The Complete Chess Studio Recordings

In the '60s, Buddy Guy was the young buck on Chess, wailing alongside gurus like Muddy Water and Howlin’ Wolf. Guy stayed with Chess for six years, from 1960 to 1966, and this collection brings together everything he made for the label during that time. Unfortunately, it was not a happy marriage. Leonard Chess once called Guy’s playing style “noise,” and the label tried to mold Guy by foisting on him soul tunes, dance songs and various novelties. Guy never really got to do it his way during these years, but nonetheless, much of this material displays the high voltage he possessed as a young man. Among the most electrifying moments are “I Cry and Sing the Blues,” “My Mother,” “Stone Crazy” and “Ten Years Ago.” Even a lot of the so-called novelty songs are actually pretty great. Because he was from the younger generation, Guy was much better at handling R&B than his blues elders, as proven on “Goin’ Home,” “Buddy’s Groove,” “She Suits Me to a Tee,” “No Lie” and “Baby (Baby, Baby, Baby).” They might not adhere to the dictums of blues purists, but that doesn’t make Guy’s early records less potent.