Even though spring is now here, it doesn't feel like it in some parts of the U.S.!  As the east coast is hit by its fourth major snowstorm of March, let's look ahead to hopefully warmer days of spring and a pair of Real Gone releases coming out May 4 in the blues-rock genre.

First up is Live at Town Hall 1974 from Roy Buchanan.  Guitarist Buchanan was famous for playing the Fender Telecaster with an effects-free technique and influencing many other musicians despite never having much solo success of his own. (Jeff Beck dedicated "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" on 1975's Blow by Blow to Buchanan.)  He began his career as a sideman in the late 1950s, joining on recording sessions for such artists as Dale and Ronnie Hawkins, Freddie Cannon, Merle Kilgore and others.  He also was a tutor to a young Robbie Robertson.  He stepped away from music for a time but returned to performing in the early 1970s in the Washington, DC area.  His career took a major turn when he was featured on the PBS program Introducing Roy Buchanan in 1971.  This lead to a recording contract with Polydor Records.  Around this time, the story goes that he turned down a place in The Rolling Stones for the position Mick Taylor eventually got.

Buchanan recorded four studio albums for Polydor, of which 1973's Second Album went Gold.  By 1975, however, he had an offer from Ahmet Ertegun to join Atlanic and wanted to move on.  But an album was still owed to Polydor, leading to the live album Live Stock.  It featured six songs taken from two sets on November 27, 1974 at Town Hall in New York City. (A seventh song was taken from a gig in Evanston, Illinois at the Amazingrace Café.)  The shows were recorded by the Record Plant Mobile Studio and Buchanan's band featured Malcom Lukens (keyboards), John Harrison (bass), Ronnie "Byrd" Foster (drums) and Billy Price (vocals).  But like most live albums, there was a lot of material unreleased.  Now, Real Gone is releasing the entirety of both sets from Town Hall on a new 2-CD set.  It features the six songs from the original album, a version of Neil Young's "Down By the River" which surfaced on a 1992 compilation, and 14 additional previously unreleased tracks.  The set has been mixed and mastered by Tom Lewis at Studio 1903 in Athens, Georgia.  Bill Levenson has produced the reissue and the booklet features liner notes by Buchanan biographer Phil Carson plus photos from the night of show taken by Charles R. Cohen.  Beautiful new artwork tops it all off.

Buchanan would record three studio albums on Atlantic through 1978.  In 1981, he released one LP on the Attic label before issuing three albums on Alligator Records from 1985 to 1987.  He died in 1988 and several compilation and posthumous albums have been released in the last 20 years. This release promises to be an essential addition to the Buchanan discography.

Next up from Real Gone is a reissue of probably the most unusual item in Barry McGuire's discography: 1971's Barry McGuire & The Doctor.  On this LP, McGuire was joined by "The Doctor," a.k.a. guitarist Eric Hord, for a six song set of free-wheeling blues-rock.  Real Gone's reissue will mark the album's authorized worldwide CD debut.

After his stint in The New Christy Minstrels, McGuire would shoot to solo fame with 1965's classic protest anthem "Eve of Destruction" and, in 1966, he would help launch the career of The Mamas & The Papas.  But, by 1971, McGuire's profile was low, as he had not released an album since 1967 and was reportedly battling drug abuse.  Deciding to get back into the studio, he was joined by old friends and acquaintances to record what would become Barry McGuire & The Doctor.  Collaborating with him was Eric "The Doctor" Hord, a guitar prodigy who had played for The Mamas & the Papas and would also appear on Denny Doherty's solo album Watcha Gonna Do (recently reissued by Real Gone as part of Of All The Things: The Complete ABC Dunhill Masters).  He co-wrote four of the songs on the album with McGuire and played on all six. McGuire would co-write the remaining two tracks with others.  The album was produced by Lou Adler and two of McGuire's former New Christy Minstrels bandmates, Nick Woods and Art Podell.  Besides Hord, other top-tier musicians playing on the album included many from the country-rock genre like Chris Hillman (Byrds), "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow (Flying Burrito Brothers), Byron Berline (Dillard and Clark) and Bernie Leadon (The Eagles). They were even joined by an uncredited Herb Alpert on one song.

Unfortunately, Barry McGuire & The Doctor did not fare well on the charts.  Hord never recorded another album as a lead player, while McGuire would become a born-again Christian the same year as the album's release.  He turned his attention to contemporary Christian music, beginning with 1972's Seeds on the Myrrh label.  In 1976, he signed to Billy Ray Hearn's Sparrow Records, where he recorded seven albums and a children's record.  McGuire left the music industry in the 1980s before returning as part of the duo Talbot McGuire, releasing four albums between 1996 and 2000.  He has continued with sporadic live appearances since then.

Real Gone's first-time CD reissue features liner notes from Tom Pickles with quotes from McGuire and Podell.  It has been remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision.

If you would like to give either of these two titles a try, we've got the full tracklistings and preorder links below!

Roy Buchanan, Live at Town Hall 1974 (Real Gone Music, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Done Your Daddy Dirty
2. Reelin' and Rockin'
3. Hot Cha
4. Further On Up the Road
5. Roy's Bluz
6. Can I Change My Mind
7. Hey Joe
8. Too Many Drivers
9. Down by the River
10. I'm a Ram
11. In the Beginning
12. Driftin' and Driftin'

CD 2

1. I'm Evil
2. Too Many Drivers
3. Done Your Daddy Dirty
4. Roy's Bluz
5. Further On Up the Road
6. Hey Joe
7. Can I Change My Mind
8. In the Beginning
9. All Over Again (I've Got a Mind to Give Up Living)

Barry McGuire & The Doctor, Barry McGuire & The Doctor (A&M/Ode LP AMLS 2008, 1971 - reissued Real Gone Music, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. South of the Border
2. The Old Farm
3. Too Much City
4. Train
5. Electric Train
6. Meet Me At the Bottom