Customer Reviews

The Complete Chess Studio Recordings

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This is a collection of Buddy Guy's songs, maybe not the best collection,but one of them.
The instrumentals are great.
Buddy's "Too Many Ways", "First Time I Met The Blues" and "Every Girl I see" haven't lost their zest.In fact, the music ages like wine.
I remember going to a show and having been asked to put away my camcorder,a look at Buddy with his polka dotted guitar,shiny paisley jacket and huge rings on every finger assured me that this was one guy who would not mind being filmed again.
Highly recommended to fans of Buddy Guy and blues fans.

First of all, Buddy didnt became a legend for these recordings. They didnt sold either. Only on a few of these tracks you'll hear the guitar genious that he is. He became what he is for his live performances, on which he could get loose and play what he wanted. The recordings are good and historical, but not good enough for a 2 CD set which is too expensive by the way. Go get the very best of buddy guy, which contains some live tracks and some tracks of the 70's that do showcase his guitar abilities at his best. This cd is only for completists: it contains leave my girl alone, and going to school (which is mary had a little lamb), which is a better version than the one on a man and the blues album.

Even the liner notes say it, " Buddy Guy was always the proverbial odd man out during the Chess Years. " These recordings taken from when Guy was basically a top side man for Chess show an artist who was trying to find his place at a company that didn't know what to do with him. Wacky dance songs like "Slop Around" and novelties like "I Dig Your Wig," are mixed with great tunes like "My Mother," and "I Suffer the Blues." This one is really for the Buddy Guy fan who wants everything he has recorded.

This collection consists of 47 tracks, recorded from 1960 to 1966. Buddy's music during his career with Chess ranged from commercial "dance" songs to slow blues. There's a lot of emphasis on his vocal skills rather than his guitar work, with horn sections on most tracks.

The first outstanding song is "I've got a strange feeling", with a great vocal, and fine harmonica from Junior Wells. Some excellent slow blues tracks follow, "Ten Years Ago", "Stone Crazy"(with some fine guitar), "I Found True Love" and "When My Left Eye Jumps". More commercial tracks are "Hard But Fair" and "Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby", which features girl backing singers. $100 Bill is very similar to "Money". "My Love Is Real" is a ballad in the mould of "Need Your Love So Bad".

Disk 2 starts with ""Worried Mind", which features some sensitive blues guitar- both the vocals and guitar on this track remind me of BB King. More guitar and keyboards here, with less brass. "Moanin" and "Night Flight" are instrumentals including nice jazz guitar. There are 2 versions of the classic blues song "My Time after a while". My favourite track is "Leave My Little Girl Alone", with it's majestic guitar introduction, and anguished vocal. This song was, of course, successfully covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan on "In Step". "Going To School" was also recorded by Stevie as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on "Texas Flood". "I Suffer With The Blues" is a fine showcase for Buddy's guitar playing, an uncluttered arrangement with no brass. There are alternate takes of "Too Many Ways" with some unconvincing backing vocals, and "Keep It To Myself", which includes rather unnecessary organ.

This is an excellent collection. Fans of Buddy's more recent work may find it somewhat different to what they are used to, but with a total of 139 minutes playing time, there's bound to be something you like!

A testament to Buddy Guy's greatness is on this 2-disc collection. His burning vocals and rapid fretting rank him unquestionably among the blues greats. This is a must-have collection for any guitar-lover.

Buddy Guy is the greatest. the few lousy songs on this album (lip lap louie, baby baby baby baby) are completely overshadowed by the rest of the songs on the album which are great. "Keep it TO Myself", "My Mother", and "She suits me to a Tee" are three of the songs I had not heard before owning this album and they are all amazing, especially vocally, and the horns on My Mother are powerful. Of course "First Time I Met the Blues", "When my Left Eye Jumps", "Let Me Love You Baby", "Watch Yourself" and "My Time after a while" are classics. Anyone with an ounce of soul will love this album. There are only a couple bad songs out of 47.

You've got a fabulous anthology of one of the greatest blues man : BUDDY GUY. It dates from 1963 to 1967 and released on Chess label. The sound is great and all the songs are fabulous. You can find the cream of the bluesmen that backed BUDDY (FRED BELOW on Drums, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON & JUNIOR WELLS Harmonicas,LAFAYETTE LEAKE & OTIS SPANN Pianos, JACK MEYERS Bass, BOB NEELY Tenor Sax....). Listen great songs as "Slop Around" "I Dig Your Wig" or "Watch Yourself", fantastic stuff !!!! A great soulful blues outfit. Buy it, you can trust me.
Fred.

BUDDy GUY IS ONE OF THE GREATEST BLUES VOCALIST&Of COURSE GUITARIST.THIS Two-Disc Set is a Must.IT Never Loses It's Spark.Buddy Guy is A Musical FOrce.