The third non-crossed licensed anthology from the master guitarist focuses on his three-album stint at Chicago's blues-based Alligator Records. The artist considered the music he made during his 1985-1987 association with the label the most honest of his career. Since he received complete creative control on these discs, his 1988 suicide, a short year after Hot Wires -- one of
Roy Buchanan's best albums ever -- was released, makes his untimely death even more shocking. With its 16 tracks -- two previously unreleased -- almost evenly divided between instrumentals and (predominantly) guest vocals shared by
Otis Clay,
Delbert McClinton, and
Johnny Sayles (
Buchanan tentatively and gruffly talks/sings three selections), this is not only a terrific overview of the musician's astounding guitar virtuosity, but a sad coda to a short yet intense career that never broke him through to a wide audience. "You know I ain't broke, but I'm badly bent" are not only lyrics to "Ain't No Business," but also the sad state of affairs the artist found himself in as he was recording his final disc. With a completely unique guitar style that effortlessly shifted from a crying moan (as in the opening bars) to his cover of
Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine" to a raging howl -- exemplified by the thumping take on
Willie Dixon's "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" --
Buchanan effectively covered all the blues-soul-rock bases with passion, integrity, and class. His economy of style is obvious in the concentrated 2:29 track (and appropriately titled) instrumental "Whiplash." Although the guitarist's material was often subpar on his two previous labels, the music he recorded during these three years was top-notch, and consistently throbbed with his trademarked rugged, steely tone. While he occasionally stooped to slinging out a wild flurry of fret-shredding cacophony, as in the middle of "Peter Gunn," just to provide proof of his jaw-dropping abilities,
Buchanan more frequently kept those more ostentatious impulses in check. There's none of the gospel and low-key country he often dipped into during his Polydor years, yet the essence of those genres is imbedded in his blues and R&B work here. This Alligator
Deluxe Edition features rare photos, adequate track information, and a heartfelt remembrance penned by label boss
Bruce Iglauer. At 61 minutes, only its playing time is questionable, since there easily could have been another quarter-hour of music added. Still, for those who need a concise compilation of
Roy Buchanan's phenomenal skills with no filler, this handy disc fits the bill. ~ Hal Horowitz