything that has never seen the light of day ? Jeremy if your out there ................?

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

What is technical about that line, David? I guess I am not understanding your question. I posted a vid for OhWell earlier today in the "what ru listening to" thread. I really enjoy this song too.

No what I meant was I have a hard time explaining the technical side of a song. I'm just not too good at it

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

No what I meant was I have a hard time explaining the technical side of a song. I'm just not too good at it

gotcha
yeah...'don’t ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer you want me to'

[robm]

Technical
I believe the line was in reference to him replacing Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers...and peoples comments regarding Peter's abilities as said replacement..."Clapton is God" was in vogue during this period of british blues...so "replacing" "God", as Peter did, probably stired the pot so to speak, and this was how Peter felt about the whole thing...correct me if I'm wrong...

[zoork_1]

Originally Posted by robm

Technical
I believe the line was in reference to him replacing Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers...and peoples comments regarding Peter's abilities as said replacement..."Clapton is God" was in vogue during this period of british blues...so "replacing" "God", as Peter did, probably stired the pot so to speak, and this was how Peter felt about the whole thing...correct me if I'm wrong...

Sorry to ask about trivia, but when did PG replace Clapton, and when did FM release Oh Well?

//Zoork

[doodyhead]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Ok, I'm going to try my hand at this. Forgive me for my lack of technical knowledge, but what do I need to know when I hear the line DONT ASK ME WHAT I THInK OF YOU, I MIGHT NOT GIVE THE ANSWER YOU WANT ME TO. Without a doubt probably one of the best if not the best song ever to come out of Fleetwood Mac! Never gets old, Never.

How about this

without reference to Clapton or the green god, to me the statement is simple

Honesty. Most people if they really thought of it know their own faults, foibles, assets and quirks. Its easy for someone to criticize someone else, isnt it? We do it all the time. We know what we mean when we think or talk. Does anyone else understand us? What do they hear?

first statement
I can tell you about the shape Im In, Icant sing, I ant pretty and my legs are thin,
self assessmnt
second statement. If this is what I think of myself what would you expect me to say about you?
but dont ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to.
second line. only god knows what is in our hearts and can lead us

here is peters dilemna with being a band leader. He did not want to be the last word or the answer for others. If you read what he had said to many a fan after that time and of his accounts of jam sessions where everyone diferred to him, this statemet makes complete sense

When I talk to god i know he understands, he says sit by me and I'l be your guiding hand,
but dont ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to.

doodyhead

[librax2]

Originally Posted by doodyhead

How about this

without reference to Clapton or the green god, to me the statement is simple

Honesty. Most people if they really thought of it know their own faults, foibles, assets and quirks. Its easy for someone to criticize someone else, isnt it? We do it all the time. We know what we mean when we think or talk. Does anyone else understand us? What do they hear?

first statement
I can tell you about the shape Im In, Icant sing, I ant pretty and my legs are thin,
self assessmnt
second statement. If this is what I think of myself what would you expect me to say about you?
but dont ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to.
second line. only god knows what is in our hearts and can lead us

here is peters dilemna with being a band leader. He did not want to be the last word or the answer for others. If you read what he had said to many a fan after that time and of his accounts of jam sessions where everyone diferred to him, this statemet makes complete sense

When I talk to god i know he understands, he says sit by me and I'l be your guiding hand,
but dont ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to.

doodyhead

Well said, doodyhead. I never quite followed the idea that Peter was getting god like when he penned those lines. Your interpretation seems more on the mark