Buddy Guy
Left My Blues in San Francisco

THE REVIEW

Many well-known guitarists in post-sixties Rock have admitted influences from Blues guitarists. To varying degrees, this passing of the baton characterized the 1960s to some extent. It was as if the electric guitar, and perhaps even the color of one's skin, wanted to bring guitar progress to a crossroads: the birth of Rock 'n' Roll or the continuation and evolution of Blues. In short, with few exceptions, if you were black, you played Blues; if you were white, you played Rock, with clearly many influences and many common points between the two. One who probably had clearer ideas than anyone else was Buddy Guy, the only great Bluesman still alive after the legend of B.B.King. The late 1950s and much of the 1960s brought some examples of Blues that were jaw-droppingly good, or rather, ear-droppingly good. Just think of the three Kings, but also Albert Collins, Luther Allison, the immortal Muddy Waters—well, one never got bored.

Left My Blues In San Francisco, we find ourselves in 1967, and even the title was suggestive. Following in the footsteps of what had already been done, perhaps a bit later than others, Buddy Guy embodies one of the most prominent figures of what I define as the third wave of Blues. Many covers, as was usual in debuts, but a lot, a lot of personality. Of course, our protagonist had already cut his teeth in previous sessions together with one of the greatest harmonists around, Junior Wells. The voice, that unmistakable one, a real trademark, combined with a way of playing the guitar that's as fast as it is intelligent. I find it pointless to make a redundant description of the tracks; one moves with impressive ease from fast and carefree pieces to grand tear-jerking ballads, among which it is impossible not to mention 'When My Left Eye Jumps'.

How many guitar styles this artist has influenced is impossible to say, but it is worth remembering how a great like Eric Clapton said that his career as a musician was strongly influenced by him. I cannot conclude the review in any other way than by wishing a late death to, unfortunately, one of the last witnesses of a dreamlike Blues wave.