Willie Buck “Cell Phone Man’

(Delmark) Blues might be the only genre of (theoretically) popular music that instead of losing hope that you’re going to make it when your youth slips away, your odds just seem to keep increasing. Willie Buck has been one of the best traditional Chicago blues vocalists for decades, his fine voice, phrasing, songwriting, and attitude delivering exactly what anyone would want from a bluesman. But he hasn’t had a record out since the 80s because three decades ago he was too youthful to be taken seriously. Can you imagine an American Idol judge telling someone they sound great, but they’re too young, pretty, and new to make it, come back in a quarter century? This is a fine record, something for Chicago to be proud of, and if you know what’s good for you, let Willie be your cell phone man.