GOOD OVERVIEW OF GRAHAM'S GUITAR STYLE
Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 12/09/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Two discs 54,50 minutes each approximately. The sound has been digitally remastered which,especially,in this case is important because of the delicate nature of the sound of Graham's guitar. The sound is very clean and crisp. The guitar sounds as if has been closed-mic'ed,such is the clarity of the sound. The accompanying rhythm section (not all tracks) is also very crisp,and is mixed almost as high as Graham,which gives these tracks a real presence. Graham's voice,has a serviceable/emotive sound,which adds to the overall sound,but its the instrumentals that he is most known for. The booklet is very nice-giving a good,but brief,overview of (the late) Davy Graham and the era. There are several (mostly color) photographs of Graham which give added depth to the written overview. All the tracks are from 1963 through 1970,with the majority from the sixties.
Davy Graham was one of the cornerstones of British folk music in the twentieth century. Revered by many well known guitarists (Jimmy Page and John Renbourn (of PENTANGLE) among them),Graham's approach to guitar playing-that basically it was okay to mix disparate styles of music into one homogeneous whole,was the open door that many British guitarists used as their stepping stone into music. Known for his use of the finger-style steel-stringed,open tuned guitar (and the DADGAD tuning),Graham could (and did) play many different styles of music,often in the same tune. His sound can be heard in many bands of that era (the above two,FAIRPORT CONVENTION,and contemporary guitarists like Graham Coxon of BLUR among others),and his approach to music (a mix of jazz,blues,folk,Arabian,and Eastern Indian styles) is still influencing guitarists today.
With the majority of tracks coming from the early-mid sixties (Graham's most influential era),the music spans all the genres mentioned above. His two most well known albums,"Folk,Blues & Beyond",and "Folk Routes,New Routes",are well represented here. But its his tunes "Angi",and "She Moved Through The Fair" (both here),that started people listening to his guitar style. A highlight are his duets with the wonderful singer Shirley Collins, "Nottamun Town" (among others),where his guitar sets the background for Collins' almost ethereal vocal,sounding much like what FAIRPORT CONVENTION would do later on. There are also several jazz tunes ("Take Five","Better Git It In Your Soul","Blue Monk","Buhaina Chant",among others)that show Graham was incorporating American jazz artists into his style. Even a Dylan tune ("Don't Think Twice It's Alright") is given the Graham treatment. Mixed in are a number of songs by Graham,or adapted by him from traditional sources. The last couple of tracks (from 1970) have Graham branching out with an electric guitar,especially apparent on the tune "Forty Ton Parachute",which is a short but nicely played instrumental.
For those whose listening habits lean toward the acoustic guitar (John Fahey comes to mind),purchasing this set should be a no-brainer. If you want to hear a master guitarist (especially the many solo pieces) who could add a number of styles together into a seamless whole-this is it. In the present its hard to discern just how much Graham's style influenced an entire generation of musicians,many who went on to become famous in their own right. Without Davy Graham,English music,of many types,would probably sound different today. Everyone who likes LED ZEPPELIN,PENTANGLE,Bert Jansch and John Renbourn,and John Fahey,and lesser known singer-guitarists like Ralph Mctell,and a number of other bands,should listen to where a lot of those player's guitar styles came from. Graham's music still has the capacity to make you stop and marvel at his style-a combination of many musical genres,which even now is influential.
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Track Listings (18) - Disc #1