"When Rock Goes Acoustic" Documentary

From the title it's pretty obvious what it's about. Take a stroll down 'rock's' many highways and discover the role of the acoustic guitar in the making of modern music. Everyone from Donovan to Albert Lee to Ray Davies have their say. Excellent documentary, and as Johnny Marr says, "If you can't play acoustic, you're not a guitarist!

part one...

"She Moved Through The Fair" Instrumental

Original instrumental arrangement of the traditional folk song "She Moved Through The Fair". Dropped D tuning. Influenced in part by Davy Graham's version, and although it's nothing like his version, his gave me the idea to do an instrumental arrangement.

"The First Time That Ever I Saw Your Face"

Instrumental version of the famous Ewan Maccoll tune, father of the English folk revival, during the 1960's. The song was adapted by Bert Jansch. My guitar is tuned to DADGAD. Played on a nylon string acoustic for a softer feel and sound. While Bert's reinterpretation strays from the original tune, it's a fitting tribute. My version is more or less a copy of Bert's.

"Midnight Dance of the Silverfish"

Short, original, fingerpicking guitar instrumental inspired by John Fahey, Bert jansch, Nick Drake etc..

"Danny" by Anthony Monaghan

Tune I wrote for my son. Influenced by John Fahey, Bert Jansch, Nick Drake etc...

Angi by Davy Graham

This tune by Davy Graham is considered the well spring for all other 'folk blues' tunes that came after it. Every guitar player who ever wandered down the road of finger picking, folk guitar has mastered his own version.
Bert Jansch famously recorded it after Davy Graham's version, twisting it and turning it into his own tune. Paul Simon was so taken by the tune that he not only recorded it himself, but borrowed the majority of the tune's structure and turned it into "We've got a groovy thing going Baby" for Simon and Garfunkel. And now my attempt. I'm more or less influenced by both Davy and Bert's versions, taking elements of both to turn out my own version of this classic, ageless tune.
The film I made to accompany it is largely culled from the Peter Whitehead film, "Tonight let's all make love in London". I've chopped it up a bit and added some of my own footage. I want to convey the feeling of urban movement that the song conjures up. Buildings, bridges, traffic and human traffic. A city at night, a city on the move, people going places, anonymity in the crowd. The heartbeat of a city.

Davy Graham

Judy. By John Renbourn

Blackwaterside

Taught to Bert Jansch by Anne Briggs, who wrote the original song, but the tune was probably influenced by a traditional English folk tune, stolen by Jimmy page and presented to the world on Led Zeppelin's 1st album as Black Mountainside complete with sitar and finally to me by way of Bert Jansch's version. Drop 'D' tuning, capo 2nd fret.