Peter Greenbaum

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by David

Can any Jewish musical influence -- shtetl folksong, klezmer, sephardic mediterranean influence, ashkenazic eastern European influence, liturgical song -- be heard in Peter Green's work with Fleetwood Mac or elsewhere? This seems to me a grossly overlooked aspect of Peter's art.

I don't know abut the musical side of his songs, but certainly there are examples in his lyrics. "Trying So Hard To Forget" from "Mr. Wonderful" would be a great example of a song that reflects a part of the Jewish experience.

[becca]

I posted this below in a Dave Walker thread elsewhere. I think more about Peter's economic or class background as effecting the music he makes more than a Jewish connection. Mind you, I don't know much about that really, but I'm sure it has something to do with becoming the person you become... being a part of the family to whatever degree.

Dave Walker writes and sings from a place pretty close to Peter Greenbaum's, a place anyone who has been through hard times and absense of opportunity can connect to. It is about surviving, about protecting in some basic ferocious way your sensitivity in an environment where you can only expect to be treated roughly. They turn this into music and it's truly beautiful, it feeds you. It's hard not to be fierecly loyal to people like that, that help your soul survive. The best blues are songs of survival.