Buddy Guy – This Is Buddy Guy!
This live set features 8 exhilarating blues tracks recorded & released originally by Vanguard Records. The Louisiana-born Buddy Guy was captured at the New Orleans House in Berkeley, CA. The Grammy Award-winning guitarist has been playing since 1953, & he shows his Chicago blues skills throughout. This record is not locked into only Guy’s blues traditions. His sharpened influences included deep blues, avant-rock, some soul & free jazz. This experience with his varied guitars helped to create his sound. The vitality of Buddy’s playing was always evident. This highly regarded LP was originally produced by Sam Charters & the remastered reissue This Is Buddy Guy! (Craft Recordings/Concord) became available on March 25th.
The sound quality is good for the era. It’s not as pristine as recordings captured live today. The band is tight; Guy’s vocals are up front & a little hot at times, but that helps to nail down the unmistakable energy Guy pours into his shows. “I Got My Eyes On You” has clarity on the guitar solo & works in favor of the horns, but its tonality in this remastered take is like many remastered songs – it’s as if the engineers don’t know what a bass is. It’s all high in treble. There’s little in the low spectrum on which the blues are reliant. This is why the original mono & high-fidelity LPs are often prized.
But…but…but…what isn’t lost is the “live” excitement, & the atmosphere of the performance. Guy’s vocal intonations, phrasing & asides put you front & center. There’s no information about how this was recorded.
Covering the classic “Fever,” a song that can work an audience into a frenzy, Buddy has it cooking with a finger-snapping coolness & adds screams James Brown would be envious of. Guy sings & toward the end uses the same effective vocal “duel” between his vocal & the sax as Anita O’Day’s vocal “duel” during her “Sweet Georgia Brown & Tea For Two” set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Guy goes more mainstream soulful with “Knock On Wood.” There’s little lead guitar in this tune, but lots of brass. The guitar returns impressively with the Delta-based blues of “I Had a Dream Last Night.” Swampy, humid & steamy. By “You Were Wrong,” the sound has smoothed out, & the set has a bluesy charm as if backed by the old Arthur Conley Band of “Sweet Soul Music.”
Highlights – “I Got My Eyes On You,” “Fever,” “Knock On Wood,” “I Had a Dream Last Night,” & “You Were Wrong.”
Musicians – Leslie Crawford (baritone sax), A.C. Reed & Bobby Fields (tenor saxes), George Alexander & Norman Spiller (trumpets), Tim Kaihatsu (rhythm guitar), Glenway McTeer (drums) & Jack Meyers (bass).
CD @ Amazon & Apple + https://buddyguy.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-buddy-guy-remastered-2025-live-at-new-orleans-house-berkeley-ca-1968
Enjo our previous coverage here: Show Review: Buddy Guy w/Colin James in Ashland KY
