In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey

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In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey
In Search of Blind Joe Death poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by James Cullingham
Produced byJames Cullingham
Edited byCaroline Christie, Jessica Anne Cullingham
Release date
  • 29 September 2012 (2012-09-29)(Raindance)
Running time
57 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey is a 2012 documentary film that focuses on the life of the musician John Fahey, who is considered the father of American primitive guitar. [1] The documentary was filmed and based in Washington D.C., where Fahey was born; the Mississippi Delta, where Fahey met and recorded with many musicians; and Salem, Oregon, where Fahey resided in during the last 20 years of his life. The documentary includes a series of video clips of Fahey's performances and interviews with those who were involved with the musician in his personal and professional life up until his death in 2001. [2] The film gives viewers an understanding of what Fahey's personal world was like, and how he worked as a musician through animation, interviews, video clips, and documentations of Fahey. [3]

Contents

The film premiered at the 2012 Raindance Film Festival. [4]

Cast

Reception

Music critic Richie Unterberger called the film "well done" and respectful, but noted the film "could have been more comprehensive." [5] Writing for The Quietus , Sean Kitching praised the film as a "wonderful, expressionist documentary [that] admirably portrays the many facets of the man behind the music and the myth." [3] Conversely, Jake Cole, writing for Spectrum Culture, summarized the film as "never [rising] above the mark of a mildly adventurous TV special, and its stylistic cleverness cannot disguise that this is, at heart, not far off from a cursory overview" and claimed "there is a gap here that makes Cullingham’s inventive and atypical approach to artist biography feel incorporeal. It avoids the pitfall of over-explaining an artist with a dull information-dump, but it nevertheless fails to fully join its impressionistic melding of image with Fahey’s music to any deeper revelations, which results in a play of signs without a signifier." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death</i> 1965 studio album by John Fahey

The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death is a 1965 album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Originally issued in a hand-lettered edition of 50, it was Fahey's first album to be released by a label other than his own Takoma Records. As with all of Fahey's independently released early albums, it had little critical recognition upon release. The album has grown in stature since its reissue on CD in 1997 and is now highly regarded critically. It was Fahey's fourth album to see release, though after his fifth album, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions, was labeled Guitar Vol. 4, reissues of The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death were subtitled John Fahey, Volume 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American primitive guitar</span> Fingerstyle guitar music genre

American primitive guitar is a fingerstyle guitar music genre, developed by the American guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s. While the term "American primitivism" has been used as a name for the genre, American primitive guitar is distinct from the primitivism art movement.

<i>Blind Joe Death</i> 1959 compilation album by John Fahey

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fahey (musician)</span> American fingerstyle guitarist (1939–2001)

John Aloysius Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who played the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been enormously influential and has been described as the foundation of the genre of American primitive guitar, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of the music and its minimalist style. Fahey borrowed from the folk and blues traditions in American roots music, having compiled many forgotten early recordings in these genres. He would later incorporate 20th-century classical, Portuguese, Brazilian, and Indian influences into his work.

<i>The Voice of the Turtle</i> (album) 1968 studio album by John Fahey

The Voice of the Turtle is the seventh album by American guitarist John Fahey. Recorded and released in 1968, it is considered one of his more experimental albums, combining not only folk elements, but shreds of psychedelia, early blues, country fiddles, ragas, and white noise. The album had many reissues with various track listings, jacket designs and mismatched titles.

A Life in the Death of Joe Meek is a 2013 American independent documentary film about the British record producer Joe Meek. The film is produced and directed by Howard S. Berger and Susan Stahman.

<i>The Yellow Princess</i> (album) 1968 studio album by John Fahey

The Yellow Princess is the ninth album by American folk musician John Fahey. Released in 1968, it was his second and last release on the Vanguard label.

<i>Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes</i> 1963 album by John Fahey

Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes is a 1963 album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Various sources show either a 1963 or 1964 original release. It was Fahey's second release and the first to gain a national distributor.

<i>The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites</i> 1965 studio album by John Fahey

The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites is the third album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1965. The 1999 reissue contained four previously unreleased tracks.

<i>Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldiers Choice)</i> 1973 studio album by John Fahey

Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) (or simply, Fare Forward Voyagers) is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1973. It contains three songs, one comprising a complete side of the original LP.

<i>The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions</i> 1966 studio album by John Fahey

The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1966. The cover simply labels the album Guitar Vol. 4 while the liner notes label it The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions. The title never appeared on the record labels themselves. It marked the beginning of Fahey's interest in his recording of experimental soundscapes and sound effects. Despite Fahey's distaste for the 1960s counterculture, it is his release most often referred to as psychedelic.

<i>Requia</i> 1967 studio album by John Fahey

Requia is the eighth album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Released in November 1967, it was the first of Fahey's two releases on the Vanguard label. It originally received hostile reviews from music critics, particularly for its musique concrète experimentation. It has since been recognised as precursor to new-age music, and has been re-released multiple times, including by Terra in 1985, Vanguard in 1997 and 1998 and Ace in 1998.

<i>America</i> (John Fahey album) 1971 studio album by John Fahey

America is an album by American folk musician John Fahey, released in 1971. Originally intended to be a double album, it was released as a single LP. The unreleased material was subsequently restored in later CD and vinyl reissues.

<i>Of Rivers and Religion</i> 1972 studio album by John Fahey

Of Rivers and Religion is an album by American folk musician John Fahey, released in 1972. It was his first recording on a major label and is credited to John Fahey and His Orchestra. It marked a significant change from Fahey's previous releases, incorporating a backing band and performing songs and arrangements in a Dixieland jazz style. Although Time picked it as one of the Top Ten albums of 1972, it was also a difficult album to market and had little enthusiasm at Reprise.

<i>After the Ball</i> (album) 1973 studio album by John Fahey

After the Ball is an album by the American folk musician John Fahey, released in 1973. It was his second and last recording on the Reprise label and like its predecessor, Of Rivers and Religion, it sold poorly.

<i>The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977</i> 1977 greatest hits album by John Fahey

The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977 is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1977. The songs are collected from four of Fahey's dozen or so releases up to that point.

<i>John Fahey Visits Washington D.C.</i> 1979 studio album by John Fahey

John Fahey Visits Washington D.C. is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1979.

<i>The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick</i> 2004 live album by John Fahey

The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick is a live album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released posthumously in 2004.

<i>Georgia Stomps, Atlanta Struts and Other Contemporary Dance Favorites</i> 1998 live album by John Fahey

Georgia Stomps, Atlanta Struts and Other Contemporary Dance Favorites is a live album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1998. It was the second and last live album he recorded and released during his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Robb</span> Musical artist

Terry Robb is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist, composer, arranger and record producer living in the United States. He plays electric and acoustic guitar, and is associated with the American Primitive Guitar genre through his collaboration with steel string guitarist John Fahey. He is a member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame, and was honored with the eponymous "Terry Robb" Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar in 2011. His original compositions draw on the Delta blues, ragtime, folk music, country music and jazz traditions.

References

  1. Miller, Dale (January–February 1992). "Reinventing the Steel". John Fahey. Acoustic Guitar.
  2. Mark Jenkins (October 24, 2013). "'In Search of Blind Joe Death': Documentary spotlights legendary area guitarist John Fahey". Washington Post.
  3. 1 2 Kitching, Sean (February 21, 2013). "Fahey's A Jolly Good Fellow: In Search of Blind Joe Death Reviewed".
  4. "New John Fahey documentary to be screened at Raindance - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. Unterberger, Richie (July 10, 2014). "John Fahey Documentary Review".
  6. Cole, Jake (August 20, 2013). "In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey".