Davy Graham - A Scholar & A Gentleman

The mighty rearranger

There’s only one tune this compilation could start with and you wouldn’t need two guesses to name it. Ever since Anji first appeared on the 3/4 AD EP in 1963, it’s been a touchstone for anyone considering themselves a good guitarist. The surprise here is to be reminded of how light and airy its composer makes it sound.

Considering that there’s a relatively limited amount of original material to mine, these two discs make a good fist of drawing together Davy Graham’s career and musical development between 1963 and 1970. There’s material from all the LPs you want to hear (including Folk Roots, New Routes, with Shirley Collins) and examples of folk-baroque, folk-oriental and Graham’s jazz-inflected pieces. Not everything he touched turned to gold, though, and while his covers of Dylan (Don’t Think Twice…) and The Beatles (Getting Better) work OK here, they don’t add much to the canon.

Touchingly, the sleevenotes make it clear that, though he may have had a troubled life, Davy Graham inspired many fond memories in the people he lived among. To compose a classic, to change a musical form and to be missed by your neighbours – wouldn’t we all settle for an epitaph like that?

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

EMI/Decca | 532 263-1 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Tim Holmes
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