Customer Reviews

Live At The Checkerboard Lounge: Chicago 1979

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

 

 

I own a lot of Buddy Guy and a lot of blues music. Context - I particularly enjoy the '60s Delmark stuff from Chicago.

This is a wild rough concert where the crowd noise is up front and part of the scene. At one point I wanted to turn around and tell a yammering woman to "shut up" then I realized I was in the car by myself. :)

However, the playing is great, the audience is absolutely there with them and it is one of my favorite Buddy Guy recordings. It would have been a great night to be there, although likely I would have told that drunken woman to shut up, then her drunken boyfriend would have probably killed me with a straight razor and I would not be writing this review. That's just the kind of night it was.

Geez - what a performer!

As HOT a set as could ask for!!! I saw Buddy one night in a small bar and I can tell you NOBODY can excite a crowd like he can!!! The only slight aggravation is that woman who won't shut up during "The Dollar Done Fell!" It's a GREAT cut, but it's 16+ minutes long and every time Buddy 'brings it down' YOU HEAR HER CALLING OUT ABOVE THE CROWD!!! OH MY GOD, you just want to slip her a mickey just to shut her up for 5 mintes!!! OTHERWISE, this is an AWESOME live set with fast and slow tempos driven by a GREAT back-up band led by Phil Guy, Buddy's brother and a very under-rated bluesman in his own right! Not a sustitute for BEING THERE, but an EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE nonetheless!!! 'Nuf said!

Countless legions of blues fans around the world can attest to the greatness of Buddy Guy. If you're a fan that has listened to Buddy's recordings, but have never got to see him live and in person you've been deprived of the "other-worldly" charisma and bond that Buddy magically creates with his audience. Many talented musicians can play, but they don't interact with the crowd. Some don't even open their eyes half the time, and believe it or not, though they like to play, they'd rather play in a recording studio without an audience. Not so for Mr. Buddy Guy! He is not only an unmatched blues singer and guitar player, but he is also an unrivaled entertainer. He paces and prowls from one end of the stage to the next like a caged lion. He constantly makes eye contact with his fans and you feel his inner most emotions. This CD was recorded at Buddy's own Southside Chicago Club in 1979 which was intimate to say the least as compared to today's large venues. If you ever wished you could go back in time to be part of a blues experience, that today you could only see recreated in the movies, Buddy's performance on this CD would be center stage. Buddy's raw live performance encompasses 10 songs totaling just under 70 minutes. Throughout the show you can hear individual shrieking fans invigorated by Buddy's gripping blues performance. During one poignant song, a 16 minute and 23 second rendition of "THE DOLLAR DONE FELL", one female voice from the crowd can constantly be heard beseeching almost every move Buddy makes. Buddy finally, without missing a note says: "TAKE IT EASY MOMMA!" and keeps wailing the blues. In summary, this CD proves that my Grandfather was right when he used to tell me: "THE BEST KIND OF BUDDY TO HAVE... IS A LIVE BUDDY!"

this cd simply put is amazing. i have a couple of buddy's studio albums and they are good. but live buddy is amazing. so get this close your eyes and just enjoy the magic that is live buddy guy