I don't know if he was one of the great technicians among guitarists, but he was the only John Fahey there ever was or ever will be. You either think "What is this guy doing?" or you are awestruck by his peculiar genius. He lived for some years in my home town (Salem, OR) near the tracks, of course. I got to see him a very few times, I think three, and to talk with him a little. He never said much, and I don't think he felt the need to open up to strangers too readily. People today would just try to categorize his personality in one way or another, but no matter. Read the liner notes on "The Yellow Princess." That will give you some insight into his personality. Oddly, he was much more popular in Europe and Australia, but never caught on here. Incredibly ironic, isn't it? Got to say, his brand of sanity is preferable to the world's sanity today, and the authenticity and integrity of his music is sorely missed.
My first wife and I used to sell his records in the mid-60s in our Epic Used Book Store in Yellow Springs, Ohio. We bought them out of some guy's trunk when he stopped by now and then. We played them all day long in the store. People passing by on the street would hear the mesmerizing music and come in and just sit and listen for hours at a time. I'm so glad to find this resource because I hadn't heard anything about Fahey since that time. Steve Giordano
One of the greatest musician's, artist, guitarist, of all time. Just one of his songs speaks more of the reason for this universe than all of the Bible.
Greg, well his right hand technique was probably a little better then his left (except on slide) but then his left hand was better then a lot of high profile players combined hands ;) And how many players invent a whole new genre? AMERICAN PRIMATIVE! Peace - Gus ;)
Completely unique. For me, his music embodies life itself. In one piece he can combine effortless fast and slow tempos, melancholy and pure joy, chord dissonance and harmony. Every time I listen to his music I hear something new. I know how to play two of his tunes, Sligo River Blues and Sunflower River Blues and I only wish I could figure out how to play more.
Saw John Fahey at the Great American Music Hall in SF, Cal. one fine summer evening in 1974. There was a long line-up to get in, made friends with the people in line, and so we whiled away the while awhile, and I was feelin' pretty good by the time we filed in and John Fahey stepped onto the stage. I don't recall him saying one word. Just sat down tuned a little and started playing and playing, completely wowing the audience - a stream of consciousness wrapped up in some iconic pieces. Helluv an evening. Transformative. What a trip!
Crazy, John Fahey playing in standard tuning, holy shit! Got so used to seeing and hearing him play in his whackadoodle open tunings that I forgot he could.
He starts in Open Dm, then Open D, then Standard, then Open C. There is nothing "whackadoodle" about those tunings. He is expressing his range of capability as a bluesman by playing in them. He played plenty of tunes in Standard
German TV did us all a great favour with Rockplasat and Beat Club they seems to have captured all the great musical acts of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Sehr Gut!
Just go for it and play. I think I remember reading somewhere that Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd cannot read music. Don't get hung up on music theory. Learn it as you go. Keep playing.
