Requia

Last updated

Requia
Requia John Fahey.jpg
Studio album by
John Fahey
ReleasedNovember 1967
RecordedJanuary 24–25, 1967
StudioHollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length44:44
Label Vanguard
Producer Sam Charters
John Fahey chronology
Days Have Gone By
(1967)		Requia
(1967)		 The Voice of the Turtle
(1968)

Requia (subtitled and other compositions for guitar solo) 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. [4] It originally received hostile reviews from music critics, [5] particularly for its musique concrète experimentation. [6] 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.

Contents

History

After six releases on his own label Takoma Records and one on Riverboat Records, Fahey signed a two-album contract with Vanguard Records, best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s. His manager at the time, Denny Bruce, recalled that "His deal was that he could record for Takoma 'experimental records,' but to try and make commercial recordings for Vanguard, with their approval of the budget." [7]

After beginning with three solo guitar pieces, the four-part "Requiem for Molly" begins with solo guitar interspersed and accompanied by white noise, excerpts of both string and brass orchestras, Adolf Hitler speeches, choral music, scratchy 78-rpm recordings and various other tape loops and sound effects. The melody found in Part 3 is "California Dreaming", a recent Top 40 hit for The Mamas & the Papas. A short hymn-like song, "Fight On Christians, Fight On", based on "Christians, Fight On, Your Time Ain't Long" by Bo Weavil Jackson, played on bottleneck guitar concludes the recording. [8]

Fahey stated "["Requiem for Molly, Pt. 1–4"] was my first attempt at musique concrète, but it's not very good and I don't really like that one. It was a good learning experience though." [6]

"Requiem for John Hurt" refers to influential country blues singer and guitarist Mississippi John Hurt. Fahey recalled "He was in his quiet way, a very great man, and I deeply mourn our loss of him. So, I wrote this requiem for him, about him, but I play it the way Charley Patton would have played it, had he ever thought of such a thing, which of course he never would have." [8]

In his original liner notes, Fahey wrote "Since 1948, after seeing the movie, The Thief of Bagdad , I composed cerebral symphonies every day. It was a pleasant pastime. But suddenly in 1953 I needed a full orchestra at my command—me playing every instrument in that impossible ensemble." He labeled the first two songs and "Requiem for Molly" as Requia and "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" and "Fight on Christians, Fight On" as Cantica.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Daily News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Great Folk Discography 5/10 [12]
Reno Gazette-Journal Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 7/10 [14]

According to Edward Pouncey of The Wire , contempoary reception to Requia was mixed and often hostile, with many puzzled by the album's lengthy musique concrète centrepiece. [6]

In his AllMusic review, critic Brian Olewnick describes the distinct differences in the two parts of Requia, calling the four solo pieces "a series of blues-based pieces in line with music he had previously recorded" and the second section ("Requiem for Molly") as sounding "a bit dated, largely because his source material... sounds heavy-handed and trite in retrospect." Olewnick summarizes the release writing "Requia doesn't rank up with the absolute best of his releases, but contains enough fine and interesting work to recommend it to Fahey fans." [9]

In his book Beautiful Monsters, author Michael Long referred to Fahey as a pioneer and wrote "His personal aesthetic was easily translatable to the revisionist morbid aesthetic, most notably with respect to Requia, a collection containing the four-part "Requiem for Molly," Fahey's spatiotextural experiment in sampling, looping, and musique concrète." [15] Kris Needs of Record Collector has similarly cited "Requiem for Molly" as a "deranged mosaic of effects" that predated sampling with its mixture of musical interpolations and "snatches of jazz and blues singers, Nazi marching songs, wedding music, hymns, brass bands and fairground organ, as well as self-recorded seals." [5]

In a review of The Essential John Fahey in the July 3, 1974 Milwaukee Journal , Pierre-Rene Noth referred to "Requiem for Molly" as "[Fahey's] worst.. a horrid mix." [16] In his piece for The New York Times , Ben Ratliff called Requia "dense with eccentricity." [17] The album received new attention when re-released in 1985 by Terra Records, a pastoral folk jazz subsidiary label of Vanguard, [13] as part of a series of releases exploring the roots of new-age music. [10] Reviewing the reissue for the Reno Gazette-Journal , Paul Raeburn described Requia as a precursor to new-age, calling the mixture of folk and blues "as fresh and evocative" as the genre. However, he preferred the short tracks on side one to "Requiem for Molly", whose "ominous" sound effects he found distracting. [13] A reviewer for Daily News said that the album would impress those who dismiss new-age music as "Muzak for the '80s", describing Fahey as "quirky and quiet" but engaging. [10]

In 2017, Uncut ranked Requia at number 89 in their list of "The 101 Weirdest Albums of All Time"; [18] contributor John Robinson wrote that Fahey's "singular oddness" derived in part from his humour, and commented that the album blends his distinctive meditative guitar soli with tape collage experimentation via "Requieum for Molly", in which Fahey's guitar is "mixed deep into a shifting music concrete soundworld of sucking reverb, white noise and – just in time for the summer of love – Adolf Hitler." [18] In 2022, Uncut ranked the album at number 396 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1960s". [19]

Reissues

Track listing

All songs by John Fahey.

  1. "Requiem for John Hurt" – 5:10
  2. "Requiem for Russell Blaine Cooper" – 8:56
  3. "When the Catfish Is in Bloom" – 7:42
  4. "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 1" – 7:40
  5. "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 2" – 7:46
  6. "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 3" – 2:33
  7. "Requiem for Molly, Pt. 4" – 3:00
  8. "Fight On Christians, Fight On" – 1:57

Personnel

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi John Hurt</span> American country blues singer and guitarist

John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist.

<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.

<i>Vanguard Visionaries</i> (Doc Watson album) 2007 compilation album by Doc Watson

Vanguard Visionaries is the title of a recording by American folk music and country blues artist Doc Watson, released in 2007.

<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>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>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>Days Have Gone By</i> 1967 studio album by John Fahey

Days Have Gone By is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1967. The cover labels the album Volume 6 while it was preceded in 1966 by The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party which is labeled Guitar Vol. 4.

<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>The Essential John Fahey</i> 1974 compilation album by John Fahey

The Essential John Fahey is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1974.

<i>Womblife</i> 1997 studio album by John Fahey

Womblife is an album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1997. It was one of three releases by Fahey that year.

<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.

<i>The Best of the Vanguard Years</i> (John Fahey album) 1999 greatest hits album by John Fahey

The Best of the Vanguard Years is a compilation album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 1999.

<i>Vanguard Visionaries</i> (John Fahey album) 2007 compilation album by John Fahey

Vanguard Visionaries is the title of a compilation recording by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey, released in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Golden Aycock</span> Musical artist

Dylan Golden Aycock is an American Primitive guitarist and Experimental Musician from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2016, NPR named Dylan Golden Aycock's Church of Level Track one of the "Top 10 Solo Guitar Records of 2016" Uncut Magazine described him as "respectfully expanding on Takoma School roots, moving towards the sort of chamber folk compositions mastered by James Blackshaw and William Tyler." In the Bandcamp article "New Directions in Acoustic Guitar" Pitchfork writer Marc Masters writes "Aycock credited with nine different instruments, including violin, drums, pedal steel guitar and synthesizers add atmosphere to his thoughtful picking."

<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. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). "John Fahey". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 1,039. ISBN   9780857125958 . Retrieved October 8, 2022. Fahey signed with Vanguard Records in 1967, although he only recorded two albums for the company, including the musique concrete album Requia and Other Compositions for Guitar Solo.
  2. ↑ Pouncey, Edward (August 1998). "John Fahey: Blood on the Frets". The Wire. Retrieved October 8, 2022. Vanguard producer and archivist Samuel Charters shared Fahey's love of the blues ... Somewhat perversely, Fahey gave the folk/roots label a musique concrete album, called Requia And Other Compositions For Guitar Solo.
  3. ↑ Sprague, David (February 23, 2001). "Guitarist John Fahey Dead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2022. After eschewing the rustic trappings of his earliest music for a series of highly experimental recordings — including the musique concrete eye-opener Requia and Other Compositions for Guitar Solo — Fahey began trying on and discarding various musical garments.
  4. ↑ Guerrieri, Claudio (2013). The John Fahey Handbook, Vol. 1. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-9853028-0-1.
  5. 1 2 Needs, Kris (October 2007). "The Legend of John Fahey & Blind Joe Death". Record Collector. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Pouncey, Edwin (August 1998). "Blood on the Frets". The Wire (174). Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  7. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Of Rivers and Religion 2001 reissue liner notes > Review" . Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  8. 1 2 The Fahey Files notes on the songs.
  9. 1 2 Olewnick, Brian. "Requia > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 "Pop Music". Daily News: 22–23. October 13, 1985. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  11. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  12. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (2010). The great folk discography. Volume 1, Pioneers & early legends. ISBN   9781846971419.
  13. 1 2 3 Raeburn, Paul (December 8, 1985). "On the Record". Reno Gazette-Journal: 76. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  14. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "John Fahey". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  15. ↑ Long, Michael (2008). Beautiful Monsters: Imagining the Classic in Musical Media. University of California Press. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-520-22897-9.
  16. ↑ Noth, Pierre-Rene (July 1974). "Review: The Essential John Fahey". Milwaukee Journal .
  17. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (1997). "A 60's Original With a New Life on the Fringe". The New York Times . Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  18. 1 2 "101 Weirdest Albums of All Time". Uncut (238): 70. March 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Greatest 500 Albums of the 1960s". Uncut Ultimate Music Guide. October 27, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.