Delta or Chicago?
 

These are the two most widely known forms of the art. One has the deep, pain filled sounds of Son House the other the smooth soul of BB King. Its a simple question: which do you prefer and why?

Personally, I have to go with the Delta. Something about hearing always makes me relax. In fact, I'm not a [i]huge[/] Chicago blues fan. I always felt like it was missing something. Idk what, lol. But something.

Where's the "both" option? Haha. I love them both. Does the artist have to be from mississippi or chicago to be included? A lot of the chicago blues players came from the south - muddy waters, who is considered king of Chicago blues, came from mississippi, As well as BB King.

The real king of chicago blues, T-bone walker, came from Texas. I love his and BB's jazzy style of blues. I love guys like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Elmore James, just to name a few. But I love guys like Robert Johnson, Son House, Skip James.

It's just too hard for me to choose. Good question, though.

Gotta go with The Delta Blues.....

Most definitely Delta, but I love Chicago as well.

i gotta give the nod to chicago.
plugging in made the genre come alive in my opinion.

I don't necessarily think it made it come "alive", it was already alive and great. But it brought something new to the table. Something new that is great in it's own right.

I think my beef with Chicago is that it seems so polished. It lacks that rawness the original blues men had.

The delta blues were great, but Idk if enough people give chicago enough credit. The addition of a full band to the blues was a huge step in my eyes in the formation of basic rock bands.

I can see that. But BB Kings smoothness doesn't hurt his ability to play the blues, in my opinion. His voice, his passion, his amazingly soulful phrases. He can play the blues just as well, if not better than anyone, in my opinion.

But that rawness of someone like Son House or Robert Johnson is just bone chilling and emits something that nothing else does.

Also, Delta blues had this one man against the world sound. I DEFINITELY captures isolation themes better just because it was normally one man while the Chicago sound has more instrumentation.

That's true. There's something very real about it

isn't it mostly an acoustic vs electric argument?

defo prefer the early 30s Delta stuff

of Chicago, only really dig the three giants - Muddy, Wolf and Hooker

That and the fact that the Chicago added more instrumentation. Furthermore, the Delta blues had more of an untrained sound. That's the only way I can explain it lol. It's most evidenced in the voice, in my opinion. They weren't as pretty lol :P.

I love the way people like BB King and T-bone Walker play. Acoustic blues was mostly rhythm guitar. Of course there was slide guitar playing and people like Robert Johnson who played a little rhythm and lead. But T-bone took the single string lead guitar approach of jazz greats like Charlie Christian and made something new out of it, electric blues, or "jump blues". Im impressed by his ability to do something new with it, and inspire people like BB and Albert King, and Chuck Berry.

I will go with chicago blues

From these two options definitely delta blues. I can't really get into electric chicago blues stuff (although I kinda like Howlin' Wolf). I love delta blues but even more than that I love Piedmont blues and all the ragtime guitar stuff from 20's and early 30's. Stuff like Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Boy Fuller etc.

I'm gonna have to be the smug dickbag that says Memphis.

Delta by 1000 country miles.

i'm biased

my head's in Mississippi

( http://www.musicbanter.com/games-lis...litz-game.html )

^ This was pretty much how I saw the distinction too; nice and simple until SATCHMO had to complicate things:-

^ What a pity that SATCHMO has effectively left, so I can't easily grumble at him for confusing me. As it is, I'm undecided anyway, though leaning to Chicago; not so much for BB King, who I never took to, but for what Chicago blues turned into with the next generation: the more aggressive blues of guys like Johnny Winter, SRV, Charlie Musselwhite, etc.

Piedmont Blues. Mississippi John Hurt, Buddy Moss, Elizabeth Cotten, Rev Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell, to name a few. McTell was a traveler which (I think) enable him to incorporate other styles into his playing. He probably the only Piedmont player to use slide.

If you have the time and inclination you should listen to

http://www.musicbanter.com/country-f...th-cotten.html

and perhaps post a few words what you thought of it.

I think it depends on what mood i'm in, if i'm feeling laid back it will more than likely be Delta, Robert Johnson, Skip James.

But if its Friday night then its Chicago all the way, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy.

Best of both worlds.