Search - Various Artists :: The Great Koonaklaster Speaks: A John Fahey Celebration

Not exactly a review...but...

Kjell Karlsson | sweden | 09/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Belonging to that generation where we call ourselves "severely middle-aged"

I would of course have shouted "Sacrilege"...were it not for the fact that

with growing severity of aforementioned middle-age also, if one is lucky,this

is combined with growing wisdom and hopefully broad-mindedness.

As well as one can divide the development of Fahey's music into different

periods and phases, and in doing that also judging oneself's aestheical values

over ever running time, or if it is oneself that runs within time...I do not

know for sure...(that topic belonging in the department of quantum mechanichs

and philosophy)

To my humble opinion one must accept the artist's sovereign freedom of choice of

whatever means and vehicles of expression chosen..and subsequently also the audience's

sovereign freedom to like or dislike...

Secondly, it must be accepted that during Fahey's long artistic carreer he changed

his opinions and aesthtical values several times, always defending the standpoint

that whatever at the moment tickled his fancy was simply the best...at that specific

moment in space and time...and to express a completely different opinion the next day

...that standpoint is called "Freedom"...

Thirdly, taken into consideration that I have listened to Fahey for some forty years

now and being of the opinion that he did his best work in the end of the 60s, that is

only to be seen as a statement of my own private and utterly subjective aesthetics.

Therefore I do not hold any privilegies of monopoly on how to judge Fahey's music!

It is up to everyone to view the Fahey-phenomenon from whatever angle chosen in time

and space...and there are a few angles available...not least witnessed by this tribute-cd!



There are a handful of Fahey-tributes and each and everyone of these are different from

one another...further strenghtening my statement on everybody's freedom to choose whatever

angle...

This one differs very much from the first one that came into my view some thirty years ago.

That one being a collection on Kicking Mule by the finger-picking wizards of those days,

doing their renditions of some early classic Fahey tunes. (And by the way already then I

found that these did not match the Fahey originals)

A little over-simplified perhaps, but if I say that the aforementioned anthology reaches up

to somewhere around The Yellow Princess...this one starts up somewhere around Womblife and

City Of Refuge...

And this is, coming back to my initial statement of "Sacrilege", another angle or aspect of

Fahey...but still Fahey...whether you like it or not...and I like it!

On first listening of course a little bit reluctant...put it aside for awhile...came back

listening...put it aside again...and again...until that initial reluctance was being set back

for a process of acceptance and finally enthusiasm...It took some six months...

Utterly meaningless to try to describe the music here. It is simply music and music is the

vehicle of expression that starts where the language is not enough...Even Bach knew that!

Various musicians of various ages from various backgrounds exploring their various aspects

of Fahey...each and everyone equal...within their own individual rights...

Ragaesque meandering steel-guitars, sound-collages, tone-clusters, chaotical noise, electric

and finger-picked acoustic guitars, barrel-house piano...everything is here...Just like we can

imagine Fahey himself wanted it to be...

So finally...this record took me on a journey where I found my own prejudicies and had to work

on them...and hopefully came back from that journey wiser than before...

You go out into the world putting dragon-wings in your hat

...and return with clouds in your head!

Put Your past ahead of You!

















"