Fine alternative takes on previously-recorded Graham tunes
Nobody important | 11/21/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Davy Graham was the central figure in 1960's British folk guitar, and one of the first musicians anywhere to blend blues, jazz, and world music sounds that run the gamut from the British Isles to the Middle East and India. He was a hero to guitarists like John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, Nic Jones, Martin Simpson, and pretty much anybody in the know, and the only musician truly similar to Sandy Bull. He is also the guy who wrote Anji, even though Paul Simon got famous for it. Unfortunately, Graham recently passed away. Luckily, he left the world with a wealth of brilliant recordings.
Fans of Davy Graham may notice that the tracks on this album sound familiar. This is not a compilation, though. The album contains re-recordings done in 1976 of songs from earlier albums. The obvious question, then, is how different are these versions from the originals? They are noticeably different, but hardly revelatory re-imaginings. What will be most important to Graham fans is that the emphasis is more on the guitar than in some of his previous recordings. Several of his 60's albums had larger bands than some hardcore folkies would like. (Personally, I applaud Graham for sticking it to purists in every way imaginable, though). The recordings here have only sparse accompaniment. Most of that accompaniment is Indian percussion, which shouldn't surprise Graham fans. The jazz and blues elements are still here, though, and Graham keeps the singing to a minimum (which is good since his voice was never his strength). The recording quality isn't perfect, but it is fine. The only real flaw is that the album lacks the feel of new ground being broken because while Graham had allowed the music to evolve, he was still playing older pieces within the general bounds of his usual style.
Readers should also be aware that five of these tracks were released as bonus tracks on the 2003 Sanctuary re-release of The Guitar Player. I consider The Guitar Player to be essential Graham, and the other 14 tracks here are sufficiently good to warrant purchase if you are a serious Graham fan."
Track Listings (19) - Disc #1