Alone & Acoustic

Alone & Acoustic
Studio album by
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
Released1991
GenreBlues
LabelAlligator[1]
ProducerDidier Tricard

Alone & Acoustic is an album by the blues musicians Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, released in 1991.[2][3] It was recorded in 1981, in Paris, France, while the two were touring.[4][5]

The album has sold more than 100,000 copies.[1] Along with Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, it marked a return to commercial success for Guy.[6]

Production

The album was produced by Didier Tricard.[7] Guy played acoustic Guild guitars and Wells played harmonica; they both sang.[8][9][3] Guy wrote three of the songs, including the opening "Give Me My Coat and Shoes".[10] Ten tracks were originally released via an import album.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Calgary HeraldA[5]
Chicago Tribune[12]
Robert Christgau(1-star Honorable Mention)[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[7]
Orlando Sentinel[15]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[16]
Syracuse Herald American[6]

Rolling Stone called Alone & Acoustic "reflective and subdued," writing that "a warm spontaneity runs through the album."[17] Robert Christgau praised ""High Heel Sneakers" and "Give Me My Coat and Shoes".[13]

The Orlando Sentinel determined that Guy's playing "on 12-and six-string acoustics is uncomplicated but as awesome as any daredevil run he has played on his Stratocaster."[15] The Chicago Tribune thought that "the extroverted Guy now sounds like a soft, lyrical Mississippi bluesman virtually singing to himself … Wells remains a strong, dramatic, post-Muddy Waters singer, but the intimacy of the setting leads to his widening his already impressive dynamic range."[12]

AllMusic wrote that "this is acoustic street-corner blues at its best, performed with incredible expressiveness, ease, and joy."[11]

Track listing

  1. "Give Me My Coat and Shoes" - 3:49
  2. "Big Boat (Buddy and Junior's Thing)" - 5:13
  3. "Sweet Black Girl" (Wells) - 3:32
  4. "Diggin' My Potatoes" - 4:28
  5. "Don't Leave Me" (Wells) - 3:43
  6. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" - 4:33
  7. "I'm in the Mood" - 3:22
  8. "High Heel Sneakers" - 4:56
  9. "Wrong Doing Woman" - 3:00
  10. "Cut You Loose" - 4:03
  11. "Sally Mae" - 2:30
  12. "Catfish Blues" - 3:33
  13. "My Home's in the Delta" - 3:05
  14. "Boogie Chillen" - 4:00
  15. "Medley: Baby What You Want Me to Do/That's Allright" - 5:44

References

  1. ^ a b Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (October 19, 2018). "Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story". University of Chicago Press – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Heim, Chris (15 Nov 1991). "Buddy Guy and Junior Wells 'Alone & Acoustic'". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. P.
  3. ^ a b Means, Sean P. (22 Dec 1991). "CHRISTMAS TREATS, BLUES AND AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE TO A CULT FIGURE". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. E9.
  4. ^ White, Jim (December 15, 1991). "ENTERTAINMENT". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. J5.
  5. ^ a b Wagamese, Richard (24 Nov 1991). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C6.
  6. ^ a b Bourke, Brian G. (December 1, 1991). "BLUES MUSICIANS RETURNING TO THE LIMELIGHT". Syracuse Herald American. Stars. p. 27.
  7. ^ a b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 244.
  8. ^ McCarthy, John (November 29, 1991). "ALLIGATOR CELEBRATES WITH SOME HOT STUFF". The Lewiston Tribune. Northwest.
  9. ^ Alger, Dean (April 15, 2014). "The Original Guitar Hero and the Power of Music: The Legendary Lonnie Johnson, Music, and Civil Rights". University of North Texas Press – via Google Books.
  10. ^ a b The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 234.
  11. ^ a b "Alone & Acoustic - Buddy Guy, Junior Wells | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  12. ^ a b Litwiler, John (5 Dec 1991). "Rave recordings". Chicago Tribune. Tempo. p. 6.
  13. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: Album: Buddy Guy & Junior Wells: Alone and Acoustic". www.robertchristgau.com.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 49.
  15. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (24 Jan 1992). "Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Alone & Acoustic". Orlando Sentinel. Calendar. p. 8.
  16. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 296.
  17. ^ Santelli, Robert (Feb 6, 1992). "Recordings – Damn Right, I've Got the Blues by Buddy Guy/Alone and Acoustic by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells". Rolling Stone (623): 79.