Rev. Gary Davis

Manchester Free Trade Hall, 1964

(Document Records, 2007)

When blues moved to urban areas, like Chicago, the focus became blues shouters or those that simply hollered. Well, the Reverend is not from the city, but in stark contrast to Skip James, Davis possessed a guttural grunt that could very probably not be replicated. Through his catalog, as he aged, listeners can hear how his voice progressively became more and more intimidating and gruff. Although on later sides, as on the Biograph ’71 releases, Davis seems almost dazed and out of touch with his art. The Manchester show provides us with a glimpse into the Reverend’s powers shortly after his re-emergence from obscurity.

Firstly, it must be noted that the recording itself is of a higher quality than might be expected. And while, surely, it’s not perfect – it’s relatively clean, in a dusty blues sorta way. Davis’ sets were able to run from overtly religious in tone to irrefutably secular. Here though, listeners aren’t offered the charming religiously flavored tunes, but instead the recording begins with a song that the Stones as well as Fred McDowell played, “You Got to Move”. While not the strongest version put to disc, it’s strong enough not to obviously point to the aging of a master.

The guitar and vocal powers of this original purveyor of blues do show ware occasionally as on “Cocaine Blues”. But given the subject matter, it seems oddly befitting. There are a few instrumental tracks that serve to further illustrate Davis’ age – but really even at this point of his life, the Reverend’s stronger than countless rockers who ape his cool that it doesn’t really matter. Included amongst these instrumentals, and the closer to this set, is a Scott Joplin number, “Maple Leaf Rag”. It’s a charming and stately way to close an evening, while a flaw or two is apparent,

again, it’s the Reverend, so it really doesn’t matter.

Brad Barr

The Fall Apartment

(Tompkins Square, 2008)

Unfortunately or not, The Fall Apartment really has nothing to do with the Slip. That band’s metamorphosis over the years has encompassed a great deal of stylistic variety, but doesn’t ever really touch upon acoustic, instrumental guitar music. The lone, potential meeting of Barr’s group and his solo outing is that of production value. Even while this disc focuses on Barr’s guitar, there are occasional flares of studio treachery more commonly found in electric music.

The first time that some obvious tape hiss rears its head is on “War.” And coming after “Sarah Through the Wall,” with its complex, although at times academic progressions, “War” presents itself as a new idea amongst all the lonely guitar tracks. Sadly enough it begins in the same fashion that the M.A.S.H. theme song does. Pretty quickly the tune differentiates itself enough so that listeners don’t think about helicopters and medics. Deep in the mix, a ghostly stringed instrument rings out occasional chords as the tape hiss fills the holes that the guitar leaves. It’s an interesting, if perhaps under-developed idea.

The only other track from The Fall Apartment that boasts production in the same way is the penultimate track, “Do I Have to Understand That?”

Whereas “War” retains the album’s folksy direction, “Do I…” seems like an ambient interlude from a rock record. Echoed percussion and the plucking of strings back-up an occasional electric guitar chord or screetch. More importantly than the sounds flying from this track is it’s sequencing on the album. Were this track placed at the very end of the recording, it would have