The John Fahey Christmas Album

Last updated
The John Fahey Christmas Album
The John Fahey Christmas Album.jpg
Studio album by
Released1991
Label Burnside
Attic [1]
Producer Terry Robb, Don MacLeod
John Fahey chronology
God, Time and Causality
(1989)
The John Fahey Christmas Album
(1991)
Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories
(1992)

The John Fahey Christmas Album is an album by the American musician John Fahey, released in 1991. [2] [3] It was originally released by Burnside, a record store in Portland, Oregon. [4] [5]

Contents

The John Fahey Christmas Album was one of five Christmas albums recorded by Fahey. [6] "O' Holy Night" was included on the Imaginational Anthem compilation. [7]

Production

The album was produced by Terry Robb and Don MacLeod. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 7/10 [10]

The Province wrote that "the flute, piano and cello accompaniment creates a lithe, pleasant chamber-ensemble ambience." [11] The Edmonton Journal opined that, "while it might be labelled part of the contemplative art form known as New Age, the music is rich, difficult and beautiful enough to impress non-aficionados of relaxation music." [12] The Globe and Mail noted that "Fahey's warm, round tone glows like a Yule log at midnight and the balance between the familiar and obscure is delicate enough that the album can tug heartstrings without ever becoming cloying." [13]

In 2017, Pitchfork , comparing the 1991 release to his earlier Christmas albums, wrote: "For Fahey, holiday music allowed for a sort of evolving emotional inventory and a dependable corrective for heavy feelings. It, like him, could change." [14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Jingle Bells" 
2."Angels from the Realms of Glory" 
3."Silent Night" 
4."Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" 
5."Irish Medley" 
6."O' Little Town of Bethlehem" 
7."Santisima" 
8."Christ Is Born on Christmas Day" 
9."O' Come Little Children/Ach Du Lieber Augustine" 
10."Mary Had a Baby" 
11."The Little Drummer Boy" 
12."Good Christian Men Rejoice, Rejoice" 
13."Spanish Carol" 
14."O' Holy Night" 
15."Christ Is Born as Child of Man" 
16."Christmas Medley  

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit of the West</span> Canadian rock band

Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.

<i>Modern Lullaby</i> 1992 studio album by Martha and the Muffins

Modern Lullaby is an album by the Canadian band Martha and the Muffins, released in 1992. Although released under the band's original name, only Martha Johnson and Mark Gane remained following the original band's breakup.

<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.

<i>Vancouver Complication</i> Compilation album

Vancouver Complication is a compilation album featuring many influential Vancouver punk bands. It was released in 1979 on Pinned Records, and has been reissued a number of times with several different cover designs.

Saturday Night Blues is a Canadian radio program, which airs Saturday nights on CBC Music. Hosted by Holger Petersen, the program airs a mix of blues concerts, recordings and interviews with blues musicians. SNB first broadcast on CBC Radio One in 1987. Initially airing for one hour weekly, the program was expanded to two hours in 1990.

<i>We Three Kings</i> (The Roches album) 1990 studio album by the Roches

We Three Kings is an album by the American folk trio the Roches, released in 1990. It is a collection of Christmas songs. The sisters wrote two of the album's 24 tracks. We Three Kings is considered a classic of unconventional Christmas music.

<i>World Outside</i> 1991 studio album by the Psychedelic Furs

World Outside is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released 1 July 1991 by Columbia Records in the US. It includes the single "Until She Comes", which hit No. 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart in September 1991. "Don't Be a Girl" was the second single.

<i>The New Possibility</i> 1968 studio album by John Fahey

The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album is a 1968 album by American folk musician John Fahey. It is a collection of solo-guitar arrangements of familiar Christmas songs and has been Fahey's best selling recording, remaining in print since it was first released. The album is especially noteworthy since holiday music had never before been played in Fahey's acoustic-steel string blues guitar style.

<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>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>Saturday Night Blues</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Various artists

Saturday Night Blues is a compilation album of recordings by Canadian blues performers, released by Stony Plain Records and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1991. Subtitled "The Great Canadian Blues Project, Volume 1", the album was released as a tie-in to the CBC Radio program Saturday Night Blues, and was compiled from a mix of previously-released material, new unreleased recordings and performance tapes from the CBC Radio archives. It was one of the first significant compilations of the work of Canadian blues artists.

<i>Is the Actor Happy?</i> 1995 studio album by Vic Chesnutt

Is the Actor Happy? is an album by the American folk rock musician Vic Chesnutt, released in 1995. The title of the album's first track was used as the subtitle to a 1996 benefit album, Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, recorded to raise funds for Chesnutt's health care.

<i>You Shoulda Told Me You Were...</i> 1991 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

You Shoulda Told Me You Were... is a studio album by the American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1991. It includes the single "(She's A) Party Girl".

<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.

<i>You and Your Sister</i> (album) 1989 studio album by The Vulgar Boatmen

You and Your Sister is the debut album by the American band the Vulgar Boatmen, released in 1989. The Vulgar Boatmen, at the time of the album, constituted two bands: one based in Florida and one based in Indiana. The band supported the album with a North American tour. "Drive Somewhere" was released as a single.

<i>Songs from Venice Beach</i> 1995 compilation album by Ted Hawkins

Songs from Venice Beach is a compilation album by the American musician Ted Hawkins, released in 1995. It was the first collection of Hawkins's songs to be released after his death.

<i>R.I.P.</i> (Richard Hell album) 1984 compilation album by Richard Hell

R.I.P. is a compilation album by the American musician Richard Hell, released in 1984. It was originally released in cassette format, and was rereleased in 1990 with different artwork. The compilation includes songs by the Hell-fronted bands the Heartbreakers and the Voidoids, as well as songs credited to Hell. It contains demo, live, and studio recordings. R.I.P. was a "farewell" album, as Hell wanted to leave music in order to do more writing.

<i>Circuladô</i> 1991 studio album by Caetano Veloso

Circuladô is an album by the Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. It was released in 1991. Circuladô was Veloso's third album to be widely distributed in the United States.

<i>Nursery Boys Go Ahead</i> 1992 studio album by Abana Ba Nasery

Nursery Boys Go Ahead, also stylized as !Nursery Boys Go Ahead!, is an album by the Kenyan band Abana Ba Nasery. It was released in 1992. The band, a trio, traditionally produced its sound with just their voices, acoustic guitars, and a Fanta bottle. The album is considered to be Luhya pop and folk music.

<i>Boogie Woogie Zydeco</i> 1991 studio album by Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band

Boogie Woogie Zydeco is an album by the American band Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, released in 1991. The album was part of the zydeco revival of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was noted for its especially fast tempos and rock elements.

References

  1. Krewen, Nick (30 Nov 1992). "Christmas music: From bizarre to traditional, take your choice". The Hamilton Spectator. p. D1.
  2. "Byron Coley on John Fahey". Perfect Sound Forever.
  3. Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist. Chicago Review Press. June 1, 2014.
  4. "The Legend of John Fahey & Blind Joe Death". Record Collector.
  5. Hughley, Marty (February 17, 1995). "Burnside Records Throws Birthday Bash". The Oregonian. p. AE10.
  6. Hann, Michael (10 Dec 2021). "Rockin' around the Christmas streams". Music. The Guardian. p. 6.
  7. "Near Mint Debuts With Solo Guitar Compilation". Billboard. July 20, 2005.
  8. 1 2 MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 263.
  9. "John Fahey The John Fahey Christmas Album". AllMusic.
  10. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 139.
  11. Harrison, Tom; McLaughlin, John (10 Dec 1992). "Jingle Bells rang out in July for some fans". The Province. p. C3.
  12. Metella, Helen (17 Dec 1992). "New CDs (Christmas discs)". Edmonton Journal. p. D1.
  13. Dafoe, Chris (21 Dec 1992). "'The John Fahey Christmas Album' John Fahey". The Globe and Mail. p. C1.
  14. "Why You Should Listen to John Fahey's Christmas Music—Even If You Hate Christmas Music". Pitchfork. December 13, 2017.