Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain
View East from the B&O Railroad Viaduct and the Riggs Road ...
On the Sunny Side of the Ocean
The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick
In Christ There Is No East or West - John Fahey, P.D.
Announcement
The Death of the Clayton Peacock
The Revolt of the Dyke Brigade
Magruder Park
One of acoustic music's true innovators and eccentrics drawing from blues, Native American music, Indian ragas, experimental dissonance, and pop, John Fahey was living in Berkeley, California in the late Sixties when this ... more »set at San Francisco's legendary Matrix club was recorded. Drawing the best material from his two sets at the club that night, The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick shows the influential fingerpicker at the height of his prodigious technique. Deluxe package with detailed liner notes by Fahey expert (and Cul de Sac member) Glenn Jones.« less
One of acoustic music's true innovators and eccentrics drawing from blues, Native American music, Indian ragas, experimental dissonance, and pop, John Fahey was living in Berkeley, California in the late Sixties when this set at San Francisco's legendary Matrix club was recorded. Drawing the best material from his two sets at the club that night, The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick shows the influential fingerpicker at the height of his prodigious technique. Deluxe package with detailed liner notes by Fahey expert (and Cul de Sac member) Glenn Jones.
CD Reviews
Essential early Fahey
George T. Parsons | Nevada City, CA | 12/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The earliest live recordings yet released by the late and immortal John Fahey, find him at the peak of his powers. Veering between his vision and version of traditional playing that may ocassionally slow or speed up for emotional emphasis, to pieces of beautiful hallucinatory individuality and expression like "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain". Over 76 minutes long with excellent sound quality, and most of the audience noise thoughtfully edited out by producer (and liner note author) Glenn Jones (of Cul de Sac), making this sound more like an album than a "live album", though it has all of the charm of the latter, without having it's flow chopped up by waves of applause. Subtitled "Live at The Matrix San Francisco, California 1968/1969", this is essential for the already converted, and an ideal entry point for the novice."
Fahey At The Top Of His Form
HungryJack | West Coast | 12/17/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This set was recorded live in the late Sixties at San Francisco's legendary Matrix club (owned by Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane). The sound quality is excellent and Fahey, who was living in Berkeley, California at the time, is in top form on these 17 tracks. The packaging is out of this world and notes by Fahey scholar and Cul De Sac member Glen Jones are the very best. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!"
A first-rate treasure!!
Fahey afficionado | Connecticut | 12/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fahey plays some of his best songs from the Takoma/Vanguard period of the late 1960's extremely well -- he is in his prime and his muse is with him. The audio quality is remarkably good, and a great job has been done producing this cd... nice package and notes, also. If you heard John Fahey perform during the Sixties this will take you back, and as a live recording it fills a void in the available works. For those enjoy Fahey's music, this is not to be missed."
John's greatest hits, live
rash67 | USA | 08/24/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A newly discovered, newly released live session with John Fahey at the top of his game. He'd finished eight albums (more or less) on Takoma, sold his Takoma label and recorded two albums for Vanguard. the big time. And three years or so before he'd make his masterpiece statement, "America". Shy, laconic John occationally talks but mostly plays, without the tape loops feedback and more "psychedelic" stuff. Consistantly good performance, without filler or outtakes. Bluesy, Heartfelt. but without the whiskey.
The announcer is wrong, he might have lived in Berkeley in '68, but he came from Takoma Park Maryland, in suburban Washington, DC as his first label and many song titles attest. On the title track he improvises and pieces together bits from "Voice of the Turtle" (America) and Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper, from Requia. Those familiar with his studio albums will here similar arrangement with occational improvization. The best cut is the thoughtful leadoff "When Springtime Comes Again" and a standout shortened "Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt".
I met John a few times, talked to him for hours, even tuned his guitars twice. Despite what he later said about disliking his earlier music, I know he'd approve of this. A great find, a great addition to the Fahey cannon, before John went off into the wilderness of his last decades, searching for that new sound....
Well recorded for a live album.
While I don't think it's his best (see my list), it is certainly his best live!"
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1