Any John Fahey fans here?

[oustemnow]

I just picked up Blind Joe Death yesterday. Previously I'd only heard his later, mid-90s stuff, which quite frankly is a different animal altogether. Any suggestions on further purchases more along a Blind Joe Death vein?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. You'd probably lke Death Chants , Breakdowns and Military Waltzes

don't know if it's in print still. I actually have it on vinyl.

[oustemnow]

2. I think I saw that one on sale on some site, I'll have to check that out

thanks for the recommendation.

I actually bought Blind Joe Death on vinyl; seems fitting. $1 record bin, and not a scratch on it, save for the little bit of crackle that you get at the beginning of every side of vinyl.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. I LOVE that little crackle

I prefer listening to all my old jazz on vinyl. I'll take the music in the format it was originally made any day..especially Ella, and pieces with lots of brass...the highs and lows are overbearing even on the best cd's and the mid tomes get washed out.

[mitchum]

3. "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" is certainly in that vein...

"It contains "The Death of The Clayton Peacock" which is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. I love John Fahey so much that I steal from him as much as I can.

His entire back catalogue is now in print on CD

[ArmchairActivist]

5. The Best of....

Fahey's 'Best of' Album has got a good selection of his sort of American folk/country blues fingerpick stuff. There's also a book out, with all those songs beautifully tabbed out in caligraphy along with a bunch of his writing, which is quite bizarre and at times disturbing.

-AA

But damn good stuff for someone studying that style of guitar!

[salmonhorse]

6. Fahey is very kew'l ~

Fahey, Kottke, Cooder, Mississippi John Hurt. Four essential elements of folk blues guitar though I trend toward John Hurt first and foremost ~

http://www.mudcat.org/hurt.cfm

http://www.leokottke.com

http://home.planet.nl/%7Evet00124/Ryland/pgs_eng/index_eng.html

[mitchum]

7. That is a great group of players...

but IMO Kottke has a tendency to go for technique over feel/mood. Too many notes, not enough song.

Have you ever heard that Fahey was the one who first figured out the old 5-string G tuning? Apparently he then showed it to Cooder, who then showed it to Richards. And of course, Keef has now made a long-lasting meal of it.

[salmonhorse]

8. In the sixties there was a push...

...a proper one, lead by the likes of John Hammond (who I've forgot to include), to domcument all the stuff that came out from the The Delta it is true. Fahey was among the first 'white guys' to work it all out. Instructing many who sought to learn in earnest and by taking the forms up through the simplest of structure and into the higher realms, his, was a great & timely contribution to the understanding of Blues Genre as a pure musical form we are therefore agreed on this matter ~

:hi:

http://www.mudcat.org/blues.cfm