John Fahey
America

In the midst of a vast Texan prairie, a bit lost, physically and in spirit, early seventies, the great utopias vanished, economic interests, consumerism, material well-being triumphed over the dreams of a young generation. The sultry and oppressive atmosphere is now, however, traversed by a slight sparkling breeze, swelling and majestic clouds are approaching from afar, we lie down on the grass, smell it, touch it, the rain begins as a fine drizzle, refreshing the entire landscape, we manage to perceive every single blade of grass invigorated by the water that falls more and more heavily, and we also begin to feel better inside and out.

A new sense of inner peace seems to have filled our minds and we start to listen to the sound of the rain, different notes for every spot where it falls, creating an elegant alchemy of melodies, the melodies of the earth that is cleansing down to its deepest roots. The moment is magical, like an old guitar playing the tales of a people, of a part of the world, blues from cotton fields, epic forgotten country themes. The man who now caresses it, now strikes it with a moving and fervent passion seems to know everything that passed through there and is explaining its secrets to us in pure, eternal poetry. We are few, deeply honored by what we are seeing, hearing, living, and we feel increasingly distant from that "world" that we have built with our hands, able to hear Nature's most authentic voice again, we feel at least a little renewed. This is the gift of John Fahey's music.

After years of musical research and a dozen albums, he has reached a unique language with an astounding "narrative" ability, a magical balance in his long compositions for solo acoustic guitar ("Voice Of The Turtle", 15:42) that vibrates, vivid in his hands with a sound so pure and crystalline, never heard, neither before nor after. Now that folk has become "almost" a trend, with Devendra, Akron Family, and company, I hope that, like all the greatest, at least after his passing, he receives the recognition he deserves, good old Blind Joe.

p.s.:
the recently reissued CD edition contains nine unreleased tracks that were meant to be part of the double LP conceived by Fahey, released then as a single with four "only" pieces.