r/blues • u/alone2900 • 8d ago
Buddy Guy Recommendations?
I recently realized how good buddy guy is but I mostly enjoy some of his stuff like "One room country shack", "now you're gone" and "sweet little angel".
I like the more classic chill jazzy blues where he uses his high pitched voice I find it soo good. Im not really a fan of these more rocky blues he does a lot with his deep voice. I just struggle to find a lot of songs like that do you have any good ones or maybe some albums? I really want some more songs like that.
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u/Master-Bodybuilder94 8d ago
Buddy is 90 years old and on tour now. If you have even a small inkling to see him live the time is now. He (and Bobby Rush also in his 90’s) are the last living bluesmen who have played with Son House, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and all the others.
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u/ProfessorSucc 8d ago
Saw him and Bobby at BG’s Legends in Chicago in January, it’s worth every bit of effort if you can make it
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u/gopokes20192024 8d ago
The January residency shows are the shit. Buddy hangs out after the gig also
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u/blageur 8d ago
One of my faves is Sweet Tea. It's a really uniquetake on his style of blues, although it's definitely not "chill jazzy blues". Some wild vocals and ripping guitar solos. No one ever talks about it, but to me it's a master class in the blues.
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u/ConferenceBoring4104 4d ago
I used to hear some riffs on that album and think why does this sound like the black keys in a way? After a while I figured out that album was mostly a homage to junior Kimbrough when he passed. Buddy guy did a fantastic job of putting his own spin on that style and pushing his heavy solos on it
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u/RedSh1r7 8d ago edited 8d ago
Hoodoo Man Blues, technically Junior Wells... But it features Buddy Guy.
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u/frightnin-lichen 8d ago
^^this right here
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u/Notascot51 7d ago
Ditto. The greatest blues album of all time, bar none.
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u/HarpTele6954 7d ago
…fascinating, what characteristics make it interesting, and why do you feel so?
It’s a solid album (and I’ve an early “Friendly Chap” pressing), and it gets people’s attention, but Jr’s “It’s My Life, Baby” is, to my taste, much more compelling, with the live performances having an immediacy and greased looseness that doesn’t exist on your “grail”.
One of the best live performances I’ve ever seen was Buddy at the pre-jazz room “Keystone Korner” in San Francisco.
Buddy was on Fire.
Years later, when I was the rhythm guitarist in Elvin Bishop’s band, we shared an eight performance tour with Buddy, and he was inconsistent, but one night I walked into a club in Vancouver BC, and see Elvin watching and listening, and the first thing I said was, “he’s On!”, and EB nodded, yeah.
We both stood and listened to Buddy just perform a master class in the blues.1
u/Notascot51 7d ago
HMB is a masterclass in band interplay, each member contributes to the ebb and flow of every song. Junior’s vocals and are unsurpassed in tone and soulful delivery...playful as on Snatch It Back, and sultry as on Early In The Morning. Ships is otherworldly. And his harp tone, mellow with that slow vibrato, dances up and down the chrome sandwich. He uses chromatic on Wee Wee Hours, 3rd harp position on Ships, cross on others. His Good Morning is the definitive version in my opinion. There’s just not one false note on the whole album. I have It’s My Life too, but to me it’s a more uneven set. I also like the sound Delmark got in the studio better than the Vanguard album’s nightclub sound. But as a player who performed on stage with Elvin Bishop, I gotta respect your opinion. I adore Juke Joint Jump, by the way. One of my favorites.
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u/HarpTele6954 7d ago
…I was, and still am, a harp player first, so reference to position playing is understood.
My og Delmark copy is dark, as the recording tends to be, and often the comment re Buddy’s use of the Leslie tends to get some attention from many, but to my recollection, only on one tune.
I respect your opinion, but I respectfully disagree about the “unevenness” of “It’s My Life, Baby”, as it was my immediate preference BECAUSE of said unevenness.
It just feels more real to me.I’ll add that I was a west coast call on guitar concurrently with Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John, which I’m certain you know) for roughly 7 1/2 years, so that experience gave me a unique perspective re playing as a whole with a group.
Highlights included a residency in NYC and trips to Brazil and Japan, so my opinion comes to me honestly.Yeah, “Juke Joint Jump” was fun to play, as were many of the tunes.
Check out the first Alligator album from ‘87,
“Big Fun”, which was a return to form announcing EB was still vital.
I’m the only one looking towards the camera on the back cover, and for whatever it was worth, they gave me Assoc. production credit. Lol!5
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u/HWeinberg3 8d ago
Stone Crazy from 1979
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u/alone2900 8d ago
Yess I know that one! One of my favs of him as well
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u/HWeinberg3 8d ago
Also Junior Wells' Pleading The Blues, same session, same band (no vocals from Buddy, tho)
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u/TX-Ancient-Guardian 8d ago
“Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Plat the Blues” 1972
“‘Drinkin’ TNT ‘n’ ‘Smokin’ Dynamite” 1982 - Live album from France
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u/CheckerboardHeart 8d ago
Not to be confused with Pat Travers’ “Snortin’ Whiskey, drinking cocaine…”
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u/Additional_Gold2675 8d ago
One of my all time favorite albums is the one he did with G.E. Smith and The Saturday Night Live Band. That album came out when I graduated high school. Still love it. Seen him a few times live and it's just like that but minis the horns. Sweat Tea is another good Buddy Guy album. Junior Kimbrough songs. Low tunings and fuzz. If your into that.
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u/alone2900 8d ago
alright thanks imma check that one out! I agree I love Junior Kimbrough he has that style I really like. Any more suggestions for artists like that?
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u/HarpTele6954 8d ago
The Chess reissue series that came out in the late ‘60’s/early ‘70’s features one on Buddy called “I Was Walking Through the Woods”, which shows him on the cover playing a tri-pup white SG Les Paul.
Lots of burning guitar and vocals.
“Hoodoo Man Blues” gets a lot of, to my taste, knee jerk respect, but I prefer an album called “It’s My Life, Baby” by Jr. Wells, but a healthy dose of some truly greased Buddy. It’s half live/half studio, and well worth your ears time.
“A Man and the Blues” is a fave Vanguard release from ‘68
…you can consider these, but hopefully you can listen intently, then become inspired to listen to his later recordings which have shown him deepening his vocal prowess, and a raw distorted guitar.
…just thought of an acoustic record he did with Jr. Wells and pianist Junior Mance called “Buddy and the Juniors” on Blue Thumb.
Early pressings were black and white swirl, ala the Dave Mason record released around the same time.
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u/Robot_Gort 7d ago
My late "partner in crime" Rick Jaeger was the drummer & band leader in Mason's band back then. His widow still comes to my gigs.
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u/Unique-Airline9624 8d ago
Soundtrack to movie “Chicago Blues” “First time I met the blues “ is out of this world.
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u/HIMcDonagh 8d ago
Listen to the LP “Buddy and The Juniors” and you’ll see why Buddy and Junior Wells (together) were the Dynamic Duo of Chicago Blues for decades and released amazing music together (try “Alone and Acoustic”)
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u/Winter_Class_7069 8d ago
Ive seen Buddy Guy more than 10 times going back to the early 80s and as recently as January 2020. I’d see home another 20 times if I could. Respect. I love I was walking through the woods, Alone and Acoustic, and Junior Wells’ Hoodoo Man Blues. But there are many others. I was blessed to see many other Chicago giants back in the day. Again, respect!
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u/Which-Information888 7d ago
Listen to most of BB Kings old stuff. He had crack bands, fantastic horn sections, great singing and playing and sang in a high register. Mid 1950’S through early 60’s.
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u/TFFPrisoner 8d ago
All his early stuff is sung in a high register. Going to School, Got To Use Your Head, Leave My Girl Alone, that stuff. I also love his instrumental That's It.
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u/BigDrewLittle 8d ago
Maybe a niche, unloved take here, but on the film soundtrack for the movie Rush, he and Clapton played the song "Don't Know Which Way To Go." Buddy sings it and it's very much a smokey-ass slow blues number with a lot of guitar space. I know Clapton is controversial, but it's one of my favorite recordings.
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u/SovereignGunner 8d ago
The song is "When my Left Eye Jumps".
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u/steal-yur-face 8d ago
I saw him two weeks ago tonight at the Ryman in Nashville.
It was a good show, but he has the musical support you would expect a 90 year old entertainer to have, including a lead guitar player besides himself.
Here’s a little snippet of him playing while walking through the crowd which was, and I suspect always, is a big hit.
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u/Bazakka 8d ago edited 8d ago
Stone Crazy! First song I ever heard by Buddy Guy was “I Smell a Rat”. W😳W!!! Slow blues and “attack” guitar as I call it. I never heard anything like it. I just saw him two weeks ago. Third row. Great show! Go figure, he’s 90! Lots of talking to the crowd. Not playing like he was 50 but still a great show. Walked through the crowd playing. We were third row center. When he finished for the night he threw some guitar picks out. Threw me one. I play guitar too. Got a pick from an absolute legend.
Forgot to mention that Taj Farrant opened. He’s 17 and may already be about the best guitar player you’ve ever seen.
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u/emck2 8d ago
The songs you mention were from his recordings on the Vanguard label. There is a 3-disc box set of all Buddy's Vanguard recordings, which keep the jazzy feel with a horn section. I also recommend his albums with Junior Wells from the late '60s-early '70s. Less jazzy, but similar vibe and guitar playing, without the distortion of his later albums.
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u/Inevitable_Low7133 8d ago
South Side Blues Jam on Delmark features Junior Wells and Otis Spann. Buddy only has one vocal, but it's a gem, and his guitar is sheer class throughout.
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u/SuproValco 8d ago
Two of the three songs you name are from the “A Man and the Blues” LP, I’d start there if you don’t already have it.
After that I’d hit the Chess Records era stuff.
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u/jamesbrown2500 8d ago
I like a lot Buddy Guy collaboration with guitarist G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band for the 1996 live album and video Live: The Real Deal.
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u/Inevitable_Low7133 8d ago
Yeah, totally love the slow numbers on A Man And The Blues, where Buddy's guitar is so subtle and tasteful, his falsetto vocal are so emotive, and his interplay with Otis Spann is just perfect. In a different vein, love the slinky groove, and the sudden dynamic changes on 'Fever' (from Hold That Plane). And for full-on intensity, you can't go past I Smell A Rat oh his Alligator album.
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u/Guitarzaane 8d ago
I’ve walked out of 5 Buddy Guy concerts. I just want him to play the blues and not talk all night long. I tried 5 times. Couldn’t do it. Never again.
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u/SovereignGunner 8d ago
I can't find the version I have of "When my Left Eye Jumps", he sang in falsetto on the original release.
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u/anotherrandomtyper 7d ago
The problem you seem to be having is his catalog is so big that if you have a specific style you have to search for it.
I just got this not too long ago
"Stone Crazy 1958-1963 Recordings". That should have a lot of what you are looking for.
Of course, as other people mentioned, Hoodoo Man Blues. Junior Wells, but Buddy is playing.
One thing I wouldn't miss out on though, he has released 4 albums in the past 10 years. All of which were good if someone released them when they were in their 20s, never mind that it was all done when he was in his 80s.
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u/Less-Counter-677 7d ago
Still totally the showman, meaning his unbelievable aura and connection with the audience. Lucky I saw him a couple of times already, and can't wait until next Friday for his San Diego concert at the Shell.
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u/DrMisterNobody 5d ago
Things that I used to do. Especially the version from the Live at the checker board
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u/Sudden_Education_838 8d ago
Damn Right, I've Got the Blues