Dirty Linen (pp.60-61) - "The guitar craftsmanship, as you would expect, is as expansive and complex as ever, while his vocals showed that he was in top form."
Personnel: Reverend Gary Davis (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Sonny Terry (harmonica).
Recording information: Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (1964); 1964.
Almost 40 years after his prime, the Reverend Gary Davis could still deliver a corker, as this live set from 1964 demonstrates. MANCHESTER FREE TRADE HALL 1964 is Davis at his best, employing a tortured, near demon-possessed holler as he rips through standards such as "You've Got To Move" and "Cocaine Blues." Davis's spry, ragtime guitar playing was always his calling card, and on this disc it is as nimble as ever. Only two years later, San Francisco psychedelic avatars like Jerry Garcia and Jorma Kaukonen would be regularly dipping into the Davis catalog. With performances this gripping, it is easy to see what captured those rock & rollers' imaginations.