5 comments about In Step.

1. This may be my all time favorite album, at least in the top 3. It's the one you'd chose to have it stranded on that desert island. It's perfect-what more can be said. Stevie was just hitting his peak-only the angels know what more outstanding stuff he could have blessed us with had he lived.
   Stevie's own words say it best-
   " Life without you....all the love you passed my way
   The angels have waited for so long....now they have their way
   Take your place...."



2. Though I had initially given the crown to Texas Flood, on second thought I think that In Step might, in fact, be the best studio release from the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan (and don't forget Double Trouble!).
   
   In Step is a non-stop, rockin' blues party, front to back, and is chock full of great tunes and greater guitar work. "The House is Rockin'," "Crossfire," and "Tightrope" are all favorites, of course, but the album really hits a great groove after the first three tracks that carries all the way through "Scratch-N-Sniff" and "Love Me Darlin'," before ending on a beautifully atmospheric blues note on "Riviera Paradise," which I've always felt is one of SRV's best tracks.
   
   Really an outstanding album!
   
   As for the bonus material, well, the album is great, by itself, so any bonus material is just that...a bonus!
   
   And on this album, the bonus tracks are really fantastic! SRV serves up live versions of three favorites, as well as a cover of Buddy Guy's "Let Me Love You Baby." All are top notch, and I particularly appreciate seeing one of my personal favorites, "Life Without You."
   
   Fantastic SRV! GET THIS!



3. I adore this album as I do all of his music. I only wish that he were still with us.



4. Okay, before you read this review, take a look at the ratio of other reviews regarding the number of stars given. At this moment, there were 57 5-Star reviews and 5 4-Star reviews. That says it all.
   
   The first few tracks on this album show why SRV is considered the best Blues guitarist ever. "The House is Rockin'", "Tightrope", and his best radio hit, "Crossfire", are symbolic of his trademark aggressiveness when the guitar is in his hands.
   
   One thing that a lot of people don't mention about SRV is his voice. The guitar is mesmerizing, but his voice a great compliment to his playing. Flat out, SRV shows his smoothness, not only in the album cuts, but also in the live cuts at the end.



5. Stevie Ray Vaughn's last cd shows his incredible creativiy and virtuosity. I highly recommend this cd as the ultimate SRV.

2 comments about My Blueberry Nights.

1. "My Blueberry Nights" is a strong soundtrack collection. Norah Jones who stars in the film wrote the song "The Story" on set, which was included in the film. She sings, "I don't know how to begin because the story has been told before; I will sing along, I suppose it's just how it goes." Director Kar Wai explains in the liner notes that he went to music stores and bought CDs that were played on the stereo on cross country trips which scouted locations for the film. He loved Cat Power's CD The Greatest and included that title track and "Living Proof" from the CD on the soundtrack. Cassandra Wilson's recording of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was another track that he put together with a slide show from the road trips to help Norah Young get a feel for the film's content. Ry Cooder also contributed to the film with several of his instrumentals being stand-out tracks such as "Long Ride" & "Bus Ride." Mavis Staples who also participated in the blockbuster set I Believe to My Soul turns in an amazing performance on "Eyes on the Prize." Gustavo Santaolalla's lovely instrumental "Pajaros" is a gentle instrumental lament. Ruth Brown, one of my favorite classic soul singers, has "Looking Back" included on the disc. Otis Redding's classic recording "Try a Little Tenderness" is also here. This is a very good soundtrack, diverse in feel to match the changing moods of the film, which I'm looking forward to seeing! Enjoy!



2. This soundtrack album is filled with gems. Why and how they put this cd together is beyond me, but it is filled with soul and wonderful tunes that probably fit the movie, but their compendium into an album does not make total sense to me. How does Ruth Brown fit with the others? What brings these songs together. I have a feeling that they were culled from someone's favorite records. Norah Jones maybe and used as a background to the movie, but they are too good to be background music. So how this came together is beyond me, but now that it is together it is a great cd of seemingly unrelated tunes. excellent. jack w.

5 comments about Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite.

1. I purchased this cd in 96 when it first came out.....I fell in love with the man, with the sound, with the vibe and the aura. How dare this reviewer try and pigeonhole this artist? Maxwell (to TRUE R & B fans) is a breath of fresh air. He can seduce a 70 year old as well as a 25 year old with his passionate stylings.......I happened to hear him on the BET awards show in June in honor of Al Green doing "Simply Beautiful"....I nearly died and went to heaven! The man is still awesome (sans his Neo fro)and I just wanted more, more, more.........
   
   I think that the critic should stick to reviewing Rock music.....cuz this genre right 'chere....YOU know nuttin about!!!!



2. great album by maxwell. one of my favorites to listen to when i just want to mellow out.



3. a great, slow, sexy set of love songs but hardly in the traditional sense. no up tempo to change the pace of things. but where is maxwell now? to be enjoyed over and over again.



4. What a debut!! It really says something when an album that debuted 10 years ago is still so popular & well-regarded. Although I think in all fairness that his predecesor, D'Angelo got audiences ready for this shift in r&b, Maxwell certainly put his stamp on the movement.
   
   The first time I heard this whole album, I just knew that Maxwell would be one of those ever-improving artists whose career I'd follow. He's one of a very few of the nu-school r&b cats who successfully (in my opinion) pull off that Marvin Gaye flow that I love - they can sing in falsetto & in their natural range, layering the two vocals so that it sounds like two different singers.
   
   I love everything about this disc from Maxwell's cool vibe to the exceptional backing band - it's truly timeless music that does not seem stuck in any era.
   
   My favorite tracks: WHENEVER, WHEREVER, WHATEVER; SUMTHIN SUMTHIN; LONELY'S THE ONLY COMPANY; TILL THE COPS COME KNOCKIN & ASCENSION
   
   If you love r&b but never gave Maxwell a listen, I'd highly recommend adding this debut to your collection!



5. This album is an absolute work of art. Cool grooves with Sumthin' Sumthin', and the most beautiful song I have heard in years Wherever, Whenever, Whatever. This is a great album, if you don't like this one you have no Soul!!

5 comments about Chavez Ravine.

1. That's CHA-vez. Just as he provided a venue for aging Cubans before they were gone and forgotten, Cooder, in 15 songs, shines a light on the unknown tale of how a dusty hillside Los Angeles Mexican neighborhood known as Chavez Ravine was razed in the 1950s in a "greasy handoff" to the newly arrived Dodgers baseball team. Think of the movie Chinatown. Crooked red-baiting right wing politicos, innocent citizens believing "it can't happen here," cool cats being beaten up by GIs, and a UFO-driving Space Vato (space guy) who recognizes the Ravine as the hip place to land; these are the players in Cooder's loving 21st century concept album.
   
   The beautifully packaged Nonesuch CD includes a booklet worthy of a very small coffee table. The record has a handmade, non-digital feel with an airy sound that hints at L.A.'s El Hoyo Club in 1955. The record's opening track, "Poor Man's Paradise," is driven by Cooder's clean guitar and jazzy harmonies; "El UFO Cayo" is a slow, dreamy, late night swirl of guitars. "Muy Fifi" rocks with a thumping bass under L.A. legend Ersi Arvizu's gutsy vocals. "3rd Base Dodger Stadium," a lovely lament sung beautifully by Hawaiian singer Bla Pahinui, recounts how former residents of Chavez Ravine can pinpoint where their own home plate used to be. We should all be so lucky.



2. I first heard this CD last summer (06) while I was on vacation visiting British friends in France. Ironically, I was reading a book about Robert Moses and the wrecking and paving of neighborhoods in New York City while took place around the same time as the bulldozing of the Chavez Ravine community- why I was reading all this in France is beyond me, but there you have it. I thought, and still do think, that "Chavez Ravine" is quite beautiful, if a bit odd; it fits right in with the other Ry Cooder records I've heard which are beautifully played, peculiarly written, and often a bit edgy. He doesn't sound like anyone else, which is all to the good.
   
   My favorites on this CD are "Poor Man's Shangri-La", "Chinito-Chinito", and "Third Base, Dodger Stadium"- they are as good as anything Ry Cooder has written that I've ever heard. I don't understand more than a few words of Spanish, so much of the lyrics are lost on me unless I follow along with the translation, but it doesn't hurt the experience. It's beautiful music, and the bittersweet story of what happened adds to it even if you don't get all the words.
   
   Besides, it reminds me of France, and of New York where I grew up. How's that for loose associations?



3. Out of it in Japan, actually. I only learned about this excellent album while reading a review of Mr. Cooder's My Name is Buddy and I'm not even sure why I was reading that, never having been much of a fan. Mistake. Every song on this album is a winner; the beautiful Soy Luz y Sombra even got me choked up in the middle of traffic out on the ugly-as-sin 'hatchi go sen' (that would be Hwy 8). Each song has a quite distinct emotional and musical life while the 'concept' is artistically embellished and embroidered. Mr. Cooder orquestrates a very 'simpatico' ensemble. In addition the music not only entertains but educates as well - a look at midcentury LA before the Dodgers - and improves your spanish (o tu ingles!) as it comes with a nicely done booklet of lyrics and translations, 52 pages worth! One can imagine the good times and love that went into this production; the music certainly reflects that. A keeper. Impressive. Thank you.



4. This is an elegantly produced album the captures an LA sound that deserves the treatment given. Each cut grows on you with every play -- the mark of good music.



5. Although the first and second track were my favourite, it is a good album and Would recomend if you want a chill out music.

5 comments about Nick of Time.

1. I absolutely LOVE The Roads My Middle Name (11th song on this album) Why is it that we have never heard of this song or why it didn't go to #1??? As a blues singer myself, I am definitely working on this one and I know it will be well accepted and liked. I am so hooked.



2. a cold winter day in NYC or a warm summer night in Savannah, GA. This album full of wonderful tunes makes me remember how a singer/songwriiter can elevate the blues and make you feel like the true thing IS ringing in your ear.
   
   I feel in love with my wife to this soundtrak of Nikc of time in 1990 and we have it always to remind us



3. Hmmm. With a review title like that, you can see why my career in marketing was short lived.
   
   But marketing savvy obviously wasn't lacking at Capitol Records in 1989 when they released this, Bonnie Raitt's breakthrough album. Question is: What did they do that Warner's failed to do? Warner's had had her under contract for nearly two decades, released nine of her albums to generally solid reviews--but somehow never managed to make this talented (and likeable and ULTIMATELY marketable) connect with the mass audience. When she carried home all those Grammies in the spring of 1990, they must have been kicking themselves (or lopping off each other's heads).
   
   But that's the business end. Artistically, Bonnie has proven a consistently strong artist/performer throughout her entire career. Yes, some of the albums were stronger than others, but she could always be counted on to put out interesting, engaging work. As a vocalist, she had the advantage of being able to "sing pretty," but with character and style. No one could put over an LA ballad better than Bonnie, her slight rasp gave those numbers a certain ache that few other singers could hope to duplicate. Her version of "Love Has No Pride," a number recorded by just about every female singer around in the 70s, was considered by many to be definitive (though I personally like Tracy Nelson's just as much). Why the raves? Well, she could bring a little attitude to a ballad that some might otherwise find maudlin (and others might find the story of their lives). Her straightforward, sincere-but-never-sappy readings of that song and all her other ballads could win the hearts of even the most hard-boiled critics.
   
   And of course, she could turn right around and play a mean slide guitar on a blues or rock number. She should have been a star from the get-go. In fact, for those of us who weren't carefully monitoring such things, she WAS a star--or at least as big a star as she wanted to be. I mean, I was aware that she wasn't going triple platinum, but I always thought she had a solid career and a loyal following. And after a few albums, she even mustered a Top 40 hit in "Runaway," a song I've always loved even if some critics--and even some fans--didn't go for it.
   
   So what was new with NICK? Actually, not all that much. You couldn't really say that Warners had no clue what to do with Bonnie all those years. This wasn't like Aretha's tenure at Columbia. Bonnie Raitt was recording the albums she wanted to do. The conventional wisdom was with the new contract at Capitol, she finally hooked up with a producer (Don Was) who knew what to do with her. Well, it certainly IS a well produced record (one of many to come), but the earlier ones for her old label weren't exactly dishwater either. Was did have a feel for texture that was unsurpassed: the sound is layered and crisp and designed to bring out Bonnie's unique vocal style to the best possible effect.
   
   And of course, there's the material. Bonnie Raitt never claimed to be a great or especially prolific songwriter, but actually she has always been a consistently good one, as her compositions here evidence. The title track was just about as perfect an expression of aging boomer anxiety as you will find. The verses about hearing the bio-clock ticking, seeing one's parents (and one's self) age before one's eyes, and maybe lucking out and finding true love "in the nick of time" may seem even more poignant now in light of the subsequent loss of the singer's dad and the ultimate dissolution of her marriage to actor Michael O'Keefe.
   
   No one could argue that her career took off pretty much "in the nick of time." Bonnie was by this point, a mature woman just entering her 40s, and while hardly "washed up" by any means, mass stardom was probably getting less and less likely with each passing year. Of course, there had been Tina Turner's remarkable career renaissance a few years earlier. And Grace Slick was enjoying greater commercial success (if much less critical acclaim) than just about at any time in her career. But in Bonnie Raitt's case, one got the sense that her grown up status was an actual selling point and not something to be glossed over with a spiky do or outrageous duds.
   
   She still rocked out of course, as she proved on some of the album's other tracks, including the hit single "Thing Called Love," a witty John Hiatt number, and even more so on the harder rockers: "Real Man" and "I Will Not Be Denied" (both from the pen of Jerry L. Williams) and her own closer, "The Road Is My Middle Name"--and I always thought it was "Lynn." She had lost none of her spirit and spunk facing middle age. In fact, she was rocking out harder than ever.
   
   Her ballads on this record were as sensitively performed as ever, with "Cry On My Shoulder" and "Too Soon To Tell" being real standouts. Her reading of "Nobody's Girl" is spot on, and "I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again" serves as proof that in another life, she could have easily been a smoky voiced chanteuse. But it's on the mid-tempo numbers where Bonnie really hits her stride. The two numbers written by namesake Bonnie Hayes seem ideally suited for Bonnie Raitt. "Love Letter" and "Have a Heart" are among the CD's true gems. If the former's lyrics make it come off as a kind of distaff "Every Breath You Take," its slow funk groove makes the tune much more playful than predatory. As for "Have a Heart," well, what can you say about a song that begins with the lyrics, "Hey, shut up!..." and still manages to be as emotive as any of the sensitive tunes in Bonnie R.'s repertoire.
   
   Strictly speaking, NICK OF TIME was probably not a bold step forward artistically. But its solid production values, excellent song selection and confident performances augured well for the success it ultimately proved to be. That and the fact that she finally had a record company that got behind her.



4. if you are a guitar player,you will want both the nick of time album and songbook. that way,you can play along with the songs thing called love, loveletter,nick of time,have a heart,nobody's girl,i will not be denied,real man,and the road is my middle name.the album and songbook go great together,so get both,strap on your guitar and have some fun. ed wilson



5. I was into Bonnie long before this album was released.This album garnered her a pile of Grammy awards and rightfully so.I consider this to be one of the top 20 albums in Rock history.If you only own one Bonnie Raitt CD this is the one!

5 comments about Diva.

1. Diva shares every emotion possible in this CD.
   Little Bird, Cold, Precious--all awesome!



2. Annie Lennox ... thank you for decades of excellent work.
   
   I'm fairly certain I own every CD you ever made. Including everything with The Eurythmics.
   
   DIVA is my favorite. The strength of her voice, never stronger. The lyrics and melodies ... solid.
   
   This is a CD that should be purchased, not downloaded from the internet.
   You lose too much in a digital MP3 format.
   
   This is a must own for anyone, any age group that loves music and a quality product.



3. I still enjoy listening to this album 15 years after its release. Annie Lennox really delivered with an outstanding album of 11 tracks. Diva marked the departure from her collaborations with Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and although there's not as much synth-pop on Diva, Lennox's lyrics on her solo work are just as honest and profound (if not more) as they are on her Eurythmics' compositions.
   
   My favourite tracks are "Why" - this has got to be one of the most beautifully written songs of all time. This song is so emotive and one feels Annie's pain, particularly towards the end. Other standouts are "Cold", "Money Can't Buy It", "Precious" and especially, "The Gift".
   
   If the Diva CD doesn't satisfy your hunger for Annie, pick up the Diva DVD, which features a collection of music videos from the album including "Why", "Legend In My Living Room", "Cold", "Money Can't Buy It", "Precious", "The Gift" and "Keep Young and Beautiful". Annie reinvents herself in each video to be consistent with the tone and feelings of each song. It's an absolute must-have for any Annie fan.



4. Annie Lennox never disapoints, almost all of my favs are on this CD from "why" about a disintegrating relationship. "Money can't buy it" a quest for material things & loss of love, to a very intense "cold" about non-reciprocated love, we can all relate to her material at sometime in our lives, she has an incredible gift to express her heartache/passion &/or pain/joy through her awesome voice & lyrics.



5. I get so many compliments on this album because I play it in my truck often. It is truly one of my very favorites. Came to me in great shape and with no waiting.

5 comments about Roll with It.

1. Roll With It is a song I just enjoy dancing and listening to any time. This is one of his best and still rocks on after some 20 years! There are some other great tracks but Roll With It is the best!!



2. It was a big risk for Steve Winwood to follow a hugely successful album in Back in the High Life from '86 with this 1988 album. And while I like the songs here, such as Roll With It, it lacks the excitement of High Life or its major hits. Roll With It sounds like it was recorded in a blues soul club in a Southern town. It recalls '60s soul in a big way but with a 1988 sheen to it. Don't You Know What the Night Can Do has that cool, modern feel to it, as if it's to be heard under neon lights. The album version feels and sounds long every time I hear it. But Holding On sounds too dull every time I hear it. It still doesn't grab me like his earlier records. The rest of the album tries too hard to follow the formula of the last effort. Where High Life has more of a relaxed comfortable feel, some songs on Roll With It sound a little too forced in the way they were performed and recorded. Winwood sounds superb vocally on all numbers, but without the excitement of the other one. His keyboard playing is among the best in the business, but he falls short on some songs. Roll With It has had the strongest shelf life, as I hear it a lot in some stores. The other singles haven't been as memorable.



3. Steve Windwood doesn`t dissapoint on this one. The reason i think it`s his voice, and the way it fits in as a shining guide, inbetween the very "urban street sound" which brings associations to smoke clouded nightclubs and highlife so to say. Track 1 Roll with it, is an ok starter, which paints a "funky musical tempo up beat " all trough the song. Track 2 Holding on is a classic, or should have been the forgotten hit song gem. It starts, so, so, but then when it build`s up on the refrain, it realy kick`s your`e soul into "heaven feel". There`s something with the refrain that fills you with some sort of religious mood that gives you a good emotion. Track 3 The Morning side is an ok ballad, but it`s a minor let down from the song before. It`s moody, and the Windwood magic is still there`, but it`s not realy up there. Track 4 Put on your dancing shoes, it`s a fastback hard top rock and roller with guts and glory and also have the right element`s to make it shine in a way. Track 5 Don`t you know what the night can do ?, shines in it`s glory. It has a halleluja feel over it, and the Windwood quality dripping on the right notes, so to speak. Track 6 Hearts om fire, is a minor let down. It has tempo, it has a certain flair, and a funky beat, but that`s all. It`s easily forgotten, even when the refrain kick`s in,but the shining quality is still there. Track 7 One More Morning is an ok ballad, but that`s all. It`s to tiny in a way. Track 8 Shining song doesn`t shines too much, sorry to say. Anyway. To sum it up. Roll with this man. Winwood always deliver`s.
   That`s a fact.



4. I admit this album reminds me of his last one in a few ways. Mostly because I think half of the 8 tracks are excellent, and of course the other half is just so-so. Obviously, like "Back In The Highlife", it's the singles that really shine here. The title track is a great upbeat song, even if it was overplayed at the time, and I really do like "Holding On" as well. However, it's "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do" that keeps this in my collection. It's link to the late 80's beer commercial has faded from my memory, and now I just enjoy it as the great song it is. This is a good album for any fan, but what he really needs now is a simple 15-20 track "Greatest Hits" of his solo years, or a double including everything he's done.



5. I understand Steve's yearning to return to a simpler sound as he did on his latest cd but, for me, this is his true calling. I rate this one as one of the best albums of the 80s. It literally jumps out of the speakers with enthusiasm and infectious rhythms every time I put it on. I love the horns, the background singers, the drums, the tight arrangements and clear sound and, of course, Steve's wonderful vocals throughout. This is just one great album.

5 comments about Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

1. 2 decades ago I wore out the cassette and the 8 track. This is a one of the worlds best "Greatest Hits" collections.



2. Bob Dylan didn't release a new record in 1971, but instead issued several unreleased songs on this second Greatest Hits record. "Tomorrow is a Long Time," is a beautiful song recorded during Dylan's 1963 Town Hall Concert. This concert was released on the Trade Mark of Quality bootleg "While the Establishment Burns" and the show is brilliant. I'm guessing, wishing, hoping that one day Bob Dylan and CBS/Sony will release the show as part of the official Bootleg Series.
   
   "Watching the River Flow" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece" were produced by Leon Russell and are both outstanding. "Watching the River Flow" was kind of a hit single and is really a rocker. "Masterpiece" makes its first appearance here. "The three songs recorded with Happy Traum are really beautiful and I would have loved to see a whole album done this way, what a joy that would have been. Still, we take what we can get from Mr. Dylan and are thankful for all he's given us. Like his first Greatest Hits record, this album was huge, going five times platinum which makes the first two Hits records his all time best sellers. This is a must own disc for everybody and anybody who has even a passing interest in Bob Dylan.



3. 'Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Volume 2' is part of the evidence that makes one wonder why the first Gershwin award for popular songwriting went to Paul Simon and not to Bob Dylan. Unlike some other reviewers, all but one song on this collection was immediately recognizable, from the high point of Dylan's career with Highway 61 Revisited, Blond on Blond, John Wesley Harding, and Nashville Skyline. I have to admit that Simon's career had more major hits in the '80's, '90's, and the 21st century, and Simon had almost as many 'major' hits in the '60's, but this collection demonstrates that no one in our lifetimes has ever matched Dylan's genius for songwriting. Even after all these years, I find this collection and its predecessor a great source for recalling Dylan lyrics, as when I was trying to remember the song from which the line 'But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now'. Discovering the answer ('My Back Pages') was much easier by listening to this album than by reading a book of his lyrics. I was especially keen on listening to Dylan's original 'All Along the Watchtower', to compare it to possibly the greatest Dylan cover of all time, by Jimi Hendrix, of this song on 'Electric Ladyland'. Hendrix' rendition only shows how great is Dylan's genius at lyrics and tunes, when we see the rendition Hendrix was able to build with the song.



4. Only complaint I have is this should have been on 1 disc. Disc 1 is 36 minutes flat & disc 2 is 42:23. All 21 tracks could have easily fit on one space-saving 78 minute disc. Only way to justify this being on 2 discs would be to include at least 1 bonus track, which Columbia has done on some other artists' reissues. Other labels have reissued 2 LP sets on 1 CD, such as Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, The Who's Tommy & Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, so they should have done that with this album.



5. Bob Dylan is always at his best, but this time he may be more on top than usual. The music is fresh, concise, and delivered with enthusiasm. It reminds me of a time when the music and the story were the most important issues.

5 comments about Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy.

1. I like "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" better, but this is still great. I loved Stevie Ray Vaughn, and since Buddy played at the last concert Stevie ever gave, I looked forward to hearing the instrumental tribute to him. I wasn't disappointed. Anybody who thinks Chicago blues is always loud and driving should listen hard to that one. Like any great music, there's more than one way to be blue. Yeah, Buddy.



2. Do you love the blues? I said, DO YOU LOVE THE BLUES? If you don't, then this CD is not for you! This CD was made for blues lovers. From the first guttural.. From the first growl.. From the first screeching.. Lyrics from Buddy: "DAMN RIGHT, I'VE GOT THE BLUES!" You are on your way to a blues experience. You don't get to warm up! You don't get to pace yourself! From Buddy's first exulted, words of "blues", you are hooked into a blues experience, that there's no getting out of! For those of you who are blues neophytes, in the electric blues world, Buddy, said that Stevie Ray Vaughn, was his best friend, and like a brother to him. With this knowledge, pay special attention to song #4, "Remembering Stevie". It's an instrumental that Buddy wrote in memory of Stevie, after his untimely death. This CD is a testament to one of the all-time greatest electric blues guitar performers... Mr. Buddy Guy. 5 stars for now and forever.



3. Buddy Guy is "The Master of the Blues." He glides his fingers over his guitar like the wind showing his expertise with every note. I've seen him once in person and he made a lifetime impression on me. Buddy's Baddest will fill you with the energetic life force of a Buddy Guy concert.



4. buddy guy always seems to get third billing behind eric clapton and b.b. king, but this collection of songs is certainly an excellent sampler of why he is always mentioned in the same breath with those other 2 lads !!!!! it is an excellent introduction to one very exciting and inventive blues guitarist (go visit his nightclub in chicago and check out all the autographed guitars on the walls)
   these songs sizzle: "mustang sally" takes off like a rocket, "midnight train" really rocks, and the bass line on "damn right" is a killer. even the slow tunes are hot.if you are a hobbyist, this is a great collection of blues tunes to play along to. also great for listening to in the car by yourself- where you can play it LOUD !!!!!



5. I just bought Buddy's Baddest: The Best Of Buddy Guy at fye music for $20. I really did'nt care about the price because I had already previewed the songs at fye and new this album stood presence of greatness like Buddy Guy. This is my first buddy guy album I have been for so long been listening to Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan never came across Buddy until now........... The first track Damn Right, I've Got The Blues is just an amazing track filled with so much potenial, soul, and power in Buddy's guitar solo. And I have to say all of the tracks have buddy guy playing some great guitar solo's which is what us guitar, blues fans want right? I also liked Rememberin'Stevie. This album is a must have. Buddy Guy can really play!

5 comments about Wander This World.

1. After "Lie To Me", I thought I would buy anything this artist put out. 3 albums later, I'm regretting that decision. It started with this title. Did that trip to Memphis make him think he's Al Green? Did his guitar fall down and it can't get up? Is he only a 6 string stud in the studio with a lot of help from the engineers and timed tracking? I honestly don't get it. As utterly IMPRESSIVE and AMAZING as "Lie" was, subsequent releases have only put me to sleep. Forced blue-eyed soul ain't doing it for me. Stax/Volt is out of business and the Staple Singers aren't holding auditions. I don't want to be unkind because anyone who can cut the very best version of "Matchbox" will always have a home in my heart but in the words of the immortal Frank Zappa, "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar".



2. Nothing is more depressing than an incredibly gifted blues musician playing pop music. Nothing against pop, but really, come on. Can you imagine Howling Wolf singing "yummy yummy yummy i've got love in my tummy", or Muddy Waters singing "Daydream believer"? Sickening.



3. Jonny Lang proves once again that age is not a required criteria when producing a blues album wrought with feeling and emotion. Thanks Jonny...



4. After hitting big time stardom with his previous effort Lang follows things up with another strong one. The album scored another big hit with the leadoff track "Still Rainin", but shows Lang moving in some new directions. Blues is still the main denominator for this album, but Lang starts bringing in a lot more soul, gospel and funk into the mix as well. This conglomeration of styles would indicate the path his career would take with later albums. I think that this may be Lang's best release to date. The material is all strong and he sings and plays like a man on a mission to prove himself. Highlights include "I Am", "Wander This World", "The Levee", the funky "Right Back", the ballad "Leaving To Stay", and the final track a killer cover of Luther Allison's "Cherry Red Wine". There really is not a weak track on the disc. If you have never explored Lang's material this would be a great place to start.



5. Johnny Lang is what--19 here? He's already one of the guitar legends and his voice isn't so bad, either. Admittedly, he's had some amazing help here--David Z produced this CD, but if he didn't have the chops that wouldn't have gotten done.
   
   This is a hard CD to pick a favorite. There's nothing I'd skip over, which is uncommon even for my ultimate favorites. When he belts out the last of "Cherry Red Wine" I've had to just start the whole CD over from the start.
   
   "I Am" is a great soulful song and I can see why so many of the other reviewers have picked it. I keep going back to "Back to the Levee" and "Angel of Mercy" and for the moment, those are my favorites, but that's changed just about every time I've played this CD.
   
   So far, I have liked every single one of Johnny's CDs, looking forward to a long career with a lot of good music.