Consequence of Sound » Vanguard Records http://consequenceofsound.net Think Fast, Listen Slowly Thu, 31 May 2012 19:43:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4-RC1-20950 Miscellaneous Masterpieces: John Fahey – The Yellow Princess http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/12/miscellaneous-masterpieces-the-yellow-princess/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/12/miscellaneous-masterpieces-the-yellow-princess/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:30:51 +0000 Tim Nordberg http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=9680 John Fahey was a man of few words. At least spoken ones, anyway. Throughout his forty-two-year career as an instrumental folk guitarist, he wrote thirty albums’ worth of liner notes, a master’s thesis on Charley Patton, and How Bluegrass Music Ruined my Life, a collection of short stories. However, Fahey was best known as a masterful fingerstyle guitarist and instrumental composer by those few who knew him.

Fahey, despite his lack of major commercial success, paid his dues churning out albums and rediscovering lost blues artists for his basement-run Takoma Records label. Forty years later, just before his death (during a sextuple bypass surgery) in 2001, his music had become so eclectic and experimental that what few long-time fans he had were literally walking out of his concerts.

Despite this sob-story of a musical career, Fahey, and the musical style he called “American Primitivism”-a blend of folk, bluegrass, 1920′s blues, and modern classical dissonance-were vastly influential, as evidenced by the release of no less than four tribute albums by 2006, featuring contributions by artists as diverse as Devendra Banhardt, Sonic Youth, and Country Joe McDonald (of Country Joe and the Fish fame).

One Fahey album that was given particular tribute was 1968′s The Yellow Princess. Out of print until a 2006 reissue on Vanguard Records, The Yellow Princess sees Fahey markedly break with his roots as simply a folk/blues guitarist and explore other musical avenues. In hindsight, Fahey’s experiments on The Yellow Princess foreshadow later efforts like 1997′s City of Refuge-a change which alienated him from his hardcore folk audience.

From the first track in, Fahey expresses his interest in musical worlds outside of his regular blues haunts. The opener/title track “The Yellow Princess” which glides into being with some airy classical-style chord work, gets rear-ended by a dissonant raga riff, and then flips into a raunchy ragtime improvisation on Camille Saint-Saens’ overture from La Princesse Jaune.

Fahey’s proclivity for almost jump-cut stylistic shifts continues through the album, especially on “The Dance of the Invisible Inhabitants of Bladensburg”. Beginning as a meditative, Eastern-styled drone meditation for slide guitar, the piece builds into a crescendo of fingerpicking and raseguado strokes, suddenly morphing into a swampy blues riff that Jack White probably wishes he could have written, backed with a full band and Clapton-style lead guitar breaks, and finally dissolving in a brief freakout cadenza.

“Charles A. Lee: In Memoriam” is a Side 2 stand-out; here, Fahey re-tunes his guitar to spin cobwebby dissonant arpeggios over a rickety bassline, resting only for a brief Charley Patton-style interlude. Also featured on the second half of the album is the excellent “Commemorative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park”, which is a lengthy bluegrass workout that weaves in quotes from “Shortnin’ Bread” and hymnal staple “All Creatures of Our God and King”.

Perhaps the most interesting, if not esoteric, piece on the album is “The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee”-a Pierre Schaeffer-like collage of train sounds, rumbling fuzz guitar, birdsong, and reverb-drenched whistling. The influence of this particular track has become more prominent with the passing years-Godspeed You! Black Emperor practically made a career on train whistles and gritty found-sound tapes, and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth went so far as to cover this piece for 2006′s I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey.

“The Singing Bridge…” also did its part in the “resurrection” of Fahey’s own career: after a rough patch in the 70′s and 80′s, in which Takoma Records went bankrupt, and Fahey fought a pitched battle with alcoholism, Sonic Youth’s Jim O’Rourke helped a recovered Fahey envision late-career albums like 1997′s Womblife, a full plunge into experimental territory. Fahey’s deep synthesizer drones, gamelan samples, and claustrophobic ambient noise aren’t intended just a background or interlude, but as an accompaniment to Fahey’s guitar explorations.

Unavailable for quite some time before its 2006 reissue by Vanguard, this album, along with I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey make a fantastic introduction to Fahey for freak-folk fans looking to see just exactly who Devendra Banhardt stole his mojo from. Conveniently located in your local miscellaneous section (if it’s even in your record store) The Yellow Princess is a classic slice of Fahey, offering the neophyte an introduction to his chameleon-ic guitar stylings, and offering the completest one of the best-composed and best-recorded Fahey sessions ever pressed to wax.

Where to Pick Up:
Amazon.com:
Used – from $6.77
New – from $17.98

Check Out:

]]> How Bluegrass Music Ruined my Life, a collection of short stories. However, Fahey was best known as a masterful fingerstyle guitarist and instrumental composer by those few who knew him. Fahey, despite his lack of major commercial success, paid his dues churning out albums and rediscovering lost blues artists for his basement-run Takoma Records label. Forty years later, just before his death (during a sextuple bypass surgery) in 2001, his music had become so eclectic and experimental that what few long-time fans he had were literally walking out of his concerts. Despite this sob-story of a musical career, Fahey, and the musical style he called "American Primitivism"-a blend of folk, bluegrass, 1920's blues, and modern classical dissonance-were vastly influential, as evidenced by the release of no less than four tribute albums by 2006, featuring contributions by artists as diverse as Devendra Banhardt, Sonic Youth, and Country Joe McDonald (of Country Joe and the Fish fame). One Fahey album that was given particular tribute was 1968's The Yellow Princess. Out of print until a 2006 reissue on Vanguard Records, The Yellow Princess sees Fahey markedly break with his roots as simply a folk/blues guitarist and explore other musical avenues. In hindsight, Fahey's experiments on The Yellow Princess foreshadow later efforts like 1997's City of Refuge-a change which alienated him from his hardcore folk audience. From the first track in, Fahey expresses his interest in musical worlds outside of his regular blues haunts. The opener/title track "The Yellow Princess" which glides into being with some airy classical-style chord work, gets rear-ended by a dissonant raga riff, and then flips into a raunchy ragtime improvisation on Camille Saint-Saens' overture from La Princesse Jaune. Fahey's proclivity for almost jump-cut stylistic shifts continues through the album, especially on "The Dance of the Invisible Inhabitants of Bladensburg". Beginning as a meditative, Eastern-styled drone meditation for slide guitar, the piece builds into a crescendo of fingerpicking and raseguado strokes, suddenly morphing into a swampy blues riff that Jack White probably wishes he could have written, backed with a full band and Clapton-style lead guitar breaks, and finally dissolving in a brief freakout cadenza. "Charles A. Lee: In Memoriam" is a Side 2 stand-out; here, Fahey re-tunes his guitar to spin cobwebby dissonant arpeggios over a rickety bassline, resting only for a brief Charley Patton-style interlude. Also featured on the second half of the album is the excellent "Commemorative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park", which is a lengthy bluegrass workout that weaves in quotes from "Shortnin' Bread" and hymnal staple "All Creatures of Our God and King". Perhaps the most interesting, if not esoteric, piece on the album is "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee"-a Pierre Schaeffer-like collage of train sounds, rumbling fuzz guitar, birdsong, and reverb-drenched whistling. The influence of this particular track has become more prominent with the passing years-Godspeed You! Black Emperor practically made a career on train whistles and gritty found-sound tapes, and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth went so far as to cover this piece for 2006's I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey. "The Singing Bridge..." also did its part in the "resurrection" of Fahey's own career: after a rough patch in the 70's and 80's, in which Takoma Records went bankrupt, and Fahey fought a pitched battle with alcoholism, Sonic Youth's Jim O'Rourke helped a recovered Fahey envision late-career albums like 1997's Womblife, a full plunge into experimental territory. Fahey's deep synthesizer drones, gamelan samples, and claustrophobic ambient noise aren't intended just a background or interlude, but as an accompaniment to Fahey's guitar explorations. Unavailable for quite some time before its 2006 reissue by Vanguard, this album, along with I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey make a fantastic introduction to Fahey for freak-folk fans looking to see just exactly who Devendra Banhardt stole his mojo from. Conveniently located in your local miscellaneous section (if it's even in your record store) The Yellow Princess is a classic slice of Fahey, offering the neophyte an introduction to his chameleon-ic guitar stylings, and offering the completest one of the best-composed and best-recorded Fahey sessions ever pressed to wax. Where to Pick Up: Amazon.com: Used - from $6.77 New - from $17.98 Check Out: [youtube ctSlOv8bIos&fmt]]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/12/miscellaneous-masterpieces-the-yellow-princess/feed/ 0