Album Notes

Peter Spencer can play the guitar. And yet to call him a fingerpicking virtuoso is unfair and a bit limiting. For all its fiery originality, Peter’s playing is subtle and unflashy, drawing from unusual
influences like Bert Jansch, Buddy Boy Hawkins, and Jerry Reed. And Peter‘s compelling performances don’t rely on just the guitar. His songwriting combines powerful, unusual melodies with lyrics that express what it is to be a man in these days, in this world. And he sings the blues with a power and subtlety that, in the words of an anonymous visitor to peterspencer.com, “gives strong women the sudden urge to lie down.”

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he grew up listening to R&B and hillbilly music beamed from far away over radio stations like WLAC in Nashville and CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. In 1968 he dropped out of high school to play harmonica in a blues band in Pittsburgh.

Switching to solo fingerpicking guitar Peter spent the 1970s touring North America and Europe playing old blues and ragtime songs. In the 1980s he played a crucial role in the renaissance of New York City’s singer-songwriter scene as co-founder of the Greenwich Village Musicians’ Cooperative and friend and accompanist to a generation of great American songwriters, including Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplanski, Steve Forbert, and many others.

In the 1990s he retired from performing to raise a family as a full-time music writer for leading newspapers and magazines, including Rolling Stone and Sing Out. His book "World Beat: A Listener’s Guide to Contemporary World Music on CD" was published by the University of
Chicago Press in 1992.

The new millenium brought Peter a new audience with the 2000 release of "New Hope and Wise Virgins." 2005 saw Nobody’s Daddy, an album of original blues and in 2006 will come the long-awaited release of "Handsignal," the famous "lost" Peter Spencer album. Recently Peter relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where he teaches guitar through the Island Music Guild and performs up and down the North Coast.



PRAISE FOR PETER SPENCER’S ALBUM “NEW HOPE AND WISE VIGINS”:

“Spencer writes highly creative lyrics set to catchy melodies on topics far removed from those
trampled by most contemporary singer-songwriters. ‘Streets of Montreal’ should become an
instant classic.”
- SING OUT!


“You’ll love this.”
- FOLK ROOTS MAGAZINE, UK


“Spencer’s effortless melding of traditional elements and personal insight are the epitome of the
modern singer-songwriter’s craft. A powerful guitarist, Spencer’s smooth, fluid picking is
syncopated and swinging, never flashy, and always the exact tensile strength to support the song.
His voice (is) full and resonant, sweet and sad, strong and smart, tender, tough, and tuneful. This
is a thoroughly satisfying record.”
- WWW.VINTAGEVINYL.COM


“I’ve been waiting for this album for years. Finally Peter Spencer has got it down on a disc, and
what a disc it is! Peter shows himself a first-rate songwriter, a superior singer, and a subtle and
very accomplished guitarist.”
- DAVE VAN RONK (r.i.p.)


“Peter Spencer shows a maturity and depth in his songs that’s lacking in all too many
songwriters today.”
- DIRTY LINEN


“This articulate collection or original acoustic-rock songs is clearly the work of a seasoned
professional, a gifted lyricist with a sharp eye. This is a sleeper of an album that grows on you
with repeated listening. There’s something here for the singer-songwriter crowd, the blues
crowd, and the No Depression/alternative-country crowd.”
- NEW JERSEY STAR-LEDGER


“One of the great guitarists.”
- ERIK FRANDSEN