Artist:     Buddy Guy

Album:     The Blues Is Alive and Well

Label:     Silvertone/RCA Records

Release Date:     6.15.2018

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“As long as I’m around, the blues is alive and well,” Buddy Guy sings on the title track of his new album. Guy will turn 82 years old in July, but his voice remains supple and strong, his guitar playing as fierce and fiery as ever. The Blues Is Alive and Well is his 18th solo album in a career that began with Chess Records in 1958, and included stints as a session guitarist for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson. Guy collaborated with Junior Wells in the 1960s and began reaching a more mainstream rock ‘n’ roll audience the following decade by opening for the Rolling Stones.

The new album finds the Louisiana-born bluesman mindful of both his good fortune and the fact that nothing lasts forever. The opening track, “A Few Good Years,” is a bluesy plea for more time: “Please, Lord, send a few good years on down.” “When My Day Comes” is another reminder—“I hear my train a comin’” — backed by some of the album’s tastiest guitar licks. The title track adds horns on top of a driving beat to create an R&B feel while “End of the Line” is bouncy blues at its best.

The album is far from mournful, however, with several notable friends joining in the fun. “Cognac” features Jeff Beck and Keith Richards, both of whom have cited Guy as a major influence on their guitar styles. Mick Jagger lends vocal support on “You Did the Crime,” and Guy calls on James Bay to add a youthful edge to “Blue No More.”

There are 15 tracks in all, each one sounding crisp and sharp due in large part to the production skills of longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge. Guy continues to tour both on his own as well as with other major acts. He fittingly performed the final show at New York’s B.B. King’s Blues Club before it closed its doors in April.

“I went to sleep yesterday and woke up and all the great blues players are no longer with us. Muddy, Wolf, B.B. . . . they’re all gone,” Guy says. “I’m trying to do something to keep this music that I love alive.” The Blues Is Alive and Well is a major contribution to that effort. We can only hope there’s more to come.

—Lou Montesano