Buddy And The Juniors [Verve Acoustic Sounds Series] [180g LP]

by Buddy Guy

Overview

The historical details surrounding the recording session that became Buddy & the Juniors are almost as entertaining -- and oddly satisfying -- as the music itself. Released on Blue Thumb in 1970 on multi-colored wax, this session, was it not for a very real economic necessity due to Buddy Guy's feud with Vanguard Records, would never have happened. It appears that Vanguard wouldn't pick up the tab for Guy to fly to New York to mix an album he'd cut with Junior Mance and Gary Bartz -- also produced by Cuscuna. Being an ever-enterprising genius, Cuscuna pitched the idea for a recording between Guy, Mance, and Junior Wells to Blue Thumb label boss Bob Krasnow, who jumped at the chance. The all-acoustic Buddy & the Juniors was recorded on December 18 of 1969, and on December 19, they mixed this album and the Vanguard date! While an acoustic pairing between Guy and Wells is a natural one, adding jazz pianist Mance -- a Chicago native whose early influences were the boogie-woogie recordings of Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons -- to the mix was risky in terms of interpersonal dynamics, but in retrospect, proved a brilliant idea. The proceedings are informal and raw with plenty of fireworks. The first two tracks -- "Talkin' 'Bout Women Obviously" and "Riffin' (aka A Motif Is Just a Riff)" -- were the last two recorded. They are blazing, hairy, on-the-spot improvisational duets between Wells and Guy: the former offers lyrics in a back-and-forth extemporaneous style; the latter develops in intensity as it goes on. The playing by Guy and Wells is inspirational. "Buddy's Blues," the first interplay of the trio, has Mance digging deeply into the Otis Spann tradition, just rolling inside it, accenting lines, punching chords, and offering beautiful tags to Wells' harmonica lines. Wells' vocal on "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" meets Guy's six-string head-on, with Mance comping and popping a melodic fill underneath each sung phrase. He introduces "Five Long Years" as a piano blues that gets countered in exponential grit by Guy's vocal and Wells' punchy harp; he shuffles, fills, trills, and blows straight at the keyboard, creating a forceful gale of dialogue. On the slippery boogie-woogie set closer, Wells' "Ain't No Need," the listener grasps the deep communication of this trio. Given how earthy, informal, and joyful this acoustic session is, it conveys everything right about Chicago blues. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	06/27/2025
Label:	Verve
UPC:	0602475812999

Tracks

1. Talkin' 'Bout Women Obviously
2. Riffin' [a.k.a. A Motif Is Just A Riff]
3. Buddy's Blues
4. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
5. Five Long Years
6. Rock Me Mama
7. Ain't No Need

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Buddy Guy   Primary Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals
Junior Wells   Primary Artist,Vocals,Harmonica,Featured Artist
Junior Mance   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Michael Cuscuna   Liner Notes,Reissue Supervisor,Producer
Michele Horie   Art Producer,Art Direction
Buddy Rich   Composer
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup   Composer
Harry Weinger   Reissue Supervisor
Amos Blakemore   Composer
John Lee Hooker   Composer
Buddy Guy   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Junior Wells   Composer
Geoff Turner   Engineer
Eddie Boyd   Composer
Kevin Reeves   Mastering
Barry Feinstein   Design,Photography
Tom Wilkes   Design,Photography
Ryan Null   Photo Coordination
Jo Almeida   Photo Coordination
Mike Diehl   Design
Andrew Skurrow   Tape Vault Research
Susan Hyman   Photography