Rev. Gary Davis: The Video Collection

Born in 1896, Reverend Gary Davis was a hugely influential finger-style guitarist: his style and compositions can be heard in recordings by the Grateful Dead ("Samson and Delilah"), Jorma Kaukonen and Hot Tuna ("Death Don't Have No Mercy"), and Bob Dylan, among others. Davis, who was blind, was also well known as a teacher, with students including noted guitarist Stefan Grossman, compiler of the 31 performances included in this collection. It's a no-frills enterprise—no interviews, no testimonials, no biographical information, just music, with tracks grouped together according to time (from the mid-'60s to 1970) and circumstance (ranging from TV and film appearances to informal recitals in folks' living rooms). Nor is there anything high-tech, high-res, or hi-def about these recordings; indeed, the visual quality of the final six tracks in particular is extremely poor. But the power of Davis' playing and singing comes through loud and clear. Picking the strings of his 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars with his thumb and forefinger, he plays a combination of ragtime, country, folk, gospel, and blues styles, and while it may sound rather rough and primitive, his technique is in fact remarkably sophisticated and difficult. He also has a powerful, guttural vocal sound (heard to good effect on "Oh Glory How Happy I Am," performed on Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest TV show, with a sullen and self-conscious Donovan sitting to one side while Seeger gamely tries to accompany the Rev). Whether or not the Rev. Gary Davis (who died in 1972) was "as important to the acoustic guitar as Andres Segovia was to the Spanish guitar" may be argued, but he was unquestionably a unique and pioneering artist. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)