| "Oh Well" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover of the French release |
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| Single by Fleetwood Mac | ||||||||
| A-side | "Oh Well" | |||||||
| B-side | "Oh Well, Part 2" | |||||||
| Released | 1969 | |||||||
| Format | 7" single | |||||||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||||||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||||||
| Length | 2:20 | |||||||
| Label | Reprise | |||||||
| Fleetwood Mac singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Oh Well" is a song recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1969, and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green. It first appeared as a Fleetwood Mac single in various countries in 1969, subsequently appearing on the Greatest Hits album in 1971. It later featured on the 1992 boxed set 25 Years - The Chain, and on the 2002 compilation album The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. A slightly different version of the song was included on the 1998 compilation The Vaudeville Years.
Contents |
"Oh Well" was composed in two parts, the first part being released as the A-side of the single and occasionally referred to as "Oh Well, Part 1". The B-side, "Part 2", was an entirely different, much longer instrumental piece with a classical influence. Both parts were released on the Then Play On album, fused together to form one long track of nearly nine minutes. At concerts, only the first part was played, and live versions of the song have been released on many Fleetwood Mac live albums throughout their career such as Live and Live at the BBC, as well on the B-sides of singles. After Green's departure, the song was sung by various other members, including Bob Welch, Lindsey Buckingham and Rick Vito.
The first part of the song features a fast blues guitar riff played by Green, joined subsequently by Danny Kirwan and bassist John McVie, before a musical silence, punctuated only by Mick Fleetwood's cowbell percussion. Green sings a brief verse with no musical accompaniment, before the riff begins again and Kirwan takes a solo. Another silence precedes a second verse, and a replay of the riff.[1] Where the second part follows, there is a brief pause before Green's sombre, Spanish-style acoustic guitar and low electric guitar,[1] leading to further instrumental passages of recorder, cello and piano, the latter played by Jeremy Spencer. This was Spencer's only contribution to the song, as he was absent from the recording of "Part 1", and Green played all the other instruments heard during "Part 2".
The first minute or so of "Part 2" was usually included as a fade-out coda to the A-side and then begun again on the B-side of the single. The Then Play On album edit of "Oh Well" simply joined the two sides of the single as it stood, so that "Part 2"'s beginning is heard twice, otherwise the whole piece would run for only 7:58, rather than the resulting 8:56.
"Oh Well, Part 1" has been viewed by some critics as one of the early crossovers between blues rock and heavy metal, along with songs by others such as Led Zeppelin.[1]
An excerpt from the song can be heard in the Doctor Who story Spearhead from Space. This was filmed around the same time the single was in the charts, and transmitted in January 1970. The song was omitted from later video releases of the story, but finally reintroduced on the DVD release in 2011.
The single's peak position in the UK Charts was #2 for two weeks in November 1969, spending a total of 16 weeks on the chart.[2] In the Dutch Top 40, it peaked at #1, staying in the chart for 11 weeks. It also reached the top 5 in Norway, New Zealand and France, and the top 10 in Germany and Switzerland.[3]
"Oh Well" was not a big hit in the USA, reaching only #55, although its reputation has grown in the years since its release.[1] It has been also re-released in many countries as a 'Golden Oldies' single.
"Oh Well" has been covered on record by many other artists and groups, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gordon Giltrap, Joe Jackson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Rockets, Big Country, Tribe of Gypsies and Ratt. The song was also played live by Jimmy Page performing with the The Black Crowes and released on his 2000 album Live at the Greek.[1]