1964 John Fahey LP Blind Joe Death Takoma 1002 LIMITED PRESSING 2nd Ed w/Booklet
$
75
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Description
Up for auction is the very rare 1964 second pressing of "Blind Joe Death" by John Fahey on Piedmont/Takoma Records #C 1002 with insert. Visually graded using Goldmine standards, the vinyl rates a VG- with decent shine and light surface scratches and scuffs. I played through a couple of the scratches and you do hear cracks and pops but did not skip. The jacket rates a VG++ with original shrink still on and no splits. Comes with two original copies of the insert for some reason, one is mint and the other has a tear on the back. A solid copy of this rare desirable classic. Do not miss out!
Blind Joe Death is the first album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. There are three different versions of the album, and the original self-released edition of fewer than 100 copies is extremely rare. It was one of the first albums recorded and produced by an independent artist.
The recording of steel string acoustic guitar solos was "incredibly avant-garde" in 1959. It was released on Takoma Records, Fahey's own creation. It was not marketed and made no impression on the American record-buying public.
Its popularity, significance in guitar music, and critical reception has steadily increased over the years. The 1967 release received five stars in the second edition of the Rolling Stone Record Guide.
Music historian Richie Unterberger characterized the impact of Blind Joe Death, noting it as being "a very interesting record from a historical perspective...as few if any other guitarists were attempting to interpret blues and folk idioms in such an idiosyncratic fashion in the late '50s and early '60s." Richard Cook of the NewStatesman wrote "Only 100 copies were pressed. Incredibly, it was still enough of a milestone to secure him an almost worldwide reputation."
On April 6, 2011, the album was deemed by the Library of Congress to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and added to the United States National Recording Registry for the year 2010.
There are three different versions of Blind Joe Death. After moving to Berkeley, California, where he attended college, Fahey's career as guitarist began to take off. Having recorded a minorly successful second album, Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes in late 1963, Fahey decided to re-release his original efforts. However, he decided to rerecord much of the material, as he felt he had become a much better player. This second pressing claims that "On Doing an Evil Deed Blues", "In Christ There Is No East or West", "The Transcendental Waterfall", and "Uncloudy Day" are 1964 rerecordings and the rest ("St. Louis Blues", "Poor Boy Long Ways from Home", "John Henry", "Desperate Man Blues", "Sun Gonna Shine in My Back Door Someday Blues", and "Sligo River Blues") are the original 1959 versions. "Uncloudy Day" was actually the same recording, as was "St. Louis Blues" in an edited version. The 1959 album contained a version of Blind Blake's "West Coast Blues", which (despite being rerecorded in 1964) was not included on the album. To fill the gap, the new version of "Transcendental Waterfall" was extended to over 10 minutes long, a glimpse of things to come.1964 track listing:
- St. Louis Blues [edited version]
- I'm a Poor Boy a Long Ways From Home
- Uncloudy Day
- John Henry
- In Christ There Is No East or West [re-recorded]
- The Transcendental Waterfall [re-recorded]
- Desperate Man Blues
- Sun Gonna Shine in My Back Door Someday Blues
- Sligo River Blues
- On Doing an Evil Deed Blues [re-recorded]
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