Can't Quit the Blues

This set makes the argument for Guy's ever-continuing growth as a musician--not only as a player whose frenzy, improvisational instincts, and tonal control keep stretching with age, but as a stylist who was unafraid to put aside his trademark electric approach in 2003 to make the acoustic Blues Singer (represented here by "Bad Life Blues" and the Hooker tune) and to embrace primal North Mississippi juke joint music with Sweet Tea, which lends this set a pair of Junior Kimbrough covers. Guy's sole artistic weakness is his songwriting. He's never been prolific, and even in the '60s his lyrics drew on well-established clichés. But, as these performances attest, his playing's never been less than daring--and his voice knows every nuance of heartache and joy. --Ted Drozdowski