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Talk to me about the blues.....


T-Bay

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1 hour ago, grumpyguts said:

I have listened to a bit of Joe Bonamassa and I don't quite understand why he is the big thing; no doubt he can play but it all sounds a bit blues by numbers. Robert Cray is a far more interesting guitarist imo. Also has a great voice.

Yup, agreed. I’ve always quite liked Robert Cray on record, so went to see him live a good few years ago and felt a bit disappointed really. So many minor blues, either fast or slow, with the same licks in each. All got a bit samey after a while, and (never thought I’d say this after so many guitarists sounding like a wasp in a jam jar) the super clean spiky guitar sound got rather tedious and could have done with a touch more balls. Liked his more recent’ soul’ type stuff though, and appreciate his efforts in bringing blues back to the fore etc. As grumpyguts points out, great voice/ singer too.

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IMO the first couple of Robert Cray albums were the best. Keb Mo, Jon Cleary and Bonnie Raitt have moved on a little but can still come up with great blues songs.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Robben Ford are always class acts. Lucky Peterson can be a bit hit and miss but there are some cracking tracks on youtube.

Bobby Bland's albums Dreamer, California Album and Reflections In Blue and his 2 Together albums with BB King are essential blues listening.

Edited by chris_b
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Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf...

Modern that hasn’t been mentioned :

The Black Keys - this is like a pop blues sometimes but I do love the rough sound.

Radio Moscow - this is a bit more than blues sometimes and written and played by one guy. Apart from the bass I think...

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For me, blues begins and ends with early delta blues. Robert Johnson, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson et al, and a thousand unknown and uncredited singers and musicians recorded by itinerate field recorders like Alan Lomax. 

Folk songs, work songs, music with a deep soul, darkness and mystery completely missing from modern blues. Crackly recordings made in hotel rooms on wax cylinders, like ghosts from the past. 

I’m not dissing the likes of Robert Cray, Joe Bonamassa etc; they’re incredibly gifted musicians but their take on blues leaves me cold. 

Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘Dark Was The Night’ was recorded in 1927. He used a knife in the absence of a bottleneck. It has no rhythm, no discernible melody or lyric, but it tells you everything. I think it’s stunning.

 

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2 hours ago, PawelG said:

The Black Keys - this is like a pop blues sometimes but I do love the rough sound.

Okay, I wasn't going to mention them and it's hardly news, but if we're including the Black Keys, well there really is some good bluesy stuff amongst The White Stripes stuff. Death Letter springs to mind but there's plenty more.

Edited by adamg67
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1 hour ago, BrunoBass said:

...Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘Dark Was The Night’ was recorded in 1927. He used a knife in the absence of a bottleneck. It has no rhythm, no discernible melody or lyric, but it tells you everything. I think it’s stunning.

... which inspired Fairport Convention to record this ...

 

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5 minutes ago, steantval said:

Check out Paul Rodgers album Muddy Water Blues.

Yup, good CD and a cracking voice for this kind of thing.

Free definitely worth your time too.

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Britain has some great current blues players of its own which are well worth checking out too - Aynsley Lister and King King for example.

Americans Gary Clark Junior and Eric Gales are also both very good 'new' blues musicians, and I've always liked Robert Cray.

 

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3 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

Britain has some great current blues players of its own which are well worth checking out too - Aynsley Lister and King King for example.

Also Stevie Nimmo.

Sean Webster - probably the best voice on the scene at the moment. 

https://www.seanwebsterband.com/

Catfish - Matt Long is a virtuoso young guitar player with a huge dynamic range, and the best bass solo I've ever heard live was from Adam Pyke playing an Ibanez 6. 

https://www.catfishbluesband.co.uk/

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2 hours ago, T-Bay said:

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am gradually working through them and all the offshoots ‘people who like this also like....’ connections. Some brilliant suggestions.

There is some good stuff out there, IMO more of the good stuff in the “inspired by the blues” arena than the music that claims to be genuine blues. The thing is, blues, kind of by the way it’s been so strictly defined by people, has really been done. Modern blues is like modern folk, it’s either a retread of the same old thing or the purists will say it’s not really blues. Follow the thread of what came out the blues and there is some just amazing music, try and find people still doing the same thing and you get.... well, people still doing the same thing. Maybe the best thing about the blues is the effect it had on everything else.

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