Customer Reviews

Feels Like Rain

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Feels Like Rain was my introduction to Buddy Guy, and what a fine introduction it is! Altho some blues purists will complain that it isn't "pure" blues, and with it's all star cast, a sell-out, but I prefer to look at it as Buddy showing his versatility. From the Stevie Ray Vaughan-sque She's A Superstar, and Feels Like Rain (the smoldering and sensuous cover of the John Hiatt classic), to the red hot finale of Country Man, this to me is a much more consistant album than Damn Right. This CD proves that blues doesn't have to be confined to 12 bar covers of Elmore James and Robert Johnson. And since blues was conceived from slaves easing the pain of their confinement, isn't that what it's all about?

More of a mainstream rock record than Guy's first Silvertone album ("Damn Right I've Got The Blues"), and much more so than his third, "Feels Like Rain" is not where you go to listen to Buddy Guy the legendary blues guitarist.
In fact, this is some of Guy's least blues-oriented material...the only real blues tunes are Muddy Waters's "She's Nineteen Years Old" and John Mayall's "I Could Cry"; the rest of the album is dedicated to rock- and soul covers, blues-rock and pop-rock.

The production is rather slick...some more muscle and grit would have been nice, but Guy himself comes off quite well, as you'd expect. His guitar playing is not the best you'll ever hear from him, but his voice is excellent, strong and expressive, and while some of these covers are superflous at best, Guy's rendition of John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain", Ray Charles' "Mary Ann", and the soul classic "Some Kind Of Wonderful" are really enjoyable (the latter is a duet featuring Paul Rodgers of Bad Company).
Bonnie Raitt guests on "Feels Like Rain", playing bell-clear slide guitar, and the band includes a great pianist, Bill Payne from Little Feat.

If you want to hear Buddy Guy play the blues, pick up "Buddy's Blues" from MCA/Chess, and Rhino's "The Very Best Of Buddy Guy". If you just want a regular feel-good rock record played by a number of better-than-average musicians, well, you'll probably like this just fine. So, depending on what you're looking for, this is either a nice, well-executed rock record, or a wishy-washy middle-of-the-road piece of pandering ;-)

This album is a good choice for the blues fan who resides with a non-blues fan. It's not as coarse or raw as some of his other stuff(which I also love), but still retains enough of his edge to keep me interested. He clearly concentrated more time on his vocal stylings as opposed to his guitar licks. Some tracks sound a bit over-produced and lose some atmosphere as a result. Other than that, it's a fun album that is worth picking up.

Buddy Guys rendition of Feels Like Rain with Bonnie Raitt is superb. I feel this is one of Buddy Guys best pieces of work.

To me this is Buddy Guy's best CD overall. I am coming from the viewpoint of a recording engineer, music producer, and musician and not a blues purist. These songs are mixed really well. You can hear all of the instruments and his vocals are excellent and upfront. You can hear Buddy's guitar solos cleary but he doesn't overplay as I believe he does in many of his recordings. He has paid more attention on the delivery and presentation of the songs first,....and his solos don't overpower but are still dynamite. I grow tired of listening to some of Buddy's other recordings and the same old blues chord progressions. "Feels Like Rain" is different and the songs are varied with rhythm patterns, chord progressions, and time sequences. This CD never grows old for me and I can listen to it over and over again. Not true for some of his others. I also like "Living Proof" and 'Slippin In" for the same reasons although the songs have more of a blues rock feel. I have listened to DJ Play My Blues, Definitive Buddy Guy, Slipping In, and Living Proof. Is Buddy really 74 or is he now older? Eric Clapton called him the greatest guitar player on the planet and I believe it.

A nice album from the legendary Buddy Guy, Feels Like Rain is about as straight forward as it gets. A strong set of electric blues, served up with a heapin' side of boogie, the album plays out as an old blues man just havin' a great time makin' music.

I just love this CD! Every song is just great. My favorite is the title track, "Feels Like Rain". Bonnie Raitt also plays slide guitar on that track. Other guests on the CD include: Paul Rodger, Bill Payne, Richie Hayward, and even Travis Tritt (on their rendition of John Fogerty's song "Change in the Weather"). The cut "Country Man", which was also written by Guy also outstanding! It would have made an outstanding title track or lead song on this CD, however it was placed last. I think I now realize why. Every time the song ends I want to play the CD again, this time a bit louder then the last.

I originally bought this on cassette along with DAMB RIGHT, I'VE GOT THE BLUES in 1993, both cassettes are now destroyed with wear but the CDs are crisp and clear.

If you like Blues-Rock you will like this album. But for Hard core Texas\Chicago sounds steer clear. Better albums: (1) Damn Right (2) Heavy Love (3) Steppin In -- all of these are better albums.

First off I love this CD and listen to it all the time. The only reason I gave this CD 4 stars is that this album is very Heavily produced and at times get a little to slickish for my liking. Listen to "Sufferin' Mind" to see what I mean. But still the production doesn't alter the fact that this is a good album.

So this CD is one of Buddy's more 'commercially accessible' releases. It still smokes, and comes through clear as an electric rainbow. The song 'Feels Like Rain' is like a soothing Hendrix song, and the leads in 'Country Boy' will burn your friggin house down. Lots of wah-wah on some songs, pure clean string pluckin' on others.

So c'mon baby- button down your hatch and make love to me. 'Feels Like Rain' is gonna set America free. Let those bars and stars fly high in the sky with Buddy Guy!