Davey Graham: The Complete Guitarist

Davey Graham is a perfectionist. Since 1961, when he recorded the quite remarkable - and largely unnoticed - 3/4 AD with Alexis Koerner, he has restricted his record output, and almost everything he has recorded has been of a high standard. So when he agrees that this is one of the finest records he has made, it really has to be one of the finest Guitar records of recent years.

Throughout his career he has mixed these high personal standards with an inventive, daring approach to music. Because he plays acoustic Guitar he may have been labelled as a 'folkie', but nothing could be further from the truth. He knows a great deal about folk music - and the folk music of North Africa and India as well as Britain and America - but he also has a strong interest in medieval music, later classical music, jazz and the blues.

The sixteen tunes on this album were all chosen because they were instrumentals Davey likes and enjoys playing, rather than to demonstrate particular Guitar styles but of course the results work on both levels.

This album is both an intriguing musical selection and a tribute to his remarkable technique. He has included hymn tunes, a selection of Irish melodies that are a great personal favourite of his. "They are mostly pipe and fiddle tunes and I've been working on them for some time. I take a great interest in the Irish scene and I'm learning the language". Alongside these there are the classical and medieval pieces ranging from Vaughan Williams' Down Ampney to the Prelude From The Suite In D Minor by Robert De Visee ("a Frenchman who matched Dowland").

Also included is a PDF TAB/music booklet featuring these songs from the recording: Medley: Lord Mayo/Lord Inchiquin; Lashtal's Room; Renaissance Piece; Hardiman The Fiddler; Fairies' Hornpipe; Forty-Ton Parachute. You will need Adobe Acrobat (a free download) to open and print this file from your computer.