Looking for Blues with High Fidelity


I recently listened to Eric Clapton’s “Me and Mr. Johnson” and really appreciated the guitar playing and the quality of the recording.  What are some of your favorite Blues recordings?

kentroller

The new release by MoFi on their 'One Step' process from Muddy Water, 'Folk Singer' is probably the best sounding blues album I have heard. If you can source one, it is a great listen, not just for SQ, but for music as well.

I would add to the CD list above, which are all excellent, the following:

Little Hatch, 'Rock with me baby'.  This one is extraordinary.

I stopped wasting my time with Clapton back in 1973.

Well, some pretty good guitarists didn’t, including Buddy Guy and B. B. King. What’s your problem with Clapton? Yes, that’s Bloomfield in the picture and here's what he thought about Clapton:

Rolling Stone:.You were telling me that Eric Clapton was a perfect guitarist. What makes you think that?


Mike Bloomfield: His attack is flawless, that’s one of the things. A perfect musician is dedicated. He has ideas, attack, touch, ability to transmit emotion and abillity to transmit his ideas. His ability to transmit his ideas and his emotion logically is kineticism; he can build. Eric does all of these about as well as you can do them. It shows in the area that he plays that his attack is perfect. His tone is vocal; his ideas are superb; he plays almost exclusively blues–all the lines he plays in the Cream are blues lines. He plays nothing but blues; he’s a blues guitarist and he’s taken blues guitar to its ultimate thing. In that field he’s B. B. King cum the Freddie King and Ernie Cahill style of guitar playing. Eric is the master in the world. That is why he is a perfect guitarist. Eric plays in bad taste when he wants to. He can play crappy. But, like, Eric plays almost exclusively perfect.

 

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We all like who we like, and I am one who believes there is no “best” in any artistic endeavor but Clapton has had a hell of a career and a book of work that can rival anyone in the blues/rock realm, IMO. In addition to being an awesome guitarist who is able to make listeners “feel” the music, he is also very good when playing with others. The only time I saw him live, SRV got on stage for a few songs and it was an incredible moment. Check out his Beacon Theatre concerts with ABB where four of the better guitarists playing today were all together on stage at one time - Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, and Clapton.

In general, one good label to set your sights on for well- engineered blues recordings is the Audioquest label.