Buddy Guy

Recorded on location at Buddy Guy's Legends in the blues capital of the world, Chi-town, this DVD captures the inexhaustible Guy leading an all-star band through an electric set of highly-charged blues classics. The Saturday Night Live Band is featured with G.E. Smith, Lenny Pickett, Johnny Johnson, and more. Recorded at legendary bluesman Buddy Guy's Chicago establishment, Buddy Guy's Legend, this release sees the Grammy-winning artist playing some of his most-loved, classic songs. Included are "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues," "My Time After Awhile," and "I've Got News for You." Also performing is the Saturday Night Live Band featuring G.E. Smith, Lenny Pickett and Johnny Johnson.

A lot of very good blues from a couple of masters, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, caught live in a small club. George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, Eric Clapton, Ace Frehley, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and also has a son, Michael, known as hip-hop/rap producer IceDrake. He is the older brother of late blues guitarist Phil Guy.

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.

To call this collection of tunes from blues legend Buddy Guy definitive is not a stretch by any means, as it is a cohesive, thoughtful, chronological collection that accurately represents all of his changes and phases through six decades. Overall, it is a mellow compilation that showcases many of Guy's laid-back songs, several with longtime partner Junior Wells. It's sprinkled with the many all-star bluesmen he has collaborated with over the years, and is tastefully programmed to offer what is essentially cream of the crop blues from one of its enduring legends. Your hear music issued on singles, LPs and CDs recorded from 1958 through 2004 via various recordings done for the Artistic, Chess, Delmark, Vanguard, Blue Thumb, Atco, Evidence, Alligator, JSP, Blind Pig, and Silvertone labels. It really is a comprehensive overview of Guy's best known songs, and gives fans or neophytes an accurate big picture of why Buddy Guy remains one of the most influential artists in American popular music.

On Buddy Guy's second Silvertone release, he continues the practice of guest appearances begun on Damn Right, I've Got the Blues. In this case, the notables include Paul Rodgers, Travis Tritt, and John Mayall. The finest combination comes when Bonnie Raitt joins Guy on John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain." Raitt's gritty vocals and sweet slide guitar add a pleasing nuance to the bittersweet track, and it is ultimately the high point of the record. Certain critics and blues purists have derided Guy's search for mainstream success as evidenced by his penchant for guest appearances and non-traditional blues forms, but Guy sounds fantastic in these unconventional situations (witness his burning version of the Moody Blues' "I Go Crazy").