Robert Johnson — The Complete Recordings

Johnson’s style defined the Mississippi Delta blues of the first half of the 20th century. With the possible exception of Willie Dixon, no artist has had a bigger impact on modern blues and rock than Robert Johnson. This two-CD boxed set is required listening for any music fan.

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Willie Dixon / Various Artists — The Willie Dixon Chess Box

Pair this collection with the Robert Johnson boxed set and you have original versions of every blues tune Led Zeppelin ever “wrote.” This two-disc set shows why Willie Dixon may be the most important man in the history of the genre. Dixon penned the hits that legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter built their careers around, and they can all be found on this seminal collection. Be it as a writer, singer, bass-player, teacher, or father-figure, Willie Dixon was Chicago blues.

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Muddy Waters — Folk Singer

Muddy Waters was the first genuine blues star, and for good reason: His presence, command, and charisma were unmatched during his 30-plus year career. While this landmark record suggests a selection of folk tunes (and was designed to catch the interest of the growing — primarily white — folk audience of the mid-1960’s) it is, in fact, Muddy going back to his blues roots; mixing his electric delivery with a sparse, acoustic band that included Willie Dixon and a very young Buddy Guy. With Folk Singer, the original crossover album, Waters did more to push the genre to the forefront of a new generation’s conciousness than any record before it. It still stands up as one of the great blues records ever recorded.

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B.B. King — Live at the Regal

Put to vinyl in 1965, this is B.B. at his best. A recording that influenced the likes of Eric Clapton and Joe Walsh, “Live at the Regal” showcases King’s remarkable vocal talents and his signature guitar tone better than any live record I’ve ever heard. Listen to the girls go wild (free of charge, no less)! Frank Sinatra had nothing on the “King of the Blues.”

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Albert King — King of the Blues Guitar

Albert King was actually one of three “Kings of the Blues,” the other two being B.B. King and guitarist Freddie King. All three musicians were great in their own right, but Albert’s raw, cutting tone and funky leads made him a perfect match for the blues-infused rock and roll that was forming in Britain in the mid-1960’s. Albert was a big man with a big sound, and his influence on the up-and-coming kids from England (including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Pete Townshend) during the decade is undeniable. Later on, players like Stevie Ray Vaughan would incorporate Albert’s signature licks into their own styles.

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Bessie Smith — The Bessie Smith Collection

Bessie Smith is to blues what Billie Holliday is to jazz. She sang with grace, authority, and a sensibility that few vocalists of any style could match. To listen to Bessie Smith in the 1920’s is to hear a popular music that mainstream America wouldn’t know until some three decades later. Unlike many of her contemporaries, her music is still as vital today as it was nearly a century ago.

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T-Bone Walker — T-Bone Blues

Bridging the gap between jazz and blues, Aaron Thibadeau “T-Bone” Walker played a sophisticated style that mixed complex melodies with the raw sound of the Texas blues. He was the first great electric blues guitarist, who’s style profoundly affected the playing of a young B.B. King. This collection features his best (and best-known) recordings.

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Little Walter — His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)

“Little” Walter Jacobs is widely held as the greatest of all the great blues harmonica players. In addition to penning hits such as “Juke,” his style and authority while cutting sides and sitting in on countless Chess sessions makes him an important piece of the Blues puzzle. Paul Butterfield idolized Little Walter, and many guitar players have acknowledged that his tone and phrasing influenced their own playing.

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Elmore James — The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James

Elmore James may not be as well known as, say, Muddy Waters or B.B. King, but his influence on blues and rock music is just as significant. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, and many other guitarists owe a debt of gratitude to “Elmo’” and his abrasive, raucous slide guitar and frenzied voice.

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Various Artists — Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Collection

No record company has done more in the last three decades to promote and preserve the blues tradition than Alligator Records. Released in 1991, this two-CD set contains 35 tracks from the best and the brightest modern blues acts and classic “originators.” If a blues neophyte could only afford to buy one record to start their collection, they’d be hard pressed to find a better selection than this.

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]]> http://www.drewsblues.net/news/essential-blues/feed 1 http://www.drewsblues.net/oldstuff/buddy-guy-cant-quit-the-blues http://www.drewsblues.net/oldstuff/buddy-guy-cant-quit-the-blues#comments Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:57:51 +0000 Drew http://www.drewsblues.net/?p=20 Over the course of the past 50 years, few artists serve as a better bridge between the classic Chicago Blues sounds of the 50’s and 60’s and modern Rock and Roll than Buddy Guy. Beginning his recording career in 1957, Guy recorded and performed live with three generations of artists; starting with Blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter and continuing through the British invasion of the 60’s all the way through the Blues revival of the 1990’s. Oddly, it wasn’t until the later stage of his career that the 2005 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee began to receive the recognition that he deserved.

Possessing a style that is equal parts Muddy Waters, Guitar Slim, and Jimi Hendrix, he has profoundly influenced the sounds of players ranging from Eric Clapton, to Stevie Ray Vaughan, to John Mayer, and serves as a de facto ambassador for a genre that is, sadly, but inevitably, losing many of its founding fathers.

He has shared the stage and studio with just about everybody: The aforementioned Clapton, Carlos Santana, David Bowie, and Keith Richards, to name a few. And then there are the Blues legends: Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Albert Collins, B.B. King, and, of course, Junior Wells, with whom Guy partnered during the 60’s to record Hoodoo Man Blues, a landmark recording and one of the best Blues records of the era.

And so it is that, five decades into a stellar career and no less than 15 years since the inception of the retrospective “boxed set” phenomenon, someone — namely, Silvertone records — finally got around to compiling Guy’s body of work into a concise, bookshelf-worthy collection. Fortunately for music fans, they did it right.

Described as “Buddy Guy’s 70th birthday gift” (Guy turned 70 on July 30th of this year), the handsomely packaged Can’t Quit the Blues offers the hard-core and casual fan alike with an impressive and comprehensive collection of Guy’s work.

Comprised of three CDs and a DVD, the collection starts with his first recording, “The Way You Been Treating Me”, captured in Baton Rouge Louisiana in May, 1957; not far from his home town of Lettsworth, where he was born 21 years earlier. From there it takes us to Chicago, and the legendary Chess Records, where Guy worked as a sideman for the architects of the Chicago Blues, including Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. While Chess executives didn’t approve of Guy’s wild approach to playing and singing — a style inspired by his hero, Guitar Slim, and foreshadowing the music of the 60’s — they did grant him a handful of sides, which are presented here, and show him paying homage to the men that he idolized.

By the mid-1960’s, Guy was growing restless and, seeking the opportunity to express his own unique voice, jumped to Vanguard records and began recording his own material, in addition to performing on Wells’ milestone Hoodooman Blues. This collection includes two tracks from that recording, the title track and In the Wee Hours, in addition to seven other gems from the late 60’s through the 80’s — a period during which Guy toured extensively (both solo and with the Junior Wells band), but produced comparatively few studio releases.

By the 1990’s, the Blues genre was experiencing a full-blown revival, thanks in large part a renewed interest in the recordings of Robert Johnson and the commercial success of Texas bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan made it no secret that he owed a great deal of his success to the influences of players like Buddy Guy, and Guy showed the world why with his 1991 album Damn Right I Got the Blues. The record featured Guy’s playing at its best and featured some high-profile guest artists, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler. The record pushed Guy out of the shadows and into the spotlight, finally giving him the recognition that he had long deserved as one of the premier purveyors of the Blues. The record sold more than 500,000 copies and won Guy his first Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

Discs two and three of the set features three tracks from Damn Right I Got the Blues, including the Mack Rice staple, “Mustang Sally,” with Beck sharing guitar duties. In addition to these tracks, the disc contains tracks from his followup Grammy-winning recording Feels Like Rain (including the title track, which features Bonnie Raitt), and a mix of excellent material from his other offerings from the decade, including tracks from Buddy’s underrated 2001 release, Sweet Tea.

Mixed in with all of these are a handful of previously unreleased tracks, including the Mose Allison tune “Your Mind Is On Vacation,” and an excellent rendition of Muddy Waters’ “Honey Bee.”

The companion DVD provides an excellent documentary, in which Guy tells the story of Chicago Blues, through his own history, humorous anecdotes, and insights. You can’t help but love the man after watching it, as he is warm, intelligent, and possessed of a undeniable charisma.

That charisma is most evident, however, in his performances, where his magnetism and showmanship are evident, even in early recordings as a sideman with Junior Wells. His playing during the 80’s and 90’s performances is electrifying, and his fearlessness on stage (and off, as he is often seen strolling through crowd, playing blistering leads while audience members look on in wonderment) are hard evidence of the impact that Buddy Guy has had on popular music over the past 50 years. Luckily, Silvertone Records finally came to that realization itself and, though we had to wait a long time, gave us a collection that is, ultimately, worth the wait.

Originally posted on VintageRock.com.