Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Nadz1lla on May 20, 2012, 06:56:30 PM

Title: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Nadz1lla on May 20, 2012, 06:56:30 PM

Since my Mrs has fallen in love with the sound of her new Tele, she's been after some really good blues that shows off great guitar tone and playing. I showed her a few things, but when I put some Joe Bonamassa on her reaction was that of the scrunched-up-nose variety: "It's way too clean and polished, and he's got too much of that "white-guy" voice..."

0_o

She really didn't take long to form an opinion of what she thinks good blues is! She really likes anything that's gritty. I think the only white guy she's heard sing blues-esqu stuff and liked it was Jack White, because he's a bit rough around the edges, and she likes his playing style too. I know BB King etc are awesome, but I'm thinking she'd like a more stripped-back sound, rather than something with a "big band" approach. Guitar, Bass, Drums and some good, heart-felt vocals... oh and some seriously good guitar moments too, heh.

What names / albums can you chuck our way? It's not my area of expertise, really, heh.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Nadz1lla on May 20, 2012, 06:58:45 PM

Oh, she seems to like Blind Willie Johnson, Elmar James and Howlin' Wolf, if that helps.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Elliot on May 20, 2012, 07:19:45 PM

Dare I suggest the source of Jack Black, Elmore (via Robert Johnson) and Howling Woolf = Son House

This is a late recording (1965), but it is a great place to start before tackling the 1930 Grafton recordings (now very scratchy and hissy, but, to me at least THE BLUES)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Father-Delta-Blues-1965-Re/dp/B001GTJUQO/ref=sr_1_1_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1337537638&sr=8-1

Another of the greats of the 30s was Skip James - this is about the best restored recording:

http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABL009.php

Muddy Waters:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Best-1947-To-1955/dp/B001KULC2Y/ref=sr_1_3_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538463&sr=8-3

Mississippi Fred McDowell

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001J666Z2/ref=sr_1_album_56_rd?ie=UTF8&child=B001J6492O&qid=1337538830&sr=1-56

RL Burnside

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wish-Was-Heaven-Sitting-Down/dp/B002MKFLR8/ref=sr_shvl_album_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538846&sr=301-5

Add to that some token White boys:

Paul Butterfield/Mike Bloomfield?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Anthology-The-Elektra-Years/dp/B001F2TJ0E/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538225&sr=301-2

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Ian Price on May 20, 2012, 07:23:39 PM

Try a bit of Walter Trout. I like him, much more genuine sounding than Bonamassa.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Telerocker on May 20, 2012, 07:53:13 PM

Stevie Ray might be a bit difficult to start with. Buddy Guy? John Lee Hooker? Bonnie Raitt.... not black, but maybe she fancies slide.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Frank on May 20, 2012, 08:30:32 PM

BAM!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=feNvXW5nCGM

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: tomjackson on May 20, 2012, 08:49:13 PM

Check out Roy Buchanan for great raw Tele blues.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Lezard on May 20, 2012, 09:50:37 PM

Albert Collins- great tele content
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihvvf1R_vWo

Freddie King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsPDSiZpKgI

Albert King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKY8KIt9kqc

^required listening

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: MrBump on May 20, 2012, 10:12:53 PM

What about George Thorogood?  Dirty as hell, and pretty damn cool.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: richard on May 20, 2012, 10:13:15 PM

More Freddie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1vvUzCLSzg

And pure MAGIC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KF2ZI9MdVg

A little Albert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihvvf1R_vWo

Some Roy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDOIL5OqvYs



That sounds like a great woman you got there - treat her baaaaaadddd...........

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Nadz1lla on May 21, 2012, 12:29:10 AM

Whoof! Cheers guys, that'll get us started for sure! Thanks!  :D

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: _tom_ on May 21, 2012, 01:04:27 AM

The Black Keys!

edit - some tracks for you

Girl Is On My Mind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWimOMVdHgE)
10am Automatic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK446tjll2Q)

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Philly Q on May 21, 2012, 02:10:13 AM

Johnny Winter!

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: gwEm on May 21, 2012, 10:27:10 AM

Albert King!

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Muttley on May 21, 2012, 11:04:21 AM

Michael Katon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyLDSBDHygQ

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Frank on May 21, 2012, 11:20:26 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwMh5rg8xC4

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: AndyR on May 21, 2012, 11:33:11 AM

I can't follow the links at work, so I don't know what all of the suggestions are. But I do know what she's after :D

Things that float my boat in this area are:

The first two Led Zeppelin albums, and the original Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters stuff they were influenced by. Good that she already knows about Howlin Wolf - he was the man :D

Also, the early ZZ Top stuff (ignore everything post-Eliminator from this "dirty blues" point of view - you want the raw stuff off the first few albums).

Possibly she might like Rory Gallagher's approach as well - try Live in Europe and Irish Tour as starting places.

Oh yeah, and early Fleetwood Mac.

And there's a girl that's making music at the moment, plays a tele - she's fab, got her album, can't remember her name, curses.... she'd love that (you'll have to get a humbucker in the neck of her tele if you let hear that girl though!)

EDIT: I think the album might be called White Sugar - can't remember the girl's name though...

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Frank on May 21, 2012, 12:23:05 PM

Quote from: AndyR on May 21, 2012, 11:33:11 AM

EDIT: I think the album might be called White Sugar - can't remember the girl's name though...

Jo Shaw Taylor, I already linked one of her videos

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: AndyR on May 21, 2012, 12:48:53 PM

Quote from: Frank on May 21, 2012, 12:23:05 PM

Quote from: AndyR on May 21, 2012, 11:33:11 AM

EDIT: I think the album might be called White Sugar - can't remember the girl's name though...

Jo Shaw Taylor, I already linked one of her videos

That's the girl :D

(And I had a feeling one of your links might be to her - can't go near them on this work PC. I'm pretty much convinced that Mrs Nadz needs to check her out, though...)

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: richard on May 21, 2012, 01:37:01 PM

A couple of years back I was playing guitar with a guy called Will 'Harmonica' Wilde who also played harp in his sister Dani Wilde's band.  We got to play on part of a tour called the Blues Caravan organised by Ruf Records. This particular caravan was mainly for female blues players. I got to play with Dani, Jo Shaw Taylor, Debbie Coleman and others.  Check these ladies out - just punch Blues Caravan into Youtube and see some some great lady blues players. Standing behind Jo Shaw Taylor while she strutted her stuff is an experience I'll never forget.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Elliot on May 21, 2012, 04:42:51 PM

Like Jerry Donahue, I wouldn't personally say that Jo Shaw Taylor plays blues, let alone dirty blues.  He sounds like country and she sounds like 70s rock to me - but then I reckon Jo Anne Kelly was blues...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMyLNOeYCI

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: TheyCallMeVolume on May 21, 2012, 05:24:58 PM

All the Kings, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson are definitely great places to start IMO. Then dig into the deeper and really old stuff.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Philly Q on May 21, 2012, 06:17:21 PM

Eric Gales.  Philip Sayce.

(Again, more on the rock side but I'm not really into proper blues)

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Lezard on May 21, 2012, 07:30:56 PM

Quote from: AndyR on May 21, 2012, 11:33:11 AM

Possibly she might like Rory Gallagher's approach as well - try Live in Europe and Irish Tour as starting places.

I  support this proposal^

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: lulusg on May 22, 2012, 01:45:06 AM

There is a program on live stream... www.highway61radio.org , that comes out on saturdays 10:00 pm central time USA. Music is haunting on this one.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Johnny Mac on May 22, 2012, 04:48:22 AM

Here's a few that do it for me

Click the link below to listen to Testify by Stevie Ray Vaughan;Double Trouble on Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/track/5hGnrFoe2bv3iVeEbmBUxH

Click the link below to listen to Honey Bee by Muddy Waters on Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/track/5B50wuy1lSPYS4ZFKI6cyf

Not blues in the traditional sense but Hendrix playing Killing Floor live at Monterray has that single coil tone that
I love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixQpkZlk8o4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is my favorite Black Keys track and bought the Rubber Factory album after hearing this years ago when this forum started.

Click the link below to listen to Grown So Ugly by The Black Keys on Spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/track/1fDcAiEpjwXeTc1iMhcxDN

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: breadfan on May 23, 2012, 12:41:45 PM

Quote from: Elliot on May 20, 2012, 07:19:45 PM

Dare I suggest the source of Jack Black, Elmore (via Robert Johnson) and Howling Woolf = Son House

This is a late recording (1965), but it is a great place to start before tackling the 1930 Grafton recordings (now very scratchy and hissy, but, to me at least THE BLUES)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Father-Delta-Blues-1965-Re/dp/B001GTJUQO/ref=sr_1_1_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1337537638&sr=8-1

Another of the greats of the 30s was Skip James - this is about the best restored recording:

http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Jazz/PABL009.php

Muddy Waters:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Best-1947-To-1955/dp/B001KULC2Y/ref=sr_1_3_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538463&sr=8-3

Mississippi Fred McDowell

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001J666Z2/ref=sr_1_album_56_rd?ie=UTF8&child=B001J6492O&qid=1337538830&sr=1-56

RL Burnside

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wish-Was-Heaven-Sitting-Down/dp/B002MKFLR8/ref=sr_shvl_album_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538846&sr=301-5

Add to that some token White boys:

Paul Butterfield/Mike Bloomfield?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Anthology-The-Elektra-Years/dp/B001F2TJ0E/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337538225&sr=301-2

There's some great stuff here!

I'm a big Lightnin' Hopkins fan too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lightnin-Blues-Herald-Sessions-Hopkins/dp/B00005B1FN/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337773107&sr=1-8

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Elliot on May 23, 2012, 05:21:19 PM

Yeah dude - how could I forget Sam Hopkins from my list - learn his licks and you have the source of most of electric blues.  The Ernie Hawkins DVDs on Lightning Hopkins' style are really good if you are into that kinda thing.

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: breadfan on May 23, 2012, 07:19:27 PM

I hadn't seen that DVD - it looks excellent. I'm sure it would probably just gather dust along with my pile of lick library DVDs, but I'll have to pick it up! Cheers!

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: Ratrod on May 25, 2012, 10:51:56 AM

Forget about the fancy stuff.

Seasick Steve: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keMbjwBzWYw&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keMbjwBzWYw&feature=related)

Title: Re: Music recommendations: dirty blues with great guitar
Post by: richard on May 25, 2012, 05:05:49 PM

Or this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgsC1WlAzWE

Or for a different take on Tele playing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rViBFgjChH0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaybV46MA6E