Search - Buddy Guy :: Complete Vanguard Recordings

Young man leaves impoverished home, heads out to seek fame and fortune, becomes legend. It's the stuff of myth, and it's also the tale of many a blues musician who headed north to Chicago after World War II. One such bluesman was Buddy Guy, who has achieved mainstream success beyond what most of his compatriots have, thanks to his fiery stage presence and undeniable energy that keeps going and going and going. This reissue of his sessions for Vanguard in the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, offers a different flavor; the pieces are smoother and lower-key than the Buddy Guy we're used to. For instance, his version of Mercy Dee's "One Room Country Shack" has more of the tortured inflections of "Ball and Chain" than the rock & roll stylings that have long been a Guy hallmark. On the other hand, there are audible instances of Guy's influence on rock. Most of this collection's best offerings are on disc one, which consists of the 1968 A Man and the Blues. Just so we're clear, this isn't really Guy's best work. Disc three, in particular, consisting of the 1972 release Hold That Plane, is curiously flat. Disc two, however, is the live album This Is Buddy Guy!, which balances things out some. These three releases aren't widely available, so completists are advised to pick this one up. --Genevieve Williams