Dancing On The Edge

The wild and wooly, no-holds-barred version of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" that opens this album reminds that Roy Buchanan is not your average blues-rock axeslinger. With a dazzling arsenal of chops and a tone that can, alternately, slice through granite and float like cumulous clouds, Buchanan's standing as a masterful technician seems to grow with each successive release, and DANCING ON THE EDGE is no exception. The six instrumental and five vocal tracks here (featuring Texas R&B institution Delbert McClinton), though steeped in traditional blues, push at the limitations of the genre. For example, there's the ear-shattering jump country of "Petal to the Metal" and the expansive surf jam "Jungle Gym." DANCING rocks harder than most of Buch's releases, with the guitarist's sizzling six-stringery (check out the barrelhouse acid boogie of "Whiplash") backed by a crack studio band and McClinton's raw singing (check out "You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover"). Buchanan fans and worshippers of the blues guitar won't be disappointed by this one.