Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: Buddy's Baddest: The Best Of Buddy Guy

Tracklist :

• Damn Right, I've Got The Blues
• Five Long Years
• Mustang Sally
• Rememberin' Stevie
• She's A Superstar
• Feels Like Rain
• She's Nineteen Years Old
• I Smell Trouble
• Someone Else Is Steppin' In (Slippin' Out, Slippin' In)
• My Time After Awhile [Live]
• Midnight Train
• Miss Ida B.
• I Need Your Love So Bad [#]
• Innocent Man

I'm not really a musician, but I wrote a song anyway. I do that now and then. It says right on the back of my Creative License that I can do that. (Look, it's there, right next to the organ donor information...) Besides, my e-buddy and fellow blogger, Brad Listi, says all writers are frustrated rock stars.

The song below is loosely based on an experience I had a few weeks back visiting a vintage guitar shop. The rhythm and melody I have in mind is sort of a neo-rockabilly thing, though it could move toward more modern blues, country or rock in the hands of a good arranger. I haven't tried to put chords with it yet, but maybe it's a fun little number even without the music. We'll see where it goes. It may die right here. But if so, it'll die fightin'.

’58 Les Paul Sunburst Dream

I walked into the shop with a half hour to kill

Because vintage guitars always give me a thrill

Just seeing those well-made weapons of war

It reminds me that some things are worth payin’ for.

I saw Nationals and Strats and a Red Flying V

That screamed “California hair band, 1983”

But I must confess I missed the one true great [pause & riff]

That ol’ Les Paul Sunburst from 1958.

[Signature guitar lick of song… four measures?… into chorus]

Chorus:

Oh but a little Les Paul is a lot more fun

With a humbucker pickup to get rid of the hum

Add a tube style amp to warm up the sound

Pretty soon your solos are the best around

And if you see a ’58 you better buy it, son [pause for riff]

Never mind what it costs, ‘cause it’s the best they ever done.

[Transition out with song’s same signature lick]

Never thought an old axe could have sounded so fine

Until a geeky-lookin’ guy asked, “Is that a ’59?!”

“ ‘58” said the salesman. “We just got it in.

They say Clapton played one. Take it for a spin.”

[Actually, Eric most likely played/plays a

1960, but the ’58-60 models are all very similar in design and sound.]

He started bendin’ blues notes and layin’ down the funk

Did his best Chuck Berry, just a-walkin’ like a duck

Made it crunch and wail and cry and scream    [ riff ]

“Oh man,” he says, “this plays just like a wet dream.” [Sig lick]

Because a little Les Paul is a lot more fun

The first humbucker pickup to get rid of the hum

Get a tube style amp and you’ll take to the sky

You can start a bonfire or sound like Buddy Guy.

I’m gonna buy this ’58 when I get enough mon – ey [ riff]

I don’t care what it costs, it’s the best they ever done. [Sig. lick]

[Extended full-band jam goes here]

[ Bridge? ]

The salesman asked the geeky guitar god about last night.

And the show he did. Did his Les Paul feel right?

He said, “I try to pretend that it can sound this good,

But the truth is it ain’t even in the neighborhood.”

[Shorter break for solo, horn section, or other flavors, before last verses]

Really makes me proud of the country I was born in

Sustains high notes from here to Sunday mornin’

Got tulip-shaped tuners that are easy to turn

Plus fifty years of character and cigarette burns

A fast, thin neck and a melancholy tone

So that even big arenas sound like you’re right at home

I hope that when I’m fifty I can sound this good [riff]

It’s the fountain of youth, done up in metal and wood. [Sig lick]

Chorus

Yeah, my ’58 Les Paul can burn like the sun

Need a humbucker pickup to get rid of the hum

And a tube style amp for that Orbison sound

Get ready sons of bitches ‘cause I’m layin’ it down

Now that I got a ’58, you better watch out cous’  [riff]

‘Cause I’m a million dollar man, I’m the best there ever was. [Sig lick]

         [Now wail all the way out of town, or till they give you the hook, whichever comes first…]

Un regret éternel: celui de n'avoir pas acheté mon prohibitif billet pour voir Buddy Guy à Montreux. D'après ce que j'en sais, il a brillé de mille feux - d'autant qu'il a été rejoint par Billy Gibbons des ZZ Top qui a fait un petit détour dans sa caravane avant Les Vieilles Charrues pour un "Stormy Monday" avec lui. C'est à voir ici (D'ailleurs, ne manquez pas la sauvagerie de Mustang Sally sur le même site, plus intéressante que la rencontre Guy-Gibbons). Buddy Guy, c'est le dernier ancien qui fait figure de référence absolue en blues - BB King n'est plus qu'une caricature de lui-même, et les autres sont morts... Buddy Guy avait un son à la Hendrix que les producteurs de Chess records n'ont jamais voulu - trop en avance sur son temps. Depuis, le vieux roublard a dégainé. Déjà avec le météorique Stone Crazy en 1981, puis avec le plus conventionnel - mais phénoménal succès - de "Damn Right, I've got the Blues". Quelques disques un peu en-dessous plus tard, il sort un "Sweet Tea" dont le son reste impitoyable. Il vient tout juste de sortir un nouvel album - pas d'âge de la retraite pour ce papy de 72 ans qui a encore l'énergie d'un petit jeune. Cela s'appelle "Skin Deep" et c'est du bon Buddy Guy.

Il faut certes aimer le blues - car on aura affaire aux douze mesures tout au long de l'album ou presque -, un canevas qui permet à l'artiste de livrer ses solos en glissandos et en bends incessants, de frôler les limites de la mauvaise note comme il sait si bien le faire pour jouer sur l'émotion. Fermez les yeux et vous voyagerez au fond de votre âme.

Cela commence sur fond de cuivres par une intro en béton dans "Best Damn Fool", classiques notes électriques qui s'interrompent pour la voix d'un Guy dont il joue aussi bien que l'instrument. Le refrain cesse sur un "let me show you" où le vieux bonhomme livre son solo pour prouver qu'il est le best damn fool de la chanson. Et ça marche. La fin est incendiaire.

Plus policé, nettement, le titre suivant "Too Many Tears" offre un joli duo avec Susan Tedeschi. Leurs voix se complètent bien, mais c'est un peu gentillet, convenu, sans risque.

Un blues lent classique de chez classique prend la relève. "Lyin' like a Dog" vaut surtout par le solo qui démarre à 4 minutes 25 lancé après un "look out, man" avertissant de la bombe qui allait exploser. Un motif répétitif qui va à une hauteur stratosphérique avant de se déliter en arpèges qui reprennent ensuite de la hauteur. C'est grand.

Le quatrième titre "Show me the Money" est là pour le spectacle. Efficace en concert mais d'une banalité désespérante sur disque. On n'échappe même pas aux choeurs qui font "woo hoo". Passons.

Pour arriver au cinquième titre, où Guy est rejoint par Clapton. Les choses sont sérieuses pour ce titre de presque 8 minutes, "Every Time I Sing the Blues". La voix de Guy montre des capacités étonanntes autant que celle de Clapton des limites. Guy 1, Clapton 0 avant le premier solo. En douceur pour Buddy et son son si caractéristique. Après le dernier chorus, le duel démarre en jam sans cesse renouvelée qui fout les frissons d'un bout à l'autre. On sent qu'ils passent un bon moment, l'un épaulant l'autre et servi en plus par l'impeccable orgue de Reese Wynans.

Changement d'ambiance mais pas de niveau de qualité avec "Out in the Woods" où Guy se fait accompagner du prodige de la lap steel, Robert Randolph. On est dans un marais en Louisiane, qu'on imagine brumeux et parcouru de serpents et d'alligators. Superbe solo de Randolph avec une série de triolets bien vus. On quitte la boue pour y replonger direct et Guy de coller à l'ambiance  par un son bien poisseux.

Premier titre entièrement écrit par Buddy "Hammer and Nail" et son rythme de marche construit sur quelques notes très Muddy Waters ne convainc pas vraiment même s'il est entraînant. Idem pour "That's my House", sans grand relief.

"Skin Deep", chanson-titre de l'album, se démarque par sa tonalité soul. Un peu sucré, tout comme le message antiraciste qui ne fait pas hausser le sourcil. Ca passera bien à la radio, d'autant que la guitare de Guy se fait discrète et n'arrache pas les tripes comme sur le reste de l'album.

La suite est du pur blues, avec un hommage aux anciens et une lancinante question : "Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes?". Qui remplacera la blues mort ? La réponse de Guy est Quinn Sullivan, 9 ans, qu'il invite sur ce titre à la fois fun et triste...

"Smell the Funk" est l'avant-dernier titre, où Guy fait entendre un petit falsetto - et une guitare hantée du plus bel effet...

L'ultime blues "I Found Happiness" est un cas d'école. Un blues parfait à enseigner aux débutants. Rien d'original, mais si prototypique qu'il est l'incarnation même de ce qu'est le blues - entre déchirements et couleurs joyeuses, la guitare lead servie par une guitare rythmique et un orgue habiles. De la belle ouvrage, nette et sans bavure.

Yes man, le blues est encore vivant. Il est incarné par un gars appelé Guy.

L'hallucinante vidéo de "Buddy Motherfucker Guy" dans le documentaire de Scorsese sur les Rolling Stones. Il faut voir Keith Richards donner sa guitare à un Buddy qui a livré sa petite prestation :

Van Breukelen

Buddy Guy - Skin Deep (2008)

Ele acompanhou grandes nomes do blues, como Muddy Waters, além de lançar álbuns em parceria com o gaitista Junior Wells, levando o canto dos negros de volta às águas turvas do Mississippi. É influência para os melhores guitarristas do rock and roll, entre eles ninguém menos que Jimi Hendrix e Eric Clapton. Nos fim dos sixties, ele formou um power-trio e caiu nas estradas de ferro do Canadá, juntamente de vários roqueiros da cena de São Francisco e despejou distorção nos ouvidos de milhares, esbanjando sempre energia máxima e um sorriso evidente de satisfação. Ele pode ser considerado um dos últimos grandes bluesman em plena atividade, levando sua guitarra para gritar onde for solicitado. Sua última grande sacada foi reinar no palco numa jam de Champagne and Reefer juntamente dos Rolling Stones, enquanto Martin Scorsese filmava tudo para o documentário Shine A Light. Atualmente sua agenda de shows está fechada até novembro próximo, e ele jogou um novo álbum na praça. Ele é Buddy Guy e seu Skin Deep, é mais um atestado da qualidade e criatividade deste guitarrista americano que se rendeu ao blues ainda jovem.

Um cortante timbre de guitarra apoiado em um wah-wah dá o grito inicial para Skin Deep, álbum que não está longe dos melhores registros de Buddy nas décadas de 60 e 70, resultando na melhor posição de álbum do artista na parada da Billboard.

As notas de Buddy Guy deixam marcas profundas em cada canção do álbum e, como o featuring é a palavra da vez na produção musical atual, amigos ilustres comparecem para elevar ainda mais a massa sonora do Chicago Blues de Skin Deep: Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Quinn Sullivan e The Memphis Horns são os "parceiros" da empreitada.

Os destaques do álbum recaem justamente nas parcerias. Clapton sempre solícito, principalmente se tratando de um pedido de um de seus heróis, comparece, mais uma vez, com segurança em Every Time I Sing The Blues, enquanto seu atual sideman, o jovem guitarrista Derek Trucks, traz seu slide para deslizar na faixa que dá nome ao álbum, e, juntamente com Susan Tedeschi, refinam a crueza de Too Many Tears. Robert Randolph relembra o blues de raiz em Out in the Woods. Randolph faz solos arrebatadores em duas canções, relembrando o blues de raiz em Out in the Woods, e fazendo jus aos solos de Buddy na agitada That's my Home.

Mas, devido à personalidade marcante, não há como não reconhecer o valor e o brilho de Buddy durante todo o álbum, e as melhores provas estão em Smell the Funk e Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes. Sua voz poderosa e seu ataque nas cordas são como um velho barril de madeira que armazena o melhor Whiskey, pronto para ser degustado com fervor.

Ouça as faixas:

Best Dawn Blues

Skin Deep, com a participação de Derek Trucks

Everytime I Sing The Blues, com participação de Eric Clapton

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: The Blues History, Vol. 4

Tracklist :

• My Time After A While

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: The Blues History, Vol. 4

Tracklist :

• My Time After A While

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: Blues Singer

Tracklist :

• Hard Time Killing Floor
• Crawlin' Kingsnake
• Lucy Mae Blues
• Can't See Baby
• I Love The Life I Live
• Louise Mcghee
• Moanin' And Groanin'
• Black Cat Blues
• Bad Life Blues
• Sally Mae
• Anna Lee
• Lonesome Home Blues

B. B. King (born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925) is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Named the third-greatest guitarist of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all-time" by Rolling Stone magazine, King is one of the greatest and most respected blues guitarists of all time." ( Wikipedia )

"Aged 80 at the time, on March 29, 2006, King played at the Sheffield's Hallam Arena. This was the first date of his UK and European farewell tour." ( Wikipedia )

Blues Boys Tune

Key to the Highway

Sinners Prayer ( From the Ray Charles tribute gala )

Rock Me Baby

Riding With The King

I Can't Quit You Baby

The Thrill is Gone    SUPERBAAAA!

When I heard that Buddy Guy and George Thorogood were playing at our local Auditorium, my first thought was to get the tickets, get the kids and go!  My kids have been listening to Thorogood's Greatest Hits album during carpool for almost 3 years.  They can sing and shout along with most of the songs, though I do try to skip any about drinking alone or ordering several drinks at ounce.

And Buddy Guy?  How often do you get to see a legend?  I knew for sure they would be captivated by his sheer musical talent and gravelly voice alone.  Someday they would be able to say, "My mom took me to a Buddy Guy concert, that man was talented and amazing!"

The other reason that it seemed like a good idea was that our local auditorium is used for ballet, speaker series and local performances.  It is not a pot-smoking, head banging venue with all kinds of dangerous characters.  This is Swank, you know.  We can be a mild-mannered, rather uptight bunch.

We met friends for pizza and the moms decided that we would even eat that extra slice--knowing that a night of dancing was ahead of us.  We were all excited, we knew we were about to see fun music and to be able to take your kids to their first rock and roll concert is Visa-commercial priceless.

We settled into our 11th and 12th row seats and just waited for the magic to happen.  Buddy Guy appeared on stage with little fanfare, and he didn't need any, he was fingers on fire awesome.  The kids sat upright on the edge of their seats as the music ripped and the lights flashed.

I was ready to get everybody on their feet and get the party started when I looked around.  Every person in the theater, save one, was sitting like a stone in their seat.  All 2000 fans in their sold out seats stared at Buddy Guy.  The occasional person would bob their head, but it was like we were in church.

Then, entering the theater late, danced in Buddy's biggest fan.  He was dancing, he was grooving, he was whooping and hollering--regular normal at most concerts, right?  It didn't take long for the elderly theater usher to make her way to his seat, which was a few rows in front of us.  

Next came security--an uncertain man, hesitant and small in stature. probably after working at the auditorium for years had never seen anything like this, a man who wants to dance and sing along with the music?  The nerve.

My daughter leaned forward and asked if that man was drunk.   No, I said, I think he is enjoying the music. The security man was not effective, so the blue hair bunch of men behind him asked him to sit down again.  Then it was curse word and pick a fight alley.  I was hovering over my kids like a bird wrapping my wings around them.

Next, a woman came dancing down the aisle.  She wore a sparkly sequined hat, a tank top with no bra, and hairy armpits, as the kids quickly pointed out.  She was shaking it like nobody's business.  Normal concert, right?  Nope.  

The security called the police and these people were carted away. WTF?  No dancing at the concert???   It was the first time I had experienced that. I have been to many a concert, and I have never seen people out and out fighting and wanting to deck each other, either.  Maybe there is a time and place for beer and mixed drinks--these people needed to mellow out!

Meanwhile, I'm having a personal conflict.  Concerts aren't really that fun if you have to bounce around in you chair instead of dance.  What are my kids going to think a rock concert is all about?  I don't want them thinking that you just sit prudely in your chair.  Part of me wanted to stand up and dance.  The other part of my didn't want to go against the 1998 person flow and get hauled out by the cops with my kids.

We enjoyed the concert, but we all left a little confused. It felt like we were just in a scene from Footloose 2008.   I was trying to avoid the alcohol and the pot by choosing this venue, but, I have to say, next time we are hitting the big arena.  You gotta dance baby, you gotta dance.

Celebrating a birthday today are Kate Bush (1958), Buddy Guy (1936) and Paul Anka (1941).  Did you know Paul Anka wrote "My Way" for Frank Sinatra?

Landmark deaths  - Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Recording studio, the first place Elvis Presley ever laid down his legendary vocals on vinyl.

Danny Aiello - Live from Atlantic City
Almighty - Original S.I.N. (Strength in Numbers)
Francesca Battistelli - My Paper Heart
Buffalo Killers - Let it Ride
Candlebox - Into the Sun
Eliza Carthy - Dreams of Breathing Underwater
The Classic Crime - The Silver Cord
Miley Cyrus - Breakout
Chris Difford - The Last Temptation of Chris
Buddy Guy - Skin Deep
Hell Rell - Black Mask Black Gloves: The Ruga Edition
Jon Peter Lewis - Break the Silence
Lost Boys: The Tribe soundtrack album
Misery Signals - Controller
Nicole C. Mullen - A Dream to Believe In, Vol. II
Mutlu - Livin' It
Willie Nile - Live From the Streets of New York
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
One Day As a Lion - One Day As a Lion
Pepper - Pink Crustaceans
Sky Eats Airplane - Sky Eats Airplane
SugarLand - Love on the Inside

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: Buddy's Baddest: The Best Of Buddy Guy

Tracklist :

• Damn Right, I've Got The Blues
• Five Long Years
• Mustang Sally
• Rememberin' Stevie
• She's A Superstar
• Feels Like Rain
• She's Nineteen Years Old
• I Smell Trouble
• Someone Else Is Steppin' In (Slippin' Out, Slippin' In)
• My Time After Awhile [Live]
• Midnight Train
• Miss Ida B.
• I Need Your Love So Bad [#]
• Innocent Man

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: The Blues History, Vol. 2

Tracklist :

• When My Left Eye Jumps

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: The Blues History, Vol. 2

Tracklist :

• When My Left Eye Jumps

Artist: Buddy Guy
Album: The Blues History, Vol. 3

Tracklist :

• Broken Hearted Blues

Phil Guy wasn't as flashy or famous as his older brother, Buddy, but made his own mark on stages around the world as both a rhythm guitarist and band leader. Mr. Guy, 68, of Park Forest died of cancer on Wednesday, Aug. 20, in hospice care at St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, said his wife, Jeniece. Playing for the last decade with Phil Guy and the Chicago Machine, Mr. Guy sang growling blues and recorded albums that were a mix of blues, soul, rock and occasional hip-hop. His albums include "Funky Booty," "Say What You Mean" and "He's My Blues Brother," the title track of which features a duet with Buddy. Mr. Guy lacked his brother's flamboyance on stage but won wide respect from blues fans for his tasteful and understated playing. "He had a really good, straight-ahead Chicago style," said blues historian David Whiteis. "He played with a maximum of taste and a minimum of needless flash." The son of sharecroppers, Mr. Guy learned to play on his brother's old guitar when Buddy left their hometown of Lettsworth, La., for Baton Rouge. Not long after he began playing the acoustic instrument, he saw Lightnin' Slim with an amplified guitar at a club. Slim let the youngster play a lick. "It was like a bomb went off for me," he said in a 2004 Chicago Tribune interview. In the late 1950s, Buddy Guy left the South for Chicago and his younger brother took over his spot in harp player Raful Neal's band out of Baton Rouge. For the next 10 years he played with Neal and others, shined shoes, bused tables and worked as a messenger in a law office. Buddy Guy enlisted his brother to join his band for a tour of Africa in 1969, and Mr. Guy moved to Chicago. From then on, he was a full-time musician, with no more day jobs, his wife said. The Guy brothers toured over the next 10 years, including a swing through Europe with the Rolling Stones and a spot on 1970's Festival Express Tour across Canada with Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and The Band. Mr. Guy also played with Son Seals, Koko Taylor and John Lee Hooker. In the early 1980s, Mr. Guy signed his own record contract and began touring as a front man. "I always wanted to be a sideman, not a leader," he told the Tribune in 2004. "But when you make a recording you have to step out." "Music was his life," and he was very contented with his own career and proud of his brother, his wife said. His only gripe about touring was the food, as he never developed much of a liking for anything but the Southern fare he grew up on, she said. - Trevor Jensen (Chicago Tribune)