Buddy Guy Buddy's Blues 1979 82

Buddy Guy today remains one of the true international superstars of the Blues. One of his musically most glorious periods was the three classic albums he cut for JSP Records ("D.J. Play My Blues" "Breaking Out" and "Live at the Checkerboard Lounge") and the guesting on brother Phil Guy's wonderful debut album "Red Hot Blues". This compilation features some of the best cuts from that period and those albums. Buddy plays some hot guitar here and is stylistically moving forward from his sixties stuff to the ultra commercial things of today. Buddy always knew that the world would catch up eventually and he would become a superstar - the music here will tell you why.

Buddy Guy revitalized his career when he signed with Silvertone Records in the early '90s. His first album for the label, Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, was a smash success, earning critical acclaim, awards, and sales hand over fist. Prior to that record, he was a legend only among blues fans; afterward, he was a star. Although it was a bit too rock-oriented and slick for purists, Damn Right was a terrific album, setting the pace not only for Guy but for modern electric blues in the '90s. As the decade wore on, Guy continued to make albums for Silvertone, some of them a little complacent, others quite excellent. Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy attempts to summarize those years in 14 songs, including three previously unreleased cuts.

As part of MCA's Chess Records 50th Anniversary series, Buddy's Blues sweats Guy's multi-disc retrospective, The Complete Chess Studio Recordings down to a scintillating 15-track package and comes up with a bare-bones winner. There are 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 Guy'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," issued here without the overdubbed applause and crowd noises that accompanied its original release on Folk Festival of the Blues (see Muddy Waters' entry).

This is a piece of musical history. Buddy Guy, simply one of the greatest blues performers there has ever been performing in front of his home audience, his neighbours, friends and fellow musicians in his own club which was very much situated in the Chicago ghetto. It was 1979. The blues had been pronounced dead by the music industry but in the hands of musicians like Buddy and people running little labels, booking clubs and tours under difficult financial situations there was a pretty healthy heartbeat - it's just that no one was paying much attention! It took a few more years but how things changed! These days things seemed to have slipped back somewhat but nowhere near how things were back then. But why did a revival happen' Because stuff like this was happening - Buddy was cooking that night…

Recorded on Halloween night in 1979, this pairs up Wells and Guy in a fashion that hasn't been heard since Hoodoo Man Blues, their first, and best collaboration. Solid backing by the Philip Guy band (Buddy's brother) makes this album a rare treat.

A classic recording by one of Chicago blues' finest living legends, Left My Blues in San Francisco consists of 11 smoking tracks, featuring Buddy Guy's matchless guitar work and equally distinctive vocals. This recording is for people who like their blues straight up; like whiskey, it burns all the way through. Included are some of Guy's classic original songs, such as "She Suits Me to a Tee" and "I Suffer with the Blues," as well as excellent performances of "Buddy's Groove," "Keep It to Yourself," and "Goin' Home." All of this material can also be found on the Complete Chess Studio Recordings collection, but if you're new to Buddy Guy, Left My Blues in San Francisco is an excellent place to start.

Vintage concert recording from the original Blues Brothers, Junior Wells & Buddy Guy! Recorded live at Biddy Mulligan's in Chicago, IL the city where both Wells and Guy became local heroes before becoming national legends! Ripping, soulful performances of "Dust My Broom," "You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling," and "Crosscut Saw" plus an unreleased live bonus track from 1970!