It’s a fair bet that any solo acoustic guitarist on the indie/underground circuit will at some time or other be compared to John Fahey. Montreal based Harris Newman made the perceptive comment that since Fahey experimented with so many different styles and “did everything at one time or another”, anybody who plays instrumental guitar could conceivably be compared is him.
This partly reveals the exalted status of Fahey’s work but ,sadly, also reflects the lack of imagination or understanding of many music critics.
One of the main problems is that it assumes an uncritical reverence for Fahey’s complete output that not all artists share. Harris Newman himself said “I hate about a quarter of his catalogue, am ambivalent about a half of it, and think that about a quarter of that is among the best music ever recorded”.
Two guitarists who are used to being likened to Fahey are London-based James Blackshaw and Seattle born Sir Richard Bishop. While both have made no secret of their admiration for Fahey, if you expect to hear clear evidence of this on their latest releases, you’re in for a disappointment. Continue reading
