Acoustic Summer

Summer lends itself to the sound of the acoustic guitar — think of the shadows cast by a gently swaying tree, or the ripples made by lazy legs in a swimming pool, and you invariably hear a mellow strum. These Essentials strive for the perfect commingling of sound and season, and we begin with Exhibit A in the case supporting Nick Drake's acoustic genius, the lovely "River Man".

Keep it unplugged, all the way through Next Steps.

French movie director Jean-Luc Godard once said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun — well, sometimes, all you need to make a sublime summer track is a girl and a guitar. Scotland's KT Tunstall achieves a state of acoustic perfection with "Silent Sea" from her debut album, Eye to the Telescope, while Lucinda Williams uses Willie Nelson as backup on "Overtime".

Strum those strings till the long summer day closes, in Deep Cuts.

Scottish folk legend Bert Jansch, who was a key figure on the London scene in the mid-'60s, acquainted himself with a new generation of admirers with 2006's The Black Swan (title track included here). Fellow Scot Karine Polwart wasn't even born back then, but looks set to continue the roots acoustic tradition in the 21st century with exceptional tracks like "Daisy".

Vanilla ice cream dripping onto bare legs; the sweet surprise of a warm summer shower; sheep and clouds; the smell of vinegar outside a chip shop at sunset; mown grass . . . and a gorgeous, beautifully strummed acoustic tune. All those things are the very essence of summer, and we've attempted to catch the easy vibe of a long June day right here, thanks to artists like Ryan Adams (whose version of Oasis' "Wonderwall" falls like soft light on the soul), Neil Young ("The Painter"), and virtuoso guitarist Michael Hedges, whose fret board genius is abundantly apparent on "Bensusan".