Alone & Acoustic

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

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

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

Production

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star
Calgary HeraldA
Chicago TribuneStarStarStarHalf star
Robert Christgau(1-star Honorable Mention)
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStar
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album GuideStarStarStarStar
Orlando SentinelStarStarStar
The Penguin Guide to Blues RecordingsStarStarStarHalf star
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStarHalf star
Syracuse Herald AmericanStarStarStarHalf star

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

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." 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."

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

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Give Me My Coat and Shoes"Buddy Guy3:49
2."Big Boat (Buddy and Junior's Thing)"Junior Wells5:13
3."Sweet Black Girl"Buddy Guy3:32
4."Diggin' My Potatoes"Ernest Lawlars (Little Sunny Joe)4:28
5."Don't Leave Me"Buddy Guy3:43
6."Rollin' and Tumblin'"Hambone Willie Newbern4:33
7."I'm in the Mood"
3:22
8."High Heel Sneakers"Robert Higginbotham4:56
9."Wrong Doing Woman"Junior Wells2:59
10."Cut You Loose"Mel London4:03
11."Sally Mae"
  • John Lee Hooker
  • Bernard Besman
2:30
12."Catfish Blues"Robert Petway3:33
13."My Home's in the Delta"McKinley Morganfield3:05
14."Boogie Chillen"
  • John Lee Hooker
  • Bernard Besman
4:00
15."Medley: Baby What You Want Me to Do/That's All Right"Jimmy Reed / Arthur Crudup5:44
Total length:59:30

References

  1. 1 2 Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (October 19, 2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press.
  2. 1 2 Heim, Chris (November 15, 1991). "Buddy Guy and Junior Wells 'Alone & Acoustic'". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. P.
  3. 1 2 Means, Sean P. (December 22, 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. 1 2 Wagamese, Richard (November 24, 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C6.
  6. 1 2 Bourke, Brian G. (December 1, 1991). "Blues Musicians Returning to the Limelight". Stars. Syracuse Herald American. p. 27.
  7. 1 2 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". Northwest. The Lewiston Tribune.
  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.
  10. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 234.
  11. 1 2 "Alone & Acoustic Buddy Guy, Junior Wells". AllMusic.
  12. 1 2 Litwiler, John (December 5, 1991). "Rave recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 6.
  13. 1 2 "Buddy Guy & Junior Wells: Alone and Acoustic". Robert Christgau.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 49.
  15. 1 2 Gettelman, Parry (January 24, 1992). "Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Alone & Acoustic". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 8.
  16. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 296.
  17. ↑ Santelli, Robert (February 6, 1992). "Recordings – Damn Right, I've Got the Blues by Buddy Guy/Alone and Acoustic by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells". Rolling Stone. No. 623. p. 79.