Customer Reviews

Damn Right, I've Got the Blues (Expanded Edition)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great to have this CD in continued print, with two bonus tracks no less. I bought this album back in 1991 when it came out, after seeing the Mustang Sally video on MTV with great guitar fills by Jeff Beck in counterpoint with Buddy's vocals. As another reviewer also pointed out, however, these fills are entirely missing from the version on this CD, making this strangely empty and lacking the excitement of the original! It's a terrible mistake. The liner notes, in fact, mention Beck's contributions and he remains listed in the song-by-song personnel. But he's not there, at least on my copy.

So what to do if you're interested in this disc and wondering whether to get the original version or the expanded? Beck or two extra songs? I bought this newer version to replace the older one, but now will stick with the original. The added songs are OK, but do not have the urgency implied by the album's title. And with Sally having lost her "Mustang" on this new CD, sounding like she's getting around in mom's minivan, an essential part of that fire has been lost.

One-to-one comparisons between other songs reveal that the newer CD has slightly louder volume, but no further enhancements. Although I did not find other differences like the one on Mustang Sally, I can't escape the notion that the earlier CD, in fact, sounds fierier than this newer issue, especially with the volume cranked up. It doesn't happen often, but in this case it seems that you're better off with a good used copy of the older CD than the newer issue on this one.

Buddy Guy is one of my favorite blues artists, and this album is not only a fine comeback, but well deserving of the Grammy award it received in 1991. And with only 6 customer reviews here on Amazon so far of a grammy nominated album which has been on the market since 1991, I would say the album (and the artist) are grossly underappreciated.

One of my favorite songs on this album is the eponymously titled "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues"....right off the start Buddy shows he still has the strong voice, guitar work and the song writing. Another favorite which I hit repeat button many times when listening to is the instrumental "Remembering Stevie"....again, if this does not show a bluesman who hasn't lost his touch one bit, I don't know what will. Simply fantastic.

Hearing his version of "Black Night" is eerie when one remembers older versions of the same song such as the one sung by Muddy Waters in the 60's. Instead of using Vietnam though, Buddy interchanges Iraq, showing us that the blues have a timeless purpose to serve.

I love Buddy's Chess years....those are some of the best blues ever in my opinion. But this album is also excellent in its own right, and certainly deserves more notoriety than it (he) receives.

Highly recommended.

Buddy Guy was a guitar legend before the release of Damn Right I've Got The Blues, but when this great record was released in 1990, he has been at the blues forefront ever since. This record proves that the forefront is where Guy belongs.

Cuts like "Where Is The Next One Coming From," "Too Broke To Spend The Night," and the poignant tribute to his friend Stevie Ray Vaughn, "Remembering Stevie," serve notice that Guy not only hasn't lost anything, but still has plenty to teach the younger crowd.

But by far, the title card is the most memorable. This is the kind of song that Buddy could play at the beginning of every concert for the rest of his career. Burning runs and milking every ounce out of every note, Guy grabs the listener and never lets go.

These are the kind of blues that all music lovers need. The expanded re-release is welcomed if for no other reason than to remind all of us that Buddy Guy is a superstar.

Excellent production and mixing, crisp, clear sound, and a strong track list makes this one of Buddy Guy's strongest records, his second-best best latter-day album right behind 1994's pure blues CD "Slippin' In".

The track list spans classic electric blues, Memphis soul, and, well, John Hiatt. Guy's cover of Hiatt's "Where Is The Next One Coming From" is pretty good, but doesn't really add anything new to the song, and we don't really need another version of "Early In The Morning", especially not this rather bland one.
But there are highlights a-plenty nevertheless: Guy's eight-minute rendition of Eddie Boyd's classic "Five Long Years" is a delicious, smouldering slow blues, and he lays down a great "Mustang Sally" and a fine rendition of Big Jay McNeely's mournful "There Is Something On Your Mind".

Buddy Guy's expressive tenor voice suits the slow, tortured blues songs on this set very well, but he performs equally well on the powerful, swaggering title track and the mid-tempo "Too Broke To Spend The Night", two of his best self-penned songs for a long, long time. "Too Broke" in particular is strongly reminiscent of Guy's sizzling 60s recordings for Chess, and this spirited reading of Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You Baby" is among the highlights as well.
This expanded edition adds two bonus tracks, and while none of those are absolutely essential, they're not bottom-of-the-barrel scrapings either, so if you don't already have the original album, by all means, get the one with the bonus cuts on it. There's no need to buy it again, though; they're not that great.

Overall, "Damn Right" is a really fine album, deservedly winning Guy an Emmy back in 1991. The sometimes erratic veteran plays some tremendous electric guitar, and the self-penned material shows that Buddy Guy's muse is not spent after all.

This is the expanded edition of what is already a classic blues album. All in all the expanded edition is OK. It was remastered by George Marino, who has remastered a lot of catalogs, most importantly the Led Zeppelin catalog. This edition sounds a little better than the old CD, but not that much. The two extra tracks are really outstanding. One is an instrumental jam where Buddy really lets loose and the other is a nice cover of Guitar Slim. No horns or big production, just Buddy and the band on these two. The big letdown: in 'Mustang Sally' Jeff Beck's contribution has been edited out completely!!! All the fills and his solo. Why, what happened???

Next to B. B. King, Buddy Guy is the greatest living bluesman, and this is his finest album. When he is on his game, as he is here, Guy is an absolutely astounding electric guitarist. Some of his solos suggest what Jimi Hendrix would have sounded like if he had lived past his twenties. But that is really beside the point. Guy doesn't need Hendrix comparisons to validate his work. Guy, who remains the epitome of Chicago blues, plays guitar with all of the vitality, sorrow, humour, passion, anger, pain, and transcendance that he can muster, and the end result is just marvelous, thrilling music. And there is not a throwaway song on the entire CD. If there is a better blues CD out there, I don't know what it could possibly be. This is a CD that will never age.

I have wasted too much gas in my truck listening to this CD..I must take it into my house before I go broke..BUY IT

Buddy Guy is an living legend, with his self titled grammy award winning Damn Right, I've Got The Blues. Buddy represent's so much of his guitar playing ability, and enthusiasm on this 1990 grammy award winning album. Buddy influenced so many guitar legends including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, and many more. You will love the first song with those ringy notes coming right out of buddy's amplifiers titled Damn Right, I've Got The Blues. As you listen to through the album you will encounter pure enthusiasm including his 8 minute rendition of Five Long Years which is incredible. Their are classic old blues songs also provided on this Damn Right, I've Got The Blues Expanded Edition including Trouble Dont Last, and Doin' What I Like Best. Buddy Guy is one of the few blues musicians who tries to carry on the blues legacy which I greatly respect. You wont have to listen long to this album to realize how great Buddy Guy really is. With his excellent tribute rendition of Rememberin' Stevie wrote after SRV stevie ray vaughan died of a tragic helicopter crash in 1990. Buddy has nothing unreal about him................he is all about the BLUES~ Highly Recommended!

This is the Buddy Guy album that made everybody stand up and take notice. Many of us long-time blues fans already knew what a great talent Buddy was, but for the rock and roll crowd, this was a breaktrhough.

I still consider this one of my favorite Buddy Guy albums, and it gets a lot of play around my house. The title track is classic Buddy, and the other standouts here are include a great cover of John Hiatt's "Where is the next one coming from", Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You Baby", and the touching instrumental tribute to the fallen bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan "Remembering Stevie". The bonus tracks "Doin' what I like best" and "Trouble don't last" are excellent additions to an already stellar track list.

This is a disc that was very deserving of the grammy for best blues album that it received. It's Buddy at his best, and this expanded version is the one to own.

I love this CD. They don't even need to list the guest artists. Make no mistake, this is buddy's CD. From the first second of the first song you realize this is something special. I have never heard better vocals from Buddy, so powerful, so deep. He truely captures the blues and then he blows it away. The guitar work is amazing, I'm a SRV fanatic, and this is as close to the raw power and intensity of any SRV recording.