The Real Deal, my review from Barcelona
After reading some critical reviews of his record I have listened to it again and I have to agree with some of them willy-nilly. This cd contains some disappointments for all true Buddy Guy fans. For instance in the Bobby Blue Bland's "Ain't that Lovin' you", a song which is really out of place here, or in the irregular tune "Let me love you baby". But the rest of record is really great for me. Guy's voice is still powerful in spite of his age (60 years, at once), and he gives excellent renditions of "I've Got My Eyes On You", the Grammy award winner "Damn Right I've Got The Blues", the classical "Sweet black angel", the magnificent slow version of "My time after awhile", and in the Elmore James' single "Talk To Me Baby". There is also an excellent acoustic piano work of Chuck Berry's formed Johnnie Johnson in "I've got news for you" . The guitar is excellent in general and offers some moments of high tension. Guy is near his top form in this set drawn from gigs at his own Chicago club. If you're a fan of Chicago blues or a fan of Buddy Guy chances are that you'll enjoy this album.

Stands up well
I've seen Buddy Guy live several times, and this album captures some of the feel of being there. I think the horns are too much and Buddy Guy's playing is drowned out too often, but overall this album is well worth adding to your Buddy Guy collection.

The essential moment of terror on a rock-solid album
First, it's Buddy in fine form, Second, it's G.E. Smith and the SNL band, providing excellent support. A fan of Buddy and / or a fan of the blues can't go wrong with this one, but there's a real, raw, "Hellhound On His Trail" moment that makes this a must-have. Even the fans who are moderately familiar with Buddy's history know of his connection to Muddy Waters. During "My Time After A While" (around the 5 minute mark) he does an extended Muddy "Mannish Boy" type of scat that ends with him howling "lookee here, lookee here, lookee here, lookee here" as the band rallies and stomps and thuds around a brutal, paint-peeling guitar solo. Buy this one. NOW.

Good. Almost great
Buddy Guy is accompanied by the Saturday Night Live house orchestra on this album, which may only include nine songs, but still clocks in at well over an hour.

Guy's playing is strong and focused almost all the way through, and he gets superb backing from former Chuck Berry-pianist Johnnie Johnson, whose solo on the T-Bone Walker-like "I've Got News For You" is one of several instrumental highlights. Guy plays rhythm and lead guitar equally well (some blues guitarists, like B.B. King, literally can't play a chord), his voice is still powerful in spite of his advancing years, and he plays excellent renditions of "I've Got My Eyes On You", "Damn Right I've Got The Blues", "Let Me Love You Baby", and the Elmore James-single "Talk To Me Baby" in particular.

"Live - The Real Deal" may not be perfect (Guy's slightly erratic vocals are sometimes too low, something which should have been corrected in the mix), but it does show what an excellent guitar player that Buddy Guy is. It also features some of his best songs in good or even great live renditions, and if you're a fan of Chicago blues, you'll probably enjoy this album. If you're a fan of Buddy Guy you're almost sure to.

buddy Guy takes the SNL band to blues school
this is an interesting album. I have been a Buddy Guy fan for a long long time and I've seen him live on a few occasions. While I like the sound of the album and it does have some great moments I just don't get the whole SNL band thing. While great technical musicians they just don't know the blues and it is glaringly obvious when one of them attempts a solo. G.E. Smith's weak excuse for a call and response section with Buddy during, "Damn Right I've Got the Blues" sounds like my cat when she is wining about being hungry. Buddy will throw out some amazing guitar line and smith will answer with something that a ten-year-old would play while learning how to bend the strings. Pathetic! the only other soloist who keeps up with Buddy on this album is the amazing Johnny Johnson on piano. the man is just a legend and he does show it here. This album seems to be another attempt to make Buddy palatable to the casual blues fan, (The ones who think Keb' Mo' is a blues artist), in an attempt to widen his audience and from a financial standpoint I can't blame him or his record company. Ih short, if you are a true Buddy Guy fan you'll find this album to sound pretty waterd down so I wouldn't rush out and buy it. If you are someone who is interested in learning about the blues and have heard about Buddy Guy then I would recommend buying this album simply because Buddy's playing is normally very intense and it may scare off someone who is not familiar with his style so start with this one and then build into the real good stuff.