Buddy Ace - The Real Thing & From Me To You (Incomplete)

 Here is a bit more Buddy Ace in response to the request by KC.   The Silver Fox gave me quite a few unforgettable evenings in the SF Bay Area back in the day.   He was a very dynamic live performer with an incredible voice.   I have still never heard anything on wax that generates quite the excitement that he could in concert.   But I haven't heard it all yet.  I would be forever grateful if somebody could post all of Buddy Ace's Duke singles on this blog.  I have heard only a few of them.

Quite frankly, "The Real Thing" is very much a mixed bag.  To my ears, a number of the songs sound hastily and poorly arranged, and often fail to inspire Buddy Ace.   On a few numbers, they don't even choose an appropriate key for Buddy's voice.   That said, there are a few nice songs on the album, including "I Kicked the Habit," even if it is pretty much in a straight Bobby Bland mold.  I would enjoy the title track a bit more without the overly obtrusive background vocals.  The real highlight on this album for me is "Do What You Think Is Best," where Buddy evokes the spirit of Otis Redding over the infectious riff that Wilson Pickett used for Soul Dance Number Three.   Nevertheless, "The Real Thing" falls quite short in my book of being prime time Silver Fox.

From Me to You is another matter, an exceptionally fine tribute from Buddy Ace to his mentor, Bobby Blue Bland.  Ten Bobby Bland classics with tasteful no-frills accompaniments clearly inspire Buddy Ace to put his heart and soul into every song.   I have to apologize that two of these tracks, Two Steps From the Blues and I Pity the Fool,  are not here.  I will try to rectify that fact when I get back home to my source record collection in the States (I am currently working abroad).  For now, enjoy these eight!

I miss Buddy Ace.