Buddy Guy's "Skin Deep" full of honest blues

It's been a while since the last brand new Buddy Guy album -- 2005's decidedly mixed bag "Bring 'Em In" -- and Buddy must have been storing up some strong blues feelings, fine lyrics and finer guitar licks in that time, because his latest, "Skin Deep" (Silvertone), has all of that.

It's been on the shelves for a few weeks now (I had to actually ask to get my free copy. Record companies take note: BlueNotes has feelings too), but if you haven't heard it yet, or heard about it yet, it's an excellent addition to the Buddy Guy archives. In fact, it ranks among the top few of his contemporary recording. This Guy has made a full recovery from a downturn about a decade ago, when he seemed to get lost in a blues world struggling to find itself again.

But somewhere around 2001, with the release of the powerful and primitive "Sweet Tea," Guy reclaimed his roots and and his position as one of the purest voices of the blues tradition.

And in the best of that tradition, which includes looking ahead as well as claiming the past, "Skin Deep" works on all levels. It's an emotional rescue of old blues feeling, with enough relevant funky edges. BlueNotes being the traditionalist that he is, the old blues feeling is more more than enough.

Guy gets some sturdy support here from some fine blues talent, including Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph and of course Buddy Guy. And most of the tracks are written or co-written by Guy.

The album kicks off with "Best Damn Fool," a slightly funkified blues, with supercharged Guy vocals -- "I'm the best damn fool that you ever met..." It's worth noting here that at 72, Guy still sounds powerful, and his playing is at least as sharp as it ever was. 

Tedeschi and Trucks join him on "Too Many Tears," and they all sound like they were meant to be. Too often, guest stars overshadow a CD, or come off as window dressing, but here they all are a perfect complement to Guy's blues and tasty side dishes to the main course.

"Show Me the Money" is one of those classic blues that finds its fun in the strange relationship that is men and women, which often requires a slightly cynical outlook: "She said she liked to party and she sure looked good .. She said let me show you what I got under my hood.... She slid on over and called me honey .. She said before you get a kiss you got to show me the money...."  Ain't that the blues, baby?

 Clapton joins in on vocals and guitar on a very bluesy "Every Time I Sing the Blues." Backup singers throughout are Bonnie and Bekka Bramlett (remember Delanie and Bonnie?) and Wendy Moten. They even get handclap credit on the aforementioned "Money."

But I think my favorite here is the scarily haunting "Out in the Woods," with stark acoustic slide and Robert Randolph on fiercely liquid steel guitar -- "I live out in the woods, people I got wolf blood in my veins...." It digs deep into the dark night of the blues soul: "When i was just a little boy, I used to play around with rattsnakes...." The guitar work is painfully good, Guy's intense vocals and their combined effect raises from the dead the spirit of the best devil's music. This has got to rank with the best he's ever done.

The title track is Guy's personal statement about the rise of the blues out of the black experience and the basic meaninglessness of what your skin looks like.

It's an album filled with blues feeling, blues intensity and Buddy Guy's continuing ability to bring home the music.

There's' more, but you'll have to find out for yourself. On the Web site dedicated to the album, Guy says: "This is the first time I really had more control. Everything in here is new. Most of the other albums have been a few new songs and then back to the older stuff or the covers, which is fine, but you gotta be creative. I would talk to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck when they were all making records, and they would tell me that they would go in the studio with the freedom to play what they wanted. This time, I had that."

If that's true, in a career this long, that's a shame. If Buddy Guy has finally found his voice, we can look forward to more great blues from someone who really deserves the "legend" tag.  

A little sidenote: One of my all-time favorite Buddy Guy albums is "Alone & Acoustic" with Junior Wells, from 1991. Their partnership was long and fruitful, but I think this quiet acoustic exploration of their roots was one of the best either of them ever recorded. Except for some of the old Chess and Vanguard issues.