Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II

This is John Fahey's second volume of Christmas music. His first, 1968's The New Possibility, has been one of Fahey's best selling recordings, selling over 100,000 copies.

Takoma artist Richard Ruskin duets with Fahey on a few of the numbers. "Christmas Fantasy" parts 1 and 2 take up the complete side two.

John Fahey's Guitar Christmas Book, a folio of guitar transcriptions of songs from The New Possibility and Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II, was published in 1981. It is no longer in print.^[1]

A 2000 CD reissue of The New Possibility includes the entire contents of both that album and Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

In his Allmusic review, Jon Pruett wrote that the side-long "Christmas Fantasy" was "gives plenty of reason to search out this record. Here, he dips into his characteristic, methodical plucking that flows from uneven to dizzying before lapsing into more melodic segments. Crashing and discordant at one moment, gentle and flowing the next. It's not your typical Christmas fantasy and probably provided some nightmarish, surreal qualities to anyone hoping to inject some typical musical yuletide cheer into their holiday."^[2]

Track listing

"O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight) – 3:26
"Christmas Medley: O Tannenbaum/Angels We Have Heard on High/Jingle Bells" (Ernst Anschütz, James Pierpont) – 3:28
"Russian Christmas Overture" (Traditional) – 6:45
"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 4:55
"Carol of the Bells" (Traditional) – 2:34
"Christmas Fantasy, Pt. 1
"Christmas Fantasy, Pt. 2" (Traditional) – 12:20

Personnel

John Fahey – guitar
Richard Ruskin – guitar (on "O Holy Night", "Medley", "Russian Christmas Overture", and "Carol of the Bells")

Production notes

John Fahey – producer
Doug Decker – producer, engineer
Stephanie Pyren – cover art

References

↑ Stropes Editions entry for John Fahey's Guitar Christmas Book
1 2 Pruett, Jon. "Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 15, 2009.

John Fahey

Studio albums	Blind Joe Death Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions Days Have Gone By The Voice of the Turtle Requia The Yellow Princess The New Possibility America Of Rivers and Religion After the Ball Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) Old Fashioned Love Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II John Fahey Visits Washington D.C. Yes! Jesus Loves Me Railroad Let Go Popular Songs For Christmas and New Year's Rain Forests, Oceans and Other Themes I Remember Blind Joe Death God, Time and Causality Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories City of Refuge Womblife Hitomi Red Cross

78s and EPs	The Fonotone Sessions Double 78 The Mill Pond

Live albums	Live in Tasmania Georgia Stomps, Atlanta Struts and Other Contemporary Dance Favorites The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick On Air Some Summer Day

Collaborations	The Epiphany of Glenn Jones John Fahey Trio KBOO John Fahey Trio, Vol. One

Split albums	Leo Kottke, John Fahey & Peter Lang

Compilations	The Early Sessions The Essential John Fahey The Best of John Fahey 1959–1977 The Return of the Repressed: The John Fahey Anthology The Legend of Blind Joe Death The Best of the Vanguard Years The Best of John Fahey, Vol. 2: 1964–1983 Sea Changes & Coelacanths: A Young Person's Guide to John Fahey Vanguard Visionaries Twilight on Prince Georges Avenue: Essential Recordings Christmas Soli

Tribute albums	A Tribute to John Fahey I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey Friends of Fahey Tribute The Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album The Great Koonaklaster Speaks: A John Fahey Celebration

Related articles	Discography American Primitivism Takoma Records Revenant Records Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4 Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, July 07, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.