Buddy's Baddest: The Best of

 

Info

Label	Silvertone BMG/Jive/Novus
Released	June 16, 1999
Original year of release	1999
Recorded	1990 - 1998
Total playing time	1:16:05
Producer	John Porter
Musicians
Buddy Guy	Guitar, Vocals
Ray "Killer Allison	Drums
Jeff Beck	Guitar
Tony Braunagle	Percussion
Lew Del Gatto	Baritone Sax
Chuck Domonico	Bass
Malcolm Duncan	Saxophone
Sid Gauld	Trumpet
Renée Geyer	Background Vocals
Marty Grebb	Piano
David Grissom	Guitar
Richie Hayward	Drums
Jack Holder	Guitar
Scott Holt	Guitar
Neil Hubbard	Guitar
Johnnie Johnson	Piano
Jonny Lang	Additional Vocals and Guitar
Chris Layton	Drums
Ian McLagan	Wurlitzer Piano
Paul Ossola	Electric Bass
Bill Payne	Piano
Shawn Pelton	Drums
Leon Pendarvis	Organ
Lenny Pickett	Tenor Sax
John Porter	Guitar
Jimmy Powers	Harp
Greg Rzab	Bass Guitar
Johnny Lee Schell	Guitar
Tommy Shannon	Bass
Neil Sidwell	Trombone
David M. Smith	Bass Guitar
G.E. Smith	Guitar
Joe Sublett	Tenor Sax
Ron Tooley	Trumpet
Mick Weaver	Piano
Dennis Wilson	Trombone
Pete Wingfield	Piano
Reese Wynans	Piano and Organ
George Young	Alto Sax
David Z.	Percussion

Tracks

		written by	playing time
1.	Damn right, I've got the blues	Buddy Guy	4:31
2.	Five long years	Eddie Boyd	8:26
3.	Mustang Sally	Sir Mack Rice	4:43
4.	Rememberin' Stevie	Buddy Guy	6:56
5.	She's a superstar	Buddy Guy	5:03
6.	Feels like rain	John Hiatt	4:38
7.	She's nineteen years old	Muddy Waters	5:42
8.	I smell trouble	Don T. Robey	3:16
9.	Someone else is steppin' in (Slippin' in, slippin' out)	D. LaSalle	4:23
10.	My time after awhile	Robert Geddins	7:44
11.	Midnight train	Jon Tiven/Roger Reale	5:21
12.	Miss Ida B	R. Sykes	6:32
13.	I need your love so bad	J. Mertis jr.	2:57
14.	Innocent man	Buddy Guy	5:44

Reviews

Mojo (9/99)
...If the blues concentration and three previously unreleased cuts ought to please hardliners, the cameos by Johnny Lang...and Bonnie Raitt...and the lovely wordless meditation for SRV, 'Rememberin' Stevie', should take the fancy of just about everybody else."

Amazon (Ted Drozdowski)
The title's baloney. Sure, some of Buddy Guy's most blistering guitar playing has been captured on his '90s recordings for Silvertone, but with albums like Muddy Waters's 1964 Folk Singer and his own 1967 solo debut A Man & the Blues on his résumé, Guy's status as a Chicago blues giant was assured long before his 1991 comeback Damn Right, I've Got the Blues. Nonetheless, that tune, the instrumental tribute "Remembering Stevie" (for the late guitar-slinger Vaughan), "Five Long Years," and the previously unissued "Miss Ida B" testify that at age 65 Guy still possesses rare depth and fire. His singing is big and soulful, capable of cheerleading a party or hurtling down to the depths of Delta blues heartache. His six-stringing remains wildly inventive and unpredictable, even on slight numbers like "She's a Superstar." And the inclusion of blatant stabs at the pop charts such as his "Midnight Train" duet with Jonny Lang take nothing away from the passion he puts into true blues performances like "I Need Your Love So Bad" and "Innocent Man," leftovers from earlier sessions that surface here. Baddest or not, this CD spotlights one of our greatest bluesmen in fine form.

Extra Info

For those who are not familiar with Buddy's 1990's work this is an excellent start. Silvertone look at the five albums Buddy made with them and took a few songs/ of every album. There are four songs/ from Damn Right I've got the blues, three from Feels like rain, two from Slippin' in, one from Live The Real Deal and one from Heavy love. Everyone can name songs/ they would rather have seen on Buddy's Baddest. But.... overall it's a great compilation of Buddy's 1990's work.
To get the Buddy die-hards to buy this album also, Silvertone added three previously unreleased songs/. All three songs/ are leftovers from the recording of Feels Like Rain. Although I own all the original Silvertone those three songs/ alone would also be worth buying this album.