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Roy Buchanan - Guitar On Fire: The Atlantic Sessions (1993)
A ragin' sampling of the legendary axeman's late '70s Atlantic sides!
The 16-tracks on this compilation are from Roy Buchanan's trio of mid-1970s titles: A Street Called Straight (1976), Loading Zone (1977), and You're Not Alone (1978). After a less than personally (or professionally) satisfying stint earlier in the decade with Polydor Records, Buchanan teamed up with Atlantic, who helped him get out of his pending contract with the former. Under the direction of Arif Mardin, the guitarist assembled the same instrumental support combo he'd used during his concurrent and practically incessant touring -- John Harrison (bass), Malcolm Lukens (keyboards), and Byrd Foster (drums/vocals). The core quartet are augmented by all-stars Andy Newmark (drums), Will Lee (bass), Billy Cobham (percussion), the Brecker Brothers horn section, and even backing vocals from former Rascals member Eddie Brigati. The ferocious opening whine of "Running Out" is followed by Buchanan's nimble and liquefied tone, which enhances his otherwise bold and unabashed emotive leads. Specifically, the center solo exemplifies his remarkable ability to ably turn from a finely honed and sinister sound, to a divergent string stretching bluesy intonation. The reading of Jimi Hendrix' "If Six Was Nine" is nothing short of an inspired augmentation of the original. While Mardin's production on A Street Called Straight has been roundly criticized, there is a distinct progression from his previous studio releases, which were consistently hit-or-miss. Loading Zone is represented on this collection by no less than six of the LPs nine tunes. The effort was overseen by jazz bassist Stanley Clarke, and yields some thoroughly excellent material. Of top priority is the stretched-out Memphis groove on "Green Onions," sporting contributions from Booker T. & the MG's personnel Steve Cropper (guitar) and Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass). Of equal note is "Ramon's Blues," which commences this set, with riff upon riff of smouldering rounds of fretwork from Buchanan. You're Not Alone builds upon a spacey motif, right down to the astronaut headgear depicted in the cover artwork. Within the grooves are the languid and restrained "Fly...Night Bird," as well as a pair of diverse cover versions of rock classics "Turn to Stone" (Joe Walsh) and "Down by the River" (Neil Young). After a blistering take-off, the former disintegrates, thanks to the rather uninspired smooth jazz arrangement, which is highlighted by Buchanan's intense fret board flurries. Vocalist Gary St. Clair fronts the soulful "Down by the River," which is nowhere as essential as the live (and otherwise unavailable) rendering included on the two-disc Sweet Dreams: The Anthology (1992), or the decisive, if not definitive interpretation on Buck & the Snake Stretchers (1971). The ante is significantly raised, however, on the intense "Supernova," which aptly reasserts Buchanan's proficiency. Although there is a bit of overlapping material, Guitar on Fire: The Atlantic Sessions (1993) is a great companion to the aforementioned Sweet Dreams: The Anthology as a worthwhile critical assessment of Roy Buchanan's sadly unrated status, reiterating his moniker as "The World's Best Unknown Guitarist."... L. Planer
From the first steep bend of "Ramon's Blues" to the last haunting note of "The Messiah Will Come Again" this album is packed with the incredible guitar work of Roy Buchanan. Aptly named "Guitar On Fire", this album is full of fast licks, screaming solos and bluesy tunes. This compilation covers three albums from the late seventies of the late, great Tele-master. It's unfortunate that Buchanan was, and remains, pretty much unknown because his guitar work is spectacular. Most of the songs on this album are instrumentals, which showcase his ability with the axe. "The Heat of the Battle", provides a taste of things to come as he mixes up his solos with the melody. The song, like all his work, is full of raw power and energy. The music flows from his fingers at jaw dropping speed. He's not all about speed though. On "Hidden" he slows it down and plays airy notes with massive amounts of delay, and sliding between notes to give it a spacey feel. The great bassist, Stanley Clarke, provides the low frequencies on the tune, as well as a couple of others. Buchanan covers tunes by Booker T., Joe Walsh, Neil Young and Hendrix. He does a great job on "Green Onions" with the M.G.'s behind him.
It was unfortunate that Buchanan took his life so early. He played as if he was born with a guitar in his hand, and was able to coax sounds of that beat up Telecaster that others would be hard pressed to do even if they were running it through a band saw. This man was a shear force in his playing. He could play loud, or soft, quick or slow. I haven't heard anyone like him. If you're a fan of guitar, then check Buchanan out. You'll be pleased...R, Diederich
Codec: mp3
Bitrate: 320 kB/s
Size: 220 MB
Genre : Blues Rock
2000mustangs
Tracklist:
01 Ramon's Blues 7:11
02 The Heat of the Battle 5:05
03 Hidden 3:27
04 Green Onions 8:12
05 Judy 4:13
06 Adventures of Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby 2:39
07 Turn to Stone 5:48
08 Fly...Night Bird 7:50
09 Supernova 3:28
10 Down by the River 8:44
11 Running Out 2:47
12 Man on the Floor 3:28
13 Okay 2:40
14 My Friend Jeff 4:04
15 If Six Was Nine 4:09
16 The Messiah Will Come Again 4:09
Post je objavljen 06.07.2009. u 23:46 sati.