Customer Reviews

Christmas Guitar

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this album. It was the first music I heard by John Fahey and hooked me. Every year I play my christmas album (yes, it's vinyl) and people always ask me who is playing. Unfortunately, no one can ever find Fahey's music in the local music stores. Now they can get it all online.

This is just a correction to Charlie Seelig's review. While this album does include quite a few rerecorded songs from "The New Possiblility", there are six new songs here:

* Good Christian Men Rejoice
* Away In a Manger #1
* Evermore and Evermore (of the Father's Love Begotten)
* Away in a Manger #2
* In the Bleak Midwinter
* Medley: Jesus Won't You Come By Here?/Go Tell It on the Mountain

The two versions of Away In a Manger are the two different tunes used for this wonderful song.

John Fahey's work, both for Christmas and for other music should receive a wider hearing, but this CD is essentially, except for two versions of Away in a Manger, a re-recording of The New Possibility. Those who have that CD should take heed before they purchase what they might think is an entirely different CD. It is also available with a different CD cover under a slightly different listing.

This CD makes for very easy listening at the holiday season. While I have to say that, in general, background music is for people with no background, this one may be the exception. Though occasionally John hangs on a run that lasts a bit too long, it is really just darn good guitar.

John Fahey was a major guitarist, both for his own work and for his influence on Leo Kottke, among others. But he also was a bit too eager to release (or in the case of this CD, re-re-release) material. This is nice background music, but as a demonstration of his technique or fire, well, nope.

I have a huge collection of Christmas music, and the different sounds fill different needs. Some are stirring and vibrant (think Christmas Cantata), some, like Odetta, dig deep and touch strong emotions, some are cheerfully goofy and nostalgic, like Bing or Dean. But this is just a little too whitebread, the kind of thing that you barely notice, just hums along amiably and suddenly disappears...Uh, oh, need another CD.

Traditional tunes, traditional arrangments, traditonal playing. Nice enough, but that's all.

I just bought 4 guitar christmas albums. I almost threw this out the window. Pure garbage. Do not waste your money on this.