Roy Buchanan: American Axe [Paperback]

Phil Carson (Author), Roy Buchanan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Roy Buchanan was a "guitarist's guitarist" who shunned fame for a musical odyssey on America's roadhouse circuit with his battered Telecaster - melding blues, country, jazz and rock like no player before or since. This is a compelling road trip through the gritty world of honky tonks and beer joints where this enigmatic journeyman preferred to play. Readers meet the biggest names in pop music and legions of unknowns along the way, from the dawn of rock 'n' roll to Buchanan's puzzling death in 1988. "We just sat there aghast ... It was some of the best playing I've ever heard ... He defied all the laws of verse-chorus-verse and just blazed." - Jeff Beck "Roy was one of the creators in the pioneering of unusual sounds. It seemed as though I was hearing them come first from Roy Buchanan." - Les Paul

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I remember asking him how he'd developed his style, and he said with a straight face that he was half-wolf..." - Robbie Robertson"

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879306394
• ISBN-13: 978-0879306397
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soul of Roy, June 8, 2002

By 

Mark Kelly (Oxon Hill, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roy Buchanan: American Axe (Paperback)

This is not only a great rock biography, but a great biography period. Though most "rock stars" seek the spotlight, Roy avoided it. Yet Carson has managed to get closer to who he was than most bio writers get to their subjects, who give the public a persona but hide themselves more cleverly than R. B. This book is of interest to Roy fans, rock or country guitar afficianados, anyone interested in the early history of white rock and roll and anyone interested in exploring the world of a conflicted genius. Carson spends important time describing the early days of Buchanan in small town California. This is much more than the usual cursory treatment, for the seeds of who he became were rooted there. Carson makes few judgements, and lets Roy's friends and fellow players provide much of the insight. In many ways a sad story, but not maudlin. Although you wish it could have turned out differently, maybe it could not have. Buchanan was a man who had a chance at what we call everything, and turned it down to play his own music his own way. Was he a tragic figure or a hero? Read this book and decide for yourself.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of a true master., February 21, 2004

By 

BDH (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roy Buchanan: American Axe (Paperback)

I was about fourteen years old when first exposed to the innovative guitar playing of Roy Buchanan. I knew even back then how skillful he was, yet dissimilar from his peers. It was a PBS special on television. I sat mesmerized and frozen while listening to the sweet, steel guitar-like sounds of his Telecaster guitar for the first time. Hearing the beautiful, yet melancholy melodies of 'The Messiah Will Come Again', 'Sweet Dreams', and others still echo in my mind 30 years later.

'Roy Buchanan: American Axe', by Phil Carson, is a special biography of a special person. The book takes the reader on a journey through the guitarist's childhood straight through to his days as a journeyman guitarist, a man haunted by the same demons that haunt many an artist and musician, especially blues and rock guitar players it seems.

Carson tells the story of a warm night in June of '72 when an ordinary, mellow man first headlined to a full house in New York City's Carnegie Hall. Backed by his band, the Snakestretchers, Roy stepped up to the mic and began reciting in a soft drawl: "Just a smile, just a glance ... The Prince of Darkness, he just walked past ..." You know the rest. His solo then rang out through the hall in crystal clarity. The audience left awestruck at the end of the show, knowing they'd witnessed a guitar great for the first time.

Roy's life was cut short; only God knows why. But at least he was able to leave us an amazing legacy of recordings. He was an incredible blues player. This book is for the fans of Roy, and for those looking forward to learning about the life of the guitar legend himself. For those who have yet to get into him, start here as well ... while listening to a CD or two of his music. As great as his recordings were, though, it was almost impossible for producers to catch him in the right essence. Not only did they have difficulty choosing the proper material for him and his band to record, but Roy was always best in the live club setting as opposed to the studio. His earliest studio albums were his best, as they were raw and untainted. Try 1972's 'Roy Buchanan', or 1973's 'Second Album'. 'Sweet Dreams - The Anthology' is a good compilation, too.

This is an excellent book for those who love the guitar, and also for those who want to learn more about one of its true masters. 'Roy Buchanan: American Axe' is a receptive and comprehensive biography.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive biography of an enigmatic genius, October 20, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roy Buchanan: American Axe (Paperback)

Phil Carson has hit one out of the ballpark with his biography of Roy Buchanan, a musical talent of first rank but probably not the easiest biographical subject.

This is an excellent book that gives one a feel for Roy as a person (as much as that is possible), his life as a journeyman musician, and his brief flirtation with fame after having been "discovered" in 1971.

As an added benefit, in the process of telling Roy's story, the author takes the reader on a wonderful voyage through the last 50+ years of American music; of course the two subjects are so closely related it's totally unavoidable, but I still have to say kudos because Mr. Carson has done such a fine job of weaving the two stories together in a very readable way.

Roy Buchanan's skill as a guitar player was unsurpassed and may never be equaled. Few guitarists (past or present) can even be compared to him, and many so-called "guitar gods" fall well short. But he was also a tragic figure, in many ways, and perhaps this was the price for his lofty talent.

We'll never know, but Phil Carson brings us as close as we'll probably ever get to understanding the contradictions that made Roy Buchanan who he was -- a genuine guitar god and deeply troubled mortal.

This is a nicely done book. I enjoyed it and do not hesitate to give it five stars here.