Best Blues Solos
review by Richard Turner

Best Blues Solos is a collection of 33 fingerstyle blues arrangements presented as part of the Mel Bay Guitar University [MBGU] series. The stated purpose of this new series is "to provide intermediate to advanced fingerstyle guitarists with a wide variety of attractive solo repertoire pieces". The best purpose of such material, however, is to provide us boring classical guitar, note-reading-only guys with literature so we can appear way more cool than we ever thought possible, to make more money on gigs and most importantly, to better impress the ladies.

Compiled by William Gangel and edited by Stephen Siktberg, the book contains arrangements by several different artists. Seventeen of the pieces are arrangements by blues scholar and master Stefan Grossman and truly represent some of the best of his work. The book includes seven fine arrangements by Steven Eckels, two John Fahey tunes, two Dave Van Ronk pieces, two by Tom Van Bergeyk, and one each by Rick Ruskin and Al Petteway. An arrangement of "St. Louis Blues" by W.C. Handy is included although the arranger is not listed.

W.C. Handy was the early 20th century black leader of the band The Mahara Minstrels and the self-proclaimed "Father of the Blues". His "discovery" of the blues occurred when he heard a man playing slide guitar in a Mississippi train station. I always found it strange that Mr. Handy claimed the discovery for himself and gave no credit to the man who was actually playing the blues in the train station! The two companion CDs contain all but two of the pieces in the book.

The different blues styles represented here range from many old country blues standards, ballads such as "Frankie and Johnny", and the 1960s styles of John Fahey and Dave Van Ronk a few modern compositions in blues style. The tunes range from one to seven pages in length and the difficulty level is from low intermediate through advanced.

These pieces will sound best on a steel-string acoustic guitar but would also work nicely on a classical guitar, although there may be a few problems associated with playing this music on nylon strings. First, it is just more difficult to bend a string like a true bluesman on a classical guitar. Then too, some of the left-hand fingerings indicated use of the thumb "over the top" of the neck, which is next to impossible on a wide-neck guitar. If you are a pure classical guitarist, these fingerings can be easily altered so that notions of proper technique are not violated.

Finally, if you are a true dude of the classical guitar you will be gigging in your $100 tuxedo, sitting with a footstool, and polishing your fingernails between each piece. I confess that I have been guilty of this type of conduct in my sordid past. Be warned that playing these tunes while presenting this image to the public will completely spoil any possible bluesman effect, no matter how far you may curl your upper lip up when you try to bend a string.

So, my best advice to you classical guitar guys who want to play the blues: A generally lower standard of personal hygiene is definitely in order. Also, don't dress like you are going to the junior prom. Extra holes in your guitar also help- especially if the holes were caused by gunfire. If you're not in the habit of having a drink before a gig, at least gargle with some Listerine so that you will have a bit of alcohol on your breath. Then, you can relax and let your natural inner bluesman emerge.

To play this music well, or at least well enough that people will think that you can play the blues, it is essential to use the companion CD set along with the music. If we are literal in reading the notation of the string bends we completely miss the point. Remember that the third note in a blues scale is somewhere between a minor and a major third above the tonic, but is actually neither purely minor nor major. You have to hear this and get it into your ear and the CDs can really help.

In addition, if you analyze and read the exact rhythms notated, it just won't work. A great example of this is the short, not too difficult and absolutely gorgeous Stefan Grossman piece Tribute to Lonnie Johnson. It is written in compound quadruple meter and is a very slow and sensual piece. Being way too educated in classical music, I did the exact math on Grossman's dotted rhythms and came up with a supposedly correct and accurate interpretation. The only problem was that it sounded awful- not bluesy, not anything but stupid. So, I had a drink, put my shades on, popped in the CD and listened to Grossman playing it. It became very simple after hearing how the tune is supposed to sound. Not that the notation is inaccurate. It is, if anything, too accurate. Again, I was reminded that blues is not just notes and rhythms, but is also a feel and an attitude.

Perhaps the most important use of the CD set is for when you encounter a piece in the book that you absolutely love but just don't have the technique to play. I discovered that having the book open to the correct piece and playing the corresponding CD track enabled me to take my air guitar playing in a new dimension of near-reality. Doing this will enable you to work on your stage moves without having to bother playing the piece. Be careful; I pulled a muscle while trying to do the splits.

The CDs are a compilation of recordings of the book's pieces made at different times and in different places. Most of the pieces sound like modern digital recordings, the Fahey and Van Ronk numbers sound like good old analog from the 1960s, and the track of "Easy Rider Blues" goes back to way before vintage, perhaps engineered by Thomas Edison himself on a wax cylinder. Don't expect the recorded versions to follow the score exactly. This discrepancy was at first an affront to my classical sensibilities. Then I realized that this music should be at least slightly different each time that it is played. Hearing this deviation from the printed page also provides the student with great examples of how to create variety in these pieces.

You should all buy this book, and when you do, start with a few of the shorter and easier pieces. I would suggest "Easy Rider Blues", "Tribute to Lonnie Johnson", "Ragged and Dirty", and "Old Country Rock". These short Stefan Grossman arrangements are not too difficult. Use the recorded versions in conjunction with the score and you should pass as a respectable bluesman in short order. "Tribute to Lonnie Johnson" is a very slow piece and so perfect for rookie string benders and rhythm shifters. Be sure to study the recording at least as much as you study the score.

In this book Stephen Eckels presents a number of fine arrangements which take us up the difficulty scale a few notches. His arrangements of "Deep River Blues" and "Frankie and Johnny" fall nicely into this advanced-intermediate range of difficulty. Expect thicker chord textures, more barres, and more upper-position work in pieces such as these. Eckels is great at presenting the basic piece and then offering very tasteful variations.

If you are really adventurous and bitter or masochistic I might suggest the Tom Van Bergeyk arrangements of "Light N.T." "T.N.T." has a slight jazz feel to it and is really a handful. "Light and Bitter" moves along so unbelievably fast that it quickly became one of my air guitar pieces and even at that I had trouble keeping up!

You will come up with your own favorites from this book. The pieces I mentioned represent some of my favorites but there are many good pieces here to work with and enjoy.

So if you have decent basic right and left hand technique and can read either notation or tablature this book would be a great addition to your library if you like the sound of fingerstyle blues. All kidding aside, it does make a great gig book for classical players who are looking for variety. Best Blues Solos is a great new addition to the Mel Bay catalog.

Richard Turner

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About the Author

After demonstrating an early interest in music with the clarinet and folk guitar, Richard Turner studied classical guitar with George Sakellariou and José Rey de la Torre and received Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music from San José State University.

Since 1994 Mr. Turner has taught in the large classical guitar program at California State University at Fullerton. Several years ago he revived his early interest in American roots music and developed a course in the history of American folk music which he also teaches at Cal State Fullerton. His instrumental interests are diverse, including classical guitar, slide guitar, banjo, and steel-string fingerpicking and flatpicking styles.