Your favorite recordings of singers with solo guitars

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Permalink Reply by Frogngerm on July 16, 2009 at 1:45pm

This IS a great thread!

OK my all time favourite. 'Rawest edge to a stunning ballad' award goes to John Martyn 'I couldn't love you more'. Genius of Danny Thompson accompanying him on double bass and a raindrop-like twinkly moog to heighten his melancholy. Can't stop listening to Certain Surprise of his and I have to mention sweet little mystery although it doesn't qualify! The Easy Blues does

Joni Mitchell . Not sure she was especially known in bands but I have been playing her album Blue again of late. The track 'Little Green' is just stunning and gets the hairs on the back of my neck every time. A case of you is a stunning piece of songwriting, vocal delivery and a ragged guitar that frames her beautifully.

Newer artists include the fantastic Newton Faulkner, currently touring the UK. Try 'I need something' which starts off as just guitars, gets a bit over-orchestral, then gets right back to the guitar again.

Could spend all night on this thread. I will have to re-visit it later!

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Permalink Reply by Sadness The Leprechaun on July 25, 2009 at 11:10am

I'm a huge fan of metal bands who put the lead singer and his favorite guitar as a hidden track. Chevelle, Staind, Breaking Benjamin, Flaw, Cold. To me it gives a new perspective on the music as a who. Cold's album "13 ways to bleed on stage" was an extremely dark and socially disturbing album, but the last song titled "bleed" was just the lead singer and Aaron Lewis (from Staind) playing a beautiful acoustic piece.

Also, the acoustic pieces that Marilyn Manson are some of my favorites

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Permalink Reply by Mokai on July 31, 2009 at 3:05pm

Thanks for this thread, I enjoyed seeing what people are into.

I'm always surprised that Dave Van Ronk's name does not come up more frequently in these discussions. Van Ronk was active in the late 50s and early 60s, and so had a huge influence on all the 60s folkies. He hung out with Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis and other great early bluesmen and folk guitarists, but he created his own original guitar arrangements for all the tunes he played. He also mentored young Bobby Dylan, hung out w/ Tom Paxton and other artists of that era. He was recorded before the big 60s folk revival by Mose Asch at Folkways records, the guy who was recording Woody Guthrie when no one cared. The Smithsonian took over Folkways because the stuff on that label was so historic. You can find the recordings at Smithsonian Folkways, tons of great historic music.

In my opinion, Dave Van Ronk was the first person to really put solo guitar and voice on the map as the kind of art that could reveal inner truth. Certain tunes, like his version of 'In the Pines', or many of his fingerstyle blues pieces like 'Come Back Baby' are unsurpassed for depth of emotion along with fine technique on guitar and voice.

I posted a short piece on Van Ronk here.

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Permalink Reply by Robert R. Maschmeyer on August 25, 2009 at 10:11pm

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn on up right bass where probably my all time favorites. "Country Joe" McDonald I've seen him play for crowds of 30,000 down to a small crowd of thirty enthusiastic fans at a local folk club and he always seemed to be the real deal. Off course, he's probably remembered best for The Fish cheer at Woodstock. Brownie McGhee was another I got see locally and the first I tried to copy when I started messing with the guitar, or, more accurately, the guitar started messing with me. Richie Havens, Taj Mahal were and are big influences, their music seemed accessible, deceptively so, and Jimi Hendrix playing acoustic"Here My Train A Coming" still leaves me feeling breathless. I'd love to see and hear Willy Nelson and Kris Kristoferson as an acoustic duo. One of these days I'd love to somehow see a taping of Austin City Limits, anybody who appears on their stage seems worth a listen. Oh, I am kind of new to this cyber world, so if I babble on too much I hope I don't offend.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Bernhard on August 29, 2009 at 7:42am

As a songwriter myself, I really enjoy seeing artists strip the song down to its barest form. Dan Fogelberg was a great example. His recording often featured multiple overdubs and strings, but the songs sounded just as good performed solo on guitar or piano. The same can be said for Jackson Browne and Steve Earle.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Scanlan on October 11, 2009 at 8:52am

My alltime favorite Singer/Songwriiter is Jack Williams. He is an amazing player and writies and sings the most beautifully crafted story songs. I'm also a fan of Phil Keaggy, Steve Goodman, Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson..and I second Teja's
Brit list...some amazing guys across the pond. The truth be told...I like anything done with just vocals and guitar...I was a "head banger" in my 20's...don't go there anymore. Thanks for the discussion and great responses
Jim

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Permalink Reply by David Surette on October 12, 2009 at 9:09pm

There's a great Bert Jansch live album from the mid-70s, titled The River Sessions. Don't know about finding a CD copy, but you can download it from emusic.com. Great stuff, just guitar and vocal, lots of stuff from the LA Turnaround album, which was unavailabe for a long time (just re-released), plus Anji, a Broonzy blues, a Renbourn tune, I've Got a Feeling. He's in good form, with some witty mumbled chat, and it's a beautiful little microcosm of why he's so well-loved as a performer. And nobody plays guitar quite like him.

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Permalink Reply by Russell Sheppard on October 13, 2009 at 10:58am

I think for me it has to be Simon and Garfunkel, I just had to learn Kathys Song, I had only been playing for about six months when someone gave me a Simon and Garfunkel greatest hits and Kathys Song was on it, I had it on vinly so I turned the speed down from 33 to 16 on an old record player and then I could hear the guitar in slow motion. I particularly liked their singing harmonies when there would be just one guitar.

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Permalink Reply by Frogngerm on October 13, 2009 at 2:26pm

Agree Jim Croce and if you like Bert Jansch you surely like John Renbourn and Davy Graham? Martin Simpson's nod to Bob Dylan: Boots of Spanish Leather is fab. What about Tim Hardin 'Reason to Believe' and 'If I Were a Carpenter'? 'How can we hang onto a dream' is cheatin' but I just love it anyway. Nick Drake often added strings but was melancholy and exquisite. 31 tracks and a brief life but supreme sensitivity and quality thoughout. Oh, and John Martyn, John Martyn and, did I mention, John Martyn?

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Permalink Reply by Meredith DeVoe on October 14, 2009 at 11:46am

Okay, someone finally mentioned Pierre Bensusan. If you ever get to see Steve Bell (a Canadian) live solo, he is one of those guys who make more music than most bands with just him and his guitar. Or in NZ, check out Mark Laurent. http://www.brendaliddiard.co.nz/Site/New_Zealand_Music_Art_Writing_...

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Permalink Reply by Meredith DeVoe on October 14, 2009 at 11:48am

Did anyone say Will Ackerman?

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Permalink Reply by M. Schaefer on October 21, 2009 at 1:33am

I almost always a spartan-sounding recording, and have quite an archive of solo singers/guitarists. Using your criteria (usually with a band, but unplugged), I can't seem to top Bob Dylan (who never should have gone electric) or Springsteen's "Nebraska" album.
Also, Jeff Buckley's "Sin e'" and Neutral Milk Hotel's "Jittery Joes" releases are pretty doggone good, although the latter is a love it/hate it bootleg that I would never openly recommend to anybody.

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