John Fahey's Guitar Christmas Book

Still time to learn a couple songs for the holidays!Go to the post below to d/l the pdf! Enjoy!

John Fahey's Guitar Christmas Book

It's nearly that time of the year already! This post is already getting a lot of traffic, but if you don't have this, get it now! Start practicing and annoy...er, amaze and entertain your family and friends with some unique twists on Xmas tunes.
Big thanks to my buddy Greg for giving me this book, even after I told him he could sell it on eBay for a mint. I've seen it go for hundreds of dollars.
John Fahey's Guitar Christmas Book contains nine solos and one duet for finger-style guitar. Most of the songs are presented in both tablature and standard notation. The introduction includes a brief description of John Fahey's techniques. Helpful study notes are provided for each song. Songs were originally released on two albums: The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album , Takoma, TAK 7020, and Christmas with John Fahey, Volume II , Takoma, TAK 7045.
This book contains the following transcriptions:
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Fantasy"
"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful"
"We Three Kings of Orient Are"
"What Child is This?"
"The First Noel"
"Auld Lang Syne"
"Joy to the World"
"Oh Tanenbaum/Angels We Have Heard on High/Jingle Bells"
Get the music on Amazon
d/l: http://drop.io/JohnFaheyXmasBook
password: delta-slider
You may notice that there are pages missing. All the songs are presented in tab and notation. Due to time constraints I choose to leave out the notation. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Glenn Jones - Barbecue Bob in Fishtown

From the Strange Attractors site:

Returning to Martha's Vineyard where Jones recorded his previous masterwork (Against Which the Sea Continually Beats, Strange Attractors, 2007), Barbecue Bob in Fishtown explores the possibilities of classical composition within American folk forms and solo instrumentation. Its precisely this stylistic melding which sets Jones apart from his modern-day acoustic underground brethren. Jones is able to discover and project wide-screened cinema from just 6 & 12 strings, coaxing vivid panoramic images from his sparkling fingerstyle playing. Experimentations with tuning and various capos of his own invention are wed with delicately expressive playing and a remarkable compositional prowess. Barbecue Bob in Fishtown also finds Jones' performing solo on 5-string banjo for the first time on record, exhuming the spirit of Clive's Original Band as seen through a Dock Boggs-esque prism.

Free MP3 of A Geranium for Mano-a-Mano

Buy at Strange Attractors

Glenn was kind enough to let me post another song from the CD as well. I chose track #4, Redwood Ramble Misremembered. Per the liner notes, it's a Robbie Basho song, or at least a Basho phrase that Jones built around. I had to hunt around to find the Basho version, I found it here. Glenn's effort results in a beautiful song, perhaps he should misremember a few more of his influences! The other really strong songs on this CD are the opening tune, Barbecue Bob in Fishtown and track 6, Dead Reckoning. The later being composed in the studio and cut in three takes.

Not that this has much to do with the music that an artist produces, but I find that a nice fat insert is always a welcome addition to a CD of great music! Glenn comes through with a lot of info that I always find very interesting, what inspired the song, what instrument it was played on, the tuning and even the capo position! Or what's left of the capo after he saws it in half. Extra bonus in this CD is a B&W montage of Glenn getting his nails done, presumably before going into the studio? I dunno, but all I can say is, thanks for the kinda creepy photo shoot! And what's up with the Electric Mud album?

Ok, back to the music. I mention my favorite tracks above, now let us be clear - the other songs are good too, those are just my favs. Glenn does a little something new on this CD, as all artists should, he put a couple of solo banjo pieces on here. Now, I'm not much of a banjo guy so you will have to judge for yourself, or try to decipher "...exhuming the spirit of Clive's Original Band as seen through a Dock Boggs-esque prism." Man, why don't I write cool stuff like that? Ah, anyway, I think I like Jones' efforts on the banjo because he is a guitar player playing banjo, like a guitar, instead of a banjo.

Anyway, here is track #4 as promised.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Now go buy this CD!!

Amazon

Buy at Strange Attractors

Paco Pena concert review and bootleg of Boulder, Colorado Show

Paco Pena puts on a heck of a show. Though I knew that this show was not guitar-centric, I wasn't going to miss a chance at seeing flamenco of such a magnitude. So now I've seen Paco Pena and Paco de Lucia. I would just like to see de Lucia again because when I saw him it was with John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola. Not that that was chopper liver, it just wasn't flamenco!

Anyway, the show featured dancing very prominently. It was great to get to see Ángel Muñoz, an excellent performer! My favorite parts of the show were Paco solo (one tune) and the two pieces he did with just him and one dancer.

Paco is off to Canada for the rest of the North American tour so you better check the schedule and get your tickets.

I did record the show and a few of the pieces came out pretty well, just a little shuffling here and there.

Download them here and please let me know what you think.
¡Olé!

Will McCarthy - This is Music for Films

Will McCarthy has kindly sent me this 2008 release for the blog! It has been chosen to be used for the soundtrack of a DVD about "Forests of Spain". An instrumental release, Will works with a Spanish guitar throughout. Let's have a listen to "Spain"


And here is "Uncle"

From the press release:

"This is Music for Films" is Will McCarthy's first soundtrack album. A self-taught musician, this Londoner of mixed descent has settled in Valencia, Spain. He's been playing and recording for 20 years and has explored all corners of Europe, East & West, North & South. He's picked up some musical influences along the way! The universal experiences of travel, work, love, heartbreak, faces and places have all played their part in the making of this album.

Here is an eclectic and distinctive collection of original compositions flavoured with folk, polkas, blues, Arabic, flamenco, funk touches and much more. It is catchy, happy, sad, reflective, mysterious, moving, irreverent and more.

It is the sound of a unique and diverse musician, more concerned with expression and feel than studied technique and endless takes. It's different and that's what makes it special. With just one guitar and one microphone, it is a naked collection of instrumentals...just for you. This is music for films. Enjoy it!

Track list

1-Irene

2-Temptation

3-Funk

4-Drops

5-Spain

6-Changes

7-Jazz

8-Con Man

9-Blues

10-Love

11-Darkness

12-Disappearance

13-Train

14-Uncle

15-Celt

16-Revenge

17-Berlin

18-Faces & Places

19-Sex

20-Joy

21-Chioces

22-Nightmare

23-The Hit

24-Arabic

25-Regret

26-Grace

27-On the Road

28-Goodbye

Download the entire CD HERE
Visit Will on MySpace

The Genius of Les Paul - Multi-Trackin'

Yeah, I know I'm a lot late on this. Been busy, or lazy, take your pick!

Sleeve Notes from the 1979 London Records release:
There is no electric guitarist performing who is not indebted to Les Paul. His sound and the hardware he invented to achieve it is revered by the likes of Jeff Beck, George Benson, Eric Clapton, Pat Mortino, Pete Townsend, Richard Betts and Jimmy Page.
Not since Thomas Edison-to whom Les Rightly compares himself-has anyone contributed as much to recording technology. He invented sound-on-sound, making it possible to record one signal independently of an entire program. This process, also called overdubbing, was first introduced on his early fifties hits with Mary Ford, where he played between three and twelve guitar parts and she became the first double-tracked vocalist. He "discovered" echo or delay, a dimension which has totally reconditioned listeners, perceptions to a "depth-of-field" or an acoustical space surrounding the source. Consequently he is responsible for spawning an entirely new area of study and systems called psychoacoustics. (Editors note: I've seen the psychoacoustics in concert!)
Les Paul perfected the solid body electric guitar, was the first to put two pickups on one guitar and the first to build a guitar with 14 frets. Since their introduction in 1952, the instruments he designed for Gibson are the ideal of the majority of electric guitarists.
Les is not only an inventor, he is a capital musician. When he came to New York City in the late thirties he fell in with the best. Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Christian. He worked in Fred Waring's Orchestra then went on to back Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. In 1949 he had his first of what would be a long string of hit records with the Rodgers & Hart standard "Lover".
Les retired from music and performing in 1965 to concentrate on developing new inventions. But in 1967 he was coaxed back into recording again by London's Walt Maguire. The idea was to rework some of the original classics-"Lover", "How High the Moon", "Tennessee Waltz", "Bye Bye Blues", and "I Really Don't Want to Know" -with his updated systems. You hold the results in your hand as, The Genius of Les Paul-Multi-Trackin' (originally released as "Les Paul Now" in 1968).
Since 1975 Les has been active again in performing and recording; last year he won a Grammy for his collaborations with Chet Atkins called Chester and Lester. -Peter Hay
My thoughts-
Interesting that this was first released in 1968, when solo guitar was going strong; Takoma was about to release 6 and 12 string by Kottke, Basho was up to several releases, Fahey, of course was well into his career. Interesting because despite the genre differences and the emphasis on creating layers of sound, specifically layers of electric guitar, this is arguably (and i like to argue) a solo guitar album. There are no vocals, and yes, there is some other instrumentation, but it is really just light support for Les' amazing playing. The emphasis here is to put multiple guitar parts together for the sake of the song as a whole.
The first time I heard this I was blown away. This was one of those moments I can point to as being very important to my development as a fan of the guitar. My grandmother owned this album and thought I would like it. Well, being about 17 and very into Led Zepp, I had a good laugh that she would own anything I might like. Grandma got the last laugh on that one! I, ahem, "borrowed" the album periodically before getting my own copy. I now own two copies, if anyone out there is into the vinyl thing and is interested in buying one, let me know, I am willing to part with one of the two.
This CD is available for sale, although on Amazon it is an import and goes for $22, the total time on this thing is only 26 minutes, bit of a rip off, really. But since it is available, I'm only going to post this for a short time, so get it now! Not like it is high quality, this is a rip from my LP.
How High the Moon
Some good articles on Les:
Mixonline
AP

Ragtime Ralph - Unearthed: live...February 28th, 1981

Folks, Ragtime Ralph is back from the past with a newly discovered recording from a live show.

This is a 35 minute set performed (coincidentally?) on Fahey's 42nd birthday. If you have all of Ralph's other releases, you need this one too! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you better get with it and get the rest of the releases by going HERE.

This is a solid set in the same vein as the Vol. 4 release.
Take a listen to "Fraser River Delta Blues"

Get it HERE
or
Here

Otis Taylor – Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs

I’ve heard many a musician talk about the space that needs to be left in a composition. I’ve always thought of that in terms of notes, the notes that one doesn’t play. But Otis Taylor makes songs with space between the singing…lots of space. And man-oh-man does it work.

Overall, Taylor as well as his daughter, Cassie, are about the emotional impact of the song. Taylor’s singing and lyrical style is very repetitive. He labels it call and response, call it what you like but I find it fascinating that he can say so little in a song, and have it mean so much.

Taylor crafts his songs with space for playing too, and it’s always appropriate to the feeling of the song. He builds his songs in a progressive manner, adding layers, but always leaving that space for the musicians to shine. Somehow Taylor manages to let them show off without screwing up the songs.

Taylor’s use of the acoustic guitar is great. He doesn't just play the notes, he pounds them out in a percussive way that is rarely heard in a band setting. All too often acoustic guitars are lost in the mix once all the instruments kick, but Taylor keeps it sharp and up front, setting the pace for the song.

It’s hard to really label this as a blues CD, it’s a big, messy soup of styles. One minute it’s modern blues, then his daughter sings a plaintive ballad. Next is a song with some tasty licks played on a nylon stringed guitar. Trance banjo followed by a jazz piece that seems to be equal parts Miles Davis, Nik Bärtsch and of course Otis Taylor. And all of this is a good thing. So if you haven’t discovered Otis Taylor yet, this is a good place to start.

Buy it here!

Amazon
Concord
Visit Otis at
Myspace
OtisTaylor.com

Pat O'Connell - On the Sunnyside of Ashland

Hey, hey! Pat O'Connell has released his CD!

Here is My previous post about Pat O'Connell

BUY IT HERE!!!

Mike Fekete - Yellow and Red

Mike Fekete is currently living in one of the hottest places for music, especially acoustic guitar music, the Northwest of the United States. He keeps good company with the likes of Terry Robb, Sean Smith (a little less North), Mary Flower and even John Fahey. Specifically, Mike Fekete lives in Olympia, WA. At 29 years old he is part of the new wave of musicians that has embraced the beauty and power of the acoustic guitar. Even better, he plays solo acoustic.

Mike says his music is equally rooted in the Takoma sound as well as the Windham Hill sound. Now, I like a guy that will stand up and mention Windham Hill. It has taken a beating for a long time, and still does, but the fact of the matter is that Will Ackerman sought out and signed a lot of very talented musicians. One of which was George Winston.

George Winston has had occasion to listen to Mike's music and says, "Mike Fekete is one of the great new 21st Century guitarist/composers." Now that is high praise indeed. I bet that makes you want to hear some Mike Fekete.

Mike has been kind enough to allow me to post a song from his release, Yellow and Red and make it available for download!

Click on the player to listen to "Magnolia (In Blossom)"





Click on the link to download your copy.
"Magnolia (In Blossom)"

If you like that piece you need to head on out (but please come back) to

CDBaby

Amazon

or iTunes

to get your copy Yellow and Red. The hard copy is very reasonably priced if you are the type that still likes an actual CD, or you can d/l it for a bit less.

So, having given Yellow & Red a good, thorough listen, I see what Mike is saying about his roots. In a single song his is very likely to start off down the Windham Hill of sweet melody only to subtly veer into Takoma territory with a bit of dissonance and aggressive picking. Strings rattling, the bass line shifting in and out of harmony and then deftly, you are back on the road he started you down, the sweet melody is back and you think, OK, I need to hear that again! A couple of my favorites are track 6, Not Above Not Below and track 8, Rainforest Coast.

Back to the Windham Hill influences, it's interesting that Mike sites Winston as his reason for picking up the guitar as a solo instrument. When he started playing solo guitar, he had yet to discover the genre, so he was trying to play music like Winston, but on guitar. Next came Hawaiian Slack Key and then the flood gates opened eventually leading him back to Winston when he found that Fahey had produced Winston's first album. I think the title cut sounds like it's got a lot of Hedges in it, so the influences do go beyond Winston.