FARK.com: (3566913) Submitter wants to try listening to some blues, but there's just so much. Recommendations? The more specific the better

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		Submitter wants to try listening to some blues, but there's just so much. Recommendations? The more specific the better (google.co.uk)		418
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Dread Pirate Slasher		2008-04-27 03:29:08 PM

Shane Speal (pops) (playing starts about a minute in)

rickythepenguin		2008-04-27 03:29:11 PM

ayesee: Maybe you would like this other Andy Mckee song, "Ebon Coast," (new window) a bit more. Always struck me as the sort of song that "tells a story" if you catch my drift.

hey that is pretty cool. it has you know, melody and structure.

that "slap the soundboard / fretboard, pinch harmonic, hammer on / pull off, etc." is like beatboxing. it is cool for 30 seconds and then you get bored.

but that song is cool.

nice guitar, too. i like the soundhole decoration.

OneBrightMonkey		2008-04-27 03:30:22 PM

fish500:

Methinks you are listening to the guitar and not the blues.

I have no beef with Blues music (I own Muddy Waters records) but I think it is a terribly primitive style of music and its evolutionary progeny offer a richness and depth that is way more interesting to listen to.

The Beatles moved from standard blues rock (with some chemical assistance) to create wonderfully expansive and emotionally captivating records.

boartits		2008-04-27 03:30:56 PM

Elmore James' Red Hot Blues

ayesee		2008-04-27 03:31:42 PM

SockMonkeyHolocaust: OneBrightMonkey: If you want to watch a number of guitarists expand the dimensions of conventional playing check out some of the videos here: Candyrat Records (new window)

That record label specializes in guitarists who sound groundbreaking when you watch one song but then you realize that they do the same hammeron patterns, percussive beats on the body of the guitar and harmonics on every song.

Let me get this straight, you're criticizing Candy Rat artists (Andy Mckee, Antoine Dufour, et cetera) for using similar scales and patterns in their songs... in a thread about the blues? The tag says "Advice," not "Ironic".

Aside from that (I'll spare linking to them), but can you honestly tell me Andy Mckee is repetitive when you listen to Into the Ocean, Drifting, and Ebon Coast? Let's be serious.

rgall218		2008-04-27 03:31:49 PM

Hound Dog Taylor and HouseRockers...especially when they are out of tune

BobtheFascist		2008-04-27 03:31:52 PM

OneBrightMonkey - Don't bother.

Listening to a bunch of dudes playing Pentatonic minor scales over a 1-4-5 chord progression ad nauseum will get boring very quickly.

Shhh. You might upset the AC/DC fans.

DrBenway		2008-04-27 03:32:12 PM

OneBrightMonkey:

Don't bother.

Listening to a bunch of dudes playing Pentatonic minor scales over a 1-4-5 chord progression ad nauseum will get boring very quickly.

Blues is way better in theory than in practice.

My, my. Aren't you the evolved one?

EWNTom		2008-04-27 03:32:31 PM

North Mississippi Allstars.

Not really blues but they grew up around it in Memphis and have incorporated it well into their sound.

Closest I get to blues these days aside from my old Allman Brothers records and some of their excellent covers.

Professor Wormbog		2008-04-27 03:32:38 PM

Since there really is so much blues music, I've given you specific albums that have been particularly meaningful to me. Another idea would be to go to Pandora.com, type in any of the artists in and let the algorithms do the work for you.

Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughn - In Sessions 1983

Eric Clapton and B.B. King - Riding With the King

Muddy Water - They Call Me Muddy Waters

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - Walk On

The Black Keys - Rubber Factory

Jimi Hendrix - Blues

Taj Mahal - Phantom Blues

The White Stripes - De Stijl

The Yardbirds - For Your Love

rickythepenguin		2008-04-27 03:32:54 PM

nabernat: Somebody explain to the newbie what it means when the link goes green, please.
Thanks. :)

It means the Admins have selected this thread as "thread of the day" and the best post in this thread gets a $5 coupon* redeemable at Sears or JC Penney's for a purchase from the menswear department.

Good luck, dude.

*Offer can NOT be combined with any other discount

jlawn001		2008-04-27 03:32:59 PM

Oh yeah, go listen to Boz Scaggs "Loan Me a Dime" with Duane Alman on guitar. Blues heaven.

nutkick_42		2008-04-27 03:33:07 PM

RL Burnside - A Ass Pocket of Whiskey

Robert Johnson - Complete Recordings

Leadbelly - anything you can find

chesterburnette		2008-04-27 03:34:00 PM

DrBenway: OneBrightMonkey:

Don't bother.

Listening to a bunch of dudes playing Pentatonic minor scales over a 1-4-5 chord progression ad nauseum will get boring very quickly.

Blues is way better in theory than in practice.

My, my. Aren't you the evolved one?

Yeah, he's trying to get that zit to turn into a third eye.

SockMonkeyHolocaust		2008-04-27 03:34:23 PM

ayesee: Let me get this straight, you're criticizing Candy Rat artists (Andy Mckee, Antoine Dufour, et cetera) for using similar scales and patterns in their songs... in a thread about the blues? The tag says "Advice," not "Ironic".

Aside from that (I'll spare linking to them), but can you honestly tell me Andy Mckee is repetitive when you listen to Into the Ocean, Drifting, and Ebon Coast? Let's be serious.

Yes, I am drawing a distinction between gimmicky guitar playing and simple songs played competently and with soul.

TheUltimateLink		2008-04-27 03:34:42 PM

If you want specific, get the hard-to-find set of stevie ray vaughan and albert king doing about 5 or 6 songs together for an old television show. "Blues at Sunrise" at its best.

dofus		2008-04-27 03:34:55 PM

Reading some of the history of the blues is a good start. There's a bunch of different styles.

I'd add Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin to the list...

BobtheFascist		2008-04-27 03:35:54 PM

Professor Wormbog - Jimi Hendrix - Blues

This. Totally kills his psychedelic stuff.

dolphkhan		2008-04-27 03:36:15 PM

nabernat

sorry, html-fu is weak, especially on weekends....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAG-kX_IlUw

sorry for the poet sleeves, but, gawd, no apologies for the 6th-St-caliber guitar....

Gunny Highway		2008-04-27 03:36:18 PM

"Ill let you be in my dream if I can be in yours."

Bob Dylan said that.

dictyboy		2008-04-27 03:36:47 PM

Leadbelly is folk, not blues.

While hard to find, John Brim is well worth the effort.

Aside from that, Howlin Wolf, Jimmy Reed, BB King (live at Çook County in particular), and Elmore James have always been my favorites.

Some farkers have mentioned Allman Bros, good choice for rock blues, but only prior to Eat a Peach. Early Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green) is also good, second generation white blues.

Shiat talking Mushrooms		2008-04-27 03:37:19 PM

SockMonkeyHolocaust: I am of the opinion that the best blues has an element of gospel in them and you should be able to hear the years of drug and alcohol abuse. To that end, try the following grizzled old negroes:

Barbecue Bob
Rev. Gary Davis
T-Model Ford

A lot of the more modern blues puts me off. SRV is all hat and trenchcoat marketing with no soul and BB King is on autopilot doing that hand waggle thing that white folks pay to see.

SRV was one of the best blues guitarists ever. If you've read his bio you'd know that he fits your criteria for grizzled old negroes, minus the negro part.

rickythepenguin		2008-04-27 03:37:22 PM

jlawn001: Oh yeah, go listen to Boz Scaggs "Loan Me a Dime" with Duane Alman on guitar. Blues heaven.

That song is kinda "meh".

If you want REAL blues, I suggest Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou. This, dear reader, is some of that down home, straight up, lowdown gutbucket Miss-a-sip Delta Blues.

Sing that shiat, girl!

DrZiffle		2008-04-27 03:37:49 PM

Where's Koko Taylor?

Sister Rosetta Tharpe? (Gospel lyrics but the music is blues.)

OneBrightMonkey		2008-04-27 03:37:52 PM

SockMonkeyHolocaust:

That record label specializes in guitarists who sound groundbreaking when you watch one song but then you realize that they do the same hammeron patterns, percussive beats on the body of the guitar and harmonics on every song.

I disagree.

I've watched videos from a number of different artist that they profile and while you might have a legit criticism that alot of them ape the same tunings, I think the very idea that a guitar could be utilized as a percusssive instrument is endlessly interesting.

McKee's style of playing is a total departure from guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughn who, while passionate, are also playing the same five notes over the same boring chord progression over and over.

SockMonkeyHolocaust		2008-04-27 03:37:52 PM

dictyboy: Leadbelly is folk, not blues.

Early blues is folk music.

miss_enthropic_biatch		2008-04-27 03:38:45 PM

Morning 40 Federation for some new stuff

Saffire: uppity blues women (album of same title)

Koko Taylor

Etta James

Louis Jordan

Houndog Taylor

Albert King

...just to name a few that (I hope) haven't been said

Craig3010		2008-04-27 03:38:45 PM

Gary Moore

suare99		2008-04-27 03:38:49 PM

a) Go to New Orleans
b) Go to Frenchman St.
c) Go to the Spotted Cat
d) (on a Saturday) see The Washboard Chaz trio
e) or buy their stuff online.

amazing...live at least, havent listened to an album, want to support, but fear that it wont translate from the live experience.

zjoik		2008-04-27 03:39:52 PM

no one else mentioned taj mahal?

(hides)

Lish		2008-04-27 03:40:02 PM

BB King and Pinetop Perkins are a couple of my favorites. For BB King, if you can get his album "Live from Cook County Jail" it is very good. His studio recordings are good, but live is just that much better.

Ultraviolet Catastrophe		2008-04-27 03:40:03 PM

I got a good woman, but she got the meanest dog in town.
I say I got a good woman, she got the meanest dog in town.
He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher,
An' he weigh five hun'red pound.

jimmy2x		2008-04-27 03:40:11 PM

Gunny Highway:

Females:

Mamie Smith
Nina Simone
Bessie Smith
Billie Holiday

I would certainly add some classic Dinah Washington.

chesterburnette		2008-04-27 03:40:26 PM

rickythepenguin: jlawn001: Oh yeah, go listen to Boz Scaggs "Loan Me a Dime" with Duane Alman on guitar. Blues heaven.

That song is kinda "meh".

If you want REAL blues, I suggest Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou. This, dear reader, is some of that down home, straight up, lowdown gutbucket Miss-a-sip Delta Blues.

Sing that shiat, girl!

Oh, no, not at all. Her punk is much better than her blues--her version of "Allison" just makes you want to put a pin through your nose.

/Or maybe I meant ear.

theflatline		2008-04-27 03:40:36 PM

Grew Up in New Orleans, born In Houma, college in ThiboDaux.

Tab Benoit, is a Blues man, originally from baton rouge, which for most of us true coonasses is Yankee Country, you got to go through to get to Lafayette.

Drank with Tab, served him drinks in Thibodaux. Good guy, and he does throw in the zydeco flavor sometimes. Hanging out at La Casa and Rips, way back in the day.

How come no one has mentioned Etta James?

The Meters are pure Louisiana goodness, funk, blues, rock, you name it all rolled into one.

Professor Long Hair, and Clarence Gatemouth Brown. Genius.

Fats Domino as well. Walking to New Orleans is a classic.

Check out John Boutte from New Orleans, Soulful newish blues, sings with his heart. Check out his version of "Why" buy annie lennox, he sang it after katrina. Not bluesy in the traditional sense, but if you grew up in the crescent city, and remember your town, it brings emotions on, which all good music does.

I would reccomend anyone stay a week in new orleans, and check out the local music scene. Tipitinas, howling wolf, the rendon inn, you will see and hear great music of all kinds. By people who enjoy doing it.

And Willie Nelson can sing and play the blues.

Bigjohn3592		2008-04-27 03:41:03 PM

How about a contemporary blues player? He took 2nd place at this year's International Blues Challenge in the solo division. He plays a cigar box guitar with a base string and 3 guitar strings. You have never heard so much goooood music come from one guy. BEST thing goin today.

Ben Prestage, people. Check out the youtube video. And while you are there, check the menu for other cuts. Check out his myspace page for some studio cuts too.

Link (new window)

safeinsane		2008-04-27 03:41:19 PM

I just downloaded the following after hearing them on Theme Time Radio:

"I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop" -- Jim Jackson
"You Eat Too Much" -- Harold Burrage
"She's Scattered Everywhere" -- Archibald
"Bald Head" -- Professor Longhair

May not be what you want but I dug the songs enough to buy them.

DrBenway		2008-04-27 03:41:33 PM

Professor Wormbog:

The Yardbirds - ~~For Your Love~~ Smokestack Lightning

kingthunky		2008-04-27 03:41:42 PM

As no-one has recommended them so far, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon playing in Paris on 'Aux Trois Mailletz' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Paris-Aux-Trois-Mailletz/dp/B0000CDL3V/ref=sr_1_3?i e=UTF8&s=music&qid=1209325151&sr=8-3

Maybe leaning a bit closer to jazz, but they are still superb.

DrZiffle		2008-04-27 03:42:24 PM

dictyboy: Leadbelly is folk, not blues.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Early blues is folk music.

A perennial argument, but Goodnight Irene , etc. ain't blues.
Just 'cause John Lomax dressed Leadbelly up in prison stripes doesn't mean it's blues.

Bigjohn3592		2008-04-27 03:43:03 PM

Ooops, I gues I can't embed the youtube vid. Look here:

Link (new window)

dictyboy		2008-04-27 03:43:15 PM

SockMonkeyHolocaust: dictyboy: Leadbelly is folk, not blues.

Early blues is folk music.

Yes, but early folk music isn't necessarily blues. Bluegrass is also folk.

Star Emperor		2008-04-27 03:43:15 PM

Well, there's T-Bone Walker, and then there's everyone else. :)

Seriously, T-Bone Walker pioneered the use of the electric guitar as a lead instrument. He was the guy that B.B. King wanted to emulate. I'm sure you've heard his song "Stormy Monday," covered by The Allman Brothers, among many others.

I recommend the Complete Capitol Records compilation from the 1940's and the Complete Imperial Recordings from the early 50's. There's also a nice album from (around) 1970 called "Good Feelin'" that (I think) won a Grammy.

Anyway, just go get some of his stuff. You can thank me later.

Zotfripper		2008-04-27 03:44:23 PM

Catastrofark: Why is this green?

Drunk Mod Day

jes		2008-04-27 03:44:28 PM

uh. none of you guys listen to Peter Green? he's sort of the reason Eric Clapton, etc..

just give Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" a listen. or any if you want the old school crossovers, try the "Blues Jam in Chicago" Discs.

Professor Wormbog		2008-04-27 03:45:10 PM

SockMonkeyHolocaust: I am of the opinion that the best blues has an element of gospel in them and you should be able to hear the years of drug and alcohol abuse.
A lot of the more modern blues puts me off. SRV is all hat and trenchcoat marketing with no soul and BB King is on autopilot doing that hand waggle thing that white folks pay to see.

Shiat talking Mushrooms: SRV was one of the best blues guitarists ever. If you've read his bio you'd know that he fits your criteria for grizzled old negroes, minus the negro part.

I would contend that Stevie Ray Vaughn was one of the most technically talented guitarists ever. However, I agree with SMH that paramount to the blues is a quality that can only be described as soul. While it is my opinion that soul is expressed in different ways (not specifically drug abuse), there still needs to be some sort of raw element that pours out of the artist, and I think it's symptomatic of all "pop" music that it lacks soul.

kermit_the_frog		2008-04-27 03:45:16 PM

Stevie Ray Vaughan rules... (or ruled :-( )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6pRIHJquRQ

(It's a Stevie Ray roll :-)

dictyboy		2008-04-27 03:45:31 PM

jes: uh. none of you guys listen to Peter Green? he's sort of the reason Eric Clapton, etc..

just give Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" a listen. or any if you want the old school crossovers, try the "Blues Jam in Chicago" Discs.

See my post above.

Professor Wormbog		2008-04-27 03:45:48 PM

that last part shouldn't be italicized BTW

OneBrightMonkey		2008-04-27 03:45:51 PM

chesterburnette:

My, my. Aren't you the evolved one?

Yeah, he's trying to get that zit to turn into a third eye.

Thanks for keeping the conversation mature and reasoned.

If you listen to Robert Johnson "The complete recordings" (which came out in the early to mid nineties I believe), you will realize after about 30 minutes that you are basically listening to the same song over and over again.

Blues is so mythologized by musicians that it often passes with no comment just how boring most of it is to listen to.

My point is that the cultural genesis of the blues is way more interesting that the music itself.

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