Guitars and Life

Gordon Giltrap and Paul Ward - The Last of England The really good news about this release is that Gordon is well enough to be talking about it.  He's been through the ringer over the last 18 months or so with a cancer issue needing some big surgery.  That he is back at all is a real pleasure to say.   And this is a great Gordon Giltrap release.  He's teamed up with Paul Ward and with Paul's orchestral knowledge on the keyboards this takes Gordon's guitar skills to a new dimension.  There are parts where you try to just turn off the slightly obvious synthy strings and imagine this in an Albert Hall like setting with a large orchestra.  There are others too that are a real hark back to Gordon's band albums with some really terrific proggy like stuff.   Really terrific album which my wife also says is incredibly soothing when on a long drive around South London the other day.  Search out A Promise Fulfilled - terrific progressive folk rock track. ...

A couple of videos from the Rochester Music Cafe recently... Firstly an oldie of my own - I used to Know Her... almost my signature tune if I could ever he in a position to have one ... LOL Then a Lady Antebellum number that I'd neither heard of the song or the band before we started to practice this a week before the gig... nice song though... Notice - first live outing of the infamous pedal board!

Well I am feeling better thankfully.  Still have an annoying cough from time to time but on the mend.  Soon back to work.  However now I'm not just lying on the sofa watching snooker or my DVD collection of Ewan McGregor's various motorcycle journey's I've been learning a couple of pieces and getting to enjoy my new Vintage Gordon Giltrap VE2000GG Deluxe. The Deluxe edition of this model features like the cheaper model a shaped based on one of Gordon's most iconic custom guitars made by Rob Armstrong many moons ago and has a mahogany neck and a solid cedar top.  The difference lies in that this model has a solid rosewood back and laminate rosewood sides - the cheaper one is laminate back and sides in mahogany (don't scoff at laminate the original was laminate as Rob believes it adds strength without reducing tone!).  The fingerboard on this is a lovely piece of ebony, becoming rarer and rarer on guitars these days with the issues surrounding the reduction of e...

It is a lovely warm sunny April lunchtime in London.  You've had very little time in the last few days to have time to yourself in the busy office.  So you take a walk to look around a local guitar shop.  30 mins later the credit card has significantly less credit head room than it had before and you have to text your darling wife to say "Sorry I seem to have bought a guitar"... My new love.   Vintage Gordon Giltrap Deluxe edition - only checked over by the distributor on 16th April and now mine!  ALL MINE!!!!!   A review will follow once I've had her a few days.

Ok - so having said I don't do record reviews any more - here are some record reviews!  No, no!  These are simply observations about new music I've recently been listening to - in no particular order then... 1. Muse - 2nd Wave .  A bit different from Mr Bellamy and the boys, probably never going to be my favourite Muse album but a good listen no doubt.  In some ways on some of the later tracks on this I get a feeling of Porcupine Tree overall in the sound - not a bad thing just my observation. 2. Blair Dunlop - Blight and Blossom .  Super début album this.  Billy in the Lowground is my highlight - Blair takes this old bluegrass fiddle classic reworks it on guitar adds some amusing lyrics and it is a real delight.  Whole album is great. 3. The Albion Band - Vice of the People .  Hang on it is Blair Dunlop again!  So great solo album and here he has re-ignited his Dad's old band (he is Ashley Hutchings son if you don't know). ...

I had a fantastic night out last night, Mrs F and I went to a packed Brook Theatre in Chatham to see Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman in concert.  Right - yes Oliver, not Rick who Gordon has collaborated in the past with but Oliver is now working with Gordon on a new album "Ravens and Lullabies" due out in a couple of months. Any regular readers of this blog will know that Mr Giltrap is one of my heroes having seen him in many concerts, bought a load of his albums, struggled over learning his pieces , bought one of his signature guitars and had the privilege of meeting him at a workshop some years back in Margate.  So this review will be biased! :-) Brilliant night - a couple of pieces off the new CD, one played in a "unique arrangement", i.e. I think Gordon went wrong somewhere but frankly I don't think anyone in the audience noticed at all - I certainly didn't.  Some of Gordon's famous pieces worked with brilliant accompaniment from Oliver - Isab...

Ok - having admitted defeat on trying to fix the old 12 string.  I bought this today a Vintage VE2000GG Gordon Giltrap signature 12 string. I tried the new Paul Brett Parlour 12 string which was hugely impressive, but the 14th fret body join, general dimensions of the Gordon Giltrap and the superiour (to my ears) plugged in sound meant I had to get this.  Give me a week or so and I'll do a bit of a review...

My version of Gordon Giltrap's Heartsong. Some editing and the fingerpicked section is based on some of Gordon's shapes with a fair about of adlibing - not a slavish copy! :-)  Enjoy!

Another visit by Mr Giltrap to the old Town Hall in Chatham.  The Brook makes use of the old Town Hall's main ballroom which is a spacious but still reasonably intimate setting for Gordon's one man show.  I've seen him several times here now - Gordon has affection for Kent as he was born in the county and has many family connections still with the area. As ever Gordon was on top form playing through many old classics, Dublin Day, On Camber Sands, Heartsong, Lucifer's Cage etc. whilst interlacing in material off his latest album Shinning Morn in particular showing off his capabilities using a partial capo on a couple of numbers. As ever Gordon entertains between the songs with anecdotes, jokes and whimsical tales.  He is a man of very pleasant company. For all the guitar maniacs out there here is my recollection of the guitars used Vintage Gordon Giltrap signature Fylde dreadnought Fylde 12 string - 1970s vintage which Gordon recently acquired and frankly sounded fantast...

I've a new song for you to listen to... Look at the widget on the right hand side of the page - it's call Summertime - a short acoustic piece that has more than a nod towards Gordon Giltrap's influence. Alternatively go to my reverbnation site to listen via the player there. You can also sign up there to my mailing list :-)

Gordon Giltrap Chatham Brook Theatre - Thurs 22nd July 2010 I went to see the absolutely excellent Gordon Giltrap play at the Brook Theatre in Chatham. The Brook is actually the old Town Hall - long since no longer a civic building since first Chatham merged with Rochester and then it all merged with Gillingham to become the Medway unitary authority some years back. Anyway the building which is an old Victorian building of some stature is still in use as a Theatre. It is a great little venue. I met up with Dave an old work colleague - now enjoying his retirement and my son came along as well. Mrs F was first of all going to come along but the Year 6 leavers disco straight after a day trip to the beach made her pass. Anyway - what of Gordon. Well this is the third time at least I've seen him at the Brook and I've seen him before including a great gig and workshop I took part in at Margate some years back when Kent Council used to organise the Kent Guitar Festival. As ever...

Gordon Giltrap has had a few signature guitars in the past - I played one of the Flyde ones of his some years back at a guitar show and that was a stunning instrument but with a hefty hand made price tag to match. How however he has teamed up with Vintage who are imported via JHS to this country and have been getting a good reputation since Trevor Wilkinson began working as designer/consultant to them. The list of endorsees makes them appear to be punching well above their weight in the sub £1000 bracket. Well into the acoustic arena they now have a Gordon Giltrap model - the VE2000GG. Based on a model that Rob Armstrong made for Gordon some years back, Rob has been involved in the development of this production verion. There is a 12 string version available as well as the 6 string. It has Fishman electrics fitted - namely a Sonicore pickup and a Presys Blend preamp. So any good? Well good enough for Gordon who in this YouTube video is playing it at a recent JHS event. Thought you...

My attempt at my version of Gordon Giltraps On Camber Sands... ignore the mistakes please - I get terrible "red light nerves".

With great sadness I heard of Davy Graham's passing this week. Davy was one of the great pioneers of the British Folk scene in the 1960s along with the likes of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. Bert Jansch is known very much for his rendition of Anji which was written by Davy Graham. I was introduced to that piece by my first guitar teacher and that was when I first came across him. From my perspective he's a name I've known and respected but really it was the people he influenced who've subsequent been influences on me, Gordon Giltrap, John Martyn and Jimmy Page. Here is some Davy Graham to remember him by. And here is Gordon Giltrap playing Anji(e) in his own stunning style.