Search - John Fahey :: Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death

American Primitive Guitar Master

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 01/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Fahey may be most recognized for helping launch fellow finger-style guitarist Leo Kottke's career (check out the CD re-issue of John Fahey/Peter Lang/Leo Kottke), but over the course of 40 years and dozens of albums for several labels (which unfortunately go in and out of print) Fahey has produced an impressive body of work. While many of them are superb and all are if nothing else interesting, The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (you gotta love this guy's album titles!) is one of his best.Fahey absorbed his folk and rural blues influences into what he called "American primitive guitar." It's as good as description as any. Whatever you call his music, after listening to it Fahey will become the standard by which all other guitarists are compared.His unaccompanied accoustic guitar work--though not flashy--is always engaging and haunting.If this whets your appetite sufficiently, check out Rhino's well-chosen two-disc anthology Return of the Repressed which includes 42 songs from 20 albums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

Distinctly John Fahey

J. McDermott | Columbia, SC USA | 12/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In nearly every review of John Fahey, the remark is made that he spawned the career of the famous, inimitable Leo Kottke. While I do not intend to disparage Kottke, and listen to "6 and 12 String Guitar" quite frequently, John Fahey should be listened to because he is John Fahey, and "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" should be listened to because, quite simply, it is the best finger-picking guitar record I have ever heard.



Comparing Fahey to Kottke is, for fans of jazz, like comparing Thelonious Monk to McCoy Tiner, or, for fans of rock, imagine someone comparing Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain. Sure, the first two played piano in a distinctive, personal, and prolific style, and the second two were both amazing guitarists. But skill and style are quite different, and although both Kottke and Fahey are finger-picker guitarists of similar skill, the emotions and styles they convey are quite different.



That being said, "Transfiguration" is an incredible album unlike any other I have ever heard. Fahey plays guitar with a brooding deliberateness that other guitars can only approximate. Kottke comes close on tracks like "Busted Bicycle," but that only scratches the surface of things that Fahey accomplishes on this record. I can listen to it for a week straight and not need to hear anything else; the range of emotion that it conveys is that wide. Whereas Kottke is fun to listen to, or Hendrix is emotional and Monk is unique, Fahey is pretty much everything.



I highly endorse this album and wish I had heard it sooner."

A classic "must have" album for fans of folk guitar.

S. Grooms | St Paul, MN USA | 05/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Fahey was (and probably is) a fascinating and deeply troubled guy with more skill as a guitarist than as an entertainer who can connect with people. This album shows him at his best. Orinda Moraga is one of the loveliest things I've ever heard on a guitar. This album catches two odd and seemingly incompatible sides of Fahey: a sweet and melodic quality plus a stark and almost mathematically improvisational composing style that is both primitive and futuristic.Fahey's playing obviously influenced Leo Kottke, but that isn't why you want this album. If you like folk guitar, this album has some of the most inventive and listenable playing you'll ever find."