THE PICK OF RMMGA ESSENTIAL AND OBSCURE RECORDINGS OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR UPDATED 5/96 Based on postings to rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic early 1995 through 5/96. Most multi-artist recordings are cross referenced, or listed as anthologies. Comments are not mine, but those of the poster. Something for you to purchase instead of that new handmade guitar. Compiled by Dan Johnson. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ackerman, Will -"Passage" features some classics such as "Processional" and "Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter" Proof that you don't have to tear it up and play fast to be a great artist. Ackerman, William - IT TAKES A YEAR (Windham Hill). This is his second album and the best of the ones I've heard. Acoustic Attatude and Epstein, Freyda: Midnight in Cabell Hall.on Red House: an extraordinary CD. The CD features Freyda singing and playing violin with the Attatudes (Guitar/bouzouki and acoustic bass). Andress, Tuck - electric finger picking, jazz style. Another jazz finger picker with amazing technique. Listen to his version of Carlos Santana's "Europa" on "Love Warriors" by Tuck & Patti. He also has a couple of solo guitar albums out. Anthology, "The Entertainer, The Music of Scott Joplin...". Shanachie 98015. Includes classic rags arranged and played by Duck Baker, Lasse Johansson, Claes Palmqvist, Ton Van Bergeyk, Jim McLennan, Leo Wignkamp, Jr., Ton Engels, Dick Fegy and John James. Anthology, "Flat Picking Guitar Festival". A friend gave me a tape recorded from an LP in 1982. Unfortunately, she didn't list the artists. I'm pretty much a fingerstyle guitar fan, but this is one of my all time favorites guitar albums. I'd venture to guess that it's a who's who of flat pickers from the late 70s. It strongly features flapickers with some pretty nice dobro, mando and fiddle thrown in to back up 8-). Anthology "Rounder Guitar" from record stores and "Great Guitarists of America" from music stores! accompanyment for the book "Great Guitarists of America" by Mel Bay A fabulous mix of fingerstyle and flat picking!! Anthology - _Complete Ragtime Guitar Book_ (instructional tape by Stefan Grossman). Odd as it may seem, the tape that accompanys this instructional book is one of my all time favorites. It is actually an anthology of many great fingerpickers - there is no instructional material on the tape. Anthology - FINGERPICKING GUITAR DELIGHTS (Shanachie). Emphasizes ragtime and other older styles (though not exclusively) This excellent anthology is mostly taken from long out of print LPs released by the Kicking Mule company and they will introduce you to a number of excellent guitarists, some of whom you won't find anywhere else: Dave Evans, Davey Graham, Leo Wijnkamp Jr., Ton Van Bergeryk, Duck Baker. Anthology - THE ART OF FINGERSTYLE GUITAR (Shanachie 98009) This is a tremendous sampler of masters. Emphasizes more modern styles and material. This excellent anthology is mostly taken from long out of print LPs released by the Kicking Mule company and they will introduce you to a number of excellent guitarists, some of whom you won't find anywhere else: Dave Evans, Davey Graham, Leo Wijnkamp Jr., Ton Van Bergeryk, Duck Baker. Anthology - THE INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL (Acoustic Music), a collection put together by Peter Finger, which will acquaint you with a number of European guitarists not too well known in the US. Anthology - Windham Hill Guitar Sampler Vol 1 is also an excellent recording with various artists such as Andrew York, Chris Proctor, David Cullen and others I heard Vol 2 briefly but didn't care for it. Ar Bras, Dan - french celtic finger style guitarist/songwriter. Fast arpeggio work, some reflections of Alex De Grassi? Atkins, Chet and Reed, Jerry - Anything they do Baker, Duck -- _The Art of Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar_ -- full of standards from Ellington to Monk, all well performed and arranged. Anyone that can cover Duke Ellington is cool in my book. Baker, Duck - KID ON THE MOUNTAIN All fingerstyle players have a couple of Celtic fiddle tunes in their repertoire. Duck has arranged dozens and, here's the amazing part, done so in standard and drop-D tuning for the most part. This record, which I believe is out of print, along with the book Irish, English...etc. Fiddle tunes for the Fingerpicking Guitarist are, IMO, essential to every fingerpicker's library. Baker, Duck - Opening The Eyes of Love. I first started listening to Duck when he was recording for Kicking Mule back in the early 70's. This one was released in 93, I think. One of the best improvisers around, his instrumentals have a jazz/blues flavor and really cook. He can also play some very delicate traditional Irish stuff. Barrueco, Manuel "300 Years of Guitar Masterpieces" Actually a 3 cd box set: Each cd is about 60 minutes long and Barrueco plays Bach, Villa-lobos, Albeniz, Scarlatti, Paganini, Granados, Giuliani, and others. I really like the way he handles the Villa-lobos etudes. Excellently well constructed. Bartels, Bill and Crandell, Richard ... not really fair, as I think their records are on a small local label, but if you're out west, you might be able to find them. They do some nice duets along the lines of the Grossman and Renbourn collaborations. Batdorf & Rodney - Batdorf & Rodney, released in 1972, on Arista Records. Batdorf & Rodney - Off the Shelf Batdorf & Rodney - Life Is You, released in 1975 on Arista Records. Bennett, Stephen : "Guitar Town" Cimirron/Rainbird label. "Guitar Town" is made up mostly of originals. They can be ordered direct by calling 804-898-8155 or writing Cimirron/Rainbird Records, 607 Piney Point Rd., Yorktown, VA 23692 for a catalog. Bennett, Stephen : "Solos & Duets". Cimirron/Rainbird label. If you only want to get one, get "Solos & Duets". They can be ordered direct by calling 804-898-8155 or writing Cimirron/Rainbird Records, 607 Piney Point Rd., Yorktown, VA 23692 for a catalog. Bensusan, Pierre Solia Plays exclusively in DADGAD, with traces of jazz, Irish and middle eastern(all within the same tune, at times). I once had the privilege of seeing him perform at a workshop at Nassau Comm. College with George Gritzbachand Tony Trishka. After Pierre whipped off a version of 'Nice Feeling', poor George had a tough act to follow. Blake, Blind - RAGTIME GUITAR'S FOREMOST FINGERPICKER Yazoo 1068 Simply brilliant--should be remastered though .(too much static, even for how old the recordings are) [received several recommendations - ed.] Other records on Yazoo - incredible ragtime & blues technique, rhythmically incredible... Blake, Norman Rice and Tony - Tony Rice and Norman Blake I and II - both are extraordinary pieces of work Blake, Norman - Whiskey Before Breakfast. Norman's guitar album. Makes me alternate between wanting to play all day and give it up forever, because I'll never make sounds like that. Blake, Norman "Home In Sulphur Springs". Blake, Norman - Live at McCabe's. This old tape is my favorite I have of Norman's. Much of it is solo flatpicking and Norman's singing. I've been told this has been reissued on CD, so it should be available. Bloom, Luka "Riverside" because to me he shows just what you can do to fill the air with sound using a flatpick. Great tunes too. Bonoff, Karla - Karla Bonoff Brazzel, Russel _Twentieth Century Cuban Music_ . I'm fascinated by works that push the boundaries of the instrument, and by "modern" composition. This disc offers both in the form of several pieces by Leo Brouwer -- reputedly an extraordinary guitarist himself. Highlights are "Danza Del Altiplano" and "Danza Caracteristica." Bream, Julian and John Williams: Together Bream, Julian - _Julian Bream Plays Granados & Albeniz_ -- Bream, in myestimation, is the interpreter of choice for almost any period ofclassical guitar and his interpretation of an array of compositionsoriginally composed for piano in the 19th century is outstanding. Breau , Lenny - Jazz - any finger style guitarist should listen to Lenny. He does some acoustic guitar work on "The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau - Live", now reissued on CD. He acknowleged Merle Travis as one of his influences. Sadly, Lenny was murdered a few years ago. Buy this album! Breau, Lenny - "The Velvet Touch.". Lenny Breau's first LP (on CD). What a NIGHTMARE!!! -- I mean that in a positive sense. I've heard some of his later stuff, which is also great, but this album.....(scream). Breau, Lenny -- Five O'Clock Bells and Mo' Breau (2 discs recently repackaged into 1). His style is very eclectic, ranging from Jerry Reed/Chet Atkins through more traditional Be-Bop to very euro-Classical in sound. The tunes are mostly originals. This is an excellent disc however and it's all solo. Cale, J.J. Carthy, Martin - CROWN OF HORN Martin's percussive, modal guitar work is center stage in the instrumental Old Tom of Oxford and as superb accompaniment to the songs. Mostly traditional tunes, this album is always a listening pleasure. Cicchetti, Stephen / James, Steve: _A Single Shot_ This is so obscure that I include it just to be true to myself. The label is Pork Chop Music of San Antonio. You won't find it unless you're real lucky: the label is gone, the artist has moved to Austin, and he has changed his name to Steve James. He now writes articles and reviews for Acoustic Guitar, and his current recorded work (check it out!) is on Antone's Records. But we his loyal fans will always be very fond of his first record, a great acoustic blues record. We think he's about as good as, or better than, Hammond and Geremia. Cockburn, Bruce - In The Falling Dark Cockburn, Bruce - "Circles In The Stream". Llisten to "Deer Dancing Round A Broken Mirror" on this double live Lp , if you can find it. If I could play this tune, I'd be happy. Bruce does some excellent finger picking on most of his many albums. I think his playing is overlooked because of his reputation as a songwriter/singer. Cooder, Ry - Paradise and Lunch. A fantastic album with lots of acoustic fingerstyle. Cooder, Ry - Into the Purple Valley Cooper, Phil and Margaret Nelson. Phil plays guitar and cittern, Margaret sings and plays bodhran. Mostly traditional music. I like Phil's clean, crisp accompaniment style. The duo is often accompanied by Paul Goeltz on hammered dulcimer. Self produced CDs and tapes, some of which are available through Andy's Front Hall. Coryell, Larry - European Impressions Coryell, Larry and Remler, Emily did an album of acoustic and electric duets, whose name I can't recall. Some of the pieces are on the Emily Remler CD "Retrospectives, Part 1". Cotten, Elizabeth: FREIGHT TRAIN AND OTHER NORTH CAROLINA FOLK SONGS AND TUNES, Smithsonian-Folkways FW 40009 Crandell, Richard and Bartels, Bill ... I think their records are on a small local label, but if you're out west, you might be able to find them. They do some nice duets along the lines of the Grossman and Renbourn collaborations. Cromarty, George - 'The Wind in the Heather'. His only album on the Dancing Cat label, which is a Windham Hill subsidiary. Never on CD as far as I know; very nice nylon string fingerpicking. It may still be available on cassette, or cruise the used vinyl shops. From another poster: Cromarty has two other even more obscure LPs on his own label. One was a children's album, which I do not have, and the other is all guitar instrumentals(except for one vocal), which I do have. It has a great piece called "Flight" in Open C. Somehow I doubt that this will ever see the light of day on CD, unless Dancing Cat decides to put it out. Davis, Rev Gary - Sign of The Sun Davis, Rev Gary - Children of Zion Davis, Reverend Gary -- COMPLETE EARLY WORKS To me, Davis' style is the highest goal I've set for myself. Davis, Gary - Harlem St. Singer- Pure Religion & Bad Company Davis, Rev. Gary: BLUES AND RAGTIME Shanachie 97024 De Grassi, Alex, A WINDHAM HILL RETROSPECTIVE. De Grassi is a New Age type of amazing proficiency. This is an excellent sampler. De Lucia, Paco, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin - Friday Night in San Francisco This is a live album featuring 3 killer guitar players doing it unplugged - Just guitars, and alot of passion. Di Miola, Al, Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin - Friday Night in San Francisco This is a live album featuring 3 killer guitar players doing it unplugged - Just guitars, and alot of passion. DiFranco, Ani If you haven't heard Ani, she's a hellacious acoustic player-songwriter who has sold 175,000 albums through her own record label, Righteous Babe Records. Donohue, Pat: 'Two Hand Band'. All solo acoustic jazz classics (if you consider 'Tequila' jazz). Dylan, Bob "Bob Dylan" Columbia (1962?) For those who do not believe that Dylan is one of the finest acoustic players who ever picked up a Gibson, I heartily recommend his first album: Eisinger, Ari You Don't Understand No, he doesn't show off guitaristically, but someone who knows pre-war acoustic ragtime blues will immediately recognize his consumate skill. Emmanuel, Tommy - Up from Down Under Englehart, Toulouse: Toured the college circuit in California in the Late 70's. He had one album on Sierra/Brian records, produced by Chris Darrow, and then disappeared completely. He was not flashy, but he did write a few pretty good instrumentals. Epstein, Freyda and Acoustic Attatude: Midnight in Cabell Hall.on Red House: an extraordinary CD. The CD features Freyda singing and playing violin with the Attatudes (Guitar/bouzouki and acoustic bass). Etheridge, John & Andy Summers "Invisible Threads" A couple of great guitarists climbing up each others noses. Fahey, John - Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favoirites Fahey, John - Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes Fahey, John - Of Rivers and Religion Fahey, John - RETURN OF THE REPRESSED (Rhino). This excellent compilation includes a lot of material from Fahey's older and better LPs, which are long out of print. It is the best Fahey available on CD Fisk, Elliot "Paganini's 24 Caprices". Garcia, Jerry and David Grisman, self-titled (inst. and vocals) Gaughn, Dick He's got a solo celtic guitar album plus many albums with vocal accompaniment. A superb singer and player. Go see him if you get a chance. Most shows will sell out, judging from net comments. Geremia, Paul - Gamblin Woman Blues Gerhard, Ed "Luna". Ed's very classy way of including drums and horns on a guitar CD set a new standard, I think. Extremely good recording quality, too. Gilewitz, Richard - VOLUNTARY SOLITARY. Interesting fact: Richard wrote "Echoing Wilderness," which Kottke recorded on "A Shout Toward Noon" as "Echoing GIlewitz." (This tune is in his book, which is just called "The Richard Gilewitz Songbook," I think.) Grappelli, Stephane and D. Grisman Live Grateful Dead - American Beauty Green, Ruby and Katzman, Nick _Sparkling Ragtime & Hardbitten Blues_, Kicking Mule Records. The second, better album by this duo, I think it was never even issued on cassette. Katzman is a session guitarist but his approach to blues/ragtime is that of a master. His attack is strong, tone is clean, and feel for the genres perfect. "Ruby Green" is actually Terry Garthwaite of Joy of Cooking, which may explain the continued unavailability of this. Greene, Ted : "Ted Greene Solo Guitar" on PMP. It's electric (a way-tuned-down Telecaster I think) but all solo fingerstyle. Best solo guitar record I've ever heard!! ... And Chord Chemistry is a great book Grossman, Stefan and John Renbourn, SNAP A LITTLE OWL (Shanachie) A guitar duet album by a couple of the best guitarists around. You could call it Chamber Folk but that suggests a solemnity that really isn't here. Comes with a tab book and by gum, if you follow the directions you can sort of play a couple of these things. Grossman, Stefan and John Renbourn, THE THREE KINGDOMS (Shanachie). A guitar duet album by a couple of the best guitarists around. You could call it Chamber Folk but that suggests a solemnity that really isn't here. Grossman, Stefan (Shanachie) YAZOO BASIN BOOGIE Grossman, Stefan (Shanachie) GUITAR LANDSCAPES Grossman, Stefan: Shining Shadows Grossman, Stefan - _Complete Ragtime Guitar Book_ (instructional tape). Odd as it may seem, the tape that accompanys this instructional book is one of my all time favorites. It is actually an anthology of many great fingerpickers - there is no instructional material on the tape. Grossman, Stefan - _Black Melodies on a Clear Afternoon_ - a colection ofrags and blues that just continuously grooves. Very nice interpretationsof tunes ranging from John Henry to th Entertainer. Just plain greatgrooves to be found here on traditional (standards?) from America at theturn of the century. Gulezian, Michael - his Takoma record (I forget the title). Some Kottkesque 12-string, all instrumental. I don't think it's on CD, but I've seen it lately in the used vinyl shops. Some of the pieces have funny titles, like 'Lather, Rinse, Repeat' and 'A Contraceptive Breakdown'. Guy, Buddy and Junior Wells: Alone and Acoustic Guy, Buddy and Junior Wells. "Buddy and The Juniors" Gypsy Kings - anything by the Gypsy Kings Guitar music is (correct me if I'm wrong) a spanish invention, and theseguys have given me yet another different vision of what guitars can be all about. Hanzlik, Slavek "Summer Solstice" Rich bluegrass inspired instrumental music. I really like his compositions! Hecht, Daniel : If you like Alex deGrassi... His WH release never made it to CD, as far as I know, but it's pretty nice stuff I haven't seen anything of him since, although I recall another record, pre- WH, that I used to see once in a while in the used shops. He has a cut on one of the early WH samplers, too. Hedges, Michael : Aerial Boudaries - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Henderson??, Wayne - Rugby Guitar Hennessy, Christie "A Year in the Life" just for the pleasure of listening to it. Hersh, Kristen "Hips and Makers" Not a techniquely brilliant player, a la Kottke or Hedges, but she plays very emotionally. If you want an example of how a guitarist should support a singer, here it is. I bought this on CD when it was new, but I picked the LP up in Portland, and have been blown away anew. Heywood, Phil - SOME SUMMER DAY (Atomic Theory). A personal favorite that hardly anyone but me has heard of, it is completely unpretentious and non-showy but has loads of taste and great original material as well as some well-selected covers. Hii, Philip - "Johann Sebastian Bach: New Transcriptions for Guitar" ... His technique is *very* impressive and his playing is beautifully nuanced. Two pulgars up! Hogans, Neil "Yesterday's News" CD??? Fellow guitar nuts....let me tell you.....this is an *absolutely dynamite* recording. I ordered it in addition to his Beatles Collection CD/tab book....also *must* material if you're into solo acoustic, steel string instrumentals. Neil records on his own label, Joplin & Sweeney Music, and unfortunately there's little distribution. Regardless, "Yesterday's News" is a top-notch production. The Joplin & Sweeney Music Co. (800) 395-7818 Hot Tuna - Hot Tuna Live (Jorma Kaukonen, et. al.) Howe, Steve "Not Necessarily Acoustic" and features steel string, 12 string, nylon, and some electric guitar playing. It's all solo stuff and was recorded live in Montreal. The playing is very clear and clean. Hurt, Mississippi John -- TODAY A wonderful sample of Hurt's music. Fairly easy transcriptions of several of the tunes appear in Ken Perlman's book "Fingerstyle Guitar," and are good for beginners. Hurt, John - The Best of Mississippi John Hurt. A double album, most of it live (his introduction to Coffee Blues is a classic), and all of it joyful. Hurt, Mississippi John: 1928 SESSIONS, Yazoo 1065 James, Steve / Cicchetti, Stephen: _A Single Shot_ This is so obscure that I include it just to be true to myself. The label is Pork Chop Music of San Antonio. You won't find it unless you're real lucky: the label is gone, the artist has moved to Austin, and he has changed his name to Steve James. He now writes articles and reviews for Acoustic Guitar, and his current recorded work (check it out!) is on Antone's Records. But we his loyal fans will always be very fond of his first record, a great acoustic blues record. We think he's about as good as, or better than, Hammond and Geremia. James, Skip - TODAY! Jefferson, Blind Lemon - stunning finger-style blues - listen closely through the surface noise and you will be amazed & rewarded. Jones, Tommy :Chet Atkins Presents Tommy Jones Juber, Laurence : Solo Flight - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Juber, Laurence -"Naked Guitar" This is almost all in standard tuning, and Juber does tear it up. Juber draws from a deep and diverse bag of tricks. About half blues-oriented, about half lyrical finger picking. Kallet, Cindy . I don't know how obscure she is to this group, but I think Cindy is a very fine songwriter and a damn good guitarist. She has a few solo albums, some on Folk Legacy, her newest titles on Stonesthrow. I recommend the solo Dreamin' Down a Quiet Line and the CD Only Human with her partners Ellen Epstien and Michael Ciconne. Great three part harmony there. Katzman, Nick and Green, Ruby _Sparkling Ragtime & Hardbitten Blues_, Kicking Mule Records. The second, better album by this duo, I think it was never even issued on cassette. Katzman is a session guitarist but his approach to blues/ragtime is that of a master. His attack is strong, tone is clean, and feel for the genres perfect. "Ruby Green" is actually Terry Garthwaite of Joy of Cooking, which may explain the continued unavailability of this. Kaukonen, Jorma : Quah, - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Kaukonen, Jorma : Hot Tuna Acoustic - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Kaukonen, Jorma - Gawd I love lots of acoustic Jorma, but I pick side one (the acoustic side of the double album) of the the two disk set "Double Dose". Kaukonen, Jorma: Hot Tuna: Live Keaggy, Phil - BEYOND NATURE (Word/Epic). Keaggy is an exemplar of Christian Music, but he is also an excellent guitarist and there are no vocals on this CD. Sometimes he's a little overbearingly spiritual for my taste, but there's no questioning his talent. Beautiful acoustic playing. Very luscious, with tasteful arrangements. Keaggy, Phil, _What a Day_ is an album that really grew on me. I was initially disappointed withit, but then I listened closely and found out that PK is (also) a verysubtle guitar player. Keith, Catfish I like "Pepper In My Shoe" the best, but it's a close call. IMO the best living country blues/bottleneck player that I've heard. Very good "bluesy" voice too. Keith, Catfish "Cherry Ball" Keith, Catfish, "Jitterbug Swing" Knowles, John . 'Sittin' Back Pickin'. He has a quarterly magazine that comes with a tape, sorta like Fingerstyle Guitar, but I think it's all music, no articles. Some Beatles, a nice arrangement of 'Vincent' ... nylon string fingerstyle. He's of the Chet Atkins school of guitar, more or less. Kottke, Leo: 6 & 12 String Guitar - one of the ten I'd take to a desert island., 6 AND 12 STRING GUITAR blew everyone away in about 1970; it's the best example of his early exuberant and showy style. Taken in the historical context, this one was a real ground breaker. The man redefined the way to play acoustic guitar. His ability to distinctly play two and even three voices on the instrument, IMHO, is unparalleled. Kottke, Leo: A Shout Toward Noon - one of the ten I'd take to a desert island. A SHOUT TOWARD NOON is from the mid-80s and is much quieter and thoughtful in character. This disc has, and is, completely revolutionizing my playing. His complete control of his bass sound is unbelievable. The songs are drawn from a wide variety of moods from the all-out jam of Airproofing Two to the incredibly beautiful Easter Again and Echoing Gilewitz, to the classical- inspired Piece 17. The man is a master and his composition is as good as his technique... A complete rave for this one! Kottke, Leo - My Father's Face Kottke, Leo - Peculiaroso. Mark me down as one who likes some of the later Kottke albums better than the frenetic 12 string early stuff. "Arms of Mary" on this album is one of my all time favorites. Kottke "Thats What" Have you heard the Guitar/Bass work on "Creature Feature"? Kraus, Alison -- Now that I've Found You Message Kropinski, Uwe - _Departure_ (actually bassist David Friesen's session, and it is filed under his name) - I'd say that he's the most astonishing player that I've seen. At every turn, he's doing something surprising, particularly if it involves using the guitar as a percussion instrument. He plays both fingerstyle and with a pick - often within the same piece - and I'd say that stylistically he sounds very "european," kind of 1990's post- Django. (He's East German,btw.) Kropinski, Uwe - _Berlin Concert-Live_ Lang, Peter "The Thing at the Nursery Room Window" (Takoma LP, mid-1970s): Long out of print. This is in the vein of Kottke and Fahey, except more intensely crazed--some slide playing, a lot of very fast tempos, amazing technique. Lang, Peter "American Stock" Legg, Adrian: Guitar For Mortals. Linsky, Jeff "Solo" - it's incredible. Impeccable technique, and most of the arrangements are improvised. Michael Hedges, "Aerial Boundaries". He changed the world (for me). This is not a great CD in its entirety but the first four tunes are stunning and gives me chills. MacIsaac, Dave "Celtic Guitar" Stunning guitar arrangements of celtic fiddle tunes. The accompaniment is as wonderful as the lead playing. Masakowski, Steve - From my listening, maybe the BEST guitarist around now is Steve Masakowski. He has two albums out, and they are both incredible. McGlynn, Artyand with Street, Patrick Celtic. Lovely rhythmic playing. Makes you want to dance just listening. This is single-malt guitar work. McLaughlin, John, Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola - Friday Night in San Francisco This is a live album featuring 3 killer guitar players doing it unplugged - Just guitars, and alot of passion. McLaughlin, John, _Shakti, with John McLaughlin_ is A MUST. IMHO, this album completely redefined the boundariesfor acoustic guitars. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, McLaughlin, Billy - _The Archery of Guitar_ (A Major Label/Proton Discs, Minneapolis, MN) I'll call Billy a local, since he's official on the faculty of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, but like many a great fingerstylist, he's from Minnesota. If Uwe is post-Django, Billy is post-Hedges. Like Hedges, he has great technique, including a lot of the two-hands on the fretboard stuff, but also like early Hedges he has a wonderful sence of melody and his composition's have alot of, I don't know how to describe it, "breathing room" maybe. It strikes me that he places composition first and the technique grows around the piece (that's the way it should be, right?). His style is Romantic in an American Way, Melodic, Precise, Gentle too. McTell, Blind Willie -- LAST SESSION My favorite of all. Shows how fun it can be to play and sing. Miller, Joe - West Coast Music for Guitar (Rising Sleeves-- Miller's own label--1991). Also agreeable, tasteful, non- flashy fingerpicking; the longer you listen the better it sounds. Material includes some reasonably good originals and some very nice material by people I've never or seldom heard of. No vocals. David Grisman appears on several cuts. Miller, John _How About Me_, Blue Goose Records. Not to be confused with Joe Miller. His Joseph Spence- inspired arrangement of Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas" will give you chills. His voice is not so great, however. Another good one is _Bidin' My Time_, all Gershwin for fingerpicking (available as a book from Amsco), also stunning, and his voice had gotten better. Miller, John _Bidin' My Time_, all Gershwin for fingerpicking (available as a book from Amsco), also stunning, and his voice had gotten better. Mitchell, Joni and James Taylor - In Perfect Harmony Morel, Jorge Classically trained, I assume, but his record that I have is different. Excellent solo arrangements of some Gershwin tunes, including an incredible version of 'Rhapsody in Blue'. Myer, Barenberg & Douglas Hop Skip Wobble Blue Ribbon Bluegrass Nelson, Margaret and Cooper, Phil. Phil plays guitar and cittern, Margaret sings and plays bodhran. Mostly traditional music. I like Phil's clean, crisp accompaniment style. The duo is often accompanied by Paul Goeltz on hammered dulcimer. Self produced CDs and tapes, some of which are available through Andy's Front Hall. Nicolella, Michael - _Performs Guitar Works of Bach, Britten and Martin_ -(Gale Recordings, Milwaukee, WI) As the title indicates there are both Baroque and 20th Century pieces ... If your standing in the cd dept. and have to make a choice between the Bream (Nocturnal, 1993) and this disc, get this one. Novak, Billy & Van Duser, Guy -- Exactly Like Us -- Guy (guitar) and Billy (clarinet, sax & vocals) also cover a lot of early pop (pop as in: Big Band) and jazz standards. A bit less interesting to me than Duck's disc, but Guy is a great player none-the-less and his idea of Stride Guitar should merit some attention. The duo recently knocked me out during an NPR inerview so maybe one of their other disc's would be even better. Pass, Joe "I Remember Charlie Parker". His Virtuoso CDs are electric, but this one is done on a nylon string. And he is improvising. Petteway, Al : Waters and Wild (I think that's the title) very beautiful, acoustic melodies. Sort of a Sunday morning paper with coffee relaxing music. Kind of some new age stuff with a touch of bluegrass thrown in. Proctor, Chris - TRAVELOGUE (Flying Fish). Proctor has a number of fingerpicking CDs out. In my opinion, which seems to be shared by others based on past comments in RMMGA, this is by far his best. Qualey, David - "Handmade" Very fine and deserve to be at the top of any list for instrumental solo fingerstyle guitar music. Qualey, David - "Only Guitar Parables" Mr. Qualey has both the technical excellence of a trained classical player and the free spirit of the best of the fingerstyle players. Reed, Preston : The Road Less Travelled, - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Reed, Preston : Blue Vertigo - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island. Reed, Preston PRESTON REED (Flying Fish) combines two LPs (POINTING UP and PLAYING BY EAR). This CD displays the same kind of exuberant virtuosity you'll find on Kottke's 6 AND 12 STRING GUITAR--lots of uptempo stuff, lots of slide, lots of 12-string. It falls short of Kottke (but not by much) mainly because the material is a little less interesting. Reed, Jerry and Atkins, Chet - Anything they do Remler, Emily and Coryell, Larry did an album of acoustic and electric duets, whose name I can't recall. Some of the pieces are on the Emily Remler CD "Retrospectives, Part 1". Renbourn, John Renbourn and Stefan Grossman, SNAP A LITTLE OWL (Shanachie) A guitar duet album by a couple of the best guitarists around. You could call it Chamber Folk but that suggests a solemnity that really isn't here. Comes with a tab book and by gum, if you follow the directions you can sort of play a couple of these things. Renbourn, John Renbourn and Stefan Grossman, THE THREE KINGDOMS (Shanachie). A guitar duet album by a couple of the best guitarists around. You could call it Chamber Folk but that suggests a solemnity that really isn't here. Renbourn, John, THE HERMIT (Shanachie). Renbourn has a number of solo albums. I think he's about the best steel string guitarist around and this is the one that I listen to most often. Rice, Tony - Church Street Blues - just Tony and his guitar... I give it a 10+ Rice, Tony - Cold on the Shoulder - a super follow-up to Manzanita Tone Poems I with David Grisman - Tony plays a bunch of vintage guitars Rice, Tony - and Blake, Norman Tony Rice and Norman Blake I and II - both are extraordinary pieces of work Rice, Tony - Backwaters - my first Tony Rice purchase..Tony's foray into more jazz-like music. Rice, Tony - River Suite with John Carlini - one of his latest recordings... super stuff Rice, Tony - Tony Rice: Guitar Rice, Tony - Manzanita Rice, Tony - all 5 of the "Bluegrass Album Band Rice, Tony and Grisman, David - Tone Poems - Tony Rice & David Grisman do 18 duets using 18 different vintage guitars and mandolins. Direct miked with no attenuation or tweaking..yeow. A fascinating study of vintage instruments by two virtuosos. Rice's flat picking is flawless and Grisman is, well, Grisman...simply amazing. Check it out Rienhart, Django : Everyone seems to have their favorite Django Rienhart, and I have just discovered him, so I'm not qualified to offer an opinion, just to nominate him. Roches (the) - The Roches Ruskin, Rick : Sounds Familiar (duets with Lewis Ross) - One of the ten discs I'd take to a desert island Ruskin, Rick- Microphone Fever Schmidt, Claudia - Midwestern Heart Schoenberg, Eric : Two of my all time favorite finger picking pieces are his versions of Wise Maid and Sleepy Maggie. I believe Eric told me that he did Wise Maid in open G and Sleepy Maggie in G Modal. Shakti, with John McLaughlin. "Shakti" Shakti, with John McLaughlin - "A Handful of Beauty" Sherman, John was recently on the net selling off vinyl copies of his album Farewell to the Creeks. Fingerstyle guitar and bouzouki on Irish traditional tunes. Very nice. Simon, Paul "Paul Simon" for the huge variety of styles of music this man can command. Simpson, Martin A closer walk with thee Spence, Joseph - "Music of the Bahamas - Vol. 1" I believe has been reissued on Smithsonian Folkways as "The Complete Folkways Recordings, 1958" Stotzem, Jacques: STRAIGHT ON (Acoustic Music). Stotzem is the guitarist whose material on THE INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL was so good that I sought out more. He's jazzy and New Agey but the blues always seem to be in the back of his mind somewhere. Street, Patrick with McGlynn, Artyand other groups (I saw him with De Danaan). Celtic. Lovely rhythmic playing. Makes you want to dance just listening. This is single-malt guitar work. Taylor, Martin -"Artistry" Taylor, James and Joni Mitchell - In Perfect Harmony Traum, Happy - "Bucket of Songs" - includes a tablature booklet. I still listen to this album for pleasure, over and over. Travis, Merle - Walkin' the Strings - (Capital c1956?) A bunch of fingerpicking ditties (and a few folky vocals) that show why Merle might be the most underrated Acoustic players ever. I think that some his early Capitol LP's are in print now on CD... Van Bergeyk, Ton - "Black and Tan Fantasy". Jazz standards to classic rags. Van Duser, Guy and Novak, Billy -- Exactly Like Us -- Guy (guitar) and Billy (clarinet, sax & vocals) also cover a lot of early pop (pop as in: Big Band) and jazz standards. A bit less interesting to me than Duck's disc, but Guy is a great player none-the-less and his idea of Stride Guitar should merit some attention. The duo recently knocked me out during an NPR inerview so maybe one of their other disc's would be even better. Van Duser, Guy - FINGERSTYLE GUITAR SOLOS Guy's first record on Rounder - the one with Stars and Stripes Forever. I think Guy has actually improved since this record was made, but at the time it was a revelation to me. I knew nothing about non-classical acoustic guitar in 1980, and when I inquired about "folk music" at a Boston record shop, the clerk handed me this album and said "if you won't mind something other than 'Cripple Creek' try this".This album became for me, in 1980, the art of the possible. Van Duser, Guy - STRIDE GUITAR, released a few years later, is graduate level Van Duser. Van Eps, George: Well, if you want obscure... Jump Records, a very small label from Hermosa, CA put out a wonderful LP George Van Eps playing his acoustic Epiphone arch-top 7-string with the George Van Eps, Eddie Miller, Stan Wrightsman Trio. It's a surprisingly pleasing set, with very interesting guitar playing by a true master. Van Eps, George: -With Howard Alden - "Handcrafted Swing" Van Eps, George: -With Howard Alden - "Seven & Seven" Van Eps, George: -With Howard Alden - "Thirteen Strings". Van Eps, George: Elderly has an lp listed, "Mellow Guitar". It is a reissue of a 1956 Columbia lp. I bought the lp recently and really think that it is some of his best playing. Van Eps, George - My favorite Van Eps album is SOLILOQUY on, I think, Columbia. When I last looked this was OOP. Waters, Muddy - Folk Singer Watson, Doc & Merle--- Ballads form Deep Gap Watson, Doc "The Essential Doc Watson" (... or pretty much anything he's done!) Watson, Doc - Doc Watson on Stage, Featuring Merle Watson. Just Doc and Merle and their guitars, with occasional harmonica thrown in by Doc. Probably the album I'd take to a desert island. Utterly brilliant. Wells, Junior and Buddy Guy: Alone and Acoustic Wells, Junior and Buddy Wells "Buddy and The Juniors" Wijnkamp, Leo ..THE RETURN OF DR. HACKENBUSH Kicking Mule records. Wijnkamp, Leo ...RAGS TO RICHES Kicking Mule records. Williams, Dar - The Honety Room Williams, John and Bream, Julian: Together