Blues & Gospel - The Griswalds -> Phil Guy

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BLUES & GOSPEL
The Griswalds -> Phil Guy

THE GRISWALDS
ART & ROMAN GRISWOLD/ BIG JACK REYNOLDS
THE GRISWOLDS
HELEN GROSS
MYRICK "FREEZE" GUILLORY & QUEEN IDA
GUITAR CRUSHER
GUITAR SHORTY
GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY
GUITAR SLIM
BUDDY GUY
PHIL GUY & LURRIE BELL

THE GRISWALDS JSP 280 All The Way Down ● CD $14.98

11 tracks, 54 mins, very good Blues band from Toledo, Ohio led by brothers Art & Roman Griswald. Tough small combo blues with intense vocals by the brothers (originally from Arkansas), excellent gritty guitar from Art, keyboards by Roman and hot sax from Rick "Big Daddy" Scheefdore. Mostly original songs - All The Way Down/ Foot Stompin'/ BigDaddy Cool/ My Love Don't Mean A Thing/ What The Fool Made Me Do/ The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.., etc (FS)

ART & ROMAN GRISWOLD/ BIG JACK REYNOLDS Blue Suit 101 Two Aces And A Jack - Hot As You Get ● CD $14.98

1987 album now on CD. Fine set of tough blues by some Detroit bluesmen transplanted to Toledo, Ohio. There are 6 tracks by brothers Art and Roman Griswold - both are good singers and Art plays some intense B.B. King flavored guitar. This duo brings to mind the Carter Brothers in their sound. I could have done without such overdone songs as Got My Mojo Working and The Thrill Is Gone. Side two features singer/ guitarist/ harmonica player Big Jack Reynolds who sings and plays in a somewhat older style. Both the Griswolds and Reynolds are accompanied by Toledo band The Haircuts who generally do a creditable job though some of guitarist's Larry Gold's solos go a bit overboard. (FS)

THE GRISWOLDS Blue Suit 115 Cockeyed World ● CD $15.98

Blues trio from Toledo, Ohio featuring brothers Art Griswold (vocal & guitar), Roman Griswold (vocal, piano, organ and harmonica) and drummer Big Blues Bob Michaels. They perform tough treatments of some original songs along with songs from Muddy waters, Jesse Hill, Willie Nelson (!), Jimmy Rogers and others.

HELEN GROSS Document DOCD 5477 In Chronological Order, 1924-25 ● CD $14.98

22 sides by the obscure Ms. Gross, one of the early "classic" or vaudeville-type blues singers to record in NYC. Not the most compelling artist to record, these performances are nonetheless distinguished, apart from their extreme rarity, by some fine lyrics and the presence of some of New York's better jazz players, including Ellington greats Bubber Miley and Louis Metcalf and stride pianist Cliff Jackson. Taken in bulk these quickly tire, but one-at-a-time there is some good music to be heard here. Sound, for acoustical recordings, is better than I expected. (PR)
HELEN GROSS: Bitter Feelin' Blues/ Bloody Razor Blues/ Crap Shooting Blues/ Dark Man./ Death Letter Blues/ Eavesdropper's Blues/ Foolish Woman's Blues/ Ghost Walkin' Blues/ Hard Luck Blues/ Haunted House Blues/ He's Never Gonna Throw Me Down/ If You Can't Ride Slow And Easy/ Last Journey Blues/ My Man Ain't Yo' Man/ Neglected Blues/ Rockin' Chair Blues/ Sorrowful Blues/ Strange Man/ Ticket Agent, Ease Your Window Down/ Undertaker's Blues/ What'll I Do/ Workin' Woman's Blues

MYRICK "FREEZE" GUILLORY & QUEEN IDA GNP 2203 Nouveau Zydeco ● CD $15.98

Maybe as much "retro" as "nouveau", Freeze has a smooth voice reminiscent more of good '50s doo-wop than the gritty vocal stylings so prevalent in Zydeco today. The vocal delivery works just fine combined with his big band, full-frontal horn section sound. Young Freeze has learned well from mother Queen Ida, who steps into this live concert recording for a Queen-sized guest spot. Freeze wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 15 songs, ably moving from the blues shuffle of Bad Situation to quick-step Gator Man and its tongue-in-cheek take on Johnnie B. Goode. Queen Ida's Mazuka is a foot-stompin' high point, while Zydeco in D Minor is a curiously un-Cajun disco invocation. From fast to slow - good contagious dance music. (DC)

GUITAR CRUSHER Inakustik INAK 9034 Message To Man ● CD $15.98

12 tracks, 71 mins, recommended As far as I can tell no guitars were crushed during the making of this album and, in fact, the titular artist Guitar Crusher (aka Sidney Selby) only plays harp on a couple of cuts! Recorded in Germany with mostly German musicians this is an excellent collection of mostly original songs and fine gospel flavored vocals from Crusher. There are some very good songs here including the fine minor key topical title song, the slow burning You Know How To Hurt A Man, the driving Long Green Folding Friend, the beautiful deep soul sound of Trying To Fool The Whole Town and others. The instrumental arrangements are excellent, often with a large horn section arranged by former B. B. King music director Calvin Owens. (FS)

GUITAR SHORTY Collectables 5724 Billie Jean Blues ● CD $11.98

GUITAR SHORTY Collectables 5725 The Blues Is All Right ● CD $11.98

GUITAR SHORTY Evidence 26119 Go Wild! ● CD $15.98

New album by energetic contemporary singer/ guitarist.

GUITAR SHORTY JSP 2117 My Way On The Highway ● CD $15.98

Singer/ guitarist Guitar Shorty (aka David William Kearney) has been around for quite a while having recorded a handful of singles in the mid/ late 50s though he continued to perform regularly. Supposedly his extroverted stage act was an inspiration for Buddy Guy and he also, supposedly, taught a few things to a young Jimi Hendrix (he married Hendrix's stepsister). On this album, recorded with one of Britain's better blues bands, The Otis Grand Blues Band he performs a diverse selection of material including straight blues, blues ballads and jazzy instrumentals. His vocal and instrumental are high energy and intense and worth a listen but I'm not sure if I can agree with the liner notes describing him as "the world's best kept secret blues legend"! (FS)

GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY Arhoolie 460 Carolina Blues, N.Y.C. 1944 ● CD $12.98

29 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended. An expanded version of Arhoolie 2005 - almost the entire recorded output of Alec Seward and Louis Hayes including a number of previously unissued tracks. Delightful East Coast country blues featuring solo vocals on some songs and shared vocals on others. There is a lot of vocal interplay on the shared vocals with each commenting humorously on the others trials and tribulations. The songs are excellent and witty, usually detailing their problems with the opposite sex. (FS)
GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY: Bad Acting Woman/ Big Trouble Blues/ Christmas Time Blues/ Cooking Big Woman/ Crooked Wife Blues/ Crying Won't Make Me Stay/ Don't Leave Me All By Myself/ Early Morning Blues/ Humming Bird Blues/ Isabel/ Jail And Buddy Blues/ Mean Girl Blues/ Mike And Jerry/ No More Hard Time/ Railroad Blues/ Right And Wrong Woman/ She's Evil And Mean/ Snowing And Raining/ South Carolina Blues/ Southern Whistle Blues/ Travelin' Boy's Blues/ Ups And Downs Blues/ Yellow And Brown Woman/ You're My Honey

GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY Delmark 755 The Back Porch Boys ● CD $14.98

Fine collection of mostly country blues recorded for Apollo and Regal between 1947 and 1950. It includes 11 tracks from the splendid duo Alec "Guitar Slim" Seward and Louis "Jelly Belly" Hayes including two unissued songs and three alternate takes. There's more fine country blues from Dennis McMillon and the great Blind Willie McTell plus four tracks with more urban feel from Champion Jack Dupree (two previously unissued).

GUITAR SLIM Specialty 7007 Sufferin' Mind ● CD $14.98

Hot on the heels of the Ace collection comes this U.S. Specialty package, with even more tracks - 26 in all! Of course the hits are all here - The Things I Used To Do/ Well I Done Got Over It/ Sufferin' Mind/ Reap What You Sow/ I Got Sumpin' For You, as well as unissued alternates of I Want To Love-A You/ Sufferin' Mind/ Something To Remember You By/ Certainly All/ Going Down Slow. Get it if you don't already have the Ace CD, or even if you do - Jerry Wexler's colorful liner notes are an added plus. Sound quality is fine, although nowhere near the spectacular mastering job that Ace did. (MB)
GUITAR SLIM: Bad Luck Blues/ Certainly All/ Going Down Slow/ Guitar Slim/ I Got Sumpin' For You/ I Want To Love-A You (Take 1)/ I Want To Love-A You (Take 11)/ Later For You Baby/ Letter To My Girlfriend/ Our Only Child/ Quicksand/ Reap What You Sow/ Something To Remember You By/ Stand By Me/ Story Of My Life/ Sufferin' Mind/ The Things That I Used To Do/ Think It Over/ Trouble Don't Last/ Twenty-five Lies/ Well I Done Got Over It/ You Give Me Nothing But The Blues/ You're Gonna Miss Me

GUITAR SLIM JR. Warehouse Creek 1224 Nothing Nice ● CD $14.98

11 tracks, 48 minutes, very good Slim Jr. actually IS Slim Jr. He's Rodney Armstrong, son of the late Eddie Jones, better known as New Orleans blues legend Guitar Slim. This album was recorded in Memphis at the Sun & Ardent studios. Jr. sings, plays keys, harp & slide guitar with backing by just bass, drums & the famed Memphis Horns (Wayne Jackson & Andrew Young). There's a couple of originals written by the production team, but the set is mostly filled with good covers, highlights include Guitar Slim Sr.'s Our Only Child & I Got Sumpin For You, along with Jimmy Hughes' gorgeous Slip Away & Percy Mayfield's The River's Invitation. (GM)

BUDDY GUY Alligator 4723 Stone Crazy ● CD $14.98

Buddy cuts loose on his best studio recording since the early sessions he did for Chess. No-nonsense power blues from 1981.

BUDDY GUY Chess CHD 9315 I Was Walking Through The Woods ● CD $9.98

Reissue of Buddy Guy's second Chess record, a collection of tracks culled from 1960 to 1964 recordings. 10 fierce sides, with the classics Watch Yourself/ Stone Crazy/ First Time I Met The Blues/ My Time After A While/ Ten Years Ago.
BUDDY GUY: Broken-Hearted Blues/ First Time I Met The Blues/ I Found A True Love/ I Got A Strange Feeling/ Let Me Love You Baby/ My Time After A While/ No Lie/ Stone Crazy/ Ten Years Ago/ Watch Yourself

BUDDY GUY JSP 256 D.J. Play My Blues ● CD $14.98

With Buddy having achieved blues stardom JSP has gone back to these 1981 recordings, previously issued on JSP CD 203 and given it a new contemporary remix.
BUDDY GUY: All Your Love/ Blues At My Baby's House/ D.J. Play My Blues/ Dedication To The Late T-Bone Walker/ Girl You're Nice & Clean/ Good News/ Just Teasing'/ Mellow Down/ She Suits Me To A T/ The Garbage Man Blues

BUDDY GUY JSP 262 Live At The Checkerboard Lounge ● CD $14.98

1979 recordings - reedited version of JSP 1009 with extra tracks - Buddy's Blues/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You/ The Things I Used To Do/ The Dollar Done Fell/ Don't Answer The Door, etc
BUDDY GUY: Buddy's Blues (Part One)/ Buddy's Blues (Part Two)/ Don't Answer The Door/ Done Got Over You/ I've Got A Right To Love My Woman/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You (Version Two)/ The Dollar Done Fell/ The Things I Used To Do/ You Don't Know How I Feel

BUDDY GUY JSP 272 Breaking Out ● CD $14.98

10 tracks, 53 mins, watch out! Remixed reissue of this 1980 session has Buddy at his most excessively histrionic. Is this his "Electric Mud"? The liner notes say "this is a great blues artist 'slumming it' with fuzz tone guitar & rock & funk rhythms". What more can I say? The set, which includes You Can Make It If You Try, Break Out All Over You, I Didn't Know My Mother Had A Son Like Me, features brother Phil on guitar, who's featured here on a couple tunes from his own '81 JSP debut with Buddy as guest including Texas Flood. (GM)
BUDDY GUY: Boogie Family Style/ Break Out All Over You/ Have You Ever Been Lonesome/ I Didn't Know My Mother Had A Son Like Me/ Ice Around My Heart/ Me & My Guitar/ She Winked Her Eye/ Texas Flood/ You Called Me In My Dream/ You Can Make It If You Try

BUDDY GUY P-Vine PCD 24044 This Is The Beginning - The Artistic & USA Sessions ● CD $23.98

This collection features all of Buddy's pre-Chess recordings along with recordings made in 1963 accompanying vocalist Jesse Fortune who has a vocal style very similar to Buddy's. In addition to the four sides Buddy cut for Artistic in 1958 the set includes the three demos he recorded for Ace in 1957. There were four sides recorded by Fortune for USA and there are two takes here ofthree of them. There is also lengthy session excerpts from Buddy's second Artistic sessions complete withfalse starts, session chat and the like.

BUDDY GUY Rhino 70280 The Very Best Of Buddy Guy ● CD $15.98

Thanks to his re-emergence on the Silvertone label, guitarist, singer and songwriter Buddy Guy has been well-served by reissues lately, but this 18-track "best of" collects many of his high points on record over the past 30-odd years. This includes well-chosen selections from his stays with Chess, Artistic, Vanguard and Atco that showcase his talents as axe master and band leader. Even better, the compiler (someone called Frank Scott; the name sounds vaguely familiar) chooses the only two good tracks from the sloppy, meandering Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite live set from 1974. Guy's frequent collaborator Junior Wells honks his harmonica on five tracks, and the cover features a great shot of Guy's gravity-defying hair. Longtime fans will already have almost everything on this, but newcomers won't be able to find a more lively introduction. JG)
BUDDY GUY: A man of many words/ Blues at my baby's house/ First time I met the blues/ Five long years/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold that plane/ Just teasin'/ My time after while/ Sit and Cry (the blues)/ Stone crazy/ T-bone shuffle/ Ten years ago/ The way you been treating me/ This is the end/ When my left eye jumps/ When you see the tears from my eyes/ she suits me to a t

BUDDY GUY Silvertone 1462 Damn Right, I've Got The Blues ● CD $16.98

For the first time in two decades Buddy Guy was given the freedom to be himself in the studio, and the results are scintillating. The musical symmetry here is a welcome strength that accentuates Guy's expressive soul singing and nimble blues guitar within this varied pace release, which includes a John Hiatt tune and a knockout version of Wilson Pickett's Mustang Sally. Rock guitar greats Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler add scattered support throughout, but Buddy is the star and the proof is evident in Eddie Boyd's Chicago classic 5 Long Years, Big Jay McNeely's There Is Something On Your Mind, and a haunting instrumental ode to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. He integrates catchy instrumental and vocal hooks; the latter even resembles Screamin' Jay Hawkins in parts. This fine return to form should reduce his negative image in sections of the music press (mostly based on the many years he's been represented by marginal live recordings). Recommended. (TR)
BUDDY GUY: Black Night/ Damn Right, I've Got the Blues/ Early In the Morning/ Five Long Years/ Let Me Love You Baby/ Mustang Sally/ Rememberin' Stevie/ There Is Something On Your Mind/ Too broke to Spend The Night/ Where is the Next One Coming From

BUDDY GUY Silvertone 41498 Feels Like Rain ● CD $16.98

11 tracks, 48 min., recommended. Another good contemporary effort from Buddy, although I can't figure out whether its' successes are due to, or in spite of the guest-heavy lineup. Bonnie Raitt spices up the title track, 70's rocker Paul Rodgers and country star Travis Tritt add vocal duets, and John Mayall plays piano and sings on Jr. Wells' I Could Cry. Buddy revives classic songs by Muddy (19 Years Old), Guitar Slim (Sufferin' Mind), Ray Charles (Mary Ann) and James Brown (I'll Go Crazy), and does his Hendrix thing on the opening cut, with unusually expressive vocals all the way through. The revue-style presentation works pretty well, but I would have been happy to hear Buddy put more of his own personality and songwriting into it. (MB)
BUDDY GUY: Change in the Weather/ Country Man/ Feels Like Rain/ I Could Cry/ I Go Crazy/ Mary Ann/ She's Nineteen Years Old/ She's a Superstar/ Some Kind of Wonderful/ Sufferin' Mind/ Trouble Man

BUDDY GUY Silvertone 41542 Slippin' In ● CD $11.98

BUDDY GUY Silvertone 41543 Live! The Real Deal ● CD $16.98

BUDDY GUY: Ain't That Lovin' You/ Damn Right I've Got The Blues/ First Time I Met The Blues/ I've Got My Eyes On You/ I've Got News For You/ Let Me Love You Baby/ My Time After Awhile/ Sweet Black Angel (Black Angel Blues)/ Talk To Me Baby

BUDDY GUY Silvertone 41751 Sweet Tea ● CD $17.98

Buddy gives his own take on the Fat Possum sound with a more stripped down sound than usual and tackling songs originally recorded by Fat Possum artists like Junior Kimbrought, CeDell Davis, "T-Model" Ford and Robert Cage. Also includes one Guy original - the powerful It's A Jungle Out There.

BUDDY GUY Vanguard 70178 Complete Vanguard Recordings ● CD $23.98

Three CD set - collecting his three Vanguard albums in one package.
BUDDY GUY: (you Give Me) Fever/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ A Man And The Blues/ Come See About Me/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold That Plane/ I Can't Quit The Blues/ I Got My Eyes On You/ I Had A Dream Last Night/ I'm Not The Best/ I'm Ready/ Jam On A Monday Morning/ Just Playing My Axe/ Knock On Wood/ Mary Had A Little Lamb/ Money (that's What I Want)/ My Time After Awhile/ One Room Country Shack/ Sweet Little Angel/ The Things I Used To Do/ Watermelon Man/ Worry, Worry/ You Don't Love Me/ You Got A Hole In Your Soul/ You Were Wrong

BUDDY GUY Vanguard VMD 79272 A Man & The Blues ● CD $13.98

BUDDY GUY Vanguard 79290 This is Buddy Guy ● CD $13.98

BUDDY GUY: (you Give Me) Fever/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ I Got My Eyes On You/ I Had A Dream Last Night/ I'm Not The Best/ Knock On Wood/ The Things I Used To Do/ You Were Wrong

BUDDY GUY Vanguard 79323 Hold That Plane ● CD $13.98

BUDDY GUY: Come See About Me/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold That Plane/ I'm Ready/ My Time After Awhile/ Watermelon Man/ You Don't Love Me

BUDDY GUY Vanguard 79509 As Good As It Gets ● CD $15.98

14 tracks, 71 mins, recommended Excellent compilation of tracks drawn from Buddy's three Vanguard albums from 1968 and 1972 plus one track accompanying Junior Wells from 1965. Four of the tracks are unissued, three from Buddy's first and best Vanguard session which included the great Otis Spann on piano. Includes his superb version of Mercy Dee's One Room Country Shack plus The Things I Used To Do/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ Sweet Little Angel/ Slow Blues Instrumental/ I'm Ready/ Come See About Me, etc.

BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS Alligator 4802 Alone And Acoustic ● CD $15.98

Although generally thought of as contemporary blues artists both Buddy and Junior have strong ties to older, more traditional stylings and this set of recordings, originally recorded for the French Isabel label in 1981, show just how comfortable they are in that format. Buddy is featured on vocals and 6 and 12 string guitar and Junior on vocals and unamplified harp. The material is mostly old blues standards like Diggin' My Potatoes/ Rollin' & Tumbling'/ High Heel Sneakers/ Catfish Blues, etc along with a few originals in the same vein. It is all quite enjoyable and it sounds like the duo are having a good time. (FS)
BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS: Big Boat (Buddy and Junior's Thing)/ Boogie Chillen/ Catfish Blues/ Cut You Loose/ Diggin' My Potatoes/ Don't Leave Me/ Give Me My Coat And Shoes/ High Heel Sneakers/ I'm In The Mood/ Medley: Baby What You Want Me To Do/That's Allright/ My Home's In The Delta/ Rollin' And Tumblin'/ Sally Mae/ Sweet Black Girl/ Wrong Doing Woman

BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS Blind Pig 71182 Drinkin' TNT 'n Smokin' Dynamite ● CD $14.98

CD issue of Blind Pig 1182.
BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS: Ah'w Baby/everything Gonna Be Alright/ Checking On My Baby/ Hoodoo Man Blues/ How Can One Woman Be So Mean/ Introduction/ Introduction/ Messin' With The Kid/ My Younger Days/ Ten Years Ago/ When You See The Tears From My Eyes

BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS Evidence 26002 Live In Montreux ● CD $12.98

CD reissue of Black & Blue 33.530 recorded live at Montreux in July, 1977 with 5 previously unissued tracks. Buddy & Junior are accompanied by an all star group including Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Clearwater, Hubert Sumlin, Dave Myers and Odie Payne on 16 mostly familiar songs including One Room Country Shack/ Everyday I Have The Blues/ Help Me/ Messin' With The Kid/ Everything Gonna Be Alright/ Hide Away/ I Don't Know/ Blue Shadow Is Falling and others.
BUDDY GUY & JUNIOR WELLS: Blue Shadows Falling/ Come On in this House/ Driving Wheel/ Everyday I Have the Blues/ Everything Gonna Be Allright/ Got My Mojo Working/ Help Me/ Hide Away/ Hoochie Coochie Man/ I Don't Know/ Messin' With the Kid/ One Room Country Shack/ So Many Roads/ Somebody's Got to Go/ The Things that I Used to Do/ When I Feel Better

BUDDY GUY, JUNIOR WELLS & JUNIOR MANCE BGO 399 Buddy And The Juniors ● CD $16.98

7 tracks, recommended
Originally released in 1970 on Blue Thumb Records (BTS 20), this album features Chicago bluesmen Buddy Guy and Junior Wells going completely acoustic. No bass and drums either, though jazz great Junior Mance does add his piano to give the sound some fullness. The first 2 songs (17 minutes) are reasonably well-focused improvisations in which Guy and Wells trade verses and riffs. Best cover here is Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man, but the quiet take on Arthur Crudup's Rock Me Mama is a close second. Outstanding harp from Junior Wells throughout. A rare opportunity to hear blues legends with their plugs pulled, and an amusing cover, too. (JC)

PHIL GUY & LURRIE BELL Wolf 120.871 Chicago Blues Session, Vol 25 ● CD $14.98

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THE GRISWALDS	JSP 280	All The Way Down	● CD $14.98
11 tracks, 54 mins, very good Blues band from Toledo, Ohio led by brothers Art & Roman Griswald. Tough small combo blues with intense vocals by the brothers (originally from Arkansas), excellent gritty guitar from Art, keyboards by Roman and hot sax from Rick "Big Daddy" Scheefdore. Mostly original songs - All The Way Down/ Foot Stompin'/ BigDaddy Cool/ My Love Don't Mean A Thing/ What The Fool Made Me Do/ The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.., etc (FS)

ART & ROMAN GRISWOLD/ BIG JACK REYNOLDS	Blue Suit 101	Two Aces And A Jack - Hot As You Get	● CD $14.98
1987 album now on CD. Fine set of tough blues by some Detroit bluesmen transplanted to Toledo, Ohio. There are 6 tracks by brothers Art and Roman Griswold - both are good singers and Art plays some intense B.B. King flavored guitar. This duo brings to mind the Carter Brothers in their sound. I could have done without such overdone songs as Got My Mojo Working and The Thrill Is Gone. Side two features singer/ guitarist/ harmonica player Big Jack Reynolds who sings and plays in a somewhat older style. Both the Griswolds and Reynolds are accompanied by Toledo band The Haircuts who generally do a creditable job though some of guitarist's Larry Gold's solos go a bit overboard. (FS)

THE GRISWOLDS	Blue Suit 115	Cockeyed World	● CD $15.98
Blues trio from Toledo, Ohio featuring brothers Art Griswold (vocal & guitar), Roman Griswold (vocal, piano, organ and harmonica) and drummer Big Blues Bob Michaels. They perform tough treatments of some original songs along with songs from Muddy waters, Jesse Hill, Willie Nelson (!), Jimmy Rogers and others.

HELEN GROSS	Document DOCD 5477	In Chronological Order, 1924-25	● CD $14.98
22 sides by the obscure Ms. Gross, one of the early "classic" or vaudeville-type blues singers to record in NYC. Not the most compelling artist to record, these performances are nonetheless distinguished, apart from their extreme rarity, by some fine lyrics and the presence of some of New York's better jazz players, including Ellington greats Bubber Miley and Louis Metcalf and stride pianist Cliff Jackson. Taken in bulk these quickly tire, but one-at-a-time there is some good music to be heard here. Sound, for acoustical recordings, is better than I expected. (PR) HELEN GROSS: Bitter Feelin' Blues/ Bloody Razor Blues/ Crap Shooting Blues/ Dark Man./ Death Letter Blues/ Eavesdropper's Blues/ Foolish Woman's Blues/ Ghost Walkin' Blues/ Hard Luck Blues/ Haunted House Blues/ He's Never Gonna Throw Me Down/ If You Can't Ride Slow And Easy/ Last Journey Blues/ My Man Ain't Yo' Man/ Neglected Blues/ Rockin' Chair Blues/ Sorrowful Blues/ Strange Man/ Ticket Agent, Ease Your Window Down/ Undertaker's Blues/ What'll I Do/ Workin' Woman's Blues

MYRICK "FREEZE" GUILLORY & QUEEN IDA	GNP 2203	Nouveau Zydeco	● CD $15.98
Maybe as much "retro" as "nouveau", Freeze has a smooth voice reminiscent more of good '50s doo-wop than the gritty vocal stylings so prevalent in Zydeco today. The vocal delivery works just fine combined with his big band, full-frontal horn section sound. Young Freeze has learned well from mother Queen Ida, who steps into this live concert recording for a Queen-sized guest spot. Freeze wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 15 songs, ably moving from the blues shuffle of Bad Situation to quick-step Gator Man and its tongue-in-cheek take on Johnnie B. Goode. Queen Ida's Mazuka is a foot-stompin' high point, while Zydeco in D Minor is a curiously un-Cajun disco invocation. From fast to slow - good contagious dance music. (DC)

GUITAR CRUSHER	Inakustik INAK 9034	Message To Man	● CD $15.98
12 tracks, 71 mins, recommended As far as I can tell no guitars were crushed during the making of this album and, in fact, the titular artist Guitar Crusher (aka Sidney Selby) only plays harp on a couple of cuts! Recorded in Germany with mostly German musicians this is an excellent collection of mostly original songs and fine gospel flavored vocals from Crusher. There are some very good songs here including the fine minor key topical title song, the slow burning You Know How To Hurt A Man, the driving Long Green Folding Friend, the beautiful deep soul sound of Trying To Fool The Whole Town and others. The instrumental arrangements are excellent, often with a large horn section arranged by former B. B. King music director Calvin Owens. (FS)

GUITAR SHORTY	Collectables 5724	Billie Jean Blues	● CD $11.98

GUITAR SHORTY	Collectables 5725	The Blues Is All Right	● CD $11.98

GUITAR SHORTY	Evidence 26119	Go Wild!	● CD $15.98
New album by energetic contemporary singer/ guitarist.

GUITAR SHORTY	JSP 2117	My Way On The Highway	● CD $15.98
Singer/ guitarist Guitar Shorty (aka David William Kearney) has been around for quite a while having recorded a handful of singles in the mid/ late 50s though he continued to perform regularly. Supposedly his extroverted stage act was an inspiration for Buddy Guy and he also, supposedly, taught a few things to a young Jimi Hendrix (he married Hendrix's stepsister). On this album, recorded with one of Britain's better blues bands, The Otis Grand Blues Band he performs a diverse selection of material including straight blues, blues ballads and jazzy instrumentals. His vocal and instrumental are high energy and intense and worth a listen but I'm not sure if I can agree with the liner notes describing him as "the world's best kept secret blues legend"! (FS)

GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY	Arhoolie 460	Carolina Blues, N.Y.C. 1944	● CD $12.98
29 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended. An expanded version of Arhoolie 2005 - almost the entire recorded output of Alec Seward and Louis Hayes including a number of previously unissued tracks. Delightful East Coast country blues featuring solo vocals on some songs and shared vocals on others. There is a lot of vocal interplay on the shared vocals with each commenting humorously on the others trials and tribulations. The songs are excellent and witty, usually detailing their problems with the opposite sex. (FS) GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY: Bad Acting Woman/ Big Trouble Blues/ Christmas Time Blues/ Cooking Big Woman/ Crooked Wife Blues/ Crying Won't Make Me Stay/ Don't Leave Me All By Myself/ Early Morning Blues/ Humming Bird Blues/ Isabel/ Jail And Buddy Blues/ Mean Girl Blues/ Mike And Jerry/ No More Hard Time/ Railroad Blues/ Right And Wrong Woman/ She's Evil And Mean/ Snowing And Raining/ South Carolina Blues/ Southern Whistle Blues/ Travelin' Boy's Blues/ Ups And Downs Blues/ Yellow And Brown Woman/ You're My Honey

GUITAR SLIM & JELLY BELLY	Delmark 755	The Back Porch Boys	● CD $14.98
Fine collection of mostly country blues recorded for Apollo and Regal between 1947 and 1950. It includes 11 tracks from the splendid duo Alec "Guitar Slim" Seward and Louis "Jelly Belly" Hayes including two unissued songs and three alternate takes. There's more fine country blues from Dennis McMillon and the great Blind Willie McTell plus four tracks with more urban feel from Champion Jack Dupree (two previously unissued).

GUITAR SLIM	Specialty 7007	Sufferin' Mind	● CD $14.98
Hot on the heels of the Ace collection comes this U.S. Specialty package, with even more tracks - 26 in all! Of course the hits are all here - The Things I Used To Do/ Well I Done Got Over It/ Sufferin' Mind/ Reap What You Sow/ I Got Sumpin' For You, as well as unissued alternates of I Want To Love-A You/ Sufferin' Mind/ Something To Remember You By/ Certainly All/ Going Down Slow. Get it if you don't already have the Ace CD, or even if you do - Jerry Wexler's colorful liner notes are an added plus. Sound quality is fine, although nowhere near the spectacular mastering job that Ace did. (MB) GUITAR SLIM: Bad Luck Blues/ Certainly All/ Going Down Slow/ Guitar Slim/ I Got Sumpin' For You/ I Want To Love-A You (Take 1)/ I Want To Love-A You (Take 11)/ Later For You Baby/ Letter To My Girlfriend/ Our Only Child/ Quicksand/ Reap What You Sow/ Something To Remember You By/ Stand By Me/ Story Of My Life/ Sufferin' Mind/ The Things That I Used To Do/ Think It Over/ Trouble Don't Last/ Twenty-five Lies/ Well I Done Got Over It/ You Give Me Nothing But The Blues/ You're Gonna Miss Me

GUITAR SLIM JR.	Warehouse Creek 1224	Nothing Nice	● CD $14.98
11 tracks, 48 minutes, very good Slim Jr. actually IS Slim Jr. He's Rodney Armstrong, son of the late Eddie Jones, better known as New Orleans blues legend Guitar Slim. This album was recorded in Memphis at the Sun & Ardent studios. Jr. sings, plays keys, harp & slide guitar with backing by just bass, drums & the famed Memphis Horns (Wayne Jackson & Andrew Young). There's a couple of originals written by the production team, but the set is mostly filled with good covers, highlights include Guitar Slim Sr.'s Our Only Child & I Got Sumpin For You, along with Jimmy Hughes' gorgeous Slip Away & Percy Mayfield's The River's Invitation. (GM)

BUDDY GUY	Alligator 4723	Stone Crazy	● CD $14.98
Buddy cuts loose on his best studio recording since the early sessions he did for Chess. No-nonsense power blues from 1981.

BUDDY GUY	Chess CHD 9315	I Was Walking Through The Woods	● CD $9.98
Reissue of Buddy Guy's second Chess record, a collection of tracks culled from 1960 to 1964 recordings. 10 fierce sides, with the classics Watch Yourself/ Stone Crazy/ First Time I Met The Blues/ My Time After A While/ Ten Years Ago. BUDDY GUY: Broken-Hearted Blues/ First Time I Met The Blues/ I Found A True Love/ I Got A Strange Feeling/ Let Me Love You Baby/ My Time After A While/ No Lie/ Stone Crazy/ Ten Years Ago/ Watch Yourself

BUDDY GUY	JSP 256	D.J. Play My Blues	● CD $14.98
With Buddy having achieved blues stardom JSP has gone back to these 1981 recordings, previously issued on JSP CD 203 and given it a new contemporary remix. BUDDY GUY: All Your Love/ Blues At My Baby's House/ D.J. Play My Blues/ Dedication To The Late T-Bone Walker/ Girl You're Nice & Clean/ Good News/ Just Teasing'/ Mellow Down/ She Suits Me To A T/ The Garbage Man Blues

BUDDY GUY	JSP 262	Live At The Checkerboard Lounge	● CD $14.98
1979 recordings - reedited version of JSP 1009 with extra tracks - Buddy's Blues/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You/ The Things I Used To Do/ The Dollar Done Fell/ Don't Answer The Door, etc BUDDY GUY: Buddy's Blues (Part One)/ Buddy's Blues (Part Two)/ Don't Answer The Door/ Done Got Over You/ I've Got A Right To Love My Woman/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You/ Tell Me What's Inside Of You (Version Two)/ The Dollar Done Fell/ The Things I Used To Do/ You Don't Know How I Feel

BUDDY GUY	JSP 272	Breaking Out	● CD $14.98
10 tracks, 53 mins, watch out! Remixed reissue of this 1980 session has Buddy at his most excessively histrionic. Is this his "Electric Mud"? The liner notes say "this is a great blues artist 'slumming it' with fuzz tone guitar & rock & funk rhythms". What more can I say? The set, which includes You Can Make It If You Try, Break Out All Over You, I Didn't Know My Mother Had A Son Like Me, features brother Phil on guitar, who's featured here on a couple tunes from his own '81 JSP debut with Buddy as guest including Texas Flood. (GM) BUDDY GUY: Boogie Family Style/ Break Out All Over You/ Have You Ever Been Lonesome/ I Didn't Know My Mother Had A Son Like Me/ Ice Around My Heart/ Me & My Guitar/ She Winked Her Eye/ Texas Flood/ You Called Me In My Dream/ You Can Make It If You Try

BUDDY GUY	P-Vine PCD 24044	This Is The Beginning - The Artistic & USA Sessions	● CD $23.98
This collection features all of Buddy's pre-Chess recordings along with recordings made in 1963 accompanying vocalist Jesse Fortune who has a vocal style very similar to Buddy's. In addition to the four sides Buddy cut for Artistic in 1958 the set includes the three demos he recorded for Ace in 1957. There were four sides recorded by Fortune for USA and there are two takes here ofthree of them. There is also lengthy session excerpts from Buddy's second Artistic sessions complete withfalse starts, session chat and the like.

BUDDY GUY	Rhino 70280	The Very Best Of Buddy Guy	● CD $15.98
Thanks to his re-emergence on the Silvertone label, guitarist, singer and songwriter Buddy Guy has been well-served by reissues lately, but this 18-track "best of" collects many of his high points on record over the past 30-odd years. This includes well-chosen selections from his stays with Chess, Artistic, Vanguard and Atco that showcase his talents as axe master and band leader. Even better, the compiler (someone called Frank Scott; the name sounds vaguely familiar) chooses the only two good tracks from the sloppy, meandering Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite live set from 1974. Guy's frequent collaborator Junior Wells honks his harmonica on five tracks, and the cover features a great shot of Guy's gravity-defying hair. Longtime fans will already have almost everything on this, but newcomers won't be able to find a more lively introduction. JG) BUDDY GUY: A man of many words/ Blues at my baby's house/ First time I met the blues/ Five long years/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold that plane/ Just teasin'/ My time after while/ Sit and Cry (the blues)/ Stone crazy/ T-bone shuffle/ Ten years ago/ The way you been treating me/ This is the end/ When my left eye jumps/ When you see the tears from my eyes/ she suits me to a t

BUDDY GUY	Silvertone 1462	Damn Right, I've Got The Blues	● CD $16.98
For the first time in two decades Buddy Guy was given the freedom to be himself in the studio, and the results are scintillating. The musical symmetry here is a welcome strength that accentuates Guy's expressive soul singing and nimble blues guitar within this varied pace release, which includes a John Hiatt tune and a knockout version of Wilson Pickett's Mustang Sally. Rock guitar greats Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler add scattered support throughout, but Buddy is the star and the proof is evident in Eddie Boyd's Chicago classic 5 Long Years, Big Jay McNeely's There Is Something On Your Mind, and a haunting instrumental ode to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. He integrates catchy instrumental and vocal hooks; the latter even resembles Screamin' Jay Hawkins in parts. This fine return to form should reduce his negative image in sections of the music press (mostly based on the many years he's been represented by marginal live recordings). Recommended. (TR) BUDDY GUY: Black Night/ Damn Right, I've Got the Blues/ Early In the Morning/ Five Long Years/ Let Me Love You Baby/ Mustang Sally/ Rememberin' Stevie/ There Is Something On Your Mind/ Too broke to Spend The Night/ Where is the Next One Coming From

BUDDY GUY	Silvertone 41498	Feels Like Rain	● CD $16.98
11 tracks, 48 min., recommended. Another good contemporary effort from Buddy, although I can't figure out whether its' successes are due to, or in spite of the guest-heavy lineup. Bonnie Raitt spices up the title track, 70's rocker Paul Rodgers and country star Travis Tritt add vocal duets, and John Mayall plays piano and sings on Jr. Wells' I Could Cry. Buddy revives classic songs by Muddy (19 Years Old), Guitar Slim (Sufferin' Mind), Ray Charles (Mary Ann) and James Brown (I'll Go Crazy), and does his Hendrix thing on the opening cut, with unusually expressive vocals all the way through. The revue-style presentation works pretty well, but I would have been happy to hear Buddy put more of his own personality and songwriting into it. (MB) BUDDY GUY: Change in the Weather/ Country Man/ Feels Like Rain/ I Could Cry/ I Go Crazy/ Mary Ann/ She's Nineteen Years Old/ She's a Superstar/ Some Kind of Wonderful/ Sufferin' Mind/ Trouble Man

BUDDY GUY	Silvertone 41543	Live! The Real Deal	● CD $16.98
BUDDY GUY: Ain't That Lovin' You/ Damn Right I've Got The Blues/ First Time I Met The Blues/ I've Got My Eyes On You/ I've Got News For You/ Let Me Love You Baby/ My Time After Awhile/ Sweet Black Angel (Black Angel Blues)/ Talk To Me Baby

BUDDY GUY	Silvertone 41751	Sweet Tea	● CD $17.98
Buddy gives his own take on the Fat Possum sound with a more stripped down sound than usual and tackling songs originally recorded by Fat Possum artists like Junior Kimbrought, CeDell Davis, "T-Model" Ford and Robert Cage. Also includes one Guy original - the powerful It's A Jungle Out There.

BUDDY GUY	Vanguard 70178	Complete Vanguard Recordings	● CD $23.98
Three CD set - collecting his three Vanguard albums in one package. BUDDY GUY: (you Give Me) Fever/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ A Man And The Blues/ Come See About Me/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold That Plane/ I Can't Quit The Blues/ I Got My Eyes On You/ I Had A Dream Last Night/ I'm Not The Best/ I'm Ready/ Jam On A Monday Morning/ Just Playing My Axe/ Knock On Wood/ Mary Had A Little Lamb/ Money (that's What I Want)/ My Time After Awhile/ One Room Country Shack/ Sweet Little Angel/ The Things I Used To Do/ Watermelon Man/ Worry, Worry/ You Don't Love Me/ You Got A Hole In Your Soul/ You Were Wrong

BUDDY GUY	Vanguard VMD 79272	A Man & The Blues	● CD $13.98

BUDDY GUY	Vanguard 79290	This is Buddy Guy	● CD $13.98
BUDDY GUY: (you Give Me) Fever/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ I Got My Eyes On You/ I Had A Dream Last Night/ I'm Not The Best/ Knock On Wood/ The Things I Used To Do/ You Were Wrong

BUDDY GUY	Vanguard 79323	Hold That Plane	● CD $13.98
BUDDY GUY: Come See About Me/ Hello San Francisco/ Hold That Plane/ I'm Ready/ My Time After Awhile/ Watermelon Man/ You Don't Love Me

BUDDY GUY	Vanguard 79509	As Good As It Gets	● CD $15.98
14 tracks, 71 mins, recommended Excellent compilation of tracks drawn from Buddy's three Vanguard albums from 1968 and 1972 plus one track accompanying Junior Wells from 1965. Four of the tracks are unissued, three from Buddy's first and best Vanguard session which included the great Otis Spann on piano. Includes his superb version of Mercy Dee's One Room Country Shack plus The Things I Used To Do/ 24 Hours Of The Day/ Sweet Little Angel/ Slow Blues Instrumental/ I'm Ready/ Come See About Me, etc.