Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer

Also known as Reverend Gary Davis, this exquisite guitarist traverses blues, gospel, ragtime, folk and more. Having been born blind, his talents are all that much more amazing as his guitar playing is intricate and complex, and all done while singing. He was a consummate showman, as well, playing with one hand while snapping the fingers of his other, slapping the sound box of the guitar and waving his arms about. His voice has a raspy, gospel tone and his passion is undeniable as he sings.

This collection has some cross-over with other compilations that I have (such as the Heroes of the Blues series), but each has enough different tunes to make the different records all worthwhile. This is simply Gary & his guitar - and that is all that he needs to fill a room. The songs here were originally recorded in 1960 (according to the liner notes he recorded 20 songs, mostly done in one take, in 3 hours!) and are all religious in tone, since he had been an ordained minister for years at this point and was preaching at a local store-front church. They range from the joyous ("Twelve Gates to the City", "I Belong to the Band") to the mournful ("Death Don't Have No Marcy") to simply preachin' the gospel ("Samson and Delilah", "Lo, I Be With You Always"). All are great, with impressive guitar lines (he finger-picked with simply his thumb and index finger making it all that more wondrous how he did what he did) and wonderful, expressive singing.

Nicely recorded and re-mastered for CD, this is a great collection, though at only 12 songs, you will be sure to be wanting more!