When Buddy Guy played the
Hard Rock Café in Bangkok in 1992, he
was asked which present day ‘Blues’ guitarists
he liked. Buddy just laughed and said
that he was the only real blues guitarist
left, as everybody else was just in it
for the money. He told the story of when
he had followed Muddy Waters up to Chicago
from Mississippi in the 50’s. Muddy Waters
was broke and Buddy wanted to be just
like him, in fact on his first meeting
with his idol, he claimed that Muddy had
saved his life, as if he hadn’t shared
his dried salami and cheese with him the
young Buddy Guy would have starved to
death.
For these of you wanting to hear some
genuine ‘Blues’ music, recorded in a modern
studio with all the sound quality that
this gives, this is the album for you.
It was, unanimously, voted Blues album
of the year by the Grammies in 1992. This
album just reeks of class.
Buddy used his basic road band of long
time bassist Greg Rzab on bass, Mick Weaver
on keyboards and Richie Hayward on drums
(temporarily borrowed from Little Feat).
The group went to Battery studios with
producer John Porter, who does a superb
job keeping the sound clear and precise.
Several musicians stopped round during
this period to pay their respects and
add a lick here and a solo there. These
people included the guitarists, Jeff Beck,
Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, plus the
Memphis Horns.
Strangely, one of the weaker moments on
the album is “Early In The Morning” which
has the Memphis Horns, Clapton and Beck
on it. It leaves the feeling that perhaps
it was left on the album just to add to
the star rating, not for it’s actual quality.
The other low point on the album is a
run through of Sir Mack Rice’s “Mustang
Sally”, a fine song but Buddy does little
to distinguish his version from the 500
other cover versions.
The rest of the album though is pure golden
Blues. The two long, slow Blues workouts
are outstanding and allow Buddy to do
what he does best, play his guitar. You
get eight and a half minutes of the Eddie
Boyd Classic “Five Long Years” and seven
and a half minutes of “Black Night” by
Jesse Robinson. John Porter’s production
leaves both of these songs stripped to
the bone, and let the emotions drip from
the guitar and vocals. Spiritually these
songs leave you exhausted, but nothing
can prepare you for the albums final cut
which is Buddy Guy’s tribute to his friend,
Stevie Ray Vaughn. “Remembering Stevie”
is an outstanding instrumental Blues song
that literally sends shivers up and down
your spine. Close your eyes and you can
see Buddy playing with his eyes shut and
the band giving sympathetic support, with
Stevie looking down from high above.
On this album, Buddy Guy makes mere pale
imitators of all those that try to follow
him. If you want the Blues, go for the
real thing, go for Buddy.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
