Gaz- Camsco carries:

Spence, Joseph

SF 40066, The Complete Folkways Recordings, 1959, $13.98

In 1958, Sam Charters ventured to the small island of Andros in The Bahamas and there encountered the stunning guitar music of 47-year-old stonemason, Joseph Spence. The recordings Charters made that day revealed a master of startling originality, and earned Spence immediate recognition for his beautiful, unorthodox synthesis of rhythm and melodic improvisation. These earliest and most widely praised recordings are among the best traditional musics ever issued.

ARH 349, Bahamian Guitarist, $14.49

_Sounding like a delirious sea captain, a Delta bluesman on a tear, or a malfunctioning record player, Joseph Spence's mix of words and sounds is quite unique. The Bahamian guitarist's vocals bob like a fisherman's floater, sometimes leading the guitar and sometimes supporting it. He alternately picks, strums, and beats the acoustic instrument, and the sum total is the most unusual style I've ever heard from such a common setup. Hymns, sea chanties, popular folk songs, and other tunes make up his repertoire. This reissue includes many previously unreleased performances. Joseph Spence is where fans of Tom Waits meet followers of Mississippi John Hurt._ (Robert Gordon _ The Memphis Flyer)

Out on the Rolling Sea ~ I See Mary and Joseph ~ Oh, How I Love Jesus ~ Lay Down My Brother (I Bid You Good Night) ~ Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer . Good Morning Mr. Walker ~ The Glory of Love ~ Don't Let Nobody Burn Down the Burma Road ~ Bye and Bye ~ If I Had the Wings of a Dove ~ All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name ~ Don't Take Everybody to be Your Friend ~ Brown Skin Gale ~ Neighbor Gone Home ~ He Walks With Me ~ Will the Circle Be Unbroken ~ The Lord's My Shepherd ~ Yellow Bird ~ Sloop John B. ~ Be a Friend to Juses ~ Mary Ann

RDR 2021, Living On The Hallelujah Side, $12.98

RDR 2096, Glory, $12.98

These informal sessions recorded by Guy Droussart in the 1970s feature Spence performing his syncopated renditions of hymns, quadrilles and popular songs, filled with endless melodic variation.

RDR 2114, The Spring Of Sixty-Five, $12.98

These old hymns and popular songs are transformed by the compelling vocals of the Pinder Family and by Spence's counter-melodies and percussive syncopations.

Joseph Spence, if you haven't herd him, sounds like he's picking an old plywood guitar with a bent neck using a manhole cover as a pick, while he mumbles the words. THis said, I must add that I think he's absolutely wonderful. An acquired taste but, IMO, one well worth acquiring.