Album Review: Willie Buck & Bob Corritore – Oh Yeah!

Band leader, harmonica player and archivist Bob Corritore continues his highly regarded “From the Vaults” series of releases with Oh Yeah!, a collaboration with blues vocalist Willie Buck. Culled primarily from three recording sessions that took place in Tempe, Arizona between 2021 and 2023, Oh Yeah! features an all-star roster of support players.

But the presence of those big names – co-producer Kid Andersen, Bob Margolin, Anthony Geraci and other of note – doesn’t take the spotlight away from Willie Buck. The bluesman who earned his fame in Chicago in the ‘50s and beyond is front and center on this collection of ten tunes. A live in the studio vibe pervades the proceedings, equal parts loose-limbed and rock-solid.

Five of the ten cuts are Willie Buck originals; scattered throughout the track list, they for the sturdy core of this top-flight album. “That Ain’t Enough” is a seething, lumbering blues rocker with stinging lead guitar work and wailing harp. On one hand, it’s the kind of song and arrangement that helped light the British blues boom of the ‘60s, turning a generation of white kids onto the blues. On the other hand, it drips with authenticity, the sincere work of a man who has spent a life in the blues.

From its title, it’s clear that “Brand New Cell Phone” is no blues chestnut. In fact it’s another Buck original. But everything beyond the subject matter is classic blues, serving up a perfect mix of old and new in timeless fashion. Buck sounds assured and right at home fronting the spirited instrumental work.

“Went Home This Morning” lays down a stomping, distorted rhythm upon which Buck slides effortlessly into blues shouter mode. Everything about the recording suggests that Buck and his sidemen were having the time of their lives cutting the track. “She Turned Me Down” starts with a familiar structure, sticks to it and reminds listeners why that form has endured. The band plays looser here, suiting and serving the character of the song.

The upbeat “Me and My Baby” is a playful and sassy story-blues. The album’s lengthiest track, “Let Me Find Out Your Name” slows the tempo way down, giving the players ample opportunity to stretch out. The song’s production values – cavernous echo, spare effects – remind younger listeners where groups like Led Zeppelin and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac got some of their best ideas. A master of the blues, Willie Buck is the real deal.

Guitarist Billy Flynn penned “Money Can’t Buy Everything”; the tune feels custom-written for Buck’s formidable set of skills. The album’s other tracks – a reading of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah,” Muddy Waters’ “She’s Alright” and “Baby Please Don’t Go” – are excellent as well, but their inclusion serves mainly to highlight the depth of Willie Buck’s own songwriting artistry: a listener new to the songs might not be able to discern which are Buck originals and which are blues classics.