Best shuffles?

MrInsanePolack said:
Is this what defines the shuffle?
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I'd say no, but I'm just using my own experience as my source of info.

It's well known that the shuffle is a series of triplets with the middle partial of every triplet left out. This has to be played with at least one limb, for 99% of the song...or the feel has to be maintained with a combination of different limbs front to back, to qualify as a shuffle if you asked me. IMO a real shuffle...the shuffle pattern is there for the whole song, it defines the feel. If you just drop a shuffle feel in for a section, I'd say it's not a shuffle. However, I do dearly love tunes that go from straight feeling time to shuffle time. I particularly like the Allman Brother's treatment of Freddy King's "Woman Across the River".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpFeIT-u8us

Great example of the difference between a shuffle feel and a straighter feel within one song. I wouldn't call it a shuffle, because there's a lot of it in straight time. I'd call it a multiple feel song, my term.

A 12/8...AKA slow blues...while being triplet based, it doesn't feel like a shuffle at all to me. Because the middle partial isn't left out. If there's one single defining feature of a shuffle, as far as I can tell, it's the omitting of the middle partial of a triplet. I'm going with that.
 
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oldskoolsoul said:
And if not then is still a pretty nice piece of music..

Nice albums, those early ones from Jeff Beck..

And some of his later ones too btw..
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I dug his old albums....then I LOVED Live at Ronnie Scotts. His guitar is as expressive as Miles' trumpet! Maybe, I dunno, but I find him mesmerizing
 
Chris "Whipper" Layton is quite good at shuffles. Peace and goodwill.
 
To answer the OP's question, I have quit worrying and started to love the shuffle. Once my most hated beat, it has become a fun and enjoyable way to pass six to ten minutes of my gig.

On my covers band's setlist, I enjoy "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Cold Shot" as straight-ahead shuffles, and we have "Tush" and "La Grange" in there for you Texas shuffle freaks.

"Spirit in the Sky" is a pretty deep shuffle groove for a pop song.

The beloved/hated duo of half-time shuffles: "Rosanna" and "Fool In The Rain". ("Hold The Line" is almost a shuffle, but too much straight-ahead eighth-note triplets.)
 
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