Search - Various Artists :: Frett'n the Blues: B.O. Guitar Greats

Kicking off with a 1968 non-LP track, Buddy Guy's tough West Side Chicago-style places us firmly at the crossroads between the electric guitar pioneers who preceded him and the rock artists who followed. The first half of these 77 minutes stay in that vicinity--Guy, Otis Rush, and Luther Tucker. Homesick James and the underrecognized J.B. Hutto take us back to electric country slide in the Elmore James mode. The three 1965 John Hammond pieces feature backing from most of the Band--this is nearly simultaneous with them going electric with Dylan. It's good stuff, respectful of the past but looking to the future. Two of Muddy Waters's three tracks are acoustic, as is John Lee Hooker's cut, so there's something here to inspire pickers and listeners of all types. --Robert Gordon