Alone And Acoustic - Buddy Guy

Advantages: This man can play
Disadvantages: Not a lot of lyrics

...on the line “I’m a very old man” and the strumming of his acoustic guitar fades into the distance you get the impression that this going to be a laid-back country blues album. As the snare drum of “Baby please don’t leave Me” played by Spam is heard with the bass player Davey Faragher counting 1, 2, that impression is soon dispelled as the dirtiest sounding bass with the slackest strings is heard along with the incendiary guitar playing of buddy Guy who is singing “Oh baby please”. This pounding riff whish is basically the whole song distorts and bends it’s way for buddy to play a relentless solo in the middle to great effect, making the track a wall of thumping bass and riffs that ends with the sound of controlled feedback. As the third song “Look what you got” starts... Read review

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Advantages: Catchy track, funky sounds, amazing vocals, great additional tracks (Stop Messing Around and acoustic Fill Me In) on single
Disadvantages: None!

...Craig David is going to go down as the sound of 2000. After the massive success of 'Rewind' and, of course, the notorious 'Fill Me In', he's back with 'Seven Days'. It has a funky Latin beat at the beginning but still sticks to Craig's garage and R&B roots. The vocals are outstanding, which is something we've come to expect from this guy, and the song is so damn catchy you'll be humming it for weeks! The CD single also includes 'Stop Messing Around', a fantastic unreleased tracks that, in my opinion, deserves more than B-side status. It's worth shelling out the cash for that alone, and combined with an acoustic version of 'Fill Me In' and the 'Seven Days' video, this single is amazing value for money. Buy it now!... Read review

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Advantages: Makes you realise just how cool Blues can be
Disadvantages: The sound quality though not bad might put some people used to 'polish' off

...I always forget just how much I like Blues until I start listening to it again, though it can be hard to find it really pure and passionate these days. I have a couple of other Buddy Guy albums; one early on, his recordings for Chess Records, where he was a session player and though his desire to do so, was never allowed to cut loose (a mistake the head, Marshall Chess, recognised late on in the sixties when the likes of Hendrix, Clapton et al were crashing to stardom). The other, Damn Right I Got The Blues, from the nineties never quite cuts it. So what a pleasure it was to stumble upon Live At The Checkerboard Lounge. Live At The Checkerboard Lounge is not quite a purist album but it's pretty close. Buddy Guy was approached by JSP Records, then with virtually no catalogue to produce a live album, as Guy at the time could hardly... Read review

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