Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death

John Fahey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 24, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Takoma
• ASIN: B000003Z92
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,700 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #8 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Folk
  • #52 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Alternative Folk
  • #53 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

1959's self-released Blind Joe Death had an enigmatic spare cover that read "Blind Joe Death" on one side and "John Fahey" on the other. The playful 20-year-old "American primitive" guitarist had created an alternate identity: that of the obscure, unknown guitar great Blind Joe Death. The album's material was influenced by the down and dirty country blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White, and Charley Patton, all manner of old-timey vernacular sound, and 20th-century classical music. This haunting release only contains one of the original recordings; the rest are far more nimble-fingered versions from 1964 (and from '67). As expertly compiled on this disc, Transfiguration presents an opportunity to crawl inside the head of a master musician just as the world of sound unfolds before him. By the time the listener hears the sparkling '67 cuts, a magical, syncretic transformation has occurred. The idiosyncratic artist revisits these plaintive, resonant songs yet again in 1988 on the moody I Remember Blind Joe Death. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Folk Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 25-MAR-1997

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Primitive Guitar Master, January 1, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (Audio CD)

John Fahey may be most recognized for helping launch fellow finger-style guitarist Leo Kottke's career (check out the CD re-issue of John Fahey/Peter Lang/Leo Kottke), but over the course of 40 years and dozens of albums for several labels (which unfortunately go in and out of print) Fahey has produced an impressive body of work.

While many of them are superb and all are if nothing else interesting, The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (you gotta love this guy's album titles!) is one of his best.

Fahey absorbed his folk and rural blues influences into what he called "American primitive guitar." It's as good as description as any. Whatever you call his music, after listening to it Fahey will become the standard by which all other guitarists are compared.

His unaccompanied accoustic guitar work--though not flashy--is always engaging and haunting.

If this whets your appetite sufficiently, check out Rhino's well-chosen two-disc anthology Return of the Repressed which includes 42 songs from 20 albums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Distinctly John Fahey, December 27, 2004

By 

J. McDermott "samwell187" (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (Audio CD)

In nearly every review of John Fahey, the remark is made that he spawned the career of the famous, inimitable Leo Kottke. While I do not intend to disparage Kottke, and listen to "6 and 12 String Guitar" quite frequently, John Fahey should be listened to because he is John Fahey, and "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" should be listened to because, quite simply, it is the best finger-picking guitar record I have ever heard.

Comparing Fahey to Kottke is, for fans of jazz, like comparing Thelonious Monk to McCoy Tiner, or, for fans of rock, imagine someone comparing Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain. Sure, the first two played piano in a distinctive, personal, and prolific style, and the second two were both amazing guitarists. But skill and style are quite different, and although both Kottke and Fahey are finger-picker guitarists of similar skill, the emotions and styles they convey are quite different.

That being said, "Transfiguration" is an incredible album unlike any other I have ever heard. Fahey plays guitar with a brooding deliberateness that other guitars can only approximate. Kottke comes close on tracks like "Busted Bicycle," but that only scratches the surface of things that Fahey accomplishes on this record. I can listen to it for a week straight and not need to hear anything else; the range of emotion that it conveys is that wide. Whereas Kottke is fun to listen to, or Hendrix is emotional and Monk is unique, Fahey is pretty much everything.

I highly endorse this album and wish I had heard it sooner.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic "must have" album for fans of folk guitar., May 24, 2000

By 

S. Grooms (St Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (Audio CD)

John Fahey was (and probably is) a fascinating and deeply troubled guy with more skill as a guitarist than as an entertainer who can connect with people. This album shows him at his best. Orinda Moraga is one of the loveliest things I've ever heard on a guitar. This album catches two odd and seemingly incompatible sides of Fahey: a sweet and melodic quality plus a stark and almost mathematically improvisational composing style that is both primitive and futuristic.

Fahey's playing obviously influenced Leo Kottke, but that isn't why you want this album. If you like folk guitar, this album has some of the most inventive and listenable playing you'll ever find.