Customer Reviews

Sweet Dreams: Anthology

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a Roy Buchanan fan and think that he's one of the greatest players of modern electric guitar blues. But there's some real junk on these two CDs. As another reviewer has already pointed out, the first four tracks on CD 1 spotlights other instruments or the vocalist but not Buchanan. On one of the cuts, the other instruments jam for 5 minutes before you even hear Buchanan's guitar!! He then plays for 30 seconds and suddenly the song is over!! And, we're all here for the same thing, to hear Buchanan's pyrotechnic guitar--we don't care about a lot of other instrumental jamming. Then, also on CD 1, a better, much longer 1974 version of C. C. Ryder could have been included. On CD 2, the version of Hey Joe is absolutely dreadful. It has a long almost guitar-free introduction, what sounds like a drunken Buchanan at the microphone and mediocre guitar playing. Listen to Buchanan do Hey Joe on American Axe, Live 1974 or even his 1973 studio version and you'll hear what I mean. On another song, there is a repetitious organ solo for several minutes before the guitar comes in and plays for less than 1 minute.

Some good stuff on these two CDs but some crap as well; Polydor should fire the incompetent that put this together. Seek out the original CDs and stay away from this over-priced, under-produced insult to a great musician.

Five stars, obviously on Roy's playing, which always managed to rise above the material, no matter how mediocre. But this collection mystifies me in the selection of material.

The first four selections of disc 1, "previously unreleased," put Roy in a strange, psychedelicized place that is difficult to listen to. Roy was a power, electric blues player, and these pieces simply do him no favor at all.

By the fifth cut, we have his great version of Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams," from his first Polydor album, and we also have the first taste of his muscular lyricism. The remainder of the first disc is nearly flawless, the highlight for me being the inclusion of the "Second Album"'s "The Messiah Will Come Again." Roy couldn't sing -- at all -- yet somehow he was able to add something when he decided to vocalize, perhaps because he believed in the tune.

As for Disc 2, I saw Roy live, and because of that I'm confident in expressing my disappointment in the choices here. Other than "Soul Dressing," none of the tracks are memorable (apologies to vocalist Billy Price, who was capable of some great vocal performances), and Polydor would have produced a much better disc by including more from the overlooked "A Street Called Straight" or from "Loading Zone."

My advice? If you buy this set, pay little attention to the first four cuts on each disc. If you decide you love Roy's sound, as may of us did, listen to cuts 5 and on and then seek out the individual albums, which contain many gems the producer failed to include.

I only saw Roy Buchanan once, during the mid 80s,I stood five feet from him and I was absolutely Gobsmacked!! Now, here's a man who produced a gumbo of country, blues, rock & roll, jazz, whatever, into a wholly original creation of the most sublime, intense, technically challenging electric guitar music in history. He was a true original, growing up in hillbilly America, backing the likes of Dale Hawkins (that's him on "My Babe"), he was the classic journeyman. Apparently, later, Ronnie Hawkins (Dale's cousin)asked Roy to briefly join the Hawks to teach newbe "Robbie Robertson" some guitar tricks. On their first session, apparently Roy gave Robbie a look which said "You wanna dance?! Then, let's dance!". As he tuned up, Roy went through a whole symphony of sounds, squeals, harmonics, glissando runs, pulverizing the younger guitarist! Roy Buchanan was a legend. His renditions of Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" or Neil Young's "Down By The River" place him at the very pinacle of electric guitar greats! it is criminal that this genius of the guitar never got his due! However, ask any tele player worth his salt and, dollars to donuts, Roy Buchanan (along with Danny Gatton) will be at the very top of their list of heroes. As proof, check out the Hellecaster's wonderful tribute to him (their version of Sweet Dreams from their first album). This box includes a firm introduction to Roy Buchanan and his formidable talent. Reader be warned. After hearing this set, you WILL be compelled to go out and buy the remainder of his catalogue. We will NEVER see the likes of him again. So...all you guitar players out there, tune up your teles and BOW DOWN BEFORE A MASTER!!

Just as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, etc did things with the Fender Stratocaster that had been unimaginable until they came along, Roy Buchanan made Fender's older model, the telecaster perform light years ahead of any other artist. He was a complete guitar player, blending in tightly with his backup band. He achieved incredible greatness without resorting to wild theatrics. This collection includes cuts where Roy adds vocals as well as a number of instrumental pieces. The title song "Sweet Dreams" is a beautiful, mellow instrumental, unlike other, more popular songs of the same title by other artists. If you like Hendrix "Hey Joe" compare Buchanan's live version in this anthology. It's great and full of feeling. I recommend this wonderful anthology by this relatively unknown guitar genius.

Oh, how to tell about Roy in words? I don't think anyone can do the music of Roy Buchanan justice, but I'm going to try. Roy, quite simply, was one of the best guitar players, blues or otherwise. He poured his soul through the guitar, in a way I've heard no one else do. He could make the guitar scream, wail, whine, sing. He could tell you exactly what he was feeling, without saying a word. Skip the first four tracks on the first disk -- tracks five through the end are Roy at his best. Just listen to the first note of "Sweet Dreams" and you'll know what I'm talking about. If you have any desire to hear a musical genius at work, but this disk and listen to it. You won't be disappointed.

Roy Buchanan was an exceptionally powerful instrumentalist whose blues-based playing was a nice contrast to his exceptionally untraditional use of a Telecaster. Roy loved to manipulate the volume and tone pots of his Tele to get unearthly volume swells and wah-wah like effects that could make his guitar sound like a violin or a woman screaming. Anyone listening to this collection will notice similarities between Roy's playing and that of Jeff Beck and Dave Gilmour, both of whom were huge fans of Roy's and freely admitted his influence over their styles.

Unfortunately, like many gifted guitar heroes, Roy's studio output was erratic. Most of the first CD, which features Roy's beautiful version of "Sweet Dreams" along with some fine blues covers, is some of the best instrumental music ever recorded. Sadly, Roy also had an absolutely terrible singing voice and either he or his producers insisted on recording vocal tracks. "The Messiah Will Come Again" works because Roy only delivers a spoken intro, but other songs are seriously marred by his flat, deadpan delivery. The second CD is even worse, this time including an overlong jam around "Green Onions".

Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of Roy's and his best material is some of my favorite music. As an anthology, however, I'd prefer that he were remembered for his very best music and not some of his most uneven. This could have been edited down to a very good single disc. Instead, we're left with a two-disc set that you'll end up skipping through huge sections out of necessity.

And what a beautiful house it was (sad he didn't get to live in it AFTER it was seriously recognized). I saw him once in a very small venue in St. Louis in the mid-80's (I was 10 feet away), not too long before he died from an alleged suicide. He did seem sad in a way and a bit spaced dealing with the crowd energy, but his brilliant soulfull playing knocked me out that night. He shot right up to the top of my favorite guitar players list for a long while after that, and I have seen many a concert (I often cranked up my guitar to the few albums of his I have). I got this when it came out to have some cd's of his material and because it is a pretty good overview from what I can tell. I am still not completely familiar with his whole catalogue of material, but he really shows incredible diversity on these songs. Recently I took the time to play guitar with the whole deal straight through and at the end I was very satisfied that this guitar man should be played more often (I listen to so much music that it is hard to keep up with everything). Some of the songs are more straight forward, but many of them are worked up to a psychedelic frenzy that even Hendrix or Beck would take notice. There are moments (long ones)of sheer brilliance interspersed through many songs, esp. disk 2 (his later albums are the more intense guitar oriented ones I believe). I didn't take exact notes as to what exact section twisted my noodle, but there were many. There are some songs missing I love from other albums, but there are plenty of others to make up for it! Anyone who loves smokin' guitar (or just great songs played well) will find this or others of his to be well worth owning - trust me! Green Onions never tasted so good!

If you're a guitarist or an afficionado of guitar music, you should have already heard Roy play. If not, this is a great CD to start with. This is a collection of songs from many different periods in his career, and it pretty well covers the gamut of what he did musically. Even so, it'll just whet your appetite for more. Buy this first, and you'll likely be out getting the rest of his releases.

Roy was recognized early-on by some of the true greats (Jeff Beck dedicated a song to him on Blow by Blow, he was offered a spot in the Rolling Stones, and he even played with Merle Haggard), but was not popular with the masses. He never achieved the notoriety of many lesser guitarists. I'll say this, and it sums up my opinion of Roy Buchanan... If you've never heard a guitarist play with feeling and raw emotion, this is your chance... And this compilation is a good cross-section of his work.

Enjoy!

This album is a comprehensive compilation from one of Blues Rock's most underappreciated guitar heroes. There are shades of early Charlie Daniels on tracks 2 and three of disc 1. Fans of Jimi Hendrix will appreciate Roy's psychadellic style on some tunes. I have to question the review made by Amazon.com, because, although official reports say that Buchanan hanged himself in his jail cell by his shirt, those closest to him believe that story to be a lie. Considering the fact that the police department that arrested Buchanan will not release the names of the arresting officers, I have my doubts about their story as well.

Acquire this CD . If you are a hard fan of Roy Buchanan or even if you are not you will be surprised for a long , long time .
Green onions , The Mesiah will come , After hours , I'm evil , Pete's blues and Five string blues reveal by themselves the powerful presence the freshness interpretative and the enormous scope of Buchanan .
It is impossible for you to make a list of the top twenty blues in any age without including at least four or five of this legendary icon painfully absent .