The U.K. based Beat Goes On label continues their series of Roy Buchanan two-fers. This one finds the artist at a distinct professional crossroads. After his ultimately discordant relationship with Polydor came to an end, the label finally showed the good sense to issue Live Stock (1975) – which was primarily documented at Town Hall in New York City on November 27, 1974. The notable exception being the six-plus minute take of "I'm Evil" – recorded the following March at the Amazing Grace club in Evanston, IN. Supporting Buchanan's consummate strings during the Town Hall appearance are Billy Price (vocals), John Harrison (bass), Malcolm Lukens (keyboards), and Byrd Foster (drums/vocals).

Buchanan was a terrific guitarist, but My Babe is not the place to hear him in his glory. Too often, the album is dragged down by slick production and Paul Jacobs' overbearing vocals. Buchanan's playing is fairly good, but he sounds a little uninspired, which is understandable, considering his surroundings…

While not exactly a 180-degree rotation from the thoroughly enjoyable funk-fest on A Street Called Straight (1976), Roy Buchanan's subsequent album, You're Not Alone (1978), is an exceedingly more polished affair with a completely new cast of studio musicians. The instrumental space-themed effort may have worked well in the midst of the undue hype that Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were glutting the media with…

This home-made and self-produced platter was issued by Roy Buchanan (guitar/vocals) after being rejected by Polydor. The artist decided to privately distribute the album on his own BIOYA label, whose initials stood for the message that Buchanan had for Polydor – B(low) I(t) O(ut) Y(our) A(ss). For obvious contractual reasons, his name wasn't even intimated on the burlap bag (no joke) that housed first pressings of the 12" platter – which was sold only at "underground" stores, head shops, and Buchanan's gigs. The music within the grooves proved to be equally as rustic and authentic as the packaging would suggest…

The 16-tracks on this compilation are from Roy Buchanan's trio of mid-1970s titles: A Street Called Straight (1976), Loading Zone (1977), and You're Not Alone (1978). After a less than personally (or professionally) satisfying stint earlier in the decade with Polydor Records, Buchanan teamed up with Atlantic, who helped him get out of his pending contract with the former…

There is so little professionally shot video footage of Roy Buchanan officially available, that this frustratingly short half-hour set is a major find for the late guitarist's devoted fan base. Recorded November 15, 1976 when he was 37, the Austin City Limits DVD doesn't add extra footage to what was originally telecast, and is one of the few ACL videos not to do so…

Roy Buchanan has long been considered one of the finest, yet criminally overlooked guitarists of the blues rock genre whose lyrical leads and use of harmonics would later influence such guitar greats as Jeff Beck, his one-time student Robbie Robertson, and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons…

Digitally remastered two CD set containing a pair of albums from the blues great. From 1977 and 1978 come blues guitarist Buchanan's last albums for Polydor/Atlantic. Musicians featured on these recordings include Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Jan Hammer. After these recordings, Buchanan didn't go into a studio until 1988 when Alligator Records convinced him to start recording again. Buchanan's demons got him arrested in August 1988 and he was found hanged in jail, a sad end for a talented musician who was only 48 years of age. Leroy "Roy" Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and two later solo albums that made it to the Billboard chart. He never achieved stardom, but he is still considered a highly influential guitar player. Guitar Player praised him as having one of the "50 Greatest Tones of All Time."

There have been numerous Roy Buchanan collections to hit the streets since the guitarist committed suicide in 1988. There have been no less than four issued by Universal, with just enough of the same material to be irritating. Definitive Collection is no exception. There isn't anything here that's unreleased…