A pair of wonderful albums from the great John Fahey – back to back on a single CD! First up is Rivers & Religion – a really unique album by John Fahey – issued during a short stretch of initial mainstream approval, and a brief time of recording for Warner Brothers! Some of the album's quite different than the spare, solo Fahey you might know – and mixes his legendary guitar work with more elaborate elements than usual – additional instrumentation that includes bass, banjo, clarinet, piano, trombone, and fiddle – but all used at a level that really supports John's presence, not occludes it. Other tracks return to spare acoustic steel string guitar – creating an evocative balance that's mighty nice. Titles include "Funeral Song For Mississippi John Hurt", "Texas & Pacific Blues", "Dixie Pig Bar B Q Blues", "Lord Have Mercy Song", and "Deep River". After The Ball is 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 reiimagining 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". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

42 tracks – a beautiful career-spanning collection! (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Seminal sounds from the great John Fahey – an assemblage of excellent moments from his early Takoma albums – plus one previously-unreleased track! (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Not the famous album of the similar name, but an even more obscure 80s set – one that has John Fahey revisiting the older territory. Titles include "Improv In E Minor", "Lava On Waikiki", "Gaucho", "The Evening Mysteries Of Ferry Street", "Steel Guitar Rag", "A Minor Blues", and "The Minutes Seem Like Hours The Hours Seem Like Days". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album by John Fahey – issued during a short stretch of initial mainstream approval, and a brief time of recording for Warner Brothers! Some of the album's quite different than the spare, solo Fahey you might know – and mixes his legendary guitar work with more elaborate elements than usual – additional instrumentation that includes bass, banjo, clarinet, piano, trombone, and fiddle – but all used at a level that really supports John's presence, not occludes it. Other tracks return to spare acoustic steel string guitar – creating an evocative balance that's mighty nice. Titles include "Funeral Song For Mississippi John Hurt", "Texas & Pacific Blues", "Dixie Pig Bar B Q Blues", "Lord Have Mercy Song", and "Deep River". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

John Fahey rewrites the sound of America – here in a wonderful set that stands as one of the real highlights from his Takoma Records years! Tracks are a mix of public domain material from America's past, mixed with plenty of Fahey originals – and all material receives both fantastic Fahey arrangements and performance – with a sublime tone that's filled with color, life, and lots of dark little corners as well. Echoes of older string and blues modes come into the mix – but with a very contemporary, modernist expression – as John reworks an older version of American to balance a country forever changed by the 60s. Titles include "The Voice Of The Turtle", "Knoxville Blues", and "Mark 1:15". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of wonderful albums from the great John Fahey – back to back on a single CD! First up is Rivers & Religion – a really unique album by John Fahey – issued during a short stretch of initial mainstream approval, and a brief time of recording for Warner Brothers! Some of the album's quite different than the spare, solo Fahey you might know – and mixes his legendary guitar work with more elaborate elements than usual – additional instrumentation that includes bass, banjo, clarinet, piano, trombone, and fiddle – but all used at a level that really supports John's presence, not occludes it. Other tracks return to spare acoustic steel string guitar – creating an evocative balance that's mighty nice. Titles include "Funeral Song For Mississippi John Hurt", "Texas & Pacific Blues", "Dixie Pig Bar B Q Blues", "Lord Have Mercy Song", and "Deep River". After The Ball is 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 reiimagining 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". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Very dark sounds from John Fahey's later years – music that was likely recorded in the boardinghouse where he was spending his time, and done with a much moodier vibe than most of his earlier music! The set begins with a layered vocal number that's extremely foreboding – layered vocals that are almost a looser take on some sort of early Steve Reich territory – balanced by acoustic guitar instrumentals that are in that looser, more open later Fahey mode as well. There's a bit of electronics on the set at points, plenty of those 90s Fahey surprises along the way – and the whole thing was edited and mastered by Jim O'Rourke. Titles include "All The Rains", "F For Fake", "Untitled", "Evening Not Night", and "For LMC 2". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

(Folk/Country, Rock) CD

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

John Fahey rewrites the sound of America – here in a wonderful set that stands as one of the real highlights from his Takoma Records years! Tracks are a mix of public domain material from America's past, mixed with plenty of Fahey originals – and all material receives both fantastic Fahey arrangements and performance – with a sublime tone that's filled with color, life, and lots of dark little corners as well. Echoes of older string and blues modes come into the mix – but with a very contemporary, modernist expression – as John reworks an older version of American to balance a country forever changed by the 60s. Titles include "The Voice Of The Turtle", "Knoxville Blues", and "Mark 1:15". CD features a stunning amount of unreleased tracks – 9 songs that never made it on the original album, which was concieved as a double-length set! (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Seminal sounds from the great John Fahey – an assemblage of excellent moments from his early Takoma albums – plus one previously-unreleased track! (Folk/Country, Rock) 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". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Maybe one of the strangest covers ever used for a John Fahey record – very 80s! Yet his guitar work here is spot-on – in a setting that features extra guitar and bottleneck from Terry Robb – plus percussion and bass on a re-recorded version of "River Medley", next to other tunes that include a great reworking of Baden Powell's "Canto De Ossanha", as "Let Go", plus Bola Sete's "Pretty Afternoon" – and other titles that include "Lost Lake", "Black Mommy", and "Lights Out". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by Fahey – all solo, and featuring some wonderful production on the guitar that brings out all the brilliance of his warm chromatic playing. Side one features "Requiem For John Hurt", "Requiem For Russell Blaine Cooper", and "When The Catfish Is In Bloom" – and side two features the four-part "Requiem for Molly", which has Fahey's guitar over some very cool effects! (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

(Folk/Country, Rock) CD

One of the first full albums recorded by the legendary John Fahey – originally issued on the tiny Riverboat label, then circulated more widely on his own Takoma imprint! The set offers a second chapter of the sort of work on Fahey's Blind Joe Death debut – but the sound is already light years ahead of the first record – with a more developed sense of tone, timing, and phrasing – at a level that shows a tremendous amount of growth by the musician in just a few years! Even in the mid 60s, Fahey's already showing a lot of the unique power that would continue to awe generations for decades to come – and the tracks here unfurl an incredible approach to acoustic guitar that's neither folk, nor blues, nor just about anything else – just purely Fahey-esque. Titles include "Orinda Moraga", "Beautiful Linda Getchell", "On The Sunny Side Of The Ocean", "101 Is A Hard Road To Travel", "How Green Was My Valley", and "Poor Boy". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

An album as lovely as its title, and John Fahey's 8th record – mostly solo guitar, but with guest drums and bass on 2 cuts – "March For Martin Luther King" and "Dance of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg". The sound is extremely magical – introspective, yet far-seeing – with that fragile sense of being in the world that's made Fahey's work endure far longer than that of most of his contemporaries. Other titles include "Irish Setter", "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion At Magruder Park", and "Lion". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The seminal debut of the great John Fahey – posing here as Blind Joe Death – an acoustic guitarist whose bluesy undercurrents showcase Fahey's love of early recorded music! The style is pure Fahey throughout – those 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 numbers – and tracks include "West Coast Blues", "St. Louis Blues", "I'm A Poor Boy Far Away From Home", "John Hardy", "Transcendental Waterfall", "Desperate Man Blues", "Sun Gonna Shine In My Back Door", and "On Doing An Evil Deed Blues". Fahey originally recorded some of the material in 1959, then again in 1963 – and this double-length CD features all of the many tracks that appeared on various versions of the record – 21 titles and over 75 minutes of music! (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A soaring set from the great Robbie Basho – one of the most unique artists of his generation! Basho's often mentioned in the same breath as John Fahey, but a record like this really shows his difference – as the record not only features wonderful work on both 6 and 12 string guitar from Basho, but also has lots of these oddly-sung, surprisingly heartfelt lyrics – in a mode that's quite far from folk roots, and which instead has this really soulful warbling that really adds a lot to the spirit of the tunes. The only other instrumentation is some very cool work on the South Indian log drum – and titles include "Omaha Tribal Prayer", "Sweet Medicine", "Roses & Gold", "Joseph", "Blue Corn Serenade", and "Wounded Knee Soliloquy". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Mindblowing minimalism from the legendary Sandy Bull – an artist who might have had acoustic roots in folk music, but who was instantly turning his music into something else – drawing on modal styles of Eastern music, European generations of expression on guitar, jazz-based improvisation – and maybe even prefiguring work to come from composers like Terry Riley and La Monte Young! This album's one of Bull's first, and it's pure genius right from the start – with a side-long performance on the incredible "Blend", which features slight drums from jazz musician Billy Higgins – which Sandy extrapolates these long passages on acoustic guitar. Side two features the fantastic "Carmina Burana Fantasy" on banjo – a kind of trans-historical performance that's right up there with John Fahey's best of the decade – alongside equally mindblowing "Non Nobis Domine" and "Little Maggie" – and the closing electric guitar genius of "Gospel Tune". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

"Now you can experience transcendental consciousness without spending 10 years in a Tibetan monastery" – or so the liner notes proclaim – a pretty great description of what's bound to happen after making your way through this very trippy album from the early 70s! The set's essentially a set of long electric guitar solos – played by Wilburn Burchette on his self-created "impro guitar" – recorded with lots and lots of echo, and maybe a bit of distortion too – so that the long, cyclic lines ring out beautifully – with every bit of the hypnotic feel you might expect! The whole thing's almost like an electric version of some of John Fahey's longform solo work – and titles include "Dawn Of Awakening", "Regeneration", "Transformation", "Introversion", and "Piercing The Psychic Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

"Now you can experience transcendental consciousness without spending 10 years in a Tibetan monastery" – or so the liner notes proclaim – a pretty great description of what's bound to happen after making your way through this very trippy album from the early 70s! The set's essentially a set of long electric guitar solos – played by Wilburn Burchette on his self-created "impro guitar" – recorded with lots and lots of echo, and maybe a bit of distortion too – so that the long, cyclic lines ring out beautifully – with every bit of the hypnotic feel you might expect! The whole thing's almost like an electric version of some of John Fahey's longform solo work – and titles include "Dawn Of Awakening", "Regeneration", "Transformation", "Introversion", and "Piercing The Psychic Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

Harry Smith's much revered efforts to compile the deepest early-to-mid 20th Century American folk music resulted in the monumental Anthology Of American Folk Music box set – plus this later volume that didn't make it into the original set or the celebrated reissue – and sadly went unissued at all until 2000! Despite the lack of a commercial release for the set, Volume Four includes a number of tracks that ended up to be just as ingrained in the American folk, blues, and country conciousness as the cuts from its more famous big brother collection – with a bit more of a dip into the blues, gospel and cajun music of the time. 28 tracks on 2CDs – plus a thick, and truly excellent book featuring notes on the artists, photos, illustrations, text and essays by Greil Marcus, John Fahey, Ed Sanders, John Cohen and Dick Spottswood – nearly 100 pages worth! Tracks include "Memphis Shakedown" by the Memphis Jug Band, "Dog And Gun" by Bradley Kinkaid, "Nine Pound Hammer" by the Carter Family, "Packin' Trunk Blues" by Leadbelly, "Wreck Of The Tennessee Gravy Train" by Uncle Dave Macon, "Milk Cow Blues" by John Estes, "The Cockeyed World" by Minnie Wallace, "Ace's Breakdown" by the Four Aces and many more! (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Volumes 1-3 in Tompkins Square's masterful compilations of both rare vintage and the deepest modern acoustic guitar folk experimental instrumentals – in a single package that's a perfect intro to the series if you're like us and late to get in on it! The material is in the Takoma Records realm of adventurous, genre melding (or skirting) greatness – stunning stuff that blends older recordings by masters both iconic and obscure, newer recordings by pivotal figures, and modern work by younger artists that are just as awe inspiring, and the mix of old and new is seamless! Volume 1 includes "Imaginational Anthem" by Max Ochs, "Bouba's Bounce" by Brad Barr, "White Mule III" by Jack Rose, "Untitled" by Sandy Bull, "O Holy Night" by John Fahey and more. Volume 2 includes "River Of Heaven By James Blackshaw, "Future Shot At Life" by Peter Lang, "Leaving The Apple" by Michael Chapman and more. Volume 3 includes "Zocalo" by Richard Crandell, "Sleep Architecture" by Greg Davis, "Goblins" by George Stavis, "Texarkana 1971" by Shawn David McMillen and much more. (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

A really fantastic album from Leo Kottke – the kind of 70s material that really set him apart from the rest, and which really gave him a special place away from the acoustic underground of the time! Kottke started out with a album on Takoma Records that was every bit as great a guitar classic as his famous labelmates like John Fahey and Robbie Basho – but by the time of this mid 70s live date, he'd evolved to a level where his guitar playing was even more incredible than before, but also matched with slight vocalizations, and a sense of wit that always helped avoid any too-posturing modes that might have got in his way. At some level, it's almost as if Leo were developing this personality in which the rest of himself was a way of distracting from the genius of the work of his fingers on the guitar – while he was quietly using that instrument to knock you over the head with all these unusual tunings and phrasings. Titles include "June Bug", "Standing In My Shoes", "Hear The Wind Howl", "Eggtooth", and "The Fisherman". CD

A further stunning chapter in the career of guitarist Jeff Parker – a musician who's just grown in leaps and bounds on a succession of records for the International Anthem label! Here, Jeff plays solo guitar throughout – in modes that occasionally hearken back to his earlier material for other labels, but which really shows that amazing understanding of sound and tone that he's developed more recently – this incredible ear for all the possibilities of the electric guitar, at a level that moves beyond just jazz too – with moments on the record that almost have a John Fahey-like understanding of his instrument, as Parker creates all these fantastic passages in sound that are completely sublime. Titles include "Suffolk", "Flour Of Fur", "Four Folks", "La Jetee", "Ugly Beauty", and "Excess Success". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A further stunning chapter in the career of guitarist Jeff Parker – a musician who's just grown in leaps and bounds on a succession of records for the International Anthem label! Here, Jeff plays solo guitar throughout – in modes that occasionally hearken back to his earlier material for other labels, but which really shows that amazing understanding of sound and tone that he's developed more recently – this incredible ear for all the possibilities of the electric guitar, at a level that moves beyond just jazz too – with moments on the record that almost have a John Fahey-like understanding of his instrument, as Parker creates all these fantastic passages in sound that are completely sublime. Titles include "Suffolk", "Flour Of Fur", "Four Folks", "La Jetee", "Ugly Beauty", and "Excess Success". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A further stunning chapter in the career of guitarist Jeff Parker – a musician who's just grown in leaps and bounds on a succession of records for the International Anthem label! Here, Jeff plays solo guitar throughout – in modes that occasionally hearken back to his earlier material for other labels, but which really shows that amazing understanding of sound and tone that he's developed more recently – this incredible ear for all the possibilities of the electric guitar, at a level that moves beyond just jazz too – with moments on the record that almost have a John Fahey-like understanding of his instrument, as Parker creates all these fantastic passages in sound that are completely sublime. Titles include "Suffolk", "Flour Of Fur", "Four Folks", "La Jetee", "Ugly Beauty", and "Excess Success". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool set – one of the unusual 70s albums made by guitarist Rick Ruskin for Takoma! The style here is a bit different than the label's work by John Fahey and Robbie Basho – still acoustic on most tracks, but with some vocals from Ruskin from time to time – and additional instrumentation that includes percussion from Dick Rosmini, plus some other instrumentation from time to time. (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album