Stevie Ray Vaughan

[Rockin John]

Well, musically turning from Gawd knows what to blues, brought me to buy the Essential SRV + Double trouble CD.

Superb, IMHO.

Naturally I know of J Hendrix, E Clapton. If Ilike SRV in particular + (Hendrix and Clapton), who else's CD should I go out and buy?

Comments always appreciated.

Ta.

John

[SBassman]

You've made an excellent choice looking at SRV.

Go get yourself some Motown so you can listen to James Jamerson first hand.

Then get yourself some jazz - ideally Miles Davis - and listen to what's going on there.

[Turock]

I would suggest:
Robin Trower (Bridge of Sighs),
Johnny Winter (Still Alive and Well),
Humble Pie (Smokin'),
West Bruce and Laing (Why Doncha).
Robben Ford,
Jeff Beck,
Allman Bros,
Eric Johnson.
Killer stuff, check it out.

[Skeezix]

Kenny Wayne Sheppard

[cheezewiz]

Originally Posted by Turock

I would suggest:
Robin Trower (Bridge of Sighs),
Johnny Winter (Still Alive and Well),
Humble Pie (Smokin'),
West Bruce and Laing (Why Doncha).
Robben Ford,
Jeff Beck,
Allman Bros,
Eric Johnson.
Killer stuff, check it out.

What Turock said. For SRV like playing, also check out the John Mayer Trio.

[Bernie Connors]

Originally Posted by cheezewiz

What Turock said. For SRV like playing, also check out the John Mayer Trio.

Definitely. John has some great chops. Some dog him for being an SRV copy but I think he's great.

[page]

I suggest checking out:

Marc Ribot
Derek Trucks
Warren Haynes
James Blood Ulmer
John Lee Hooker
Alvin Lee
Ten Years after
Mountain
Muddy Waters

[Bernie Connors]

Originally Posted by Skeezix

Kenny Wayne Sheppard

Didn't he go the rock/alternative way?

[oldrocker]

Also try Gary Moore - "Still Got The Blues", or his work with Jack Bruce on BBM's "Around the Next Dream"

[Slater]

Check out some of SRV's influences:

Albert King
B.B. King
Buddy Guy
Howlin' Wolf
Albert Collins
Muddy Waters
Jimmie Vaughan

...And many more. Just check the credits to see who wrote some of the songs SRV covered...

[Rockin John]

Yeah. Thanks V much.

Naturally I'm no expert on Blues, but there seems to be quite a few branches of the genre. Frinstance, at one end of the scale there's the wailin' black guy who plays a resonator guitar and a harp. At the other there's Gary Moore with his lightning chops. I totally dislike the resonator guitar style but quite like GM's style. I might like half the songs from a CD.

'Thing about SRV and his style, is that he's lit a flame inside me. He's touched me musically. That's something no-one else has done since I bought the brilliant Ray Brown Trio CD, "Some of my best friends are guitarists". (And that was mainly for Brown's superb upright playing.)

Having said that I buy very few CDs. So I'm trting to be quite selective. I'm not specifically after an SRV copy (though I will check out John Mayer) just an artist who has SRV's feel.

Thanks.

John

[blujax01]

First, congratulations on your discovery of the Blues. As you say, it is a plethora of styles and impossible to nail down. You have a definite like for rip-snorting guitar work, so we'll start there.

A few of my recommendations:


Rick Derringer "Jackhammer Blues". I found this at Half-Price books. If it were up to me, we would do the entire album.

Johnny Winter "Still Alive and Well"/ "Winter of '88"/"Saints and Sinners". I could recommend anything he did, but Johnny had the same problem as J.L. Hooker, namely, he would record the same things under any label that would have him. His latest "I'm A Bluesman" is weak vocally (hell, JW's almost 70, go figger) but his fingers are still shredding.

Jonny Lang "Lie To Me". His two follow up albums didn't live up to the original release, although his collabaration with Joss Stone on Herbie Hancock's "Possibilities" is promising.

Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced". Essential.

Michael Burks "I Smell Smoke". Uneven but fruitful. Dude's a beast of a guitar player.


That's just the tip of the iceburg. And my own personal opinion, which is worth every penny you paid.

[bassman20]

My hearts blues, it's my roots as a bassist. Early on, it showed me there's noth'in cooler than a bass lay'in down a groove, or walk'in in and out of chord changes to "thread everything together".It was the greatest thing ever for me, and that style stayed with me in jazz, rock, country, and even gospel music that I've played. Eventually, I came full circle, and the blues is where it's ended with me, think I'll stay camped right here.

If you are online, I suggest listening to (if you don't already), www.live365.com, they have many great blues stations of all styles, and most of the stuff is the non-commercial type of stuff which I really appriciate.

-Johnny-

[iamthebassman]

I never got the SRV thing, living in Austin, I saw him live a few times, even passed him on the sidewalk once, but I never thought he was worthy of all the praise.

[cheezewiz]

Oh ya...and I forgot my favorite bluesman, Buddy Guy. Check out Sweet Tea. It was recorded using all old analog equipment, and it sounds GREAT!

[P. Aaron]

Originally Posted by Turock

Robin Trower (Bridge of Sighs),

Killer stuff, check it out.

Robin Trower is awesome. James Dewar's doing the heavy lifting there as bassist/vocalist right?

[Boplicity]

A favorite of mine ( in addition to the many excellent names given by others here) is Ronnie Earl. He is a gifted and versatile blues guitarist. At times his guitar work does sound much like SRV, but he has his own character. He plays with so much feeling that he once brought me to tears when I saw him live in one of Junior Wells' last concerts. Earl played "If Trouble Was Money I'd Be A Millionaire." That is Albert King's song, but I don't know if King ever played it better.

A young guitarist, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, does have a definite SRV sound. I loved his debut album, but felt his later work moved more toward "blues rock." Still, this young guitarist is amazing. By the time he is the age SRV was when he died, the additional experience and maturity will make KWS a guitarist whose work you cannot overlook. Unlike SRV, Shepherd does not sing his own songs, however.

[bucephylus]

Grab one of the Alligator Records compilations. That'll have some of the more well known folks who've already been mentioned, plus a whole lot of cats you've never heard of, but will knock your socks off - James Cotton etc.

Also, check out Tommy Castro, for example Exception to the Rule. Further, there's a recent album with TC, Double Trouble, Jimmy Hall, and Lloyd Jones, called Triple Trouble that is pretty cool.

My favorite British Blues guy has always been Joe Cocker. His performance on Woodstock remains one of the more timeless performances.

Play the Blues!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by iamthebassman

I never got the SRV thing, living in Austin, I saw him live a few times, even passed him on the sidewalk once, but I never thought he was worthy of all the praise.

I sort of felt the same way until I heard him play "Stang's Swing" off "Couldn't Stand The Weather." That is some fine jazz/blues playing there.

[Rockin John]

Blujax01 said:

First, congratulations on your discovery of the Blues.

Thanks. In a way, it's not so much a discovery, as a re-discovery. One of my earliest musical recollections was hearing the band, Taj Mahal, play Statesboro Blues. I understand it's an old song (Blind Willie McTell?) from the traditional acoustic blues style that was 'electrified' by Taj'. The Allman Bros did it too, I believe. Anyway, about 35 years ago that particular song was responsible for lighting my original blues flame. Come to think of it, it was probably the main reason for my taking up playing bass.

Since then, much of that 35 years was taken up with not playing at all or listening to music at all. Now, having got back to bass (about 5 years ago) I seem to have come full circle and want to play / listen to the blues again.

Yes, Boplicity, Ronnie Earl has been mentioned to me before. I always try to look out for a live album he did in Germany(?) in the 1990s I think, but haven't see it yet.

Thanks all.

John