Roger McGuinn: McGuinn’s Folk Den Vol 1, McGuinn Music, 1999
Roger McGuinn has always been attracted to the cutting-edge, be it gadgets or concepts. From his pioneering use of synthesizer (Moog Raga) with the Byrds, singing about friendly aliens a quarter of a century before we’d heard of the X-Files, or addressing car phones (from his solo disc Back To Rio) back when the idea was still novel, he’s always been a few steps ahead of the crowd.
Fittingly, he’s one of the first noteworthy artists to fully embrace the internet and it’s attendant breakthroughs in sales and distribution. After almost 5 decades recording for major labels, this is his first effort released without industry involvement. Utilizing the Digital Automatic Music (DAM) system, the disc works in both MP3 and standard CD audio formats.
Recorded at home, each of these tracks was previously featured as song of the month on his Folk Den website. Revisiting to his roots, the songs are traditional, or like Blind Willie Johnson’s John The Revelator, have become part of the folk vocabulary. McGuinn first recorded Mighty Day, which commemorates the great Galveston Flood of 1900, in 1961, as an accompanist for the Chad Mitchell Trio. The recording here is of similar vintage, and is easily mistakable for Bob Gibson, one of McGuinn’s early influences.
The remaining recordings are from the last couple of years, including a number of songs that reflect his faith – John The Revelator, Mary Had A Baby, Wayfaring Stranger. A natural pairing, just McGuinn and his guitars, it’s a surprise it was never attempted before. Then again, there’s no marketing experts to say it won’t work.
Price is reflected in the minimal packaging: $7.99 plus 50 cents postage gets the disc, a plain paper sleeve, and that’s it. But it’s the music that counts, and this is a bargain. Liner notes can be downloaded at his website. Not one to sit still, McGuinn is now offering downloadable video from his website.