Blues Singer

Performer: Buddy Guy
Artist: B.B. King; Eric Clapton; Jim Keltner
Engineer: Ed Cherney; Andy Hunt; Colby Devereux; Dawn Palladino; Jacquire King
Producer: Dennis Herring
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar); B.B. King, Eric Clapton, James "Jimbo" Mathus (guitar); Tony Garnier (upright bass); Jim Keltner (drums); The Perrys (sound effects). Recorded at Sweet Tea, Oxford, Mississippi. BLUES SINGER won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Personnel: Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar); Jimbo "Hambone" Mathus (guitar, slide guitar); Eric Clapton, B.B. King (guitar); Tony Garnier (upright bass); Jim Keltner (drums); The Perrys (hand claps). Audio Mixer: Ed Cherney. Recording information: Sweet Tea, Oxford, MS. Illustrator: Jon Langford. Photographer: Clay Jones. Arriving after the unexpected blast of raw energy that was 2001's Sweet Tea, 2003's Blues Singer could idealistically be seen as the acoustic flip side of that high-voltage, raw electric blues. Like Sweet Tea, Blues Singer is supposed to exist deep down within the Delta blues tradition, only finding Buddy Guy armed with an acoustic guitar and the occasional minimal accompaniment; it's even recorded at the same Mississippi studio that gave its name to the 2001 platter and is helmed by the same producer, Dennis Herring. If only it were that simple! Instead of being an extension or a mirror image of its predecessor, this record is a sleepy comedown from an exhilarating peak. Where Sweet Tea was filled with unpredictable song choices, this plays it safe, hauling out such familiar items as "Hard Time Killing Floor," "Crawlin' Kingsnake," "I Love the Life I Live," and "Sally Mae." And while this retains Jimbo Mathus on guitar, when other musicians pop up, it's not the lively Fat Possum crew, it's studio pros like Jim Keltner, or guest shots by superstars Eric Clapton and B.B. King. While this does afford listeners the rare opportunity to hear B.B. on acoustic, it gives the affair the audience-pleasing veneer that weighed down his mid-'90s efforts. Plus, when it comes right down to it, Guy simply is off on this record, with lazy, mannered vocals and by the book guitar. Despite a few good acoustic duet sessions with Junior Wells, acoustic blues is not really Guy's forte, and the highly disappointing Blues Singer illustrates exactly why. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Arriving after the unexpected blast of raw energy that was 2001's Sweet Tea, 2003's Blues Singer could idealistically be seen as the acoustic flip side of that high-voltage, raw electric blues. Like Sweet Tea, Blues Singer is supposed to exist deep down within the Delta blues tradition, only finding Buddy Guy armed with an acoustic guitar and the occasional minimal accompaniment; it's even recorded at the same Mississippi studio that gave its name to the 2001 platter and is helmed by the same producer, Dennis Herring. Where Sweet Tea was filled with unpredictable song choices, however, this plays it safe, hauling out such familiar items as "Hard Time Killing Floor," "Crawlin' Kingsnake," "I Love the Life I Live," and "Sally Mae." And while this retains Jimbo Mathus on guitar, when other musicians pop up, it's not the lively Fat Possum crew, it's studio pros like Jim Keltner, or guest shots by superstars Eric Clapton and B.B. King. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Going beyond the stripped-down arrangements of 2001's SWEET TEA, Buddy Guy picks up an acoustic guitar to cut a record that comes across as an off-the-cuff homage to mentor Muddy Waters, whose similar 1963 outing FOLK SINGER featured Guy's guitar work. From the minute this Mississippi native affects a falsetto on Skip James's "Hard Time Killing Floor," neck hairs remain standing on end for the better part of BLUES SINGER. The remainder of these dozen carefully selected tracks find the blues legend rifling through the canons of favorites like Robert Nighthawk (a loping "Anna Lee"), Willie Dixon (the brash "I Live the Life I Love"), and Johnny Shines (a spirited "Moanin' and Groanin'"). Eric Clapton joins in for a tasty take on Frankie Sims' "Lucy Mae Blues" and B.B. King makes three for an acoustic blues summit on John Lee Hooker's seminal "Crawlin' Kingsnake." Though far from the raucous outings fans have come to expect, this collection of acoustic blues is a creative success and yet another stellar addition to Guy's already impressive discography.

Uncut (11/03, p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Guy sounds simply magnificent, whether he's high and haunting on 'Hard Time Killing Floor' or deep and sonorous on 'Crawlin' King Snake'..." Living Blues (11/03, p.69) - "...He doesn't need anyone's help to make this disc a masterpiece - he takes care of that on his own..."

Eric Clapton once called Buddy Guy "the greatest blues guitarist ever." Guy, along with contemporary Magic Sam, took the sounds of Chicago blues of the 1950s and ratcheted them up a notch, in the process creating a new form of controlled blues mayhem. Born in Louisiana, he moved to Chicago as a young man in 1957 and served an apprenticeship with Chicago blues king Muddy Waters while getting his own solo career underway. Guy's frequent collaborations with harmonica player Junior Wells are among his best work.

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