Les Cousins Music
Davy Graham : Anthology 1961-2007 (UK,2007)***°'
Rarely, but occasionally we see some reissues by Davy Graham. He still is amongst the pioneers of guitar explorations development based upon traditions found in American music, in English folk but also delving into the roots of the guitar itself, like the reinterpretation of oud music and for the tradition of improvisation techniques, of Indian music, with the Raga. By checking out this collection it seems I also need to add Renaissance lute music and Hispanic music (which explains the Mexican hat he wears on some photographs).
For a large part I was amazed to hear how many of the recordings, -even though they seem to be private outtakes and live recordings especially-, sound rather essential the way they are performed, played and interpreted. Some compositions, even several tunes from blues and folk origins, are interpreted skilfully by opening them up from within, rearranging the speed dynamics, making them vividly by stretching its tensions from within the composition, with a feeling for timbre, the power of rhythm, but also attention for small spatial tensions. Davy seems to have picked out tunes and compositions that are memorable. He also interprets them with remarkable precision of playing and timing, and even has a good convincing voice to sing. He knows how to bring a story, and the songs are interpreted in such a way so that we actually hear the story being told well, something in interpretations or covering of songs happens more rarely. It is in all these aspects that I recognise Davy’s talent better than in some of the at times a bit overproduced albums I have heard from him before. I interpreted his talent before as slowly opening up roots music with other traditions. In a way I notice now that there’s more going on in the mind and practice of these interpretations. There’s also a slightly larger session with the kind of Louisiana blues songs interpretations, which is less of a creative mind and which shows an aspect of rainy day downer and loner blues I personally like less, (although it is listenable in its own world), as if these kind of songs are about filling up the lost moments, screaming out louder in situations where the personal developments were not presented. On the other, lighter and more creative good choice of songs interpretations, the tracks were alternated with associations to English folk, Renaissance, a few Arab associations and even an Indian raga, which I liked best. And then suddenly there are also presented some flamenco guitar associations, which are like another world that opens, another moment of surprise…
