The Essential John Fahey is a compilation album by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 fingerstyle guitar

Fingerstyle guitar

Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking ....

ist and composer John Fahey

John Fahey (musician)

John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...

, released in 1974.

History

The original 1974 double-LP

Double album

A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 release included all songs from both Fahey's Vanguard albums — the only two albums Fahey recorded for the label.

The CD reissue in 1996 of The Essential John Fahey contains all the tracks from The Yellow Princess

The Yellow Princess (John Fahey album)

The Yellow Princess and its reissue has received consistently positive critical reviews. Record Collector called it "...a pleasant journey to take, rattling along with the odd surprising flourish to mark the way, a random piece of dissonance to keep you awake and, above all, a reassurance that...

and four from Requia

Requia

Requia is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1968...

, missing only the four-part "Requiem for Molly".

Reception

In his Allmusic review, critic Mark Allan describes the album as "Essential John Fahey is not essential, but because it features this extraordinary musician solo and with a band — members of Spirit

Spirit (band)

Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...

 and Jo Jo Gunne

Jo Jo Gunne

Jo Jo Gunne is a rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they had left Spirit...

 — it could be a good place to start."

Writing for Dirty Linen magazine, Ivan Emke, in referring to the original albums wrote "Although they did not sell well at the time, they show Fahey well ahead of his time, and in good form. This is clearly experimental folk. Or the early use of sampling (from 1967, remember) during the four-part "Requiem for Molly." However, there was also the more standard fingerpicking, including the brilliant "Requiem for John Hurt." These CDs will help to remind us all of those paths that Fahey cleared.

In a review of the original LP release of The Essential John Fahey in the July 3, 1974 Milwaukee Journal

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...

, Pierre-Rene Noth praised the release but referred to "Requiem for Molly" as "[Fahey's] worst.. a horid mix."

Track listing

All songs by John Fahey.

1. "The Yellow Princess" – 4:51
2. "View (East from the Top of the Riggs Road/B&O Trestle)" – 4:57
3. "Lion" – 5:10
4. "March! For Martin Luther King" – 3:43
5. "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee" – 2:51
6. "Dances of the Inhabitants of the Invisible City of Bladensburg" – 4:10
7. "Charles A. Lee: In Memoriam" – 4:01
8. "Irish Letter" – 7:18
9. "Commemorative Transfiguration and Communion at Magruder Park" – 6:02
10. "Requiem for John Hurt" – 5:08
11. "Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper" – 8:55
12. "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" – 7:41
13. "Fight on Christians, Fight On" – 1:55

Personnel

• John Fahey – guitar
• Mark Andes
  Mark Andes
  Mark Andes is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal.-Early life:...
  
   – guitar, bass
• Jay Ferguson
  Jay Ferguson (American musician)
  Jay Ferguson is an American rock and roll musician, known for his work with Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films.-Childhood and early musical career:He was born in Burbank, California, in...
  
   – organ, piano, keyboards
• Kevin Kelley
  Kevin Kelley (musician)
  Kevin Daniel Kelley was an American drummer, best known for his work with the rock bands The Byrds and the Rising Sons. Kelley also played drums for Fever Tree, although it is unknown whether he was an official member of the group or not...
  
   – drums
• Special effects by John Fahey, Sam Charters
  Samuel Charters
  Samuel Charters, born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929 , is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet...
  
   and Barry Hansen
  Dr. Demento
  Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....