Audio CD review:
John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death

John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death

Band: John Fahey Title: The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death Rating: Release Date: 24 June, 1997 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Beautiful Linda Getchell 2: Orinda-Moraga 3: I Am The Resurrection 4: On The Sunny Side Of The Ocean 5: Tell Her To Come Back Home 6: My Station WIll Be Changed After While 7: 101 Is A Hard Road To Travel 8: How Green Was My Valley 9: Bicycle Built For Two 10: The Death Of The Clayton Peacock 11: Brenda's Blues 12: Old Southern Medley 13: Come Back Baby 14: Poor Boy 15: Saint Patrick's Hymn

Editoral Review The playful 20-year-old "American primitive" guitarist had created an alternate identity: that of the obscure, unknown guitar great Blind Joe Death. 1959's self-released Blind Joe Death had an enigmatic spare cover that read "Blind Joe Death" on one side and "John Fahey" on the other. The album's material was influenced by the down and dirty country blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White, and Charley Patton, all manner of old-timey vernacular sound, and 20th-century classical music. This haunting release only contains one of the original recordings; the rest are far more nimble-fingered versions from 1964 (and from '67). As expertly compiled on this disc, Transfiguration presents an opportunity to crawl inside the head of a master musician just as the world of sound unfolds before him. By the time the listener hears the sparkling '67 cuts, a magical, syncretic transformation has occurred. The idiosyncratic artist revisits these plaintive, resonant songs yet again in 1988 on the moody I Remember Blind Joe Death. --Mike McGonigal .. You can see a complete list of all John Fahey discography, or go back to the John Fahey tabs