American Primitive Guitar and John Fahey

I try not to be a completist, but lately I've noticed CD prices dropping to ridiculous levels, and I've mentioned before that the window of how long a CD stays in print seems smaller all the time, so if I can fill in some gaps in my collection, now's the time.

I also now have a working CD player in my car, so I'm freed from the tyranny of radio for now, but as much as I've complained about it, I have heard some great things, some of which lead to even better things. Case in point: KSER played a track from one of the "Imaginational Anthem" guitar anthology CD series, and I was curious about others in the series. They're mostly compilations of semi-known and fairly unknown acoustic guitarists that could be generally placed in the John Fahey school of what he sometimes referred to as "American Primitive Guitar", a rural pre-war blues/ragtime/folk/gospel amalgam of styles, of which Fahey stands Colossus-like above the crowd.

I listened to snippets of the series, but Volume 6 really grabbed me; it's the Rosetta Stone of the Fahey style. I knew that Fahey's interest in old 78s informed his musical direction, but his was more than just a copy -- he added classical touches, Dixieland and subtle dissonance to forge his own very individual style.  But Volume 6 collects, as the liner notes say, the "primordial universe that spawned and nurtured Fahey". Drawn from 78s by Riley Puckett, Sam McGee, Sylvester Weaver and more (with some politically-incorrect titles like "Darkey's Wail" and "Tramp's Waltz"), this is the stuff that set Fahey on his journey. They sound like rough drafts of later Fahey works, and of course, in a sense they are, and some ("Knoxville Blues") Fahey even covered.

I took a jazz appreciation class years ago, and I couldn't understand why we had to spend so much time listening to Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong when I wanted to get to Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Duh. It helps to know the foundation first. This "Origins of American Primitive Guitar" helps me get some insights into John Fahey's music, and I'll listen with more informed ears.

The label that issues the "Imaginational Anthem" series is Tompkins Square, and they do a great job. The tracks are mastered from 78s, so there is some surface noise and you'd never call it 'high fidelity', but after a few minutes of listening, you get used to it. Sure, I would have liked more than 14 tracks, but really, this is more about quality than quantity.

More on John Fahey soon!

John Martyn, Postscript

As Island Records releases remastered versions of John Martyn's classic albums, I've slowly replaced some of my favorites. As more and more people abandon CDs for downloads, the window of opportunity to buy CDs at reasonable prices gets smaller and smaller, and once they've gone out of print (again), prices start climbing. I missed the boat replacing some old reggae albums, and now used copies are big bucks. Same with NRBQ (I assumed that being on Rounder Records would give NRBQ unlimited shelf life -- not so much!)

So I sprung for the 2009 remaster of probably John Martyn's best, most consistent album, "Solid Air". Sounds great, of course, but there's a second disc of alternate takes, live tracks and unreleased-until-now bonus tracks. (Island has taken this to extremes lately -- there's like a 17-disc Martyn box with somewhere close to 3 hours of bonus material. Even if I did win the lottery, I'd have to devote the rest of my life to listening to it all.) That being said, there are 2 bonus tracks on the "Solid Air" set that I really enjoy: "In the Evening" and especially "When It's Dark", 8:36 of pure perfection. I have no idea why it wasn't included on earlier versions of "Solid Air", maybe because you can hear the germ of another song that ended up on John's next album. Whatever the reason, I certainly glad it finally made its appearance.

"The Tumbler" was John's second album, and there's no remaster yet. For me, it illustrates "you can't go home again". It's a nice album, but having followed John's career since, it's a bit light and unfinished compared to where he went later. I think if I'd heard it when it initially came out, I'd hear it with more nostalgic affection, and the blemishes would be endearing rather than slightly uncomfortable. Still, it was nice to hear on some of our beautiful summer days lately.