Born to Play Guitar [LP]

by Buddy Guy

Overview

Once again working with producer/songwriter Tom Hambridge -- the bluesman's main collaborator since 2008's Skin Deep -- Buddy Guy serves up a straight-ahead platter with Born to Play Guitar, his 28th studio album. Many of Guy's latter-day records loosely follow a theme, but Born to Play Guitar is pretty direct: just a collection of songs designed to showcase Buddy's oversized Stratocaster. Which isn't to say there's either a lack of variety or pro forma songwriting here. Hambridge cleverly colors Born to Play Guitar with a few bold, unexpected flourishes: the sweeps of sweet strings that accentuate "(Baby) You've Got What It Takes," a duet with Joss Stone that lightly recalls Etta James' Chess Records work; the big, blaring horns of "Thick Like Mississippi Mud" that moves that track out of the Delta and into an urban setting; the acoustic "Come Back Muddy" which performs that trick in reverse, pushing Chicago blues back down south. Elsewhere, Van Morrison contributes a moving tribute to B.B. King in "Flesh and Bone," a heartfelt ballad that doesn't quite fit with the rest of the record because it's about song, not feel -- a nice anomaly on a record whose greater concern is juke joint boogie. Guy delivers on this front quite ably, particularly when he's paired with fellow blues lifer Kim Wilson (as he is on "Too Late" and "Kiss Me Quick") or when Billy Gibbons slithers out of the Texas hills to lay down the heavy stomp of "Wear You Out," and while there are no surprises on these duets, nor on the proudly traditional Chicago blues of "Born to Play Guitar," "Back Up Mama," and "Whiskey, Beer & Wine," there is still pleasure in hearing a master tear into his beloved music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/11/2015
Label:	Rca / Sony Music
UPC:	0888751203716
Rank:	43746

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Born to Play Guitar
2. Wear You Out
3. Back Up Mama
4. Too Late
5. Whiskey, Beer & Wine
6. Kiss Me Quick
7. Crying Out of One Eye
8. (Baby) You Got What it Takes

Disc 2

9. Turn Me Wild
10. Crazy World
11. Smarter Than I Was
12. Thick Like Mississippi Mud
13. Flesh & Bone (Dedicated to B.B. King)
14. Come Back Muddy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Buddy Guy   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Van Morrison   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Bob Britt   Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Resonator)
Billy Gibbons   Vocals,Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Kevin McKendree   Piano,African Piano
Billy Cox   Bass (Electric)
Chris Carmichael   Strings
Doyle Bramhall II   Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Joss Stone   Vocals,Featured Artist
Reese Wynans   Clavinet,Wurlitzer,Piano (Grand),Piano (Upright)
Glenn Worf   Bass (Upright),Bass (Electric)
Tom Hambridge   Drums,Triangle,Percussion,Tambourine,Vocals (Background)
Kenny Greenberg   Guitar (Electric)
Kim Wilson   Harmonica,Featured Artist
Rob McNelley   Slide Guitar,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Resonator)
Michael Rhodes   Bass (Electric)
The McCrary Sisters   Vocals (Background)
Tommy MacDonald   Bass (Electric)
Rob McKendree   Clavinet

Technical Credits

Chris Carmichael   String Arrangements
Clyde Otis   Composer
Gary Nicholson   Composer
Ducky Carlisle   Mixing,Engineer
John Phillips   Composer
Bradley Cook   Cover Photo
Brook Benton   Composer
Roger Seibel   Mastering
Tom Hambridge   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Wind Chimes
Gilbert Garza   Guitar Technician
Charles Brown   Composer
Murray Stein   Composer
Buddy Guy   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Seth Morton   Assistant Engineer
Nathan James   Engineer
Richard Fleming   Composer
Erwin Gorostiza   Creative Director
Jonathan Joseph   Engineer
Josh Cheuse   Design,Photography,Art Direction
David Wolter   A&R
Tommy MacDonald   Production Assistant
Michael Saint-Leon   Engineer