Search - Rev. Gary Davis: The Video Collection on DVD

Rev Gary Davis The Video Collection
Actor: Rev. Gary Davis
Director: Rev. Gary Davis
Genres: Music Video & Concerts

NR 2008 1hr 45min

Over the years I have searched for films and videos of my teacher, Rev. Gary Davis. His playing has influenced many fingerstyle guitarists. His words and warmth were especially important to his handful of dedicated student... more »s. In this collection I have put together all the footage that I have found to date. The recording quality ranges from excellent to poor but the music is always superb. The first two tracks are taken from a short film that played in theatres in the early 1960s. This was shot while Rev. Davis lived in the Bronx. The filmaker was very interested in the ambience but we do get a chance to see Rev. Davis play. Pete Seeger s Rainbow Quest had one show that featured Rev. Davis along with Donovan and Shawn Phillips. The next two tunes are from this program. In 1969 Rev. Davis travelled to Seattle, Washington to play for the Folkore Society. Tracks 5-12 were filmed by the Anthropology Department of the University of Washington at the home of John Ullman. This is rough footage but shows Rev. Davis relaxed amongst friends and his trusty cigar! During that stay John was able to take Rev. Davis in to a proper television studio and tracks 15-23 are from this session. These are seminal performances. The independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin brought Rev. Davis together with other musicians for his film Black Roots. Tracks 24-26 are from this film. This collection ends with some very rough footage from the wedding celebration of John Gibbon (one of Rev. Davis s earliest New York students). This was originally recorded on reel to reel tape and over the years the tape disintegrated. So what we have left is a faint video image with good sound that shows Rev. Davis enjoying himself at a party with friends. Hopefully you will enjoy this collection as the genius of Rev. Gary Davis will fill your TV screen with inspiration and joy. Stefan Grossman Titles include: 1. Sun Is Goin Down 2. Lord, I Feel Like Goin 3. Children of Zion 4. Oh Glory How Happy I Am 5. Sally Where d You Get Your Liquor From 6. Calling for Irene 7. Buck Dance 8. Hard Walkin Blues 9. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning 10. Make Believe Stunt 11. Guitar Lesson (Twelve Gates To The City) 12. Twelve Gates To The City (Instrumental) 13. Advice on Playing Guitar 14. Twelve Sticks 15. Twelve Gates To The City 16. Samson and Delilah 17. Cincinnati Flow Rag (Slow Drag) 18. Candyman 19. Sally Where d You Get Your Liquor From 20. Buck Dance 21. Wouldn t Say Quit 22. Oh Glory How Happy I Am 23. (I Heard) The Angels Singing 24. I Belong To The Band 25. Talk on Death 26. Death Don t Have No Mercy 27. She s Just Funny That Way 28. Samson and Delilah 29. Cincinnati Flow Rag (Slow Drag) 30. Spoonful 31. Buck Dance

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Movie Details

Actor: Rev. Gary Davis
Director: Rev. Gary Davis
Genres: Music Video & Concerts
Sub-Genres: Pop, Rock & Roll, Blues
Studio: Vestapol
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 01/25/2008
Original Release Date: 01/01/2008
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2008
Release Year: 2008
Run Time: 1hr 45min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 1
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

A Mixed Bag

D. B Pepper | Plainview, NY United States | 06/01/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a collection of all known video footage of Reverend Gary Davis. I feel that the performances for the Seattle Folklore Society and the two songs which follow it immediately after (the only footage in color) are worth the price of the dvd alone. The only drawback to the dvd is that the first half of it has Davis extending songs' lengths to the extent that they aren't merely songs, but more like opera performances in terms of their duration. To musicians, this is probably a positive, because they get to see Davis' finger work quite a bit. However, for people who are merely fans of the music and not musicians, or for those who don't know anything about acoustic Blues and Gospel music and are seeing and hearing this for the first time, sitting through a ten minute (or maybe longer) version of "Children of Zion" can be a bit difficult. Pete Seeger seems to feel the same way during the performance! In the end, I think this is definitely a dvd worth purchasing. It's put out by Stefan Grossman, just like the very good Mance Lipscomb- In Concert dvd. I'm really curious to read what everyone has to say about this dvd."

This is all there is

Chas. | Santa Barbara, CA | 04/20/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Stefan Grossman has done a great service in compiling all the known video of Gary Davis in one DVD. On one hand I'm disappointed that during his life we gave Rev. Gary Davis so little attention and the film of his work is so sparse and often crudely executed, but on the other hand I'm rather amazed that Stefan was able to find this much and took the time to piece it together in a package that anyone can own at a reasonable price. The performances range from toss-off to deeply moving, but either way, this is all there is. I'd say get it and enjoy."