Buddy Guy - First Time I Met the Blues: 1958-1963 Recordings [Spain Import]

Long before the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Buddy Guy was a young Louisiana guitarist making his name in Chicago, and this LP gathers that early fire as a Spanish import.

Guy arrived in the city in 1957 and quickly became known for a wild, stinging style that drew on his heroes while pushing them harder. His first singles came out on the Artistic label, and by 1960 he had moved to Chess, where he cut sides of his own and played on sessions for some of the label's biggest names. First Time I Met the Blues: 1958-1963 Recordings brings together seventeen tracks from those formative years.

The title track is the highlight, Guy's voice cracking with desperation over a slow, smouldering arrangement, his guitar answering in sharp, piercing bursts. "Ten Years Ago" and "Let Me Love You Baby" show off his urgency and showmanship, while the early "This Is the End" captures a singer already pushing at the edges of the form.

These are the recordings that made guitarists from Eric Clapton to Jimi Hendrix sit up and pay attention, and they still crackle with nervous energy.

For blues fans, this is a fine way to meet Buddy Guy right at the very beginning, before the legend took hold.