The Best of John Fahey 1959-1977
The 1977 Takoma compilation that Fahey picked himself, reissued in 2002 with three bonus tracks.
John Fahey, 1977
- Released
- 1977
- Label
- Takoma
- Producer
- ED Denson, John Fahey
- Type
- compilation
Fahey chose the tracks, which come from four of his dozen or so releases up to that point. Two of them, Spanish Two-Step and Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain, were re-recorded for it. Guitar Player published a matching tablature folio with essays by Fahey and a continuation of the tale of Blind Joe Death. The original album received five stars in both editions of the Rolling Stone Record Guide.
The 2002 Takoma CD added America, Fare Forward Voyagers and Desperate Man Blues, with liner notes and commentary from Henry Kaiser and from guitarists including Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, Jim O'Rourke, Terry Robb and George Winston. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic described the music as good, important acoustic guitar music, though he preferred Rhino's longer anthology The Return of the Repressed for a fuller picture.
Track listing
- Sunflower River Blues3:21
- St. Louis Blues3:18
- Poor Boy Long Ways from Home2:27
- When the Springtime Comes Again4:55
- Some Summer Day3:27
- Spanish Dance2:07
- Take a Look at That Baby1:27
- I'm Going to Do All I Can for My Lord1:27
- The Last Steam Engine Train2:19
- In Christ There Is No East or West2:46
- Give Me Cornbread When I'm Hungry3:12
- Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain3:19
- Revolt of the Dyke Brigade3:03
- On the Sunny Side of the Ocean3:54
- Spanish Two-Step2:21
Personnel
- John Fahey guitar, producer
- ED Denson producer
- Henry Kaiser reissue producer, liner notes
- Joe Tarantino remastering
More from John Fahey
Blind Joe Death (1959), Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes (1963), The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (1965), Days Have Gone By (1967), Requia (1967), The Yellow Princess (1968), America (1971), Of Rivers and Religion (1972), Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) (1973), Railroad (1983), Womblife (1997)
Sources
- The Best of John Fahey 1959-1977, Wikipedia