Review of Robbie Basho – Live in Forlì- Italy 1982, Obsolete Recordings, 2017
https://obsoleterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/robbie-basho-live-in-forl-italy-1982
I listened and listened to this record many times. It’s really exciting. Really. And for me it’s exciting under different points of view. I’m a fan of Robbie Basho. I arrived to his musicin a crossroads, after discovering John Fahey, and thanks to the reissues in CD of his records, which took place a few years ago.
Listening to Basho for the first time was a great emotion, many things have settled in my mind after listening to his 12 acoustic string. I’ve always loved Fahey’s music, but when I listened to Basho I found what Takoma’s big fingerpicker was missing: peace, a sense of inner balance, a broader breathing.
http://obsoleterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/robbie-basho-live-in-forl-italy-1982
Basho and Fahey are the two great giants of the American acoustic guitar, two brothers in a sense, that complement each other, and one of my great displeasures is certainly not to have been able to listen to them live. But, fortunately, there are people like Buck Currant who, thanks to his label Osbolete Recording, manages to recover hidden and forgotten gems like this concert that took place in Italy on October 11, 1982 in Forlì and to publish it for the joy of all of us.
The concert is very beautiful, Basho performs a beautiful and interesting repertoire ranging from his classics such as ‘Grail and the Lotus’, ‘Cathedrals and Fleur de Lis’, ‘California Raga’ and ‘Song of the Stallion’. The atmosphere of the concert is very beautiful, Basho proves to be a good communicator trying to describe his music (and the costs of laundries in Italy) through a nice funny spoken Italian and the audience returns with an attentive listening worthy of a concert for classical guitar.
Live in Forlì is an exciting album. The Obsolete Recordings website tells us about an upcoming release on vinyl. I want a copy.
NeuGuitars 