Watch Buddy Guy destroy Warren Haynes and Trey Anastasio in this clip. Not even close. The moment Buddy starts shredding: not even close. PS: Haynes takes the first solo, Anastasio takes the second. Buddy comes in just after the 5:00 point:
All were great but I gotta disagree, nobody was destroyed. Actually Trey may have been the best. I couldnt see too well but that looked like Paige McConnell on keys. Very cool.
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2011 6:11 PM
nobody comes close really.oh yea your right buddy is a old black man and we know that you have to be black to play the blues.would you say that if it wasnt buddy guy?
Lemme throw another opinion out there. The keyboardist killed. Followed by Warren Haynes in my opinion since his solo feels more strongly connected with the rest of the music.
Ah, I get to see Allman Bros band in about a month, it will be first big concert I seen in a few years.
----------
~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
I call 'em like I hear 'em. I sorta liked Haynes. I didn't get much from Anastasio; he seemed self-indulgent and precious. Then Buddy came on, with a notably less compressed guitar tone--more attack, less overdrive--and that's all she wrote. This surprised me. Then again, I've seen Buddy live and wasn't surprised. In every respect, to my ears, his playing was superior.
Buddy smoked it. He cut like a Samurai sword. You tell the whole energy of band just went sky high when he started to play. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
I thought "kill," as in "X killed out there last night," is a measure of audience reaction, not a blues-critical evaluation. By that measure, Adam is right, Buddy killed. Buddy clearly got the crowd up and cheering.
Personally, I dislike shredding. I'm with RyanMortos, I liked the keyboardist best.
derek trucks is a brilliant guitarist,especially slide, but he stops playing when buddys solo started and I have seen buddy live many times hes the best even with clapton on stage with him
after watching this youtube clip I pulled up stormy monday with clapton jamming with derek and warren-does anybody remember thom doucette blowin harp with the allmans? I have a cd the fillmore concerts and after duane and dickies guitar solo thom does a great harp solo
Buddy is just being himself. He is in a class of performers with very few members these days. There are very few that can hang with him. There are only a few guys like him left.
I think I watched a different clip to most of you ...?
When Buddy's solo starts the band stop & give him centre stage, in what appears to be a collaborative act of respect, humility & appreciation. There's no battle, the other players prostrate themselves at Buddy's feet. Perhaps, and this might sound like a far fetched, long shot, but bear with me...perhaps it's a bunch of guys on stage having fun & demonstrating mutual respect? ;-) None of those guys is ever going to retire to the bar & recount the tales of cutting Buddy's head, nor he of them.
The quality of the clip is dreadful, no one actually sounds "good", though I don't doubt that they did on the night, the medium just isn't doing anyone justice. ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
I completely agree with 5F6H. This all had more to do with mutual respect than competition. The band and the crowd are both reacting to the "LEGENDARY" Guddy Guy. It wouldn't make a difference what Buddy played, the crowd would have gone crazy. That's just the way it works.
I'm quite sure both Derek and Warren are up to the task of squaring off with Buddy. It's not about that.
I have tickets for a Buddy Guy show coming up in a couple of weeks. It's in a small theater close to where I work. If he plays like this all night, it will be a long night for me. A little Shredding, while impressive to the masses, goes a long way with me.
Last Edited by on Oct 28, 2011 3:39 AM
I think I watched a different clip to most of you ...? I have wondered occasionally if Adam generates a post to fan the social flames on an ethnographic research hypothesis he's investigating. Destroy? Is this a mindset you have when you sit in? HCH? Come join us, one and all, for a weekend of sharing and learning our wonderful little instrument... Set up for slaughter? I'm mostly kidding, of course. I'm ate up with wanting (expecting) to cut heads -including yours, but I put a fair bit of energy into trying to temper it because I find that attitude also gets in my way.
It's all a matter of taste and what you have been exposed to. I can assume everyone on this forum knows of Buddy, almost everyone knows of Warren, and most do not know of Trey. To say they are not in the same league is false. Rolling Stone Magazine greatest guitarists of all time have them all list. Warre # 23, Buddy # 30, Trey # 73. At the time of the publication, Warren was 43, Trey was 39, Buddy was 67. When there careers are complete I am sure they will all be at the same level. I do understand Buddy does receive more respect because of being a pioneer and a legend.
The keyboards we accompanied by Page McConnell from Phish, and it looks as though Jon Fishman was on the drums to the back. Phish does not get a lot of notice in mainstream music but they may be the most talented rock band going. I would go as far as saying you cant name a better bass/lead du than Trey and Mike Gordon right now. Maybe some as good, but not better.
Buddy has played along side of the BEST OF THE BEST guitar players in the world as have the others...They clearly understand the DYNAMICS of the etiquette when your in that situation.
That said, Since they are a part of the BEST of the BEST - at what they do anyhow, I feel it was just another day at the office for these guys.
As far as Buddies solo, the first few notes he tears into are SPELLBINDING and MASSIVE, I see why they stopped Derek dead in his tracks. But the rest of Buddies solo seemed to go out of time with the rest of the band (or was it the other way around?), but like he started the solo, he nailed the last few notes.
BTW, This may have been a different thread if Derek would of Popped one off....
Last Edited by on Oct 28, 2011 4:43 AM
It's amusing to listen to harmonica players talk about guitar players-the man who actually wrote and performed the song originally would hand all these guys their asses-Dickey Betts. I attended the "Legends of Blues" show at Lincoln Center in NYC back in 2005. Honey Boy Edwards,Robert Lockwood,the remaining members of the Howlin Wolf Band,the remaining members of the Muddy Waters Band,Buudy Guy and Little Milton played that night. Buddy invited Warren Haynes out to play that night-he tore everyone a new one,including Buddy Guy. At one time the roles may have been reversed,but there are two different playing styles here. As a guitar player myself,I can appreciate that,where as I think harmonica players have a different perception.
This thread is pointless without a Derek Trucks solo. He is so amazing, he didn't even need to solo to smoke all of these guys.
Warren is a great meat and potatoes guitar player. He tends to play all the stuff guitar fans want to hear really really well. Trey doesn't do much for me, but he is definitely a great guitar player.
Buddy Guy is just Buddy Guy. That fact alone makes him the ballsiest of the three.
But had Derek taken a solo, he would have taken them all to school...and he is easily the youngest of the bunch. IMO, Derek Trucks is then end-all-be-all in what an instrumentalist should strive for from a playing standpoint.
His weaknesses are that he is so introverted and not much of a showman, so he isn't the total-total package, but from a playing an instrument standpoint, he is perfection.
Derek is a great musician and confident enough to know when to just stay out of the way. I don't necessarily think the guitarists were actively competing, but it's fun to compare them.
Btw, i think the ABB has a more sophisticated sound without DB. For years after DA's death until after DB left the band, the ABB didn't play "Dreams" because DB wasn't comfortable handling it. But DB certainly sounds great on the cowboy stuff like "Southbound."
@hvyj-like I stated earlier-it is amusing to read the posts on what hamonica players think of the guitar players in these videos,and those related. Shows how much you really know-here's some "cowboy stuff" for ya-
When the band is sober, it is easier to pull off some of the harder stuff, lol.
Dickey is a huge part of their success, but he'd be a total train wreck playing with them today. I've heard nothing but negative reviews of DB's shows over the last several years.
A friend of mine went to see him locally about two years ago. I guess the first set started out great and got worse and worse as Dickey became more and more drunk. They came back after their set break, played 11min, and Dickey was so out of it that he ended the show an hour early. :(
I saw the ABB live about three years ago now. They started off with Revival, which I believe was written by Dickey, and Derek's solo was so incredibly amazing I literally cried. Warren was on fire that night as well, but between Derek's solo on Revival and Any Day, my musical life was made complete.
They played a ton of blues that night, including a version of Who's Been Talking that was just criminally stellar.
I saw Derek with his current band this past summer. He had a horn section that was immensely entertaining. Between them and Oteil on the bass, there was something worth watching. Derek was more animated then I'd seen him before, but having the other personalities in the band and his wife fronting it was a great idea commercially.
So, after seeing Derek live with ABB, dTb, and Tedeschi-Trucks (and on DVD with Clapton), the ABB show was my favorite. They jam a lot, but their set lists are always killer for blues and rock fans.
There is no comparison...Duane is the best ever, but since he has passed, the comparison to contemporaries isn't even needed. It is just understood that Duane trumps everything, lol.
Duane is enough of an influence on Derek that it isn't fair to call Derek "better". Without Duane, who is to say there'd be Derek?
If you find the vid from that concert where Derek solos on Whippin' Post, though, that is just too wonderful for words.
@tmf714: Agreed. Duane is the standard by which the rest are judged. And DB is a terrific guitar player. Stylistically i think DB's influence on the ABB sound was a little more "country" which became somewhat more pronounced after DA's death. But a terrific guitar player, no doubt.
@HarpNinja: Btw, I think Derek's style on slide is very original and NOT derivative. He is certainly not a Duane Allman or Elmore James clone.
Last Edited by on Oct 28, 2011 8:01 AM
Agreed...I think he plays slide from the same space, if that makes sense. I've really enjoyed his Duane-style solos with the ABB on songs like Trouble No More, etc. He does a great job of giving a nod to Duane and then going to his own place.
My understanding is Duane was stretching in similar directions as Derek has gone when he passed. Their tone, phrasing, and technique are definitely different, but they play with an eerily similar enlightenment.
What is really cool, IMO, is that Derek appears to have done that without becoming reliant on drugs. From what I can tell, other than light alcohol use and allegedly rocking the bong on occassion (so I've read anyways), Derek plays sober.
Apparently some people in this thread don't realize that I'm speaking as a guitar player here, not a harp player. (I play guitar on six out of 11 tracks on my forthcoming album.) My main college gig was as a blues/funk guitar player in a jazz/funk/fusion band. My comments about the three guitarist come from that.
@Littoral: I'm not trying to fan flames. That can only happen when people disagree strongly with each other. I assumed that everybody would agree with me. I felt something--a kind of delight--when Buddy played that I didn't feel when the other two guys played. I thought "The old man still has it. He's got more of it than those two younger legends." So I shared that. (For what it's worth, Albert Collins had the same kind of explosive, unpredictable energy that I'm talking about. He would wring amazing notes out of unexpected moments and corners.)
This isn't a white blues vs. black blues thing, BTW. I was watching a clip of Honeyboy Edwards the other day and thinking, "Jeez, he's pitchy. He not singing very well." When I saw Clapton years ago on Saturday Night Live, his playing did the same thing to me that Buddy's did. I call 'em as I see 'em.
@HarpNinja: It's fun to talk about what coulda/woulda happen if the other guitar guy on stage had done his thing, but in this case I was speaking to what is, not what might have been. Conjectures are fun, though. I like Trucks. You just might be right about how he would have done.
Re: Dickie Betts. He is--or was--indeed an awesome guitarist. I've got a solo album of Western Swing-type stuff by him that's one of my favorites. A true original.
Last Edited by on Oct 28, 2011 8:38 AM
Adam, I fanning flames, lol. I know what you're saying, but Derek is my all-time favorite musician, so I have to be a jerk about it. To have the balls to take a solo like this during ERIC's show... ---------- Mike Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas VHT Special 6 Mods
adam has the same agressive style of playing that buddy has playing guitar IMHO thats maybe why he is impressed by him-I love dereks playing to me he is the closest to skydogs slide playing than anyone-I saw the allmans open for bj thomas in 1970 and had not heard of them at the time-will never forget duane and dickie blazing away that night-bought idlewild south the next morning
For what it's worth, Albert Collins had the same kind of explosive, unpredictable energy that I'm talking about. He would wring amazing notes out of unexpected moments and corners.
I think that Buddy got a lot of that from Guitar Slim. Buddy has stated that Guitar Slim was a huge influence on him. I just saw him a few weeks ago. At 75 years old, he really tore it up and didn't sound a whole lot different than he did 30 years ago. He's a great showman. Sometimes, you think they might spontaneously combust.
duane played on the layla album and most of the hot licks on it were duanes not erics-clapton said that he thought duane and hendrix were the best ever-he played with them both so he should know
A lot of this goes back to folks general idea that you have to be an old black man to proficiently "play the blues". Most of us here know that old black bluesmen can indeed play the blues very well, but some white boys can also lay down some fine blues. IMHO, Buddy is just doing what he’s effortlessly done for years. It’s very hard to top that. Warren would be second in line…and IMHO, the Phish guys should never have even been allowed on that stage.
(side note: the new Warren Haynes CD “Man In Motion” is a true classic)
For those of you who think "The guy from Phish shouldnt even be up there" have a listen to this. Not Clapton, but VERY good. He played the rythem and solos.
here is another good one jamming with Warren.
One piece of advise. Just because you dont know of someone, dont assume they are not good or even great. I can almost guarantee there were as many Trey/Phish fans as Buddy Guy fans at an Allman Brothers show.
Last Edited by on Oct 29, 2011 6:50 AM
i saw buddy 42 yrs. ago with his beat up strat a 4 man horn section and was playing the best dynamics on electric guitar from a whisper tone to loud mouth in your face curl the hair on the back of your neck BLUES.he still does it.there`s no place for comparison here enjoy all them as is.buddy lives the blues language and sings it like gospel going to heaven.
For anyone who digs him, that's cool, but IMHO, I think the Phish guy is WAY out of his league compared to these other guys. Warren and Buddy or Derek can play circles around him. As far as playing with passion and tone, Buddy is the man.
@5F6H great example overrated my ass!!!!buddy and otis rush are 2 blues guitarists still around along with hubert sumlin cant understand how buddy could be called overrated????
Crush Kill Destroy My football team is kicking ass today. It's no surprise this thread veered into the direction it has. The whole battle of who's better just isn't very useful. IMHO. Adam: I'm not trying to fan flames. That can only happen when people disagree strongly with each other. I assumed that everybody wrould agree with me.
sorry to hear about dicky betts-I heard in an interview he was asked who was the best slide guitarist duane or derek?he said aw man...different styles different era like comparing marciano and ali...then he said lets just dont keep score that way nobody wins or loses which is pretty much how I feel about this thread
Last Edited by on Oct 29, 2011 12:00 PM
Otis Rush had a stroke a few years ago. I've been told that he isn't playing anymore. He is spending his time enjoying his grandkids. On his last tour of Japan, he had Carlos Johnson playing guitar and Otis sang. Carlos is an excellent guitar player.
I saw Hubert a few months ago. His health wasn't very good. His playing was good, but he didn't have the energy he once had. He could only play a couple of songs before being helped off stage.
I saw BB a few weeks ago. He had moments of the old BB, but he's 86.
Buddy is one of the few guitar guys left that were around in the 50's. Jody Williams also falls into that category.
The last few years have taken a lot of the older guys.
For me to measure a blues guitar player, I like to listen to what they can do on slow tunes. Buddy Guy has recorded some great slow blues tunes. Here are a couple of examples.
@Joe L thanks for the update very sad about otis rush never saw him live or hubert sumlin haveseen buddy 5 concerts and bb twice chicago blues are timeless peace and joy
Buddy smoked them! I'm sure it was all good-natured competition, Of course. That Anastasio guy has beautiful touch but Buddy's showing topped his easily. Touch, drive, pitch-shading and above-all inventiveness. I'm not a big head-cutting fan but, to my ears, Buddy wins!
@Littoral: I feel your pain, my New Age soft-male brother! It's soooooooooooooooooo nice to find a kindred spirit here! I was afraid that I was the only card-carrying feminist who realizes that male aggression is the bane of the world--and the bane of blues forums dominated by macho-poseur white boys.
Unfortunately, our African American brothers laid down the law, long before we came along. They were not New Age prissies like you and me. They called their form of male warriorship "cutting heads."
I'm not making this s--t up. I didn't make this world, Lord, I'm just trying to live in it.
Truth is, I don't enjoy staged guitar-slinger spectacles in which somebody Wins and somebody else gets Their Head Cut. But that is, in fact, what happens.
It happened to me in Williamsburg, Va, this past March when I called out "Crossroads Blues" and both T.J. Klay and Todd Parrot handed me my head. They are both fast, fluent, overblowing stage-fiends. They kicked my ass. They were far too gentlemanly to acknowledge that they'd done that. They pooh-poohed my suggestion that they'd done that. But that's what they did.
And that's OK. It happens to the best of us. It's a variation on the age-old practice of young warriors sparring with each other and doing their best to land the blow that lets them say "Touche." And it might be argued that this form of social organization, testosterone-fueled as it is, is a spur to great creativity and aesthetic excellence. God knows I've woodshedded since that baneful evening. I've also paid a visit to the gypsy woman and have a whole bunch of mojo waiting for me to say the word down in New Orleans. My mojo is working, and long live the head-cutting session.
I agree with you: I dearly wish the world wasn't like this. I wish we musicians could all sit around, blow great stuff while expressing cosmic love on stage, and slap each other on the back afterward while saying "You played GREAT!" Hey, the truth is that we CAN do that. Many of us DO do that. But it's not the only game to be played in our big, bad, blues-filled world.
The black jazzmen of Kansas City in the 1930s were wise men, and they decreed that when a bunch of guys playing the same instrument get up on stage and, in sequence, throw down their best stuff, solo, backed by a hot band, the point is to excel. The point is to make the other guys wince a little as you do stuff that undercuts, overcuts, and CUTS what they do.
That's how the jazz/blues world has always worked--at least the one that Joe L., Waltertore, BBQBob, and I came up in. We can all pretend to be friends when we're sharing a beer later, after the dust has settled. In fact, we all ARE friends. But when it's on, it's ON.
That's how the world works. It's one of the ways that competitive cultures evolved by men over the decades, centuries, and millennia, work. I don't blame you for not liking it. But please don't credit me with inventing it. I'm just functioning within it. If you'd prefer not to, that's certainly your choice.
All I did was use vigorous, honest language to describe how much better I felt Buddy Guy was than the other two guys he...well, exceeded in excellence up on that particular stage. I used a way of talking about excellence--a form of metaphorical language--that makes you uncomfortable. I'm a warrior! So shoot me.
That's a metaphor, BTW. I don't believe in actually killing people if it can possibly be helped. But symbolic violence is not a bad thing, if properly understood and applied. Believe it or not, I've heard musicians come backstage after a show crowing "We destroyed 'em!" and "We killed!" I can't believe you really object to such language.
Or maybe you do. Please clarify.
Last Edited by on Oct 29, 2011 7:48 PM
