Guitar Emporium

This is a recent recording. Talking about new starts, watching other lives, reflecting on what's gone on. It uses a tuning I first tried with Rob's Hybrid guitar. As the string tension was so high you could tune down to C in the bass without any issues so, for those interested this uses, CGDGBD - a sort of DADGAD but lower. I wanted to experiment with different chord shapes and that low...

Albert Roussel - an unusual musician . A former Naval Officer he also worked for the Red Cross in World War One before he retired to Brittany towards the end of his relatively short life. A piece dedicated to the great Andres Segovia. Recorded on a Liam Romanillos guitar which I had for a short while. Support the show

From the recording Phases - a sentimental version of the  St Aidan theme with saxophone and multitrack guitar part for a relaxed ,and very wet in the UK , Sunday morning. From about 2003.  Support the show

Taken from the nursery rhyme - Monday's child is fair of face/ Tuesday's child is full of grace/Wednesday's child is full of woe/ Thursday's child has far to go/Friday's child is loving and giving/ Saturday's child works hard for his living/And the child that is born on the Sabbath day/Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. The song was written at the time when you re...

A children's song really. Using a guitar accompaniment a little in the style of Laura Marling - whose relaxed way of playing and writing I enjoyed in the 2000's . Support the show

A trumpet plus accompaniment version of an old tune - recorded on the Phases Cd in about 2003. Support the show

Famous for its association with the film The Deer Hunter, I just learned it as a lovely guitar piece. Put up today to mark the end of Jakes life yesterday. A much loved friend and companion he will be sorely missed. Played on Rob's Hybrid Guitar.  Support the show

The last of the saxophone and guitar duets - Spyro Gyra's - Shaker Song. Paul on saxophone me accompanying.  Support the show

From Phases in about 2003. The rather grand titled Endless Ocean is heavily synthesised with an electric guitar playing a Shadows like tune over the top. I can't quite recall how this piece came about but it stands out slightly in that its completely different from anything else I was doing at the time!  Support the show

I didn't  realise we had recorded this piece - from 1997 - David at his best and me on accompaniment. From a set of recordings made at the Shaftesbury Arts Centre - I found this on a minidisc - a technology I loved. Better quality than cassette tape you could copy anything onto it ! I don't think the music industry liked it very much. Support the show

Phrygian, Once Bitten, Twice Shy and Steely - 4 pieces taken from a 2003 recording with heavy use of effects, synthesiser and just about anything else I could think of. The top lines were largely improvised.  Support the show

Between about 2013 and 2016 I did some folk clubs on my own. Not the Time is from that set list. Much slower, and revised lyrics from the original version. Happy Friday  Support the show

Recorded in about 2005. Really a song without words. At the end of each section the words would be ..at the thought of your precious smile. Thats about as far as I got. For two guitars - the second one a lovely Spanish six string bass guitar. Support the show

From 2020 - an unfinished introduction to a much longer piece that, to date , remains unfinished. Its really an experiment in different tone colours. The synth sounds are a bit variable but I hope you get the gist of what was intended.  Support the show

From 2008 . A fairly negative song about letting people down . Part of the Can't Stop CD recording.  Support the show

Two recordings of the same piece. The first the duo version- with the accompaniment part added by Julio Sagregas. I accompany David on this recording. The second version is my own recording on Robs Hybrid Guitar. Two very different interpretations of the same beautiful guitar composition. Support the show

Recorded in the Spring of 2020. Guitar solos with bass accompaniments once again. There were 14 tracks put together on a recording called "A Luarca " - which is where I was trying to get to during that time. Reig 7 - I smoked as many of these as I could get my hands on !. Harmony was a rather limp reflection on the awfulness of the George Floyd murder, and A Long Way to Go ( feat Scratch...

Each of these tunes was part of our "folk set" and other slightly more expansive recordings. In 2015 I was doing a bit of work in Folk Clubs on my own. Days Gone By was in response to a load of old photographs my Dad had of his father working in the greenhouses of his nursery and his florists shop. Big Society was in response to the Conservative Party's utterly meaningless pledge fo...

One of the most beautiful of Albeniz "Suite Espanola". In duet form- I accompany David on this  piece. The reflective opening turns into a  celebration of the mixed cultures of this historical city. Recorded in 1997 at Shaftesbury's awfully named Abbey Robe studios. Jon at the controls. Its a bit noisy at the beginning - apologies - but sorts itself out as the recording progresses....

Remembering many, many road trips in various beaten up, and just about roadworthy, old cars. It was always a party, it was sometimes a disaster but we got there in the end. Recorded for the folk set but never used. Rob on Cajon and some backing vocals .  Support the show

Shortened, no guitar solos, with a new rhythm track - I never quite finished it in 2009 - but I think its done now . This opens the new cycle of podcasts. Thank you for listening. Support the show

For the last of this cycle of podcasts this is the last of the recordings with Clive on bass. Back to Brazil and a Choro arranged for guitar and bass. I made 40 or 50 arrangements for us to play  during about 2010 . We did a few festivals and concerts of which these 10 recordings or so give a good representation. Not always the tidiest of playing but a lot of fun .  Support the show

A really good young player and composer for the guitar this short piece is a very English style of composition. Thanks for listening - we're coming to the end of another cycle of podcasts. Its nice to see so many listeners - I'll keep it going for a while. Support the show

The song began as a guitar piece with a feel of "Running round in circles" with the repeated theme that returns to start in a fairly logical way. The title song of the CD Can't Stop from 2008 / 2009 re- mixed in 2012 - I can't remember why. Support the show

7 minor is an inexpensive cigar that I grew very fond of smoking in Madrid. This is another old fashioned "Hamlet" moment in the key of Bb. From 2020. Support the show