Fahey, John - The Yellow Princess (expanded/remastered)
SKU
02--VANGUARD79795
This is one of John Fahey's 3 albums that he recorded for Vanguard and which are some of his most confounding releases, as they show him beginning to leave (or in some cases completely abandon) the sound that made him famous. A couple of tracks here include backing by 3/5ths of Spirit and one of them sounds like nothing more than John Fahey playing with Faust at their droniest circa "Outside the Dream Syndicate". More proof that he was never 'just' a folk guitarist. Every collection of music should have at least one John Fahey album in it - every collection. If yours is lacking one, then this is a very good and very cheap way to fill the gap before inspection time. Which is coming sooner than you think it will. Great liner notes explaining the history behind this album and the bonus tracks as well. Highly recommended!
"If I could own only one John Fahey album, it would be "The Yellow Princess," so this reissue is a real treat. This is at least the third time Vanguard has issued this album on CD-"The Essential John Fahey" and "Best of the Vanguard Years" couple it with tracks from Fahey's "Requia"-but this 2006 release restores the original cover art and Fahey's surreal, confounding liner notes. The addition of three previously unreleased tracks from 1965 would suffice to justify purchasing this version, even if you already owned an earlier edition. These include a rare example of his 12-string work, an early version of "Fare Forward Voyagers," and a lengthy slide guitar improvisation. For the uninitiated, I can think of no better introduction to Fahey's music than "The Yellow Princess." All the primary strains of his work are represented here: pre-WWII country blues guitar stylings; Indian raga; Episcopal hymns ("Commemorative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park" quotes "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones") and even musique concrete ("Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee"). There is a more whimsical, evocative quality to the last-named track than one finds in Fahey's at times dissonant, abrasive later material. Reviewers elsewhere have remarked that "The Yellow Princess" features some of his best guitar work, and that the sonic quality of the recording is as if one is listening from inside the instrument. My friend Clark quotes John Fahey as having said something like, "I'm not the greatest guitarist, but I am the deepest." Let the "Yellow Princess" show you what he meant."-Michael K. Kivinen