Demons and Angels: The Ultimate Collection [Box]

Performer: Rev. Gary Davis
Producer: Stefan Grossman (Compilation)
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Recorded between 1958 & 1966. Includes liner notes by Stefan Grossman. Adapter: Rev. Gary Davis. Personnel: Rev. Gary Davis (vocals, guitar). Recording information: 1958-1966. Photographers: Stefan Grossman; Don Schlitten; George Pickow; Joe Alper; Brian Shuel. Arranger: Rev. Gary Davis. This three-disc "ultimate collection" is an impressive compilation of recordings made featuring Rev. Gary Davis during a period spanning 1956 to 1966. An obvious labor of love, Demons and Angels was compiled and produced by one of Rev. Davis' former students -- Stefan Grossman who paid Davis five dollars a lesson "regardless whether it would last an hour or several days." Going beyond gathering various performances, this set examines Rev. Davis' unique fingerpickin' acoustic guitar style from several distinctive points of view. Unfortunately the liner notes booklet sheds no light into the nature, exact recording dates, or venues of these performances. Presenting Davis in such varied settings allows enthusiast and student alike the unique perspective of hearing one of America's premier folk musicians in a most intimate situation. Disc one features songs recorded at Columbia University in 1958 and 1959 by student John Gibson. Judging from the occasional verbal instruction, as well as the lack of an audible audience, it is surmised that Davis is participating in some degree of formal instruction. Disc two includes home recordings, presumably documented by Grossman during his one-on-one mentoring sessions between 1964 and 1966. Disc three rounds off Demons and Angles with various live performances from 1962-1966. The impact that Rev. Gary Davis had on musicians such as folk icon Dave Van Ronk and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen is obvious. The profound influence affected not only their choice of material, but more insidiously performance and delivery styles as well. Nowhere is this more evident than the live readings of "Let Us Get Together," "Lord, Search My Heart," and "Cocaine Blues." Rev. Davis' liquefied fretwork foreshadows Kaukonen's stunning virtuosity, while his sly, talking-blues delivery seems tailor made for Van Ronk's decidedly Greenwich Village approach. ~ Lindsay Planer

Entertainment Weekly (3/23/01, p.115) - "...It's a joyful mix of blistering musicanship - the sort of stoic wisdom that's gone the way of rural America..." - Rating: A JazzTimes (6/01, p.108) - "...Rev. Davis' eccentric genius shines brightly on this sprawling...substantial box..." Living Blues (5-6/02, pp.63,65) - "...This remarkable and diverse boxed set comes highly recommended..."

Blind blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis is one of the most influential bluesmen in terms of the evolution of folk and rock fingerpicking. A key member of the Piedmont blues movement of the 1920s and '30s, Davis put his own upbeat yet simplistic spin on the rural picking style that marked that scene's sound. Davis moved to New York City in the 1940s where he recorded for the famed Folkways label, eventually becoming a darling of the folk revival that would explode in the coming decades. Everyone from Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk to Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead cite Davis as an influence.

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