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DAVY GRAHAM "The Guitar Player" CASTLE MUSIC CMRCD622
JOHN RENBOURN "The Lady And The Unicorn" CASTLE MUSIC CMRCD625

Castle Music are part of the Sanctuary Records Group and are responsible for making available a large amount of artists' back catalogues. Some are obscure to say the least, a look on the website will substantiate this, and sometimes you are left to wonder why? The advent of the CD has made this possible, of course, and one must not grumble.

Here are two of their latest. Davy - without an 'e' here - is a reissue of his first vinyl album but with eight bonus tracks as the original was only 29 minutes in length. The recording is fresh, clear and makes you envious of the skill of the engineer and his limited resources 40 years ago. It also makes you understand why so many guitarists today quote him as their number one influence. "The Guitar Player" is maybe not his finest work but is a welcome addition to any collection.

John Renbourn is one of those who owe a debt to Davey Graham. A member of the unique Pentangle, this is - I think - John's fourth solo album dating originally from 1969. It shows his fascination for early music, a movement which was just gaining momentum at that time. He does not try to reproduce the sound but interprets for the time. In places this does sound a bit dated.

Again there are two bonus tracks which just seem to be stuck on the end and in some ways detract from the feel of 'The Lady And The Unicorn'. It was out a few years ago-and I think it is still available-with The Hermit- so I would expect most Renbourn fans will already have replaced their worn out vinyl.

Both come with excellent notes by Colin Harper, providing background to the CDs, and, of course, the compulsory dodgy photos of the artists.

Dave Beeby

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This album was reviewed in Issue 54 of The Living Tradition magazine.