Recommended blues albums like Clapton Unplugged

[LiveMusic]

Eric Clapton's Unplugged album is certainly a dandy piece of work. Can anyone recommend anything that would be similar? I'm talking blues stuff. Guitar or piano. Not blues like Stevie Ray. Old style blues like what is on Clapton's album. Trying to work up a setlist, I think I could take every song on that album for my future acoustic gig. Man, it's good.

 

Actually, it wouldn't even have to be blues. Just anything that isn't heavy on the electric. I certainly like screamin' guitars and such but that's not what I'm after for this setlist.

[Tedster]

Well, don't limit yourself...just because it has screaming guitars doesn't mean you can't cover the tune acoustically. Matter of fact, a lot of the "screaming guitar" tunes were originally done acoustically by old guys sitting on porches in the Mississippi Delta. Think "tune"...not arrangement. Go hear a lot of local bands and listen to what tunes go over, then analyze "Could this work acoustically?".

 

A good way to come up with some good tunes...rather than going out and investing in a whole library of individual artists, is to do the "blues sampler" type things, collections of tunes by several artists. Most record stores have 'em. Listen to your local blues station...could be a block on your local public radio station. Look up the tunes that catch your ear. Heck, hook up your tape deck and tape the show. It ain't gonna be CD quality, but your just looking for songs to learn, right? (Shame on me for suggesting such a dishonest thing...how many of us have done the same thing...?

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by LiveMusic:

Eric Clapton's Unplugged album is certainly a dandy piece of work. Can anyone recommend anything that would be similar? I'm talking blues stuff.

 

You'd probably like Keb Mo and maybe Tab Benoit.

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[jef5f]

Check out three of Phil Keaggy's albums. Crimson and Blue; Blue; and John the Revelator. Keaggy does several blues tunes in his own unique style. They aren't acoustic, but they aren't wailing electric either.

 

Try BB King, Albert King, Lonnie Mack, there are hundreds of others. What about the Blues Brothers?

[fet]

Old-style blues minus single-string electric guitar solos: Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, Blind Blake (virtuoso player), Robert Johnson. Check allmusic.com and blues websites for more names...

[Mike45]

Originally posted by Tedster:

Well, don't limit yourself...just because it has screaming guitars doesn't mean you can't cover the tune acoustically. Matter of fact, a lot of the "screaming guitar" tunes were originally done acoustically by old guys sitting on porches in the Mississippi Delta. Think "tune"...not arrangement. Go hear a lot of local bands and listen to what tunes go over, then analyze "Could this work acoustically?".

 

A good way to come up with some good tunes...rather than going out and investing in a whole library of individual artists, is to do the "blues sampler" type things, collections of tunes by several artists. Most record stores have 'em. Listen to your local blues station...could be a block on your local public radio station. Look up the tunes that catch your ear. Heck, hook up your tape deck and tape the show. It ain't gonna be CD quality, but your just looking for songs to learn, right? (Shame on me for suggesting such a dishonest thing...how many of us have done the same thing...?

 

I think that was the concept of the "Unplugged" idea. It's worth trying songs acoustically, if only to see how it affects the arrangement. Layla was one of my all time favourite songs (still is) but the unplugged version just blew me away the first time I heard it. I've heard only one or two tracks of SRV unplugged & I wish they would release it on video. Stevie playing his great songs on a 12 string...brilliant.