Bugs Henderson - Daredevils Of The Red Guitar (1994)

This is the stuff guitar heroes are made of. Henderson doles out everything from straight-up rock & roll to slow, nasty blues and twangy country on this album. The quality and clarity of the sound on this recording serve to enhance and complement Henderson's in-you-face guitar style too. The opening track "Hit the Bricks" is fairly weak, and there are a few others that don't necessarily light any fires (the title track and "Love Somebody"), but the rest of the CD smokes. The seven instrumentals include Henderson's favorite Link Wray song "Rawhide," and a twangy, two-part version of Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser." The Ventures medley is a true delight (he breaks out the whammy bar a bit). "Brandon's Song" features some double-lead guitar and sounds like something you might hear from Clapton. "Jitterbugs Part 2" is some of the fastest swing you'll ever hear. It includes a great bass solo and a dead stop part of the way through, after which Henderson says in his great Texas drawl, "Is it just me, or is this too damn slow?." You can probably guess what happens next. Willie Nelson (vocals on "These Eyes") and Tom Morrell (nice steel guitar on "Judi Likes the Blues") are among the guest artists.

~ Ann Wickstrom, All Music