Alone & Acoustic
Studio album by
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. 1 2 Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (October 19, 2018). "Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story". University of Chicago Press via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Heim, Chris (15 Nov 1991). "Buddy Guy and Junior Wells 'Alone & Acoustic'". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. P.
  3. 1 2 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. 1 2 Wagamese, Richard (24 Nov 1991). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C6.
  6. 1 2 Bourke, Brian G. (December 1, 1991). "BLUES MUSICIANS RETURNING TO THE LIMELIGHT". Syracuse Herald American. Stars. 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". 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. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 234.
  11. 1 2 "Alone & Acoustic - Buddy Guy, Junior Wells | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" via www.allmusic.com.
  12. 1 2 Litwiler, John (5 Dec 1991). "Rave recordings". Chicago Tribune. Tempo. p. 6.
  13. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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.
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