Anyone listen to Buddy Guy?

John Casler · « **on:** 30 Jun 2005, 03:29 pm »

I was in Tower the other day and "as an experiment" picked up a new Buddy Guy CD titled "Damn Right I got the Blues".

I have to say either I lucked out or this guy (no pun intended) is one hell of a performer.

It is very "soulful" and his guitar riffs would rival Clapton on his best days.

Anyone else listen to this "GUY"?

Carlman · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 03:45 pm »

He's one of the best blues artists I know... You should really pick up this album:
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, 'Drinkin TNT and Smokin Dynamite'.

Good find, though.. I'm not as familiar as his solo albums... he plays with a lot of other people.

-C

SWG255 · « **Reply #2 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 03:53 pm »

He can be psychadelic too, checkout some of his playing on "Sweet Tea". There's some stuff that would make Hendrix proud on that disc, as well as great blues.

Quote from: Carlman

He's one of the best blues artists I know... You should really pick up this album:
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, 'Drinkin TNT and Smokin Dynamite'.

Good find, though.. I'm not as familiar as his solo albums... he plays with a lot of other people.

-C

chadh · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 03:55 pm »

The first time I saw Buddy Guy perform might have been in a truly crappy venue that was only half full, in Canberra, Australia. Probably around 1990. At that time, it may have been the most wonderful show I'd ever seen. I think he might have been touring after the release of Damn Right I've Got the Blues. Either way, I have that album - and it doesn't hold a candle to the live performance.

Live, he's pretty amazing...not only is his guitar work brilliant, but he's just an awesome showman. A few years later, having moved to the US, I was lucky enough to catch him live another couple of times. And guess what? He was brilliant again and again. GUess what else? His show was essentially the same on all three occasions. I mean, mostly the same set, all the same jokes, all the same flashy gimmics. Hmmm...maybe when he strapped on his strat with the radio mic and marched outside into the street, still playing "Knock on Wood", he might have stayed outside longer the second time I heard him. But the Hendrix impression (playing voodoo chile) and the Van Halen impressions (lightning fast work only on his left hand, while using his right to smoke a cigarette), they were all the same.

He owns a club in Chicago called Legends. It's downtown, expensive, and designed to milk tourists for large amounts of cash. But if he's in town, you can sometimes hear him play...and that's worth it.

I think he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. But I could be wrong. He apparently made a perfomance at the awards ceremony playing with Clapton and BB King.

Chad

Jumpin · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 04:02 pm »

John,

Buddy is one of the true legends.
Best of all, he is living and playing.
Still can play rings around most any living guitarist I know.
Guys like Clapton revere Buddy, Stevie Ray was a disiple as well.
Seen him many times, can do without the showman part, but in between, the sweetest licks you will ever hear.

Mark

Scott F. · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 05:19 pm »

Buddy is the consumate performer. If you like him recorded, you should see him live. Even better yet, see him perform with a few other Blues artists. His stage antics steal the show.

One of his latest CD's (if not the latest) Blues Singer is phenominal. This is Buddy's tribute to John Lee Hooker. Buddy drops the hard driving blues guitar and picks up an acoustic. He plays and sings his ass off. It could be his best release to date IMO.

Heres a pic of Buddy with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Cray, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Randolph with Tilt-A-Whirl (Jimmy's back up band) providing the backing.

I took that one last year when I was covering the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival for TNT-Audio down in Dallas.

Man that was one kick ass show.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 05:34 pm »

Quote from: John Casler

I was in Tower the other day and "as an experiment" picked up a new Buddy Guy CD titled "Damn Right I got the Blues".

FYI - that album actually came out in 1991...the "new" CD is a re-master.

I saw Buddy on a blues cruise around Manhattan when that album came out...incredible show! Clapton often cites he and Albert King were his biggest influences, and Clapton often brings Buddy along with him to those big mega-concerts...you know, the ones where Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Sting, et al always end up jamming? The most recent one (I think) was the Concert for New York City after 9/11...

R_burke · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 06:12 pm »

Quote from: Scott F.

One of his latest CD's (if not the latest) Blues Singer is phenominal. This is Buddy's tribute to John Lee Hooker. Buddy drops the hard driving blues guitar and picks up an acoustic. He plays and sings his ass off. It could be his best release to date IMO. [\quote]

I have several Buddy CDs and IMO I agree that this is his best to date

mojoman · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 07:14 pm »

Some of my Buddy Guy favorite recordings:

Alone and Acoustic - Buddy and Junior Wells having a good time in a studio. Has the feel of a couple of friends jamming for fun, and it is a lot of fun to listen to them.

Stone Crazy - Only six songs on this Aligator release but there all smokin'

Slippin' In - Damn Right and Feels Like Rain featured a lot of guest appearances but this one was all Buddy and his band.

Live - The Real Deal - Buddy at Legends with GE Smith and the SNL orchestra.

Sweet Tea - I like this one better then Blues Singer. It's a basic blues album. Sort of Buddy back to basics.

I've seen Buddy 6 times over the years. Two shows were brilliant, two were ok and two sucked so my opinion of him live is that he can be hit or miss. Also agree with Chadh that all six shows were basically the same - "We're gonna get so funky you can smell it..." During one of the great shows I saw, when he played Feel Lke Rain it started drizzling rain about 2 minutes into the song. That was pretty wild. The gods must know when Buddy's "on".

If you haven't already, you should check out Otis Rush and Luther Allison too.

Thump553 · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 08:59 pm »

I saw Buddy Guy about a month ago. Excellent show. Been a good blues year for me, I saw BB King in January as well.

Daniel · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 11:15 pm »

I'm a big Buddy Guy fan. My favorite recording with him as headliner is A Man and the Blues. He's brilliant playing with Junior Wells, who sings better. Everyone should own Hoodoo Man Blues. Another great pairing is with Muddy Waters. One of my favorite blues albums ever is Muddy Waters Folk Singer. Buddy doesn't sing on it. He just plays a mean guitar. The sound on the MoFI version is insanely great.

Scott F. · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Jun 2005, 11:36 pm »

Quote from: mojoman

If you haven't already, you should check out Otis Rush and Luther Allison too.

I whole heartedly agree. Luther Allison is another fabulous Bluesman whos been kicking around for years. He plays and sings with the same intensity of Buddy.

EDS_ · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 02:14 am »

"Damn Right, I've Got The Blues" is pure greatness. Guy's version of "Mustang Sally" is wonderful-IMO.

I'm about to commit a muscial sin.........but Guy's version of "Red House", listenable on "Stone Free a Tribute to Jimi Hendrix" is better than Jimi's version.

Soundbitten · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 02:26 am »

Buddy Guy is ok but my favorite blues axeman is Hound Dog Taylor

zeke · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 02:38 am »

You should also check out his brother Phil.....

this cd is good imo : Phil Guy > Say What You Mean

John Casler · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 02:43 am »

Great Stuff!

Glad I came across the CD and also glad I posted to get some more feedback

Thanks!

EDS_ · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 02:56 am »

Quote from: John Casler

Great Stuff!

Glad I came across the CD and also glad I posted to get some more feedback

Thanks!

I hate to admit-it, but I listen to more blues than jazz.

John check out some "Elmore James" slide guitar sometime. I bet you'll enjoy it-.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 03:16 am »

Quote from: Scott F.

Quote from: mojoman
If you haven't already, you should check out Otis Rush and Luther Allison too.

I whole heartedly agree. Luther Allison is another fabulous Bluesman whos been kicking around for years. He plays and sings with the same intensity of Buddy.

mojoman · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Jul 2005, 09:21 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

Luther is not kicking around anymore....he died in 1997. But there's plenty of his music available, and he was a great performer (got to play on the bill with him in 70's...Kenny's Castaways, NYC). Check out...."Live in Chicago", "Soul Fix'in Man", and "Luthers Blues".[/list:u]
His son Bernard is following in his footsteps....a few very good cds out.[/list:u]
And another that you might check out....the Ice Man...Albert Collins.[/list:u]

And a sad day that was for me in '97. I remember hearing about his passing on NPR as I was driving home from work. I had seen him perform about 2 months before in Memphis. Luther did the most amazing shows, full of energy and fun. His motto was "Leave your ego. Play the music. Love the people" and his shows reflected that I thought. There's a dvd called Live In Paradise of a concert he did in the mid 90's that's worth checking out.

Another great young bluesman that's definately worth a listen is Michael Burks. Either of his cds, I Smell Smoke or Make It Rain are worth owning.

mgalusha · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Jul 2005, 02:34 am »

I've seen Buddy Guy twice and both shows were excellent. One of the shows he was opening for BB King along with Susan Tedeschi. During Buddy's set he had Susan come out on stang with him and play. She looked nervous as hell put kept up with Buddy's playing pretty well.

Another great CD is Buddy Guy and Junior Wells "Last Time Around - Live at Legends". I believe it's the last time Junior Wells and Buddy Guy ever played together. As a bonus it's a pretty damn good recording as well.

Someone mentioned Muddy Waters Blues Singer. I picked up one of the Classic Records DAD 24/96 copies of this. Awesome disc.

Another great blues disc I picked up recently was Lightnin' Hopkins - Broken Hearted Blues. This was originally recorded in 1950-52 and was remastered by Steve Hoffmand and released on a hybrid SACD by Audio Fidelity. I was stunned that a recording from 1950 could sound this good and the music is seminal in my opinion.

mike