The songs on this collection, recorded in 1968 and 1970 at the Pittsburgh apartment of Ernie Hawkins find Reverend Gary Davis in a relaxed mood. The playing is light and loose at times as he reaches back into his vast musical memory to pull one surprise after another from his “bag of tricks” (his nonchalant term for guitar playing). Fingerpicked on the Rev’s Gibson J-200 and a borrowed Martin D12-35, these performances were not for the stage or the recording studio; rather, they chance upon Davis playing reflectively to himself and Ernie, you the listener privy to the intimate musical camaraderie caught on tape. So while not every note is perfectly played, it is perfectly Davis, who wows us with marvelous additions to his songbook and performances that stretch out in masterly ways: a “Blow, Gabriel” that swells in fiery exhortation over twelve minutes; an emotionally wrenching “Crucifixion” just under twenty minutes with neither note nor word wasted. As the title says, these are rare and previously unissued recordings, ones of historic and musical value. It’s uncommon for an artist to bemuse us anew nearly fifty years after his death, but Davis does so here. “That suits me,” he sings joyfully on the opening track, and I guarantee it will suit you, too.
Come On Brother
Let?s Go Round the Wall
I Belong to The Band
The Old Ship of Zion
Save Up Your Money
John D. Rockefeller Put the Panic On
Blow Gabriel
?Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Don?t Move My Bed ?Till the Holy Ghost Come
Great Change Since I Been Born
Home (When Shadows Fall)
Penitentiary Blues
Let?s Go Down to Betty?s
Hard Walking Blues
Chicken You Can?t Roost Too High
Pray For The Lights To Go Out
Florida Blues
Little Boy
Who Made Your Britches
Walkin? The Dog
St James Infirmary
Tie Me to Your Apron Strings Again
Yes Sir
That?s My Baby Now
Old Fashioned Love
God?s Gonna Separate
See What the Lord Has Done For Me
Down Home Rag
Dill Pickles Rag
That?ll Never Happen No More
Piece Without Words
You Want A Good Man
Treat a Good Man Right
Don?t Let My Baby Catch You Here
I Wonder What?s Become of Sally
Crucifixion
Hesitation Blues
Cincinnati Flow Rag
Joy to Know
Let?s Go Round the Wall
I Belong to The Band
The Old Ship of Zion
Save Up Your Money
John D. Rockefeller Put the Panic On
Blow Gabriel
?Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
Don?t Move My Bed ?Till the Holy Ghost Come
Great Change Since I Been Born
Home (When Shadows Fall)
Penitentiary Blues
Let?s Go Down to Betty?s
Hard Walking Blues
Chicken You Can?t Roost Too High
Pray For The Lights To Go Out
Florida Blues
Little Boy
Who Made Your Britches
Walkin? The Dog
St James Infirmary
Tie Me to Your Apron Strings Again
Yes Sir
That?s My Baby Now
Old Fashioned Love
God?s Gonna Separate
See What the Lord Has Done For Me
Down Home Rag
Dill Pickles Rag
That?ll Never Happen No More
Piece Without Words
You Want A Good Man
Treat a Good Man Right
Don?t Let My Baby Catch You Here
I Wonder What?s Become of Sally
Crucifixion
Hesitation Blues
Cincinnati Flow Rag
Joy to Know
| Arrangement | Guitar |
| Genres | Sacred |
| NumberOfPages | 37 |
| Media | 3 x CD |
| Publisher | Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop |