To those who are unfamiliar with
Davey Graham's work,
The Complete Guitarist might seem like a lofty title for this album. But it's a title that the Scottish musician, who has commanded a lot of respect in U.K. folk circles since emerging in the 1960s, lives up to on these unaccompanied acoustic solo-guitar recordings from the late 1970s. Diversity is the rule on this album, and
Graham successfully turns his attention to an abundance of traditional Celtic songs (both Scottish and Irish) as well as everything from Bach's "Ein Feste Burg" to blues classics like
Big Bill Broonzy's "When I Been Drinking" and
Memphis Slim's "How Come You Do Me Like You Do." Whether it's Celtic music, classical, blues, or jazz,
Graham has no problem tackling a variety of styles and demonstrating that he really is the complete guitarist. Originally released as a vinyl LP in the late 1970s,
The Complete Guitarist was, in 1999, reissued on CD with eight bonus tracks from 1979-1980 added. ~ Alex Henderson