“The guitar is one of the most beautiful of instruments, so expressive in its capacities. Each string is like a different instrument in its sounds and textures, and with fingerstyle playing the guitar has many voices. I strive to find its nuances, to allow its many voices to come through seamlessly but intensely.” — David Field, May 2009 I call my signature style of playing the guitar “wordless poetry.” I have a rich and gentle style based on a seamless arranging of songs that creates a tapestry of sound. There’s firepower there, but my main goal is to create a flowing, connected, uninterrupted feeling in the song. SIDE A 1. LET YOURSELF BE by David Field You can be what you want to be, let yourself be. Let yourself be free, let yourself be. Children need this empowering idea. Many of us as adults actively struggle to unlearn the programming we accepted as children, the programming that traps rather than frees us. 2. POETRY by David Field Whistling through a field of wheat, hand in hand and bare of feet. Chasing a butterfly we hope will never land. 3. RAGTIME RAMBLE by Richard Saslow To be sung in time. Boom, De de de de doo, De de de doo, Ba-boom…a giggle for dabbling digits, a full-blown laugh for full-grown fingers. Tee-Hee (fun). 4. I FEEL FINE by Lennon/McCartney Thanks to Eric Schoenberg for his wonderful book Fingerpicking Beatles published in 1981 by Amsco PublicationsÑI do feel fine! 5. ‘81 SUMMER by Hans Kasper/David Field In the hills of the Northern California coast, enlightened hillbillies seem to embody a consciousness that reflects the internalized rhythms of nature. Their lives are tuned-in, slowed down. ‘81 Summer seems to capture this backroads life with a synthesis of technically balanced progressions and the feelings triggered by the essential reality of simple rustic living. Aw, heck: its just fingerpickin’ good!— My Swiss friend, Hans, is a fine composer and musician. I look forward to further collaborations, perhaps with a fully orchestrated album. 6. FOUR AND TWENTY by Stephen Stills Walking on light feet. At 19, in 1970. With Chicago, Boston and San Francisco as destinations for my hopes and dreams, the settings in my life for Stephen’s songs. 7. AIN’T NO LIE by Elizabeth Cotten “Been all around this whole wide world. And I just got back today. Work all the week, honey, and I give it all to you. Honey baby what more can I do. Oh baby it ain’t no lie…” Elizabeth Cotten took in and nurtured a lost child who turned out to be a member of Pete Seeger’s family. A black composer from North Carolina, she would first accept employment as a housekeeper in the Seeger household. Later, the family championed her talents and became her first publishers. Cotten’s best-known composition is the widely covered Freight Train. 8. BUCKETS OF RAIN by Bob Dylan I’ve got all the lovin’ honey baby you can stand…” I like the melodic softness of this love ballad and really enjoy articulating the upbeat, flowing arrangement. It offers surprising contrast to the man who is a master at turning the spotlight on conflict. 9. MOON RIVER by Johnny Mercer/ Henry Mancini When I decided to arrange this song for guitar, I rented and saw the movie, Breakfast At Tiffany’s for the first time. I was expecting something like a full moon over the Mississippi River. Surprise, no river, but what a great story! I relate to the man’s resistance to growing up and to his gradually becoming emotionally and financially responsible. It isn’t so easy becoming an adult, and I cherish the hope of finding my Holly Golightly someday. This song nourishes that hope. 10. OVER EASY by Artie Traum In German, Traum means dream. Instructional material is too often sold short. This little dream has the makings of a great song. It lopes along, its gait smooth and rolling like a Tennessee Walker. Veilen Dank, Artie! Many thanks! Artie publishes his Jazz Guitar Method Book through ROARING STREAM MUSIC (BMI). SIDE B 11. ENOUGH BLUES by David Field Civil Rights and cross cultural respect! Born and raised on Chicago’s great South Side. Homage to the community of Blues makers. Enough blues for a small boy to grow up with soul. Impossible to escape. Grateful not to. 12. DEAR PRUDENCE by Lennon/McCartney When this beguiling song on this blow-your-mind Beatles album came out, my friends and I were seventeen-year-olds at the mercy of our hormones. Like everyone before us, we encountered the generation gap but we tried less to bridge it than to dynamite it. We let our hair grow and explored drugs, sex, and music our parents hated. While we decried affluence, we stuck out our thumbs and accepted rides from the affluent. Ours was a counter-culture rebellion. With naive politics and an abundance of heart, we waged war against war. Dear Prudence. As we imagined how to create a beautiful and safe world for ourselves, Prudence spoke directly to the innocence of the inner child, enticing that child to enter a new world built on the values of love, trust, and sharing. We wanted change to be easy, though, because we wanted to go out and play. 13. BOOGALOO DOWN LA-RUE by Richard Saslow This may be just as much fun to listen to as it is to play. Thanks to Richard Saslow for his fine instructional work, The Art Of Ragtime Guitar, published by Green Note. This tune is one that lingers long after the notes are second nature. 14. HOMEWARD BOUND by Paul Simon Home, where my thoughts escaping, home where my music’s playing, home where my love lies waiting silently for me. 15. DAVID’S DREAM by David Field The first minute of this dream is a classical piece called Fantasia, the first song I learned to play on guitar, way back when. The entire Dream has meaning I have yet to understand. The end is swift and leaves the dream unfinished, like coming suddenly awake after some real dreams I have known. 16. PRESBYTERIAN GUITAR by John Hartford It’s hard to add anything to the original 1971 recording. It’s a pristine little beauty that everyone seems to meet with a positive response. Very popular and often requested, it’s a piece I couldn’t leave off the album without answering to friends who would have been sure to say, Okay, where is it? So everyone, here it is. 17. BACK ROADS by Kate Wolf Sometimes let a Back Road take you home. In 1980, when I moved to Western Sonoma County from Chicago’s South Side via Berkeley, I rented a house that came with Kate Wolf’s album, Back Roads. I immediately fell in love with Kate’s music and songs. Here I was: living in the creek house with a wood stove, two cats in the yard, and Francine. I was in Kate Wolf territory! Seeing Kate live with Nina Gerber at Cotati’s Inn of the Beginning remains a most intimate musical memory. Kate is on the other side now, but her songs—strong and deeply drawn from human life—compel me and many others to keep them warm on this side. 18. BOOKENDS by Paul Simon “Time it was and what a time it was, it was. A time of innocence, a time of confidences. Long ago, it must be I have a photograph. Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you...” 19. THANKS A LOT by Raffi “Thanks for the animals, thanks for the land, thanks for the wonder in me. Thanks a lot, thanks for all that I’ve got. “ Raffi is a treasure of positivity for children, as well as his adult fans—including me. His work is not gosh-and-golly stuff. He makes me smile to my toes. Liner Notes: Written by Jennifer Weil & David Field Bouquets... To the many friends, mentors, investors and other cheerleaders who over the years have helped me realize this album: Francine Krause, Robbie Isaacs, Elizabeth Sommers, Marylou Hadditt, Jennifer Weil, Tony Calvello, Martha Howard, Marsh Agobert, Karen & Billy, Chuck & Lisa, Holly, Janne, Priscilla, Scott, Caren & Greg, Wayne Kowalski, Steve Polkow, Cindy Palmer, Frank Christmas, Bobby Thamen, Hans Kasper, Marcy & Paul, John & Nava, Arthur & Nancy, Rick & Lori, Dave & Wilda,The Cahn Family, The Kossow Family, Robert Field, Tomoc, Alembic Guitars, Steve Gillman, The Blue Heron Restaurant Staff, Billy the Barber and many others…© Technical Information These recordings reflect how the music sounds and feels to me as I play my Moonstone 6 string guitar. I used no overdubbing so I am able to create on stage all the music contained on these recordings. Professional thanks to¼ Tony Calvello, Cover Watercolor & Guitar Illustration Jennifer Weil, Creative Writing Joe Hoffmann, Joe Hoffmann Studios, Recording Engineer Robbie Isaacs & Charles Rosene, Production Assistance Gloria Pegoraro, G-WIZ Graphics, Typography & Layout Lawrence Morgan & Stephen D. Gross, Proofing Steve Helgeson, Moonstone Guitars Recordings… Mixed and Mastered by Joe Hoffmann & David Field Digitally Recorded to Alesis & Panasonic Digital Editing by Brian Walker EQ and Personal Support, Eric Ericson Recorded January 23 & March 5, 1993 Produced by David Field FIELD OF FLOWERS MUSIC (BMI) ©1995 All rights reserved ¥ FFM101T Manufactured and Printed by Disc Makers, Fremont, CA