The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977

The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977 is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1977. The songs are collected from four of Fahey's dozen or so releases up to that point.

The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977
Greatest hits album by
John Fahey
Released1977
Recorded1967–1977
GenreFolk, American Primitivism, New Acoustic
Length78:44 (Reissue)
LabelTakoma
ProducerED Denson, John Fahey, Henry Kaiser (Reissue)
John Fahey chronology
Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II
(1975)		 The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977
(1977)		 John Fahey Visits Washington D.C.
(1979)

History

The original album consisted of tracks picked out by Fahey for the release, with two tracks "Spanish Two-Step" (called "Hawaiian Two-Step" on After the Ball) and "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain" re-recorded for the album.[1]

The Best of John Fahey music folio.

For the original release Guitar Player Magazine released a matching music folio of tablature for guitar. It also contained essays by Fahey, continuation of the tale of Blind Joe Death, and an ongoing story which meandered across the pages and the page margins throughout the book. In the introduction Fahey wrote:

"While technique is important, it is only part of the story. Music is a language—a language of emotions. The worst possible way to play these songs—and I am not only talking about my own compositions—is in metronome time at a uniform volume. Another terrible thing would be to play any composition the same way every time, or to feel that you have to play it exactly the way someone else, such as myself, played it or said to play it. A good technician must also be creative. Even if a person is not a composer, he can interpret and arrange, and these skills are as important as technique in making a performance interesting. I rely heavily on both technique and interpretation, and I think of myself as a very good composer, arranger, and plagiarest for the solo acoustic guitar"[2]

The book is no longer in print.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Rolling Stone Record Guide[5]
[6]
Tom HullA−[7]

The original album received five stars in both editions of the Rolling Stone Record Guide.[5][8]

Music critic Richie Unterberger called attention to Rhino's two-CD The Return of the Repressed: The John Fahey Anthology as "...a wider-spanning, lengthier chronological overview that's preferable for those wanting a fuller appreciation of [Fahey's] work." Unterberger also noted that "...what's here is good, important acoustic guitar music combining folk, blues, Americana, and unclassifiably weird originality, although it gives short shrift to some of his odder, more experimental 1960s and 1970s work."[3]

Reissues

The Best of John Fahey was reissued on CD in 2002 by Takoma and included three bonus tracks taken from three later albums. It includes liner notes and commentary by such guitarists as Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, Jim O'Rourke, and George Winston, some of whom had recorded numerous Fahey compositions on their own albums or who were once signed to his Takoma label.[1]

Track listing

All songs by John Fahey unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Sunflower River Blues" – 3:21
  2. "St. Louis Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 3:18
  3. "Poor Boy Long Ways from Home" – 2:27
  4. "When the Springtime Comes Again" (Fahey, Sullivan) – 4:55
  5. "Some Summer Day" – 3:27
  6. "Spanish Dance" – 2:07
  7. "Take a Look at That Baby" – 1:27
  8. "I'm Going to Do All I Can for My Lord" – 1:27
  9. "The Last Steam Engine Train" – 2:19
  10. "In Christ There Is No East or West" – 2:46
  11. "Give Me Cornbread When I'm Hungry" – 3:12
  12. "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain" – 3:19
  13. "Revolt of the Dyke Brigade" – 3:03
  14. "On the Sunny Side of the Ocean" – 3:54
  15. "Spanish Two-Step" – 2:21
    2002 reissue bonus tracks:
  16. "America" – 7:43
  17. "Fare Forward Voyagers" – 23:39
  18. "Desperate Man Blues" – 3:59

Personnel
  • John Fahey – guitar

Production notes

  • ED Denson – producer
  • John Fahey – producer
  • Henry Kaiser – reissue producer, liner notes
  • Bob de Sousa – engineer
  • Dallas Jordan – engineer
  • John Judnich – engineer
  • Joe Tarantino – remastering
  • Stephen J. Cahill – cover photo
  • Linda Kalin – design
  • Jamie Putnam – art direction
  • Leo Kottke – commentary
  • Peter Lang – commentary
  • Michael Gulezian – commentary
  • Jim O'Rourke – commentary
  • Terry Robb – commentary
  • George Winston – commentary

References
  1. Guerrieri, Claudio (2014). The John Fahey Handbook, Vol. 2. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-9853028-1-8.
  2. Fahey, John. The Best of John Fahey. 1978. Guitar Player Books.
  3. Unterberger, Richie. "The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977 > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 124, 598.
  6. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "John Fahey". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. Tom Hull. "Grade List: john fahey". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  8. 5-Star Albums Listing. Rolling Stone Record Guide. 2nd ed. 1983.
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