Instrumental

Both of the instrumental Jeff Beck albums displayed to the right, Blow by Blow and Wired are excellent. Moving from his blues based roots displayed with the Yardbirds and his own bands, Beck forged new territory with this pair of records, sort of fusion music with elements of jazz, funk, rock, and traces of blues. 

The material on both of these albums include several covers which are among the strongest songs. Beck's remakes are totally unique and  only borrow the melody while he adds some excellent musical vibes over them.  

On Blow by Blow, they include a stunning version of the Beatles "She's a Women."  In addition, two Stevie Wonder songs, "Thelonius" and "Cause We Ended As Lovers"  are performed The latter being a tribute to Roy Buchanan, a guitarists guitar player.  Besides the covers, Blow by Blow includes excellent original material where "Freeway Jam." tops the list.

Beck's follow-up to Blow by Blow, Wired, was another monster. While the album may not be as strong, moving from an grade of A + to an A is no disappointment.

On Wired, they perform "Goodbye Porky Park," a Charles Mingus cover, where Beck really shows how to build a solo without having to play fast, where he places emphasis in the right places, and hits just the right notes, at the right time. 

Jeff Beck is an extraordinary guitar player and these two albums display him at his best. His approach to soloing and compositions can be quite intense. As a result his style is not accessible to all. Perhaps that is why he did not receive the commercial success that his Yardbird counterparts Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page enjoyed, because he is just as good. If this type of music is your taste, these albums are a treasure and are top shelf material. 

Beck's one disc compilation, The Best of Beck, is not a replacement for these classic albums. However, for a curious or casual fan, it does include some of the better highlights from each. It also gives an overview of  his material with his first band that features Rod Stewart and some of his other bands, both instrumental and with vocalists.  

There is a superb Roy Buchanan career retrospective entitled Sweet Dreams: The Anthology, which includes unreleased material, six live tracks, and an assortment of his best songs from his albums. The unreleased material includes "Dual Soliloquy," a twelve minute solo guitar piece recorded in 1972, and two live covers songs, "Hey Joe," and C. C. Ryder." 

The liner notes of Buchanan's Sweet Dreams: The Anthology written by Colin Escott describe his playing brilliantly. "Roy clearly knew the value of playing few notes with frightening precision, but could also spit out notes like bullets from a machine-gun at double or even quadruple time without sacrificing a sense of order. He had refined his touch so that he could isolate overtones by playing one string with a pick, simultaneously brushing that, or another string with his fingernail. His trademark, though, was the searing note that spun up out of silence as he hit the string, bent it and cranked up the volume."

Buchanan has three live releases and we first suggest American Axe: Live in 1974, preferably as a complement to Sweet Dreams: The Anthology. Though, if you are looking a less expensive single disc introduction to Roy Buchanan, this delivers the goods, and would be our strongest recommendation. This live album includes a few unreleased songs that Buchanan performed live.

The Dixie Dregs album What If is an excellent album that demonstrates their excellence and diversity. The soloist typically receive the lion share of the credit in bands, but this rhythm section smokes. 

The Dregs typical instrumental diversity is showcased on What If. They venture into rock with "Take It Off The Top," fusion with "Odyssey," bluegrass with "Gina Lola Breakdown, and classical with "Little Kids." 

If you are looking for compilation of Dixie Dregs material, they have two greatest hits releases, which do not overlap. The 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Dixie Dregs is from their first three albums taking three songs from their debut, Freefall, four songs from What If, and four songs from their half studio and half live, Night of the Living Dregs.  

Information about the Dixie Dregs / Steve Morse DVD.

His 1991 release 88 Elmira Street is an excellent display of the immense talent of Danny Gatton. 

Django Reinhardt is one of our favorite guitar players, and we offer extensive coverage including a complete list of his sessions from 1928 - '53 and a list of discs from each of them.  

To the right is a strong single disc compilation of Django with the Hot Club of France.