88 Elmira St. (1991)

Be prepared to read the same kind of reviews for super-guitarist Danny Gatton as those that haunted a similar figure — the late, great Roy Buchanan, a legend of the guitar whose blues-rock career never got off the ground despite critical praise. Such flip dismissals as ''plays great, less filling'' missed the point with Buchanan, and these days — with flashy technobores like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai charting regularly — they're especially off the mark when applied to Gatton. Dubbed ''the world's greatest unknown guitarist'' by those who care about such things, the 45-year-old D.C. legend can play just about anything he wants, be it rockabilly, jazz, R&B, or straight rock & roll — and does so regularly. 88 Elmira St., a major-label debut, features a scorching batch of instrumental originals and a few distinctive covers — including the Beach Boys' ''In My Room'' and the theme music from The Simpsons — all the while displaying the charm and sense of humor other frantic fret-boarders typically leave at home. You couldn't ask for a better party record: It's got fun, flash, and, best of all, feel. B+