Name: When a Guitar Plays the Blues
Brand: Alligator
SKU: 52687
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

When a Guitar Plays the Blues

Rating

Album: When a Guitar Plays the Blues
#	Song Title		Time
1)	When A Guitar Plays The Blues	More Info...
2)	Chicago Smokeshop	More Info...
3)	Mrs. Pressure	More Info...
4)	A Nickel And A Nail	More Info...
5)	Short Fuse	More Info...
6)	Why Don't You Want Me?	More Info...
7)	Country Boy	More Info...
8)	Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley	More Info...
9)	Hawaiian Punch	More Info...
2)	Chicago Smokeshop	More Info...	0:05
3)	Mrs. Pressure	More Info...	0:04
4)	A Nickel and a Nail	More Info...	0:04
5)	Short Fuse	More Info...	0:04
6)	Why Don't You Want Me?	More Info...	0:06
7)	Country Boy	More Info...	0:03
8)	Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley	More Info...	0:06
9)	Hawaiian Punch	More Info...	0:02

Album: When a Guitar Plays the Blues
#	Song Title		Time
1)	When A Guitar Plays The Blues	More Info...
2)	Chicago Smokeshop	More Info...
3)	Mrs. Pressure	More Info...
4)	A Nickel And A Nail	More Info...
5)	Short Fuse	More Info...
6)	Why Don't You Want Me?	More Info...
7)	Country Boy	More Info...
8)	Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley	More Info...
9)	Hawaiian Punch	More Info...
2)	Chicago Smokeshop	More Info...	0:05
3)	Mrs. Pressure	More Info...	0:04
4)	A Nickel and a Nail	More Info...	0:04
5)	Short Fuse	More Info...	0:04
6)	Why Don't You Want Me?	More Info...	0:06
7)	Country Boy	More Info...	0:03
8)	Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley	More Info...	0:06
9)	Hawaiian Punch	More Info...	0:02

Performer Notes

Personnel: Roy Buchanan (vocals, guitar); Otis Clay, Gloria Hardiman (vocals); Criss Johnson (guitar); Steele "Sonny" Seals (tenor saxophone); Bill Heid (keyboards); Larry Exum (bass); Morris Jennings (drums).
Recorded at Steelerville Studios, Chicago, Illinois.
WHEN A GUITAR PLAYS THE BLUES is one of Roy Buchanan's finest studio dates. A hand picked group of Chicago blues musicians--including Gloria Hardiman, who lends her gospel-charged soprano to "Why Don't You Want Me?," and the irrepressible Otis Clay, who tears it up on a version of O.V. Wright's "A Nickel And A Nail"--keep things at a high simmer. As always though, it is Buchanan's virtuosity that burns most brightly. While the fare here is primarily traditional hard-driving blues, the range of Buchanan's versatility and grab bag of effects (including double-string bends, over-the-top harmonics, snarls, scratches, and delicate, melodic underplaying) help transcend the genre.
One of Buch's most distinguishing characteristics is his manipulation of tonality and volume-knob dynamics (his approach sometimes bear a resemblance to the complex, evocative shadings of avant-jazzster Bill Frisell), a quality particularly notable on the title cut, which opens with a quote from a Bach fugue. The full range of his instrumental power is on display on the pounding "Short Fuse," the Elmore James-influenced "Hawaiian Punch" and the epic "Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley." In all, a superior set.