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Underground > Radio & Music >

Acoustic Guitar

19:55 / 04.03.03

I'm interested in some new listening music to add to my collection, and I'd like some acoustic arrangements, focusing on the guitar. I'd like to find some new music, but older or more obscure stuff is good too. Could someone please help me and list some people I could look for when I go to Borders this weekend?

Matthew Fluxington

19:58 / 04.03.03

I'd recommend Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs. It's a great pop record, as skewed and warped as it is, and Barrett's acoustic guitar playing is at once very sloppy and very inventive. It's one of my favorite records.

The Return Of Rothkoid

20:52 / 04.03.03

Django Reinhardt. Gypsy jazz swing perfection that you will never attain if you play - trust me - but is some of the most honestly feelgood (without the side-dish of cheese) music you'll ever hear. The man's a cigarette-dangled, moustachio'd champ.

00:40 / 05.03.03

Thanks for your suggestions! Anyone else worth a look?

Matthew Fluxington

00:44 / 05.03.03

If you're feeling really adventurous and experimental, you can give Jandek a try.

The Return Of Rothkoid

01:57 / 05.03.03

Bill Frissell? He's got a great line in woopy guitar, though the Nashville album sees him playing it more or less straight - with some gorgeous guest artists.

06:38 / 05.03.03

Martin Simpson- see if you can find 'Smoke And Mirrors'. Blues-inflected, occasionally tortured and howling, and *very* cool.

I just realised that I never mentioned the mighty Menlo Park on Barbelith before... and they're such a perfect band for this place.

A

08:51 / 05.03.03

It's a pretty obvious choice, but Donovan's acoustic records are great.

09:46 / 05.03.03

Flamenco. The best guitar music ever. Official.

Unfortunately I am a fairly recent convert and my approach to music is pretty non-anal, and I would be delighted if someone who knows more about the music stepped in, if only to give me a few pointers. If you want an introduction to Flamenco then a decent compilation album is probably your best bet. I don't know what sort of compilations might be available where you are, but names to look out for might be (can't do any accents here, and I'm mixing in singers with guitarists, but) Paco de Lucia, Camaron de la Isla, Paco Pena, Fosforito, Manolo Caracol who are all wonderful. I haven't really got into flamenco nuevo but rather enjoy Remedios Amaya and Jose Merce who I believe are well-respected modern musicians. With less emphasis on the guitar, there is a band called Radio Tarifa who use all manner of weird and wonderful instruments (Moroccan banjos, Egyptian double clarinets, bagpipes) to create this ethereal almost mediaeval Arabo-Andalusian sound. I love them, but the acoustic guitar is not at the centre of their music in the same way as the others I have mentioned.

11:44 / 05.03.03

tim buckley had an outakes lp out fairly recently called this dream belongs to me, first half is acoutic and just totally and trancendentally brilliant.

so much so i had the first track played as my bride walked down the aisle at our wedding this year (song to the siren)

can't recommend this enough really.

andrew

11:51 / 05.03.03

Nick Drake Nick Drake Nick Drake. Anything by Nick Drake. Might make you cry, though.

12:41 / 05.03.03

Guitar - wow, what a big area. If you're looking for some new bands, then try out Turin Brakes, who have some crazy lyrics and great guitar.

I highly recommend the trio of:

McLoughlin, DiMeola and DeLucia, and in particular their live performance, Friday Night in SanFrancisco, as well as Passion Grace and Fire. They are fucking fantastic CDs. (That's John McLoughlin, Al DiMeola, & Paco DeLucia - they've all produced individual CDs which are great too) Oh, and let us not forget Carlos Santana... that boy can play guitar.

There's just so many to recommend - it depends on what you have and what area you're interested in. I'm assuming you've got the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, Steve Vai, Andres Segovia, BB King, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and lots of guitarists in many, many rock, jazz and metal bands. There are lots of talented people out there.

13:38 / 05.03.03

If you want to geek out, Robert Fripp and the League of Crafty Guitarists. Technical, funny stuff with lots of acoustic guitars. Masses of them. Fripp is from King Crimson, and really loves to experiment with things.

On the other hand, I personally prefer the simplicity of The Mountain Goats.

Somewhere between the two falls Chet Atkins. He does acoustic and electric, so check out the album before you buy.

There is also the Spanish guitar legend, Andres Segovia, the "father of the modern classical guitar." I've heard classical stuff from Narciso Yepes that ain't bad neither.

No star here laces

13:40 / 05.03.03

Is Kings of Convenience acoustic? Cause its grate.

13:51 / 05.03.03

And I think that possibly wins the prize for 'most unexpected post of the week'.

14:57 / 06.06.03

John Fahey. I heard him for the first time a couple of days ago and haven't stopped listening to him. Amazing stuff - much of it is fairly bluesy, but there's all sorts going on there. AMG says it far better than I could hope to. Is anyone familiar with his stuff?

00:58 / 09.06.03

Dashboard Confessional and Bright Eyes. Dashboard has a louder, stronger guitar sound. Bright Eyes is better overall however.

02:32 / 09.06.03

Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Christian. Album recorded 1943, standout track is "Kerouac".

14:01 / 16.06.03

Nick Drake Nick Drake Nick Drake

I'm inclined to agree. Plus the feller that taught him that oh-so-distictive picking style, John Martyn. Bless The Weather is a superb album by martyn. As for Nick Drake, theres an album called Way to Blue which is a great 'introduction to' album.

My favourite obscure acoustic album is Francis Dunnery's One Night In Sauchihall Street - he puts on a totally funny show as well

09:29 / 17.06.03

Oh Susanna.

Kristin Hersh's Hips & Makers.

I totally second Django Rheinhardt and Bless the Weather, though Martyn's more recent stuff sucks.