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Sugar Blue
Amazon.ca
Sugar Blue is best known for his signature harmonica riff--at once bluesy and tuneful--on the Rolling Stones' hit, "Miss You," but he has recorded with everyone from Stan Getz and Bob Dylan to Willie Dixon and Johnny Shines. The diversity of those experiences helps account for the pop melodicism, jazzy harmonics and bluesy note-bendings of Sugar Blue's harmonica playing, but only his individual talent can account for the pure, piercing tone he achieves on the instrument. His latest album, "Blue Blazes," includes his own interpretation of "Miss You" as well as versions of Dixon's "Back Door Man" and other blues standards by James Cotton, Jimmy McCracklin and Jimmy Rogers. The songs may be familiar, but Sugar Blue's harmonica solos are revelatory. Playing with virtually no vibrato, he plays fast, single-note runs punctuated by accenting chords. He feels just as comfortable in the underexploited upper range of the instrument as in the lower. He's a competent singer and leads a solid band, but when he takes off on a stratospheric solo on Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me" or his own "Out Till Dawn," Sugar Blue is unlike any other bluesman before him. --Geoffrey Himes
Cliente
Reviewed in Italy on December 28, 2018
Meraviglioso Album
Bomber
Reviewed in Japan on January 2, 2015
のりのりで最高！ハーモニカに挑戦したくなった(^_^;) 同じ音は電気的な処理をしないと出ないのかな？
John M.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2014
Absolutely spellbinding clarity at speed on harp, 'n' vocals, with superbly balanced relations with other instruments.
Pablo
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2012
Sugar Blue is the guy the Stones hired to play the harmonica riffs on their hit "Miss You" some decades ago. But he is so much more than that! He is a blues harp master and wails with the high notes on the harp more than any other harpist I've ever heard. He has a plaintive, blues drenched voice that oozes the blues on every cut. And he does his own more "up tempo" version of "Miss You" on this CD.
Dan Manturi
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009
My interest in blues is recent as a result of taking up blues harmonica. I heard a Sugar Blue rendition of a Sonny Boy Williamson song - Help Me - and was blown away by his speed and accuracy while putting his own trademark on the song. HIs playing is hard to believe and the songs on this album are all winners for the most part. His singing is not always my cup of tea, but his playing is incredible. I'd buy it again.
Wendy T.
Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2002
I've seen him at Kingston Mines in Chicago and some place near DC - the most skilled diatonic harp player I've ever heard. The CD is worth having if you're a harp fan, but it feels like a showcase for his solos and not much else. Even those solos were tour de forces but not as inventive as he can be. It would be great if he could team up with a good blues singer/songwriter.
Alex
Reviewed in Canada on June 29, 2001
Generally speaking, I am not usually too big on super high speed harpists. Most of those I have heard have very little command of any technique other than speed and even their super fast runs tend to sound too choppy to catch my ear. Sugar Blue is different. Though speed is his main claim to fame, Sugar demonstrates an ability to use octives and some vibrato. Granted, he won't make you forget Sonny Boy, Walter or Wells, but he's got them. His speed is nothing short of astounding. Unlike everyone else who uses super fast runs for effect, Sugar is perfectly fluid and you never hear choppy transitions. On top of this, he is much faster then any of the competition.Ahem. Now that I'm done catering to harp fanatics I will move on to the real review. This is Sugar's best album thanks to the fact that it is the only one I've heard where he doesn't perform wierd material that makes you raise your eyebrows. The music has a good funky edge to it which, though hardly conventional, is fun to listen to. I find it nice when I want to hear something that just makes me feel good.Admittedly, the song line up is a bit on the familiar side. "Help Me" is a near omnipresence in a harp player's first CD, and I have heard more versions of "That's All Right" than I care to count. However, these complaints are easily ignored in the face Blue's awsome instrumental prowse and the different spins he puts to the tracks. Personal favorites are the remake of "Miss You" (which I like even better than the Stones' version), a horn enhanced version of Dixon's "Back Door Man," on which Blue plays some of his best harmonica on the CD, and the outstanding original, "Out "Till Dawn," a song which embodies the very essence of cynicism, both in terms of lyrics and also in the guitar riff.Overall I would reccomend this album, especially is you want to hear speed harp done right. Be a little wary of the follow up, "In Your Eyes," though. While it is even more revolutionary than this one, it is much further removed from tradition, and thus may not appeal to purists.
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