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classic blues listening list - any suggestions?


lowdowner
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I'm going to be auditioning for a blues band in a couple of weeks - I've always wanted to play some blues seriously and I'm pretty stoked about it to be honest, but...

I've been told that (and I believe it) blues is all about the feel - you need to immerse yourself in plenty of blues music to get with the feel. So, does anyone have any recommendations about what to put on my Ipod to make up a 'classics blues' song list? Obviously I have some, but any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Oh, and any hints and tips about blues playing would be great too :)

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Don't bother to learn scales it's pointless in blues it's not jazz......no extended bass solos.

Listen to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7rv8pu-0z0

This is the Muddy Water's Band from the album 'Hard Again'. It's fantastic album but the best bit thing about it is it shows how a blues drummer and bassist give a lazy Chicago Blues feel to a song by playing behind the beat. Notice how late the drummer (Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith) plays the snare - it's just on the far end of the beat and no more. The rest of the album is also fantastic and shows what a great Chicago blues band (and rhythm section) should sound like. If the drummer you play with is not up to 'Big Eyes' standard, you can still play just behind the drummers beat, to give any song you play an authentic bluesy feel.

There's lots of other, more up to date, stuff out there but listening and playing along to Muddy Water's Hard Again is one of the best blues educations you can get.

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[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1358805040' post='1945484']
Don't bother to learn scales it's pointless in blues it's not jazz......no extended bass solos.

Listen to this

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7rv8pu-0z0[/media]

This is the Muddy Water's Band from the album 'Hard Again'. It's fantastic album but the best bit thing about it is it shows how a blues drummer and bassist give a lazy Chicago Blues feel to a song by playing behind the beat. Notice how late the drummer (Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith) plays the snare - it's just on the far end of the beat and no more. The rest of the album is also fantastic and shows what a great Chicago blues band (and rhythm section) should sound like. If the drummer you play with is not up to 'Big Eyes' standard, you can still play just behind the drummers beat, to give any song you play an authentic bluesy feel.

There's lots of other, more up to date, stuff out there but listening and playing along to Muddy Water's Hard Again is one of the best blues educations you can get.
[/quote]

Great - very 'lazy' (but in a good way)... i wonder how you'd stop pulling yourself back on the beat though

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Blues is a broad term so it might be worth trying to narrow down the style of your prospective band. Just as a starter, I'd suggest listening to Chicago blues such as Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells. Then try Jimmie Vaughan (with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and solo), the Hollywood Fats band (Larry Taylor on upright) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (Tommy Shannon on bass). These will stand you in good stead whatever style of blues you end up doing.

My only other comment is that a lot of blues bandleaders want a retro look & sound too. Your rig should be fine but you might find they turn their nose up at a Warwick. Just treat it as a good excuse for another bass!

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[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1358803596' post='1945447']
I'm going to be auditioning for a blues band in a couple of weeks - I've always wanted to play some blues seriously and I'm pretty stoked about it to be honest, but...

I've been told that (and I believe it) blues is all about the feel - you need to immerse yourself in plenty of blues music to get with the feel. So, does anyone have any recommendations about what to put on my Ipod to make up a 'classics blues' song list? Obviously I have some, but any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Oh, and any hints and tips about blues playing would be great too :)
[/quote]
[color=#222222]What type of blues? Trad Chicago blues, modern blues rock, funky type stuff??[/color]

[color=#222222]I started playing in a blues band about three years or so ago having never really played blues before and I got there pretty quickly by listening to the Paul Rodgers’ Muddy Water Blues album as well as a lot of SRV & Walter Trout (in fact, if you really learn Muddy Water Blues back to front you will be well equipped to play most types of blues). I found it easier to listen to a lot of modern stuff as opposed to the old masters, mainly because it is easier to hear the bass player and the arrangements tend to be a bit tighter. [/color]

[color=#222222]Good luck, there are lots of great gigs in the UK blues world if you put a bit of effort in and are prepared to travel…..[/color]

Edited by peteb
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Bessie Smith.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxQncVvsuyg[/media]

Aretha Franklin: Dr Feelgood

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5eWL_-eY8Y[/media]

Both of which show that blues doesn't have to be constrained to the "12-bar" I, IV, V formula that can quickly become tiresome.

Edited by Earbrass
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Robert Johnson for the early recordings. Albert King/John Lee Hooker for Chicago blues, Muddy Waters for the delta blues, and maybe some Free or Blind Faith for a 60s/70s take. Eric Clapton and maybe early Joe Bonamassa too.

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[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1358805306' post='1945493']
Great - very 'lazy' (but in a good way)... i wonder how you'd stop pulling yourself back on the beat though
[/quote]


The object of the exercise is to sound like you're trying to drag the band back. Practice with the muddy waters band and you'll soon get the hang of it. Just make sure the rest of the band know what you're doing just so they don't think you're on valium or something.

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[quote name='PTB' timestamp='1358805530' post='1945505']
Blues is a broad term so it might be worth trying to narrow down the style of your prospective band.
[/quote]

This is sensible advice.
You've already been given enough listening suggestions to keep you busy 'til the levee breaks.

Edited by Len_derby
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I'd get hold of a good Howlin' Wolf compilation, Chess Masters etc. At first glance simple bass parts (that's not the point though!) but interesting structural tips like songs with vocals that start on the IV chord (red rooster), and 'short changes' i.e. songs that go to the IV chord on the second measure of a 12 bar once the vocal starts (Dust my Broom). Also songs that stay on the I chord throughout (Smokestack Lightning, Wang dang doodle). Sorry if this has been said elsewhere.
Great songs and captivating vocal performances, the more I listen over the years the more I hear in it all.

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Howlin' Wolf; Little red rooster, Ain't superstitious, Killing floor.
Muddy Waters; Mannish boy, Got my mojo working, Same thing.
John Lee Hooker; Crawling king snake, Highway 13.
Willie Dixon; Spoonful.
B.B.King; Thrill is gone.
The list of great blues tunes is endless but this would be where I'd start.

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Just about to start a similar project with my partner in crime in the rythmn section for the last 20+ years plus a new vocalist he has worked with before & a guitarist she knows but we don't.

Got a list of three songs to work out for the first get together with some links to YouTube versions by email, followed by another with a note re key change for one, plus a link to tab for another. That tab is one bar long as it is basically a blues shuffle in A, not even a 12 bar. Sweet (I thought) nice of her to be thinking of us, but I think I had that one covered :lol:

Still it'll be different & hopefully fun. First get together is I suspect just to get the feel of it & each other (in a musical sense I hasten to add) and see how it goes.

Good luck with yours. I am hoping that as I have been with my drummer for years and we pretty much share a brain & feel for where the other is going it'll fall together fairly easily.

Edited by WalMan
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