Gibson recently published a listing of their top 10 list for current/new blues guitar greats…obviously this is subjective, and I wanted to give my opinion…
First, let’s look at their list:
1. Joe Bonamassa
2. John Mayer
3. Jack White
4. Eric Gales
5. Don Auerbach (The Black Keys)
6. Davy Knowles
7. Kenny Wayne Shepherd
8. Derek Trucks
9. Johnny Lang
10. Ben Harper
I agree with about half of this list, but here’s who I would swap/add
1. Joe Bonamassa – no argument here, this guy is rooted in the blues and can take it in so many directions with his talent
2. Derek Trucks – have to have him second, pure genius and with Susan Tedeschi he’s moving beyond his roots
3. Kenny Wayne Shepherd – yup, SRV is alive in well in the spirit and guts of Kenny Wayne
4. Gary Clark Jr – how can this guy be missing…so dynamic, skilled, pure foundation in the blues holding a ton of potential
5. Davy Knowles – definitely
6. Walter Trout – Blew me away in his latest concerts, the guy has found something special of late
7. Jimmie Vaughan – only because I think he is still re-inventing blues by keeping true to the roots, think he still has at least one more innovative CD in him, perhaps in a collaboration with someone else on this list
8. Doyle Bramhall II – hugely creative, great pedigree, played with Clapton for years, watch for him in the next few years
9. Buddy Guy – Yes, still MODERN after all these years!
10. ?????
Who would you pick as #10?
I’m on the fence with guys like Jack White, Johnny Lang, Colin James, and from my area there are guys coming up like Tony D (MonkeyJunk), David Gogo, and JW Jones…these are names you will hear more from in the coming years.
What would your list be? Leave us a comment.
Filed under New Blues by on Aug 12th, 2012. 2 Comments. 
Great local Ottawa, Ontario blues guitar talent JW Jones released his new video for “Aint Gonna Beg”, shot in Ottawa it features a ton of local Ottawa scenes in the background including: Classic Mayfair Theatre, Metropolitan Brasserie, Karters Corners Go-Carting…pretty cool when you can fit your hometown landmarks into your own video.
Oh ya, pretty darn good song too with some nice guitar work. If you haven’t hear of JW before, he is definitely one of Ottawa (and Canada’s) premiere blues guitar players…here’s the video:
Filed under blues guitar by on Aug 12th, 2012. Comment.
What ever happened to things getting quiet over the summer?
This year there have been some very good quality blues CD’s and DVD’s released, two great blues guitar greats I wanted to point out here…can’t see anyone being disappointed in either of these great pieces of work.
1. Everybody’s Talkin – Tedeschi Trucks Band Live:
I recently caught the husband and wife Blues giants Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi at Ottawa’s Blues Festival where they impressed me with new material that was tight, well thought out, matched very well with respective talents of Tedeschi and Trucks and showed an evolution of their band into many different areas always coming back to the blues as their foundation. As terrific as the Ottawa show was, the material caught live on Everybody’s Talkin is even better.
It kicks off with “Everybody’s Talkin” featuring a special binding of Tedeschi’s soulful voice and Truck’s rock solid “Motownish” guitar riff’s…the greatness builds.
“Midnight in Harlem” hits you right between the eyes with an astounding evolution of Trucks guitar playing toward the Santana Latin + Blues tradition – you will get caught up in this one.
“Learn How To Love” shows us Tedeschi and Trucks roots in hard rock (a’ la’ Joe Bonamassa) on this track
Next we get into a couple of core blues guitar tunes “Bound For Glory” and the “Rollin & Tumblin’ – a traditional blues number that (in its current incarnation) is most often attributed to Muddy Waters and was covered by everyone with perhaps most famously, the Rolling Stones.
There’s also some slow, sweaty blues with “That Did It” and “Wade In The Water” and another Motown Soul number “Uptight” – a delightful crowd pleasure when it was played near the end of their set in Ottawa.
This is a CD that you will not soon get tired of, and even with all of this fabulous music you still are left wondering what they will come out with next.
2. “Driving Towards Daylight” – Joe Bonamassa
I’m a huge fan of the talent Joe Bonamassa brings to the guitar, his mastery of the instrument reminds me allot of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Hendrix even though his style is quite different.
Joe has been pumping out material at quite a pace over the last few years, some of the works have not been 100% solid, I would argue the same of this one, but it is near the 90% range and because of that, I would have no hesitation recommending it to anyone.
The CD starts off with “Dislocated Boy” – a Bonamassa standard rock ballad in the same style as “The Ballad of John Henry” from his 2009 CD of the same name
Next comes a version of “Stones In My Passway” that first appeared on Robert Johnson’s great “King of the Delta Blues Singers” CD back in the late 1930’s. I have to admit, this is the number I like least on this CD, to me it strays too far from the original and sounds over-produced. You may think differently, I’ve talked with others that quite like it.
Joe knows how to drive a shuffle and there’s a good one on this CD in “I Got All You Need” where he gets the groove going very well and the CD begins to really heat up.
“A New Coat of Paint” gives us a high-powered, slow blues from Bonamassa that melds his wonderful vocals with high-octane blues guitar.
The CD finishes out with one of the stronger numbers…a slide guitar rocker “Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go” and a soul/slow blues “Too Much Ain’t Enough” with an exceptional vocal by Jimmy Barnes (Australian singer ex Cold Chisel) that just works.
Some really interesting collaborations and some very good shuffle and slow blues numbers make this one of the best Joe Bonamassa CD’s since John Henry in 2009 – well worth the pick up for sure.
Filed under Blues CD Review, blues guitar by on Aug 3rd, 2012. Comment.
I’m sorry to say I’ve just HAD to pin myself to my TV and audio system this past weekend as I listen/watch two new releases that are well worth bringing to your attention.
1. Robert Cray – Cookin In Mobile (as in Alabama) includes an extremely rare DVD video of Cray pumping out some of his best blues, guitar work and soul singing. Cray never seems to age and his guitar playing gets juicier as time goes on. It takes Cray a few numbers to get amped up, but he really shows some virtuoso blues guitar – and for a music DVD junkie like me, I loved this DVD. For those of you who have attended Robert Cray concerts, you know he is not a flashy guy…you won’t get a huge stage show, but rather a basic (yet phenomenal) drummer, base, keyboard 4-piece band. The show was taped in Saenger Theatre in Mobile Alabama with some of the best sound and video quality I have seen in concert DVD’s – you can hear every note and every bend as Cray squeezes out his emotional tunes. Definitely a 5-star performance and a 5-star production…get this if you love music DVD’s, blues, soul or just great music
Filed under blues guitar by on Jul 25th, 2012. Comment.
One of the most important parts of listening, understanding, enjoying and playing the blues is respecting the past. The blues is a living and breathing evolution in the human condition as reflected through the instruments and voices of blues music through the years.
To really understand and be able to play blues guitar, you’ve got to have a deep emotianal tie to both your instrument and the music…it just HAS to be that way to be real.
There’s no better way to really GET this than to look at some of the real blues guitar greats…
This first video “Death Letter Blues” should hit you right in the GUT, it sure did me as I watched it over and over again…I literally could not take my eyes of Son House as he tells the story about learning of a love lost but only then to recount the feeling he has that love was lost long before his girl ever died (because she never really loved him like he loved her).
Watch this and tell me you aren’t moved!
Just as we learn from the past, one of the reasons I love blues music is that the masters continually pass the torch onto willing disciples – that’s what’s happening in this video “My Black Mama”where a young Buddy Guy sits in with Son House…amazing stuff!
Talkl to me people – leave me a comment.
Filed under Blues Legends by on Jul 19th, 2012. Comment.
I like to think I’ve immersed myself in blue (past and present) pretty thoroughly over the last couple of decades…not to say that I haven’t missed someone along the way for sure.
What impresses me more than anything else is how incredibly deep, rich and divergent the talent is…at its root, the I,IV,V (with some slight variations) put to a slow, shuffle, delta or jump style can be the start of millions and millions of different sounds, ryhthms and soul that makes up the blues.
But what about the greatest blues guitar players of all time?
This is subjective, but I really want to get your input on this list…do you agree, disagree? Leave us a comment.
1. T-Bone Walker
2. Son House
3. BB King
4. Jimmie Hendrix
5. Freddie King
6. Albert King
7. Robert Johnson
8. Buddy Guy
9. Stevie Ray Vaughan
10. Eric Clapton
How many do you agree with? Anyone else you would add to the list?
Filed under blues guitar by on Jul 18th, 2012. Comment.
It’s hard to imagine any band lasting 50-years largely still intact but it is especially incredible when that band is a rock & roll band and even more fascinating when you consider it is the Rolling Stones!
Though not nearly the vital influence on Rock & Roll they once were, the Stones have managed to continue their legacy respectfully, still managing to stay in the top tier of bands (not relegated to playing festivals, country arenas and fairgrounds as many of the “had their day” rock bands do today).
You can thank leading man Mick Jagger for that as he is singly responsible for navigating the Stones through the last decade (some would argue their entire career) from a creative but mostly business, publicity and marketing point of view.
It is rare to see a passionate and capable creative rock & roll star rooted properly in the blues who also is educated and smart with money, business savvy and has the balls to stand up for what he knows to be right.
What I personally would really like to see from the Rolling Stones put some of their energy toward in the next few years is helping to boost the blues…after all, that’s where they have come from.
It was great to see Mick and the Presidential Gala a few months back helping to give celebration to Black History Month…but there is much more that the Stones can (and should) be doing to help boost the profile of some of the last living blues icons AND ensure the future of the blues so the next generation of rock&roll bands can be steeped in the same deep musical foundations that led to the incredible success of the Rolling Stones.
In any case, happy 50th Birthday to the Stones. Rock on…Mick, Keith, Ron, Charlie
Filed under blues guitar, rock and roll by on Jul 12th, 2012. Comment.
I always make it a top priority to catch Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi each time they come to town, happily each time I am more impressed.
Formed back in 2010, this Royal Couple of the guitar blues combines skill, dedication and passion to their craft…definitely a situation where 1+1=3
Two things I noticed at this year’s show from previous years…
1. Tedeschi’s guitar work is now a more featured part of the act – even though the band is now an 11-piece juggernaut, there is still more room for Tedeschi to shine with her passionate vocals and gritty guitar work. Nice job!
2. Derek Trucks is evolving even further into other guitar (and song) styles with the addition of horns, a flute and some very entrancing (is that a word?) guitar work (think Santana!) he is clearly not a man that lacks creativity. Some of it missed, but much of it hit BIG time.
Here is a clip of Rollin and Tumblin that features the considerable talents of Susan Tedeschi…hope they come back next year.
Leave us a comment if you have had the chance to listen or see Trucks or Tedeschi…let us know your thoughts.
Filed under Blues Festival, blues guitar by on Jul 12th, 2012. Comment.
With 200+ acts in the line-up at this year’s Ottawa Bluesfest, there are bound to be several surprises but there were two bands I especially wanted to hear – no surprise, just great sounds…The SheepDogs (still to come this Thursday) and Bright Light Social Hour from Austin TX.
We were lucky enough to have them booked twice at this year’s Ottawa Bluesfest, I took in the second set on the huge mainstage. The little band from Texas took full advantage making their 4-piece band sound much bigger than it actually was.
One of my weaknesses is the sound of a keyboard through a Leslie speaker system (where the rich tube sound is modified by a revolving baffle). So BLSH had me from the beginning.
Here’s a quick pic of a typical Leslie open from the back if you’ve never seen one…
While Bright Light Social Hour is definitely rooted in the blues, what’s great about these guys is they are one of the latest bands to be a melting pot of influences from 70’s power rock through this decade’s fascination with dance music throwing in ample soul and blues – the trick is to pull it all off.
Not every song did pull it off completely, there were times when it dragged, other times when it looked forced…but the times it DID come together were PURE magic, creativity and originality unlike we see on the music scene today.
According to their website, their next stop is tomorrow night in Quebec City with non other than Aerosmith…not bad company is it?
Here’s a brief clip from Sunday’s Bluesfest performance…listen to the soul in the first few seconds!
Have you watched these guys before? Leave us a comment.
Filed under texas blues by on Jul 11th, 2012. Comment.
As Ottawa Bluesfest continued this past weekend I had the chance to catch Lukas Nelson, the son of country superstar Willie Nelson. Definitely shades of the old man, soul filled voice, story telling writing, a love of music and his audience were shouting “chip off the old block”…then the band picked up tempo and turned into a rocking blues band and Lukas showed us his blues guitar techniques.
On this clip you can you see him playing with his teeth, the showman was front and center
Found this clip of him performing a sweet version of “Flooding Down In Texas…” the firmly played anthem of another Texas son – Stevie Ray Vaughan.
There’s no doubt Lukas Nelson is finding his way, he has all of the tools it will be fascinating to see how he puts them all together as the months and years go by.
Filed under blues guitar by on Jul 10th, 2012. Comment.
