Search - Davy Graham :: Fire in the Soul

The British John Fahey?

D. Hartley | Seattle, WA USA | 07/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just as John Fahey begat the more widely-known Leo Kottke who proceeded to influence yet even more players, guitarist Davy Graham did the same for the British music scene of the mid to late 60's. Most American listeners were probably first exposed to Graham's music when Paul Simon covered his most well-known composition, "Anji" on the "Sounds Of Silence" album. Mixing jazz, folk, blues and Eastern-style open tunings,you could say Graham was a "world music" pioneer, setting the stage for future breakthroughs like the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". This compilation gives you a good overview of Davy Graham's unique talents; and the remastering is excellent. Recommended for guitar afficiandos."

One of the founders

C. H Smith | Bowling Green, Kentucky United States | 04/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Davy Graham never "made it" on this side of the Atlantic, but the fact remains that his was one of the most potent influences in popular music during the original Beatles era. Even in Britain he was a bit overshadowed by his followers (people like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, and Donovan), but his reputation has nevertheless more or less maintained itself there right since the beginning. Graham drew together influences from a variety of cultures and styles and created a new genre of folk guitar play that featured, among other things, a bit of jazz, a bit of blues, and a bit of international folk. He pioneered devices like dropped-D tuning and invigorated his play with the modal tonalities of North African cultures. Strangely, some of the material on this collection now reminds me of the sounds on the famous Johnny Rivers album 'Live at the Whisky A-Go-Go,' though delivered with a good deal more seriousness (and minus the backing female vocals!). This is a wonderful survey of a major creative talent's contribution to the history of popular music."