Of course there are too many to name, but the rock world has been blessed to have some extremely exciting and innovative axemen ever since the early days of post World War 2 electric blues.
Muddy Waters has a song called `The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Rock`. That just about somes it up, and whether the likes of Clapton and Beck know it or not, they certainly do owe a lot more to Black America than they do to Tin Pan Alley, Beatles, Stones and all the other `White English` stuff which came out in the 1960`s.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page was one guitar maestro whom I`m sure had a great deal of respect for the blues, look no further than the first two Zep albums for proof of that.
There is one guitarist I know who is dead now, he died in 1988, he could be irritating and self indulgent, and he probably did have a personality to not kill for, but like Jimmy Page and Hendrix, he took blues and rock to stadium sound level and in the process made himself one of the great guitar players of all time.
His name was Roy Buchanan. Buchanan is so
often pigeon holed as just being a blues musician, but truthfully he was always his own unique melting pot of musically diverse styles.
often pigeon holed as just being a blues musician, but truthfully he was always his own unique melting pot of musically diverse styles.
He hailed from Arkansas and that certainly
figures in the sound he cooked up. In the 70`s, Buchanan famously gave up a spot in the Rolling Stones when there was a vacancy, much to the disbelief of Jagger and Richards,band instead played his guitar art to recording a number of spacey blues rock albums, most of the time employing a lead vocalist in his band to sing his own tunes.
figures in the sound he cooked up. In the 70`s, Buchanan famously gave up a spot in the Rolling Stones when there was a vacancy, much to the disbelief of Jagger and Richards,band instead played his guitar art to recording a number of spacey blues rock albums, most of the time employing a lead vocalist in his band to sing his own tunes.
Buchanan was never a confident singer, but there definitely were a lot worse singers around. Certainly the songs which he sang himself in the 70`s were more convincing than the ones he gave to his crooner to sing.
From a commercial point of view, it certainly wasn`t the smartest thing he done by giving up the front microphone for somebody
else.
Buchanan should have never started singing if he didn`t intend to keep doing so. He perplexed many of his fans and his record company, but Buchanan always done it his way or no way.
Along the way in the 70`s he even dabbled in heavy metal occasionally, but the blues
never left his musical soul.
By the late 70`s, he was acquired a long suffering but devoted hard core following,
but in the process, he felt he had abandoned traditional blues to a great extent.
but in the process, he felt he had abandoned traditional blues to a great extent.
At some stage between the late 70`s and the mid 80`s, Buchanan made the decision to
give the big record company away and go to Chicago to make some real blues music with Alligator Records.
give the big record company away and go to Chicago to make some real blues music with Alligator Records.
He never really looked back until his untimely death in `88. He made a few albums with Alligator, which eventually was condensed to create a greatest hits collection which is called `Deluxe Edition`.
Alligator calls all the greatest hits albums they make of their artists `Deluxe Edition`,
just so you dont get confused.
just so you dont get confused.
Buchanan literally sets his guitar on fire for some of the tracks which made it onto
this compilation, but be warned his guitar can sound so much like a cat with boiling water poured over it and at times it can get a bit much.
this compilation, but be warned his guitar can sound so much like a cat with boiling water poured over it and at times it can get a bit much.
If there is one criticism that I have of Buchanan it`s that he had a tendency to be too self indulgent to the point of making you wish he let up a bit on the pyrotechnics.
But nonetheless, Buchanan was a genius in his own way and he certainly had great technical wizardry. He recorded a lot of instrumentals in the time he was at Alligator, none more raucous and containing so much excess guitar than his cover of `Peter Gunn`.
Another Alligator instrumental which is much better off for its slowed down melody is `Blues For Jimmy Nolan`.
He puts his own vocals to `Beer Drinking Woman` and `When a Guitar Plays the Blues`, while adding guest vocalist Delbert McClinton for a rousing rendition of `You
Cant Judge A Book By The Cover`.
Cant Judge A Book By The Cover`.
My favourite song, and I mean my favourite Roy Buchanan song of all time, is a blistering instrumental which would put Eddie Van
Halen and Metallica`s James Hetfield on their backside, it`s a 3 minute heavy blues rock guitar epic appropriately titled `Whiplash`.
Halen and Metallica`s James Hetfield on their backside, it`s a 3 minute heavy blues rock guitar epic appropriately titled `Whiplash`.
`Eruption` on the first Van Halen album was my favourite rock instrumental until I heard this amazing pyrotechnic blues extravaganza, whenever I hear it I think of the days when I used to drive down the
freeway at 100 miles an hour before speed cameras were around. It`s a bit like `Thunderstruck` without the words.
freeway at 100 miles an hour before speed cameras were around. It`s a bit like `Thunderstruck` without the words.
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