Buddy's Blues

 

Info

Label	Chess
Released	April 8, 1997
Original year of release	60's and 70's
Recorded	60's and 70's
Total playing time	72:09
Producer (compilation)	Andy McKaie
Musicians
Buddy Guy	Guitar, Vocals
Gene Barge	Sax (Tenor)
Lefty Bates	Guitar
Fred Below	Drums
Milton Bland	Sax (Tenor)
Leonard Caston	Piano, Organ
Al Duncan	Drum
Jarrett Gibson	Sax (Tenor), Sax (Baritone)
Donald Hankins	Sax (Tenor), Sax (Baritone)
Clifton James	Drums
Lafayette Leake	Piano, Organ
Abe Locke	Sax (Tenor)
Jack Meyers	Bass
Little Brother Montgomery	Piano
Matt Murphy	Guitar
Bob Neely	Sax (Tenor)
A.C. Reed	Sax (Tenor)
Otis Spann	Piano
Charles Stepney	Drums
Leroy Stewart	Bass
Phil Thomas	Drums
Sonny Turner	Trumpet
Phil Upchurch	Bass
Junior Wells	Harmonica
Murray Watson	Trumpet

 

Tracks

		written by	playing time
1.	Worried mind	Buddy Guy	3:59
2.	First time I met the blues	Eurreal Montgomery	2:19
3.	Let me love you baby	Willie Dixon	2:52
4.	I found a true love	Buddy Guy	6:17
5.	Pretty baby	?	4:04
6.	My time after awhile	Robert Geddins	3:19
7.	Stone crazy	Buddy Guy	7:11
8.	Keep it to myself	Sonny Boy Williamson	2:46
9.	Ten years ago	Buddy Guy	2:37
10.	Got to use your head	Buddy Guy	2:12
11.	I cry and sing the blues	Willie Dixon	3:14
12.	She suits me to a Tee	Buddy Guy	2:16
13.	My love is real	Buddy Guy	2:37
14.	Leave my girl alone	Buddy Guy	3:27
15.	When my left eye jumps	Willie Dixon/Al Perkins	3:54

Reviews

AMG (Cub Koda)
As part of MCA's Chess Records 50th Anniversary series, this sweats his multi - disc retrospective, The Complete Chess Studio Recordings, down to a scintillating 15 track package and comes up with a bare bones winner. There's loads of great guitar on classics like "First Time I Met The Blues," "Let Me Love You Baby," "Pretty Baby," "My Time After Awhile," "Stone Crazy," and Buddy's voice is at its whiplash exuberant best. Unexpected bonuses pop up in the comp's kickoff track, a full length version of "Worried Mind," that's issued here without the overdubbed applause and crowd noises that accompanied its original release on Folk Festival Of The Blues (see Muddy Waters entry). Also noteworthy is Junior Wells' appearance on chromatic harp on "Ten Years Ago," and Guy's stellar guitar behind Lacy Gibson's vocal on a Buddy Guy original, "My Love Is Real." And special note must also be made of the spacious stereo mixes used on this compilation, making these 30 year old - plus tracks shine like diamonds coming off the laser beam. We also experience all the stylistic turns toward a kinship with the burgeoning soul and rock scenes that Buddy would make toward the end of his Chess tenure along with the smoking slow burners that are his trademark, some of which clock in at four to six minutes here. With his very best tracks compiled on one disc and with beautiful transfers of them to enhance the listening experience, this should be one of your very first stops in absorbing the sides that made Buddy's reputation among blues fans and guitar heroes the world over.

The sonics (Jay Siekierski)
Those fans of Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy are in for a treat! MCA-Chess has issued as part of The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection a real gem that collects 15 all time killer numbers by Buddy during his stay at Chess Records. These cuts were recorded between '60-'66 and feature the cream from Buddy's albums released then. "My Time After A While" is an alternate version and this cut along with such fire starters as "First Time I Met The Blues" , "Stone Crazy", "Keep It To Myself (aka "Keep It To Yourself") & "I Cry And Sing The Blues" are enough to convince you to snatch this disc up! But...Another reason for getting this CD is because all the material is digitally remastered and will blow your roof off! You have never, never heard these cuts sound like this before. Exceptional updated liner notes & hip pixs are an added surprise! Man...You can hear that git of Buddy's whisper so gently and at other tunes sting you to the bone! STONE CRAZY? For this CD...Absolutely! -

Down Beat
Guy's reputation as the premier fire-spewing Chicago blues guitarist is secure.. Guy the guitarist plays eloquently...his strong, relaxed singing draws inspiration form Bobby "Blue" Bland.

Dirty Linen
Like Jimmy Rogers, Buddy Guy did not achieve the public acclaim that many of the other Chess artists did at the time, despite the fact that, as this recording shows, he was certainly talented and was developing his unique, intense blues style. This documentation of Guy's development over time runs from his first, fairly standard recordings for Chess in 1960 to somewhat more intense R&B recordings. But by the mid-60s he was recording the sort of extended explorations that would become the pattern for rock artists in the 70s and blues-rock artists in the 80s and 90s.

Blues Access
Buddy's Chess work pared down to an essential 15 songs/, with the best sound quality yet. This is a better buy than The Complete Chess Studio Recordings, out a few years back.