Mindblowing early work from Robbie Basho – maybe one of the best Takoma albums of the 60s – and that's saying a lot, given that the label also issued important music from John Fahey! Yet on this set, Basho's as revelatory as Fahey at his best – but in a completely different way – more informed by Eastern thought than American roots, yet able to spin out his ideas on these completely hypnotic acoustic guitar passages that are still as mesmerizing all these many years later as they were when recorded in Berkley studios in 1966. Titles include "Oriental Love Song", "The Dharma Prince", "The Grail& The Lotus", "Golden Shamrock", and "Street Dakini". LP, Vinyl record album

A perfect illustration of the genius of guitarist Robbie Basho – a set recorded early in his career, but with music that's light years ahead of most of his contemporaries! Although a set of solo acoustic guitar tracks, the music isn't really folk – nor is it the sort of acoustic underground music that would emerge more strongly in the 70s – and instead, it's got a real edge throughout – lots of odd tones and weird phrasings that almost preface a whole generation of guitar experimentalists like Derek Bailey or Eugene Chadbourne – yet still within a setting that's relatively tuneful overall! Basho's music has this subtle mysticism that we really love – and the solo sounds here are as evocative as the titles – which include "Mountain Man's Farewell", "Seal Of The Blue Lotus", "Sansara In Sweetness After Sandstorm", "Dravidian Sunday", and "Bardo Blues". CD

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Seminal sounds from the great John Fahey – an assemblage of excellent moments from his early Takoma albums – plus one previously-unreleased track! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful set from the early 70s – a record that has John Fahey opening up even more than before, on three very long tracks that really extend his ideas into a much more open space! The territory is maybe a bit more in the mode of Robbie Basho or Sandy Bull – and the pieces themselves are dedicated to Fahey's guru, Swami Satchidananda – with some of the Eastern elements you might expect! Yet John's longstanding tradition to reworking an American idiom is still strongly in place – maybe just inflected with a new spirit breathed into the nation in the late 60s – and opened up with wonderful interplay on the strings of the guitar. Titles include "When The Fire & Rose Are One", "Thus Krishna On The Battlefield", and "Fare Forward Voyagers". CD

An explosive album from the mighty John Fahey – and maybe the record in which he starts to really break from tradition – and strongly foreground all the new changes he wanted to bring to acoustic music! There's still a strong Americanist vibe going on here, but Fahey's also stretching things out, improvising a lot more, and really letting some darker corners come forward in his sound – not just on the 19 minute title track, which is a jaw-dropper in and of itself – but also on some of the shorter tracks, as he plays with tape tricks, duets with organ or flute, and even invites the Mysterious Al Wilson along on veena! The whole thing's amazing – exactly the summation of what made Fahey such a unique talent – and titles include "The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party", "Sail Away Ladies", "900 Miles", "Guitar Excursion Into The Unknown", and "Knott's Berry Farm Molly". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic late 70s album from guitar genius John Fahey – his first after a number of years away from the recording studio – and a real back to basics effort overall! There's none of the "orchestra" trappings of other 70s records – nor some of Fahey's more longer-form ideas – and instead, the tracks focus mostly on his incredible sense of texture and timing on the acoustic guitar – heard to perfectly as he folds his own compositions together with songs by Bill Monroe, Bola Sete, Leo Kottke, and Doc Watson! The whole thing's wonderfully understated – even more so than you'd guess from the cover – and titles include "Silver Bell/Cheyenne", "Ann Arbor/Death By Reputation", "The Discovery Of Syliva Scott", "Guitar Lamnento", "Melody McBad", and "The Grand Finale". CD

The landmark 1967 Takoma version of Blind Joe Death – essentially a revised version of his debut LP – and a hugely influential record! Fahey's bluesy undercurrents showcase his love of early recorded music , but the Fahey's style is purely original. He's got these magical tones that cascade effortlessly off the heavily-plucked strings of his guitar – echoing older blues and folk modes, but never in a way that's stereotypical – and which is already woven through with the kind of sonorities that continued to make Fahey such an important artist over the years. Think of the set as a skewed version of American history – filtered through one mind and one set of hands – and you'll be well on the way to understanding the power of this music. The set features songs penned by Fahey, and redone versions of older material – and tracks include "St. Louis Blues", "Poor Boy Long Ways From Home", "John Henry", "Transcendental Waterfall", "Desperate Man Blues", "Sun Gonna Shine In My Back Door Someday Blues", and "On Doing An Evil Deed Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the young John Fahey – a record that instantly captures its time-bending feel with its title, and which more than delivers on its promise with the music! The songs here are hardly real "plantation favorites", but Fahey evokes this antebellum sensibility with his sound – pre-blues, pre-folk modes that are actually his own new inventions on the guitar at the time – a cosmic intertwining of tradition and individual vision that was first set fire with records like this, then continued to inspire for decades to come. Fahey plays solo throughout – save for one duet with William Barth – and titles include "Wine & Roses", "How Long", "On The Banks Of The Owchita", 'Worried Blues", "What The Sun Said", "Revelation On The Banks Of The Pawtuxent", "Poor Boy", "Variations On The Coocoo", "The Last Steam Engine Train", "Give Me Corn Bread When I'm Hungry", and "Dance Of Death". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the young John Fahey – a record that instantly captures its time-bending feel with its title, and which more than delivers on its promise with the music! The songs here are hardly real "plantation favorites", but Fahey evokes this antebellum sensibility with his sound – pre-blues, pre-folk modes that are actually his own new inventions on the guitar at the time – a cosmic intertwining of tradition and individual vision that was first set fire with records like this, then continued to inspire for decades to come. Fahey plays solo throughout – save for one duet with William Barth – and titles include "Wine & Roses", "How Long", "On The Banks Of The Owchita", 'Worried Blues", "What The Sun Said", "Revelation On The Banks Of The Pawtuxent", "Poor Boy", "Variations On The Coocoo", "The Last Steam Engine Train", "Give Me Corn Bread When I'm Hungry", and "Dance Of Death". CD

John Fahey just got deeper and deeper with each new record of his early years – and this sublime sixth set is a unique blend of his amazing work on guitar, his timeless sense of music, and his growing ear for odd elements and atmospherics that make his records far more than just the usual acoustic folk blues of the time! Instead, the whole thing's this kind of pioneering mixture of organic sounds – still years ahead of its time, and put together with this sensibility that it took most folks decades to appreciate – every bit as revelatory on a first listen today as it must have been back in the 60s. Titles include "A Raga Called Pat", "The Revolt Of The Dyke Brigade", "Days Have Gone By", "We Would Be Building", and "Night Train Of Valhalla". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime Holiday sounds from the legendary John Fahey – one of a few Christmas Records that probably got Fahey a lot more exposure than all the rest of his non-seasonal work combined! The style here is a perfect link between an older folk era and the rising acoustic underground left in its wake – a very personal mode that really served to unlock a whole new sensibility in these tunes – thanks in no small part to John's very edgey work on the strings of the guitar! The music rings out with a surprising sense of joy, but a nice undercurrent of darkness too – and titles include "Christ's Saints Of God Fantasy", "Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy", "Good King Wenceslas", "Auld Lang Syne", and "What Child Is This". (Holiday Music, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

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(Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure 70s albums on Takoma Records – mostly just guitar and vocals from Rick Ruskin, with just a bit of light accompaniment here and there! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful record by Bola Sete, and probably one of his best. The great John Fahey produced this set for his Takoma label, and his history with the acoustic guitar lets him get all of these beautiful tones and sounds out of Bola's playing that are often missed on other recordings. The set includes some fantastic stuff played on solo guitar, including "Let Go (Canto De Osshana)", "Macumba", "O Astronauta", "In Of The Beginning, Cotati", and "Ocean Waves". (Brazil, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

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Tut Taylor never sounded better than in the very faithful setting of a Takoma Records session – and he works here on dobro, with help from Norman Blake on guitar, Butch Robins on bass, and Sam Bush on mandolin! LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing second album from Phil Yost – one of the most unique players to work on the always-unique Takoma Records! The set features Phil working on soprano sax, flute, guitar, bass, and other instruments – all in these really cool combinations that really live up to the legacy of the same label that was home to John Fahey and Robbie Basho. LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic little record, and one with a sound that's a surprising as the album is obscure – a mix of Takoma Records-styled acoustic instrumentals blended with other cuts that have a much more funky jazz approach – all wrapped together as a wonderful testament to the overlooked talents of this Swedish guitarist! Thomas plays both acoustic and electric on the record – the former on those spare numbers that have a great sense of intimacy, and even on some of the fuller numbers that bring in a bit of electric piano, bass, and drums – as well as some earthier percussion that's especially nice! The electric guitar comes in a bit here and there, but always in ways that are nicely restrained compared to fusion – on titles that include "Nyanser", "EM", "Horisont", "Quebec", "Coral Reef", and "Frost". (Jazz, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most obscure albums ever recorded by the great Robbie Basho – a set originally came out only on cassette, on Basho's own label – at a time when he was even farther from the limelight than in his underground years on Takoma Records! The sound here is a further flowering of those spiritual modes that Robbie unlocked on a few key albums in the early 70s – a moment when he became as confident in his vocalizations as he was in his guitar work – and brought both together with a beautifully glowing sense of identity that's completely without reference amongst both the acoustic guitar underground, and the older folk scene. There's a sense of fragile beauty throughout the record – and titles include "The Golden Medallion", "Land Of Our Fathers", "El Cid", "Song Of Leila", "Tears Of Teresa", "Blues From Lebanon", "The Polish Rider", and "The White Swallow". LP, Vinyl record album

A set with a disco ball on the cover, but a record that fits right in with the best early 20th century aesthetic in the work of John Fahey – particularly his way of reimagining older musical traditions! There's a bit of added instrumentation on the record – two tracks that have some slight trad jazz flourishes – but overall, the album's mostly a solo effort with loads of wonderful guitar work from John – still as creative and as complicated as in his best recordings for Takoma! Other added instrumentation sometimes expands the sound with mandolin or banjo, but again in very sensitive ways – and titles include "Bucktown Stomp", "Om Shanthi Norris", "Beverly", and "Horses". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of early albums from the great Gordon Giltrap – both released by Transatlantic Records when Gordon was a very young fellow! The self-titled Gordon Giltrap is a gem from 1968 – a record that has Gordon stepping out as a hell of a guitarist, and a very dark-tinged songwriter – certainly of the generation that was budding with John Renbourn and Bert Jansch – but with a distinct quality that really set Giltrap apart from the rest, maybe making him as much of an individualist as Davy Graham! Although just 18, Giltrap's acoustic guitar work is fantastic– and his vocals are much more biting than some of his contemporaries – almost mean at times. Titles include "Window Pattern", "Blythe Hill", "Won't You Stay Awhile Suzanne", "Don't You Feel Good", "Birth Of Spring", "Don't You Hear Your Mother's Voice", and "Ives Horizon". Portrait is an amazing record – at one level filled with mastery of the 12 string guitar has has Gordon Giltrap matching the best of the Takoma generation in the US – but also graced with vocals that are very distinct, very pointed, and which make the tunes with lyrics such a contrast to the instrumentals! The whole thing is fantastic – a true testament to the legend that has grown up around Giltrap over the years – with titles that include "Thoughts In The Rain", "Never Ending Solitude", "Young Love", "Lucifer's Cage", "Portrait", "Tuxedo", and "Hands Of Fate". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A startlingly great mid 70s loner folk record by Scott Key – with some of the finest, most artful fingerstyle guitar we've heard on a self-recorded album from the period – and a really strong record that would be right at home on the Takoma label! Recorded in Colorado by Key himself, who plays acoustic guitar and bottleneck slide on songs that reveal a masterful acoustic guitar player, as well as creative ear for drones and post-psych effects. Occasionally has vocals, but it's a largely instrumental effort – and a brilliant one! Titles include "Cat Soup", "Buzzard Blues", "The Laughing Cowboy", "The Moonshiners Are Gone", "Goon Lagoon", "This Forest And The Sea" and more. 5 bonus tracks on this great CD version from Lion: "Hungry Joe's Birds", "One Great Sin", "Just A Song For You", "The Farm Report" and "Jabberwocky". CD

Tremendous acoustic guitar work from Dennis Taylor – an obscure player who issued this own album himself in a very small edition – but one we'd rank right up there with some of the bigger giants of the solo acoustic universe! At some level, Taylor's got a lot of Alex DeGrassi in his mode – that more deft, layered style that was emerging from the American acoustic underground at the end of the 70s – but he also has an ability to maybe step back for some of the more offbeat, introspective qualities of the generation before – not Takoma Records exactly, but clearly with an experimental ear that continues to keep things interesting throughout. A great lost classic, and one of those records that really blows you away when you remember that you're just hearing one guy, on one instrument – on titles that include "Going Nowhere Fast", "Bicycle Town", "Roses Of Thy Garden", "Spanish Dancer", "Reflection Of The Dayspring", "In The Silence", and "From The East To The West". LP, Vinyl record album