BUDDY GUY: LIVE: THE REAL DEAL (1996)
1) I've Got My Eyes On You; 2)
Sweet Black Angel; 3) Talk To Me Baby; 4) My Time After Awhile; 5) I've Got
News For You; 6) Damn Right I've Got The Blues; 7) First Time I Met The Blues;
8) Ain't That Lovin' You; 9) Let Me Love You Baby.
Buddy's first live album of the «comeback» era
— recorded at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago with, would you believe it, the
Saturday Night Live band itself backing the man. That is no mock irony, though,
since the SNL band at the time included George Edward Smith, a first-rate guitarist
with an impressive pedigree; additionally, Buddy is joined by Johnnie Johnson,
who had already stuck with him on the latest studio album. On the whole, the
backing band is top notch, the audience is responding wildly, and good vibes
are flying all around the place.
The most interesting part here is probably the
setlist which, with the exception of the man's comeback anthem (ʽDamn Right
I've Got The Bluesʼ), consists completely and entirely of old classics; not a
single new tune from the last two records anywhere in sight. He even does
ʽFirst Time I Met The Bluesʼ, his first single from way back — which shows that
he is not particularly impressed by his own new material, or, more accurately,
that he probably recognizes how it's mostly just variations on the old themes,
and when we're in concert, why not just stick to the old themes in person?
Instead of trying to create the illusion of coming up with something new, it
works better for him when he is just pouring his heart into the old.
That said, this is a pretty awesome guitar battle between Buddy and Smith that they
get going on ʽDamn Right I've Got The Bluesʼ, as the backing horns goad them
into brutal action against each other — almost putting the original to shame.
ʽLet Me Love You Babyʼ is also reprised in the Damn Right version, with horns and stuff and those guitar wails occasionally
getting out of harmony with the rhythm section for reasons of an ecstatic
character. Much of the album, however, is given over to the slow and subtle —
such as a 13-minute version of ʽI've Got News For Youʼ, with a lengthy Johnnie
Johnson solo and other members of the band taking their turns as well (I'm
assuming it's G. E. Smith responsible for the short, but classy slide guitar
solo, since Buddy does not play the slide much — to which Buddy then answers
with one of his sexiest vibratos). I do not know why he feels such a pressing
need to steal ʽSweet Black Angelʼ from under B. B. King's nose — that's one of
King's greatest trademarks, and even though Buddy does a very good job
mimicking the man's silky-sweet Lucille tone, Buddy is Buddy, and B. B. is B.
B.
Other than the purist attitude, I'd say the
biggest advantage of The Real Deal
is the party attitude: thankfully, Buddy does not go for a lot of audience
interaction, but every once in a while, the people out there make sure to let
us know they love him, and he makes sure to let us know that he loves them, and
it's all cool. There's definitely more fun in the air than at an Eric Clapton
concert, even if that does not necessarily mean that there's more going on than at an Eric Clapton
concert, if you know what I mean.
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