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Fricke’s Picks: Roy Buchanan’s Amazing Twang

9/29/09, 12:28 pm EST

It may seem strange and unfair to describe guitarist Roy Buchanan (1939-1988) as an underachiever. An uncommon master of the Fender Telecaster, Buchanan bonded gospel, blues and country dialects in a lashing-treble lightning-speed attack, with a melodic concentration that almost sounded like wild-animal singing. But Buchanan — a legendary sideman (he played on Dale Hawkins‘ 1958 Chess single “My Babe”) and bar-band star in the Washington, D.C., area before he made his national debut in 1971 on a PBS documentary — was uneasy with fame and never embraced the role of frontman, spreading breathtaking solos across an uneven series of albums. Live: Amazing Grace (Powerhouse) is that career in miniature: snapshots of amazing twang pulled from a decade of gigs with shifting rhythm sections. It is also a blinding catalog of fire and invention — the clucking-chicken sass of 1983’s “Hot Cha,” the breathtaking sorrow of Buchanan’s instrumental prayer “The Messiah Will Come Again” on German TV in 1973, a free-form “Malaguena” from a second PBS show in 1972, an extended orgy of slash-and-curl on “Green Onions” from 1974 — that was never truly fulfilled and demands rediscovery.


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Comments

Will | 9/29/2009, 1:04 pm EST

His cover of “Down By The River” is nasty also.

Michelle | 9/29/2009, 6:10 pm EST

Underrated, but certainly not an underachiever.

Jim D | 9/30/2009, 9:03 am EST

Saw him live at My Father’s Place on Long Island. Amazing guitar player, absolutely blew me away. The Messiah Will Come Again is of the great guitar masterpieces. Sadly and unfortunately a tortured soul was behind the facade.

Rick | 11/27/2009, 1:28 am EST

Saw Roy 4 times at My Father’s Place between 1980 and 83 and hung out with him at the bar after one show for about an hour and a half. He was so cool, it was unreal… RIP Brother!

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