I want to focus on Blues. What CD/Artist do you suggest?

[Faraldi]

I think my style is actually "bluesy" to a certain extent, but I'd like to really start to step up my abilities in this area.

I'm mostly self-taught and have developed my ability by listening to various artists.

What single Blues artist / album would you suggest for me?

[jazztele]

magic sam-- black magic

[nosuch]

muddy waters, albert collins and robert cray. IMHO.

[kate033]

No way to narrow it down to just one album or artist. Start sampling a few on youtube and find one that you really connect with!

Some of my favorites are Alvin Lee and Rory Gallagher on the rock side of blues and then Leadbelly, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, the three Kings, etc....the list goes on and on!

[ac15]

Lonnie Johnson is my current favorite. Plus he was a virtuoso.

[Faraldi]

No mention of SRV. Would you guys consider him to be blues or rock?

[ednew]

Check out Chuck D'Aloia's program "Blues With Brains."

Bob Mc told us about it on Tab, Tips, Theory and Technique forum.

http://www.chuckdaloiamusic.com/

Ed

[ToadLC]

If you can find it, "Essential Shoebox Full of Blues" is a great box set from House of Blues. It will expose you to a bunch of various artists & styles. Good bang for the buck.

[Mark Moore]

If you want blues, check out SRV's influences. Too many people start at SRV and don't go any further.

Some contemporary names to look into (off the top of my head):
Jimmie Vaughan
Omar Kent Dykes
Duke Robillard
Ronnie Earl
Tommy Castro

The legends (again, off the top of my head):
The Kings (Albert, Freddy, BB)
Albert Collins
Muddy Waters
T-Bone Walker
Gatemouth Brown
Robert Johnson
Son House

The list goes on and on ...

[stephent2]

Sean Costello

[hollowman]

Hey Joe, what's up?

for trad 50's style, then I might suggest some Wille Dixon or John Lee Hooker. I also like the nasty blues syle of Johnny Winter. For contemporary styles you might try some Robben Ford or Robert Cray.

[Breezecookie]

I'm absolutely loving Guitar Shorty's "Watch Your Back" lately, both for tone and tastiness. Also Buddy Guy's "Sweet Tea" from a few years back (although it's not really typical of him). I was on a Freddie King kick a while back. SRV is great, but definitely his own thing. What I WOULD recommend of his is not a CD but the "Live at El Mocambo" DVD- which ANY fan of his ought to have.

[chezdeluxe]

Get a copy of Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues.It features Buddy Guy on guitar and was probably the first album(1965) by a Chicago blues band rather than a collection of singles.
Great songs with different feels and great musicianship and interplay between band members.

[AZMIKE]

Been said before, but it's a good place to start: go with the three Kings - B.B., Albert, and Freddie.

Mike

[ghostwolf]

Muddy Waters-Hard Again
Buddy Guy&Junior Wells-Drinkin TNT&Smokin Dynamite

[kelnet]

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayer, Jonny Lang.

[Papa Joe]

Here's where the artists mentioned got it from..This is where you need to start..The real blues, not some comercial stuff intended to make the "man" rich.
There's a lot more if you want to search.
http://www.rhapsody.com/album/the-bl...ight-special_2

[brewwagon]

http://bluestab.skyrock.com/


http://www.12bar.de/

http://www.guitarworld.com/articles/...mazing%20licks

bw

[Faraldi]

Originally Posted by hollowman

Hey Joe, what's up?

for trad 50's style, then I might suggest some Wille Dixon or John Lee Hooker. I also like the nasty blues syle of Johnny Winter. For contemporary styles you might try some Robben Ford or Robert Cray.

Thanks! Any specific place to start as far as an album / collection for say John Lee Hooker and Robert Cray?

[goinpostal]

Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy

[kelnet]

How about something a little upbeat? You can't go wrong with The Powder Blues Band or Downchild Blues Band.
Sorry about the poor quality.

[justatwanging]

Jimmy Reed and more Jimmy Reed.
I use to sit in the USAF barracks,drink beer, and listen to Jimmy Reed records ALL NIGHT LONG.This is what taught me how to play blues. I also listened to and recommend Lightin' Hopkins.
Start with the roots and then come forward to all the great players like Albert Collins-Freddie King- Albert and BB-Roy Buchanan-SRV-Clapton and so forth.

[Killer Iguana]

Howlin' Wolf - The Rocking Chair/Moanin' in the Moonlight Album



Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Their first two albums were classics

Elmore James - "The Sky Is Crying, The History of Elmore James" (Rhino Records) is a great compilation of his career

Any of Muddy Waters stuff from the 1950's

Little Walter, IMO, is a must too. Pick up the Chess Records best of to get a start and listen to the way his band played behind his singing and harp. IMO, the way Louis and Dave Myers (guitars) and Fred Below on drums played together and behind Walter is really a lost art in blues today.

[nvilletele]

Originally Posted by justatwanging

Jimmy Reed and more Jimmy Reed.
I use to sit in the USAF barracks,drink beer, and listen to Jimmy Reed records ALL NIGHT LONG.This is what taught me how to play blues. I also listened to and recommend Lightin' Hopkins.
Start with the roots and then come forward to all the great players like Albert Collins-Freddie King- Albert and BB-Roy Buchanan-SRV-Clapton and so forth.

+1 for all of them. Jimmy Reed, awesome. And note that there is a reissue of the Kay Thin Twin, from China, but a really nice guitar, so if you're into Jimmy Reed, you should check it out.

Lightnin' Hopkins . . . yeah. I got on a huge Lightnin' kick a few years back, and collected just about every single recording he ever made, at least all of those that could be found, and I did a lot of searching. I defy anyone to tell me of any lightnin hopkins songs or versions of songs that I do not already have, other than some concert bootlegs maybe.

Getting back to the OP's question, the thing to do is just listen to as many different blues artists as you can, and gradually you will start to understand which style and artists really reach you. While there are any number of great ones that can be recommended, try not to focus too much at first, spend some time checking out a broad range of artists/styles, and the rest will fall into place.

[Larry F]

I'd recommend diving into Youtube. Find someone you like, then look at the recommendations. To my ear, the musicians with the purest, most direct styles are Freddie King and Albert King. For sensitivity, Jimmie Vaughan. For scorching hot minor pent madness, SRV. For Brit blues, Peter Green in his prime.

[Cheesehead]

Originally Posted by hollowman

I also like the nasty blues syle of Johnny Winter.

Johnny Winter is so freakin' amazing it blows my mind.

Check out his albums with Muddy: Hard Again, I'm Ready, and King Bee.

The pinnacle of blues guitar if you ask me. Winter, Bob Margolin, and Muddy.

[Jeff_K]

Yeah, Muddy's "Hard Again" is one of the definitive blues albums. And I think Jonny Lang plays a very good non-SRV-copycat style blues for modern players. Seems like he's been around forever but the kid's only 29 or so.

[E5RSY]

Don't forget Otis Rush. It don't get much better than this:

[catalankid]

I got a lot out of listening to BB King, Clapton, and Allman Bros. Then I branched out to Muddy Waters, Albert King and Robert Johnson. These would be good reference points. Of course Stevie Ray plays a variety of different styles. So, put 'em on, tune up with them, and learn their licks. Ain't no big thing to cop a riff here and there.

[ScatMan]

Yes to everyone's recommendations..

A must have is B.B's "Live at the Regal". This was recorded when black audiences still supported the blues (not so much now-a-days unfortunately ).

You can hear B.B's Django influence on this track:

[E5RSY]

Originally Posted by stephent2

Sean Costello

+1

I can tell you miss your friend still. My heart still goes out to you and others that knew him.

When I compare all the other "young guns" mentioned in this thread to Sean, it's really tempting to think that the Blues died with him. I know I'm likely wrong (I hope I am), but Sean was really the best hope Blues had for both being preserved and for progressing forward. I was spinning Susan T.'s record today and Sean's solo on "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" still makes me stop whatever I'm doing and listen to it slack-jawed and glaze-eyed.

It's really hard for me to listen to Sean sometimes, depending on my mood. His music truly elates me; but if I start thinking about him and the void he left, I get really, really down...and it lasts. His death affected me much more than SRV's, for some reason (whom I really worshiped back then).

Onward.

Scott

[nosuch]

For getting an overview and some background I can recommend the documentary series "the blues" by martin scorsesee

[nosuch]

Originally Posted by ScatMan

You can hear B.B's Django influence on this track:

That's nice!
Thanks for posting.

[JohnPurdy]

You might like to check out :
http://www.steviesnacks.com/
Lots of good info.

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by kelnet

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayer, Jonny Lang.

Oh... I will bite my tongue here

[Kornelius]

Oh my, names, names, names.... May i give u some more like Charley Patton, Missippi john Hurt and leabelly for the "old school blues". But you can listen to a lot of songs produced by CHESS records during the fifties, you'll find great blues nuggets. Muddy of course but also many other like Howlin' wolf or a newcomer named Chuck Berry.
For modern blues, you can try also Poppa Chubby. And you can also try some women blues singer, well, most of them are not playing guitar but u can hear great songs and maybe try ur own cover: Big mama Thornton, Billie holiday, Janis Joplin, Galea, Madeleine Peroux...Good luke for your quest.

[BoogerRooger]

Forget CDs. Get down to the the Crossroads and do the deal!

[JohnnyCrash]

Saying "blues" is like saying "music." There are too many genres, subgenres, and styles.

I guess I'd say start as chronologically as you can. Seeing how commercially available recorded audio is relatively new (from Edison's wax cylinders to todays digital media), its not going too far back (and not far enough to get to some older styles of blues before recording existed).

Start with the complete works of:
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Charley Patton
Son House
etc

If you get the 5 disc Patton set, you'll also get some random tracks from contemporaries from 1927 to the early 1930's.

Then move into the Robert Johnsons, etc. Then move into the T-Bone Walkers, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolfs, Elmore James, and so forth. After that... good luck.

By the way, these recommendations are only the tip-top of the massive ice berg... there is so much to blues, you can't even get a proper, clear, definitive "overview." From the '20s through to today there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of great artists (some completely different and unique, some too similar to notice). Hound Dog Taylor and a million other names will pop up as you start digging. If you play harp in modern style music, there is ONE name you need though - Little Walter.

Whatever you do - avoid SRV, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and a ton of other wank "blues" rock. Its color by numbers feats of manual dexterity.

PS
Some "blues" (especially the older stuff) will actually fall into other genres and may surprise you. From gospel/church music, to country/hillbilly, to pop and novelty. Most people mean "boring, white, showoff rock" when they say blues these days, but its a deep and rich musical form surpasing the boring overly formulaic wankings of Clapton (I wish he'd go back to the LP and Marshall, that was a GREAT album!) and John Mayer (is he in pain? why, because his songs are for 12 yr old girls?). Over the years the music business and commercialism has turned it into cookie cutter, 12 bar, yawning, focused on self pleasing, masturb@t0ry guitar show-offedness.

[nosuch]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

I guess I'd say start as chronologically as you can.

good advice. or the other way round, reverse chronological. that's how most people explore the blues. if you like a contemporary artist, read about who he learned from and so forth ...
A word about JohnnyCrash's wankery white rock blues lamento.
To a certain point I agree, but you are trivializing a bit, don't you?
I don't want to fal into reverse rassism, but: yes, in common black artists seem to play more blues and white artists tend to play more rock which uses the 12 bar scheme (or something like this)
then on the other hand, there is duke robillard, ronnie earl and many others ...
It really is not a question of gear, but honestly, switching of your tube screamer can be a good start to avoid senseless pattern wanking. listen to every note, play motives and try to make it sound good, play ideas rather than patterns and gestures.
IMHO

[AngelStrummer]

Eric Clapton's Beano, From the Cradle and Ridin' with the King. There's enough blues in there to keep you going for some time. Most stuff from ZZ Top, as well as T-Bone Walker for early Texas blues. Robert Johnson. I could go on...