Blues instrumentals?

FREDDIE KING!!!! Freddie basically made a signficant part of his career playing instrumentals. Many of them are excellent, and some are corny (like the surf stuff), but they all have his great playing. Hide Away, anyone??? 17 Hits, there's lots and lots on eBay at good prices.

Robin Ford? NAW! He's a WEENIE!! Check in w/ Jimmy Thackery's "Guitar"--that's the blues instumental album. Or, you can just about listen to any version of "Paker's Mood," and you'll get the idea . . .

Kana: You raise an interesting point: What instrumentalists "define" blues?

See, I'll be the first to admit that, as a technician, Ford is a better "guitar" player, but, even if I were to accept your assumption that "bar-band status" is somehow a deficiency (let alone its accuracy), Thackery would seem to be a better definition of Blues. I just think that his playing is more "honest." You hear more struggle and pain in his music. I think that there is a lot more polish and "correctness" in Ford's playing, which isn't such a bad thing; it's just not as down as Thackery's playing.

As far as a specific instrument "defining the blues," I just don't know if that's really what blues is about. To me, it doesn't matter if you play guitar, piano, or nose flute: if you're playing with complete honesty, you're probably playing the blues.

Again, opinions are opinions--and that's a fact ^_^

Cheers!