This compendium could not be considered the final word on Roy Buchanan (guitar), as it would take more than two CDs just for his contributions as a session stalwart. However, until his catalog is given a thorough overhaul, Sweet Dreams: The Anthology (1992) is a satisfying overview of the man once dubbed "The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World." The collection kicks off with four previously unissued selections circa the aborted Nashville under the direction of Charlie Daniels. Although the project, tentatively dubbed "The Prophet," was eventually shelved, Buchanan's delicately pungent fretwork is unmistakably the centerpiece. His moods contrast from the blues-rocker "Baltimore" to the luminous, shredding electric leads that complement Daniels' acoustic guitar on Leonard Cohen's "Story of Isaac." The eponymous Roy Buchanan (1972) and appropriate follow-up, Second Album (1973), were documented within a five-month span in the summer and fall of 1972 with a band that was alternately known as the Snake Stretchers. In fact, Buchanan and company recorded and released Buck & The Snake Stretchers (1971), an infamous platter packaged in (no lie) a burlap sack and sold at Buchanan's gigs. Underscoring those earliest titles are the gritty and sinuous "Pete's Blues," the alternately haunting and searing solos on "Messiah Will Come Again," a blistering rendering of Erskine Hawkins' "After Hours," as well as the original "Five String Blues."