Writing in the Times of Israel, Amir Ben-David uncovers the mysterious details of Peter Green's visit to Israel in 1980. If there has been a better English language long form music article published in Israel over the past decade, I have yet to see it.
There are plenty of flaws in the piece. It characterizes Green's version of FM as "non-commercial" (in comparison to the breezier sounding outfit that made "Rumours" and took over the world) even though Green wrote several hits, including a #1. It misses basic details of his personal life -- Green divorced shortly before his visit to Israel, not after. More concerning is that it's rockist to the extreme, mythologizing its subject to absurd, unreachable heights. By 1980, Peter Green was nearly a decade removed from leading Fleetwood Mac and was clearly spent as a commercial force. And yet, for him to randomly turn up in Israel at that time bordered on the unthinkable. Most of the Western world had already forgotten about Green, but Israelis hadn't had their turn yet. Much in the same way that American blues guitarists were fawned over legends to the Rolling Stones in the early 60's, Green was a deity in the Israeli blues scene to those who hadn't the chance to see him in person. So the OTT mythologizing in the article has its purpose. It effectively communicates, with the help of many of the principles involved in the recording session with Green at the time, the breathless excitement surrounding his visit.
The investigative journalism is top notch. Through a serious of enchanting interviews, Ben-David pieces together the details of a recording session lost to history. The cast of Israeli characters is nearly as colourful as Green himself. The fate of the recording is not entirely understood, although some of those who were present attempt to explain it. Only two songs from the session are linked in the article. Some believe they were the only songs recorded, others believe there were hours more that have since been lost or destroyed. Like any great mystery, one is left with more questions than answers. To this day, nobody even knows exactly how or why Green made his way to Israel.
In general I just love stories about famous musicians who disappear for a while and turn up in an exotic locale with little to no explanation.
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