Customer Reviews

Live: Real Deal

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

 

 

Buddy Guy's recent (Silvertone) studio albums range from ok to very good, but none really capture Buddy at his best--in concert. Nobody puts on a better show, and this album comes very close to taking you there. I have seen Buddy twice in concert and, while he does use a different band here, I believe this album really captures the spirit, passion and virtuosity of the best blues musician in the world. Fast tunes, slow tunes, quiet, loud--it's all here, and it's all brilliant.

Some of the earlier reviewers seem distressed that Buddy is teaming up here with the SNL band, rather than playing with his usual smaller group. Well, so what? They bring out a new side in him, and complement him very well. And, they are tremendous musicians. I really enjoyed listening to piano, organ, and sax solos, in addition to Buddy's fantastic guitar work. Everyone obviously had a great time, and they made some truly inspiring music.

First, it's Buddy in fine form, Second, it's G.E. Smith and the SNL band, providing excellent support. A fan of Buddy and / or a fan of the blues can't go wrong with this one, but there's a real, raw, "Hellhound On His Trail" moment that makes this a must-have. Even the fans who are moderately familiar with Buddy's history know of his connection to Muddy Waters. During "My Time After A While" (around the 5 minute mark) he does an extended Muddy "Mannish Boy" type of scat that ends with him howling "lookee here, lookee here, lookee here, lookee here" as the band rallies and stomps and thuds around a brutal, paint-peeling guitar solo. Buy this one. NOW.

This is a good live album because Buddy Guy for once in concert is playing Buddy Guy, not imitating other guitar players which he annoyingly loves to do. It is also the most traditional blues sound he's done in about 20 years, not counting the duo cd's with Junior Wells. The Saturday Night Live Band keeps right in step on all 9 tracks with some good driving rhythum. There are some roof raising slow numbers like "Sweet Black Angel" and "My Time After Awhile" where you really hear Buddy actually playing the blues like the old days at Chess.

This fine, athmospheric 1996 live album finds George "Buddy" Guy backed by the Saturday Night Live Band, playing a nine-song set at his own "Legends" night club in Chicago, Illinois. And fans of Buddy Guy the bluesman, rather than Buddy Guy the occational rock singer and funk experimentalist, will be salivating when they check out the set list!

There is no hard rock riffing here, no misguided funk, just blues, plain and simple. Buddy Guy's playing is tight and thoroughly inspired, and he gets superb backing from former Chuck Berry-pianist Johnnie Johnson, whose solo on the T-Bone Walker-like "I've Got News For You" is one of several instrumental highlights, as well as by the six-man horn ensemble, which doesn't overwhelm him at all, but provide a nice counterpoint to his playing, keeping quiet when they need to keep quiet and riffing away when they don't. Very nice scoring there.

Some blues guitarists, like B.B. King, literally can't play a chord, but Buddy Guy plays rhythm and lead guitar equally well, and his voice is still clear and powerful in spite of his sixty years. His vocals on "Sweet Black Angel" momentarily lose their focus, but overall this is a really strong performance by the sixty-year-old guitarist.
Guy does a dense, gritty cover of Elmore James' classic "Talk To Me, Baby (I Can't Hold Out)", a powerhouse of a song which rides along on the heavy but never plodding beat of drummer Shawn Pelton. He tears through his own "I've Got My Eyes On You", and performs a stylish, seven-minute version of his classic Chess single "My Time After A While". Willie Dixon's "Let Me Love You" never sounded better than this (except, perhaps, for the slightly hysterical guitar solo). And we get terrific renditions of the swaggering title song from 1991's "Damn Right I've Got The Blues" and Eurreal 'Little Brother' Montgomery's "First Time I Met The Blues".

Guy plays a handful of truly smouldering solos, not a glimmer of hard rock commercialism anywhere, and while the lack of material from his then most recent album, the excellent "Slippin' In", is a bit of a downer, "Live: The Real Deal" is still a really rewarding listen. Yes, Guy's vocals are the tiniest bit erratic at times, but the overall impression here is that of a tremendously succesful blues record.
4 1/2 stars. Highly recommended.

I'm a long time LIVE Buddy fan. I was at the recording of this disk. I'm sorry, but although it is a good disk, it is a POOR representation of Buddy Live. His normal band was nowhere to be seen, and instead the Saturday Night Live band played. Ugh! Who's idea was THAT! Let's get a disk that shows the way a REAL Buddy show sounds!

I am such a fan of the blues and Buddy Guy is one of the best. If you like BB KIng or Stevie Ray Vaughn, you will love Buddy!

After reading some critical reviews of his record I have listened to it again and I have to agree with some of them willy-nilly. This cd contains some disappointments for all true Buddy Guy fans. For instance in the Bobby Blue Bland's "Ain't that Lovin' you", a song which is really out of place here, or in the irregular tune "Let me love you baby". But the rest of record is really great for me. Guy's voice is still powerful in spite of his age (60 years, at once), and he gives excellent renditions of "I've Got My Eyes On You", the Grammy award winner "Damn Right I've Got The Blues", the classical "Sweet black angel", the magnificent slow version of "My time after awhile", and in the Elmore James' single "Talk To Me Baby". There is also an excellent acoustic piano work of Chuck Berry's formed Johnnie Johnson in "I've got news for you" . The guitar is excellent in general and offers some moments of high tension. Guy is near his top form in this set drawn from gigs at his own Chicago club. If you're a fan of Chicago blues or a fan of Buddy Guy chances are that you'll enjoy this album.

I've seen Buddy Guy live several times, and this album captures some of the feel of being there. I think the horns are too much and Buddy Guy's playing is drowned out too often, but overall this album is well worth adding to your Buddy Guy collection.

This is truly one of Buddys' best CD's! His live performances are legendary and to capture this on a CD was a brilliant move. I have most of his CD's and this is the one I listen to the most. Dynamite CD by the "THE MAN!"

Basically, if you haven't seen Buddy Guy live and you haven't listened to this album, you haven't captured the true Buddy experience. While not quite on par with actually being present at a live show, this album, more than any other I've heard, captures the phenomenal energy that is Buddy Guy. Get it. You'll pretty much be blown away unless something is severely wrong with you. Better yet, go see him live and watch "the man" work a crowd. Best live performer I've ever seen by a long shot.