Buddy Guy: Stone Crazy! : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Every year, blues fans from around the world make the pilgrimage to Buddy Guy's Checkerboard Lounge on the South Side of Chicago. Sadly, they often leave disappointed, because if Guy is coaxed into playing at all, he's apt to put in a perfunctory appearance and then beat it back to tending bar. Fortunately, there are still nights when Guy catches fire and is truly terrific, nights when no one can touch him. Stone Crazy!, though recorded in a studio, captures one of these bursts of grandeur, presenting the artist at his frantic and frenzied best.

Technically speaking, Guy is no virtuoso. What distinguishes him is intensity. Throughout much of this album, Buddy Guy's savage guitar playing and fiery vocals are so riveting that a casual listening is impossible. "I Smell a Rat" and "When I Left Home" stand out as the wildest, most effective cuts. Like many live studio jams, Stone Crazy! has some uncertain moments, but the star's band always adjusts quickly to maintain the groove. They also enhance Guy's dramatic singing with sharply contrasting dynamics, propelled by ace drummer Ray Allison, who's working with Muddy Waters now. While purists may not dig the syncopated bass lines and general funk overtones, Stone Crazy! is both a fine blues record and one of the year's most passionate LPs.

Passion keeps a considerably lower profile on Koko Taylor's From the Heart of a Woman. Though this Chicago-based, gravel-voiced blues belter has recorded some hot stuff in the past, a lot of her singing here sounds detached and uninspired. "Sure Had a Wonderful Time Last Night," "Blow Top Blues" and "If Walls Could Talk" are the only memorable performances. But an interesting mixture of material – swing music, gospel-flavored tunes, disco-tinged funk, straight blues–and a bevy of brilliant guest musicians compensate for Taylor's uneven vocals. Criss Johnson and Sammy Lawhorn turn in excellent guitar solos, A.C. Reed wails on sax and Bill Heid sparkles as a sensitive keyboard player. The end result is a pleasant contemporary blues disc.

You can play Koko Taylor's From the Heart of a Woman at a party, but don't fool with Buddy Guy's Stone Crazy! unless you're ready to take on a maniac.