Rainy Day Raga [Vinyl]

Peter Walker | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 11, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Harte Recordings
• ASIN: B001H7F5I2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,426 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"Walker was a visionary, and this album shows it." -- All Music Guide

Peter Walker was the quintessential psych-folk guitar player to come out of the '60s. Revered by Timothy Leary, who had him program the music for his TURN-ONS, Walker was one of the first to take the Indian tradition of ragas and channel them through the guitar into a sound that is pure heaven. His exotic, state-of-the-art finger-picking transcends description and has influenced such artists as Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance. This album, never before reissued on CD or LP, is a beautiful moment in time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gossamer Guitar, September 1, 2003

By 

Dr. Joshua Williams "Pick It Wilson" (Knoxville, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rainy Day Raga (Audio CD)

Never celebrated like John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Sandy Bull or Chris Smithers. . . Peter Walker plays celestral strings on the DNA of musical being. In other (and more reasonable) words - Walker has been overlooked and yet is a clear underground or cult favorite in the realm of raga guitar style musicians. Jam groups like Phish and D. Matthews owe much of their flowing style to folks like Peter Walker. Highly recommend!

4.0 out of 5 stars RE-RELEASE OF A BEAUTIFUL ALBUM, December 4, 2010

By 

Stuart Jefferson (San Diego,Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rainy Day Raga (Audio CD)

46 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very good-warm and clean, with good delineation between the various instruments, and the highs and lows. The booklet contains a synopsis of Peter Walker's life in and out of music, including a short piece by Walker concerning the album. There's also a couple of period photos of Walker, and a reprint of the original album cover for the booklet.

Peter Walker's music is a cross between acoustic folk guitar, middle eastern raga music, and a bit of flamenco, all blended together to make a (even today) soothing, interesting, exciting, attention getting album. The use of bells and tambourines (Bruce Langhorne-familiar from his association with Bob Dylan), a 12 string guitar used for a droning sound (Alex Lukeman), flute (Jeremy Steig), a tamboura (Jean Pierre Merle) for more percussion, an "Om" (Peter Winters), and another 12 steel-string guitar (Monte Dunn), to beef up the sound-really gives this music an edge. All the tunes are by Walker except THE BEATLES' "Norwegian Wood".

Walker fits in with then contemporaries John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, Sandy Bull, etc. in his attempts to broaden the use of the acoustic guitar in instrumental music. His deft finger picking or rapidly strummed chords (sounding at times a bit like Tim Buckley and Lee Underwood) is a delight to hear. His arrangements range from soft, quiet passages ("Norwegian Wood"), to a fuller sound ("Road To Marscotta"), which give the album much needed depth and breath. Jazz player Jeremy Steig's flute work is very delicate and fits Walker's music perfectly, and when playing together ("Spring"), it's easy to get lost in there wonderful interplay. The various percussion instruments were fairly unknown at the time (mid/late 60's), and give the music at times, a decidedly exotic sound.

Anyone who likes Fahey/Kottke/Lang/Bull/et al will like this album. Even after all these years the music is still exciting, still important, still a delight to hear, and can sit next to other guitarists working in the same area. "April In Cambridge" or "River" are both beautifully played as any of the above guitarists work-listen and hear for yourself.