Requia & Other Compositions for Guitar Solo

John Fahey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 27, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B000000EJM
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,616 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Synthesis of the old and the new, February 22, 1999

By 

Jack W. Erter "erter99" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Requia & Other Compositions for Guitar Solo (Audio CD)

John Fahey has finally arrived at his (pre)destination - that of a cultural icon and purveyor of the lost sounds of yesterday. I bought this CD on impulse, being familiar with the man but not his music. They are both national treasures. His mastery of the guitar shines through, melding the traditional themes of the first two requia and "When the Catfish Is In Bloom" with the more modern, soundscape nature of the Requiem for Molly. Just as Fahey discovered and soaked in the music of this nation's blues forebears, so should you do the same with his own contribution to a unique musical heritage.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good record..., May 4, 2001

By 

"esho2" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Requia & Other Compositions for Guitar Solo (Audio CD)

It's interesting that in the liner notes to the Fahey anthology, Barry Hansen writes of "Knott's Berry Farm Molly": "After hearing 'Rain' by The Beatles, John became interested in the sounds of music played backward and edited the master tape himself." So it seems Fahey was experimenting with musique concrete techniques a little before Requia. In terms of Fahey compositions with sound effects though, I think my favorite is "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee" from The Yellow Princess. Fahey uses these wonderful samples of clanking noises from inbound and departing trains, all beneath his ringing guitar and some anonymous whistling. Whenever I hear it, I just sit back and sigh for three glorious minutes. Requia's "Requiem for Molly" does perhaps get a bit too psychedelic for some to handle, but I still consider it one of Fahey's important records. Of the difficult material from his older releases though, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party (Vol. 4) is probably more rewarding.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars highest rating because of side one, September 2, 2006

By 

P. Most "misterpicker" (New York NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Requia & Other Compositions for Guitar Solo (Audio CD)

Side two of the original record, mostly "Requiem for Molly Part 1-4" is, as the other reviewers note, "experimental" stuff with guitar played over (or under?) sound effects. It's interesting once in a great while, and both of its time (early psychedelia) and, like all of Fahey's music, not of its time at all. But what makes this a 5 star cd is side one of the original record, the first three cuts. Some of the greatest Fahey ever, a touchstone revisited much through the later years (in "Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice)" for instance. Get this for that stuff, and don't let Requiem bum you out too much. The best of Fahey holds up as well as anything ever.