The late Roy Buchanan was a talented guitarist who influenced a long line of younger musicians, including Danny Gatton and Joe Bonamassa. Buchanan's catalog offers a wealth of blues, roots-rock, jazz, and country-styled pickin', but remains a little light on the sort of live performances that wrote the guitarist's legacy. Polydor released Live Stock in 1975, after Buchanan had already left the label, and there have been a few bootleg-quality live discs of questionable provenance, as well as an all-too-short DVD release of Buchanan's 1976 appearance on the revered Austin City Limits TV series. Buchanan's Live In Japan, one of his favorite albums, was recorded in 1977 but, sadly, never released in the United States.
This lack of live Buchanan has been addressed by our good friends at MVD Entertainment, who have just released Live At Rockpalast. A welcome document of a February 1985 appearance on the popular German television show Rockpalast, Buchanan's 60-minute performance has been released on both CD and DVD. Buchanan's set that night included a number of original tunes - audience favorites like "Night Train" and "Linda Lou" - as well as choice covers of Jimi Hendrix ("Foxy Lady"), Booker T & the MG's ("Green Onions"), and surf-guitar legends the Ventures ("Walk, Don't Run").
Initial reviews of the DVD by fans are overwhelmingly positive, agreeing that Buchanan's performance, three short years before his tragic suicide, is simply stunning. The DVD's sound is very good, and the video quality is typical for the technologically-challenged era, but still very watchable and entertaining. Produced as part of MIG ("Made In Germany") Music's Rockpalast series and distributed by MVD, the recently-released titles also includes live performances from Ian Hunter (1980, with Mick Ronson), and the Michael Schenker Group (1981). Previous releases in the rapidly-growing MIG Music catalog include rare live performances from Johnny Winter, Terry & the Pirates (with guitarist John Cipollina), Paul Butterfield, and Miller Anderson (Keef Hartley Band, Savoy Brown). The Rev says "check 'em out!"
Photo courtesy MVD Entertainment
Comments
Thanks for the nice writeup Rev. I have been reading and enjoying your writing for many years now. A blues fan good freind of mine with who I shared your article link says the following:
Not sure if Buchanan mentored Bonamasa. I am not sure if Buchanan and Bonammasa ever even met. Bonamassa was a child prodigy, but he was only eleven years old when Buchanan died in 1988…
Hey Harsh!
Yeah, you’re right, I goofed on this one…changed the text to read “influenced” instead of “mentored,” as it was actually Gatton that mentored Bonamassa…although Joe B. was hanging out with folks like B.B. King at a young age, Buchanan wasn’t one of them. Thanks for the catch!