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John Fahey

Christmas With

Vol II

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Artist Information

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John Fahey (February 28, 1939 – February 22, 2001) was an American finger style guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of the music and its minimalist style. Fahey borrowed from the folk and blues traditions in American roots music, having compiled many forgotten early recordings in these genres. He would later incorporate classical, Portuguese, Brazilian, and Indian music into his œuvre. Fahey wrote a largely apocryphal autobiography and was known for his coarseness, aloof demeanor, and dry humor. He spent many of his later years in poverty and poor health, but also enjoyed a minor career resurgence with a turn towards the more explicitly avant-garde. He died in 2001 due to complications from heart surgery. In 2003, he was ranked 35th in the Rolling Stone "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.

John Aloysius Fahey was born in Washington, DC, into a musical household—both his parents played the piano. In 1945, the family moved to the Washington suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland to a house on New York Avenue that Fahey's father Al lived in until his death in 1994. On weekends, the family often attended performances of top country and bluegrass groups of the day, but it was hearing Bill Monroe's version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel No. 7" on the radio that ignited the young Fahey's passion for music.

In 1952, after being impressed by guitarist Frank Hovington, whom he met while on a fishing trip, he purchased his first guitar for $17 from the Sears-Roebuck catalogue. Along with his budding interest in guitar, Fahey was attracted to record collecting. While his tastes ran mainly in the bluegrass and country vein, Fahey discovered his love of early blues upon hearing Blind Willie Johnson's "Praise God I'm Satisfied" on a record-collecting trip to Baltimore with his friend and mentor, the musicologist Richard K. Spottswood. Much later, Fahey compared the experience to a religious conversion and remained a devout blues disciple until his death.

As his guitar playing and composing progressed, Fahey developed a style that blended the picking patterns he discovered on old blues 78s with the dissonance of contemporary classical composers he loved, such as Charles Ives and Béla Bartók. In 1958, Fahey made his first recordings. These were for his friend Joe Bussard's amateur Fonotone label. He recorded under the pseudonym Blind Thomas as well as under his own name.

In 1959, Fahey recorded at St. Michaels and All Angels Church in Adelphi, MD and that material would become the very first Takoma record. Having no idea how to approach professional record companies and being convinced they would be uninterested, Fahey decided to issue his first album himself, using some cash saved from his gas station attendant job at Martin's Esso and some borrowed from an Episcopal priest. So Takoma Records was born, named in honor of his hometown.[5] One hundred copies of this first album were pressed.  On one side of the album sleeve was the name "John Fahey" and on the other, "Blind Joe Death"—this latter was a humorous nickname given to him by his fellow blues fans. He attempted to sell these albums himself. Some he gave away, some he sneaked into thrift stores and blues sections of local record shops, and some he sent to folk music scholars, a few of whom were fooled into thinking that there really was a living old blues singer called Blind Joe Death. It took three years for Fahey to sell the remainder.

After graduating from American University with a degree in philosophy and religion, Fahey moved to California in 1963 to study philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. Arriving on campus, Fahey—ever the outsider—began to feel dissatisfied with the program's curriculum (he later suggested that studying philosophy had been a mistake and that what he had wanted to understand was really psychology) and was equally unimpressed with Berkeley's (hippie) music scene. Fahey loathed the polite Pete Seeger-inspired revivalists he found himself classed with. Eventually, Fahey moved south to Los Angeles to join the folklore master's program at UCLA at the invitation of department head D.K. Wilgus. Fahey's UCLA master's thesis on the music of Charley Patton was later published. He completed it with the musicological assistance of his friend Alan Wilson, who shortly after became a member of Canned Heat.

While Fahey lived in Berkeley, Takoma Records was reborn. Fahey decided to track down Blues legend Bukka White by sending a postcard to Aberdeen, Mississippi (White had sung that Aberdeen was his hometown, and Mississippi John Hurt had been rediscovered using a similar method). When White responded, Fahey and ED Denson, a Washington, DC area friend who had also moved west, decided to travel to Memphis and record White. The recordings by White became the first non-Fahey Takoma release. Fahey also, finally, released a second album in late 1963, called Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes. To their surprise the Fahey release sold better than White's and Fahey had a career going.

His releases during the mid-1960s employed odd guitar tunings and sudden style shifts rooted firmly in the old time and blues stylings of the 1920s. But he was not simply a copyist, as compositions such as "When the Catfish is in Bloom" or "Stomping Tonight on the Pennsylvania/Alabama Border" demonstrate. Fahey described the latter piece as follows : "The opening chords are from the last movement of Vaughan Williams' Sixth Symphony. It goes from there to a Skip James motif. Following that it moves to a Gregorian chant, Dies Irae. It's the most scary one in the Episcopal hymn books, it's all about the day of judgment. Then it returns to the Vaughan Williams chords, followed by a blues run of undetermined origin, then back to Skip James and so forth." A hallmark of his classic releases was the inclusion of lengthy liner notes, parodying those found on blues releases. Typically, these were epic acts of self-mythologization, mixing personal biography, reverie, folklore, and myriad obscure blues and bluegrass references.

Later albums from the sixties, such as Requia and The Yellow Princess found Fahey making sound collages from such elements as Gamelan music, Tibetan chanting, animal and bird cries and singing bridges. In 1967, Fahey recorded with Texas psych-rock trio The Red Crayola at the 1967 Berkeley Folk Festival, music that resurfaced on the 1998 Drag City reissue, The Red Krayola: Live 1967. The Red Crayola subsequently recorded an entire studio album with Fahey, but the Red Crayola's label demanded possession of the tapes and recorded documentation of those sessions has been missing ever since.[citation needed]

In addition to his own creative output, Fahey expanded the Takoma label, discovering fellow guitarists Leo Kottke, Robbie Basho and Peter Lang, as well as emerging pianist George Winston. Kottke's debut release on the label, 6- and 12-String Guitar, ultimately proved to be the most successful of the crop, selling more than 500,000 copies. Other artists with albums on the label included Mike Bloomfield, Rick Ruskin, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Maria Muldaur, Michael Gulezian and Canned Heat. In 1979, Fahey sold Takoma to Chrysalis Records.  Jon Monday, who had been the General Manager of the label since 1970 was the only employee to go with the new company. Chrysalis eventually sold the rights to the albums, and Takoma was in limbo until bought by Fantasy Records in 1995.

 

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Record Information

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Original Thick Heavy Vinyl

Stored In Heavy Plastic Outer Sleeve Since Purchase

Official Release Information

Label: Takoma C1045 Released: 1975 Format:  12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM Disc Condition Near Mint Visual Inspection

No visable flaws -  Looks unplayed

Cover Condition Near Mint Visual Inspection 

No Notable Exceptions

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A Brief Discussion On Condition

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Sealed albums are in many cases a later pressing bought in some bargain bin. Not always but quite frequently. Rarely did the first pressing make it to the bargain bin unless the record was a flop. Back in the day every record distributor had a sealing machine and would reseal albums. These would end up in the bargain bins. That is why you see the stretching on the corners of many of them offered on eBay. Unless you plan on leaving the album sealed and reselling it, you are better off with a true Near Mint to Mint pressing from a reputable record dealer. You know what you get.

 All of these claims regarding complicated record cleaning systems mean you are getting records that have not had the care they should have had. If the record was cared for properly it won't need these complicated cleanings! A wipe with a Parastat or Discwasher with a few drops of cleaning solution will remove any soiling that is not from abuse.

A properly cared for album (NM or M) should look as close as possible to the record that came out when it was first opened.

Most records come from my personal collection accumulated during my years in the music industry. When purchased new or received as a promotional copy, the album or single was placed in a plastic outer sleeve and sometimes a plastic inner sleeve. When possible the records will include these plastic sleeves. Many were never played! I rate rather conservatively but work closely with Goldmine standards. My Near Mint ratings are generally what everybody else rates as Mint or Brand New. I try very hard to give accurate descriptions of the records and check them prior to shipment to ensure that the condition advertised is indeed what I ship. If there is something that I missed I will notify you prior to shipment. In turn, if you receive your record and the condition is not what you expected, let me know and we will work it out.   Shipment Information All records are carefully packaged and shipped in heavy duty commercial grade #200 corrugated Record shipping boxes! International Buyers Welcome PayPal—eBay's service to make fast, easy, and secure payments for your eBay purchases!  

 

Buyer Instructions Payments:     All payments are expected within 10 days. All payments must be received in US funds. Preferred payment method is Paypal. Feedback: I will leave feedback for you once I have received confirmation that you have received your item and that the item met your expectations. Our transaction is not over until you are satisfied. Once you leave feedback,       I will leave positive feedback for you.     Contact me if there are any problems or questions. Thank you for stopping by!! Be sure to add me to your favorites because I have thousands more rare and wonderful albums, singles and memorabilia coming!   Looking for that special album, CD or single? Email me and I'll let you know if it is available!!
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