The Great Koonaklaster Speaks: A John Fahey Celebration

Belonging to that generation where we call ourselves "severely middle-aged"
I would of course have shouted "Sacrilege"...were it not for the fact that
with growing severity of aforementioned middle-age also, if one is lucky,this
is combined with growing wisdom and hopefully broad-mindedness.
As well as one can divide the development of Fahey's music into different
periods and phases, and in doing that also judging oneself's aestheical values
over ever running time, or if it is oneself that runs within time...I do not
know for sure...(that topic belonging in the department of quantum mechanichs
and philosophy)
To my humble opinion one must accept the artist's sovereign freedom of choice of
whatever means and vehicles of expression chosen..and subsequently also the audience's
sovereign freedom to like or dislike...
Secondly, it must be accepted that during Fahey's long artistic carreer he changed
his opinions and aesthtical values several times, always defending the standpoint
that whatever at the moment tickled his fancy was simply the best...at that specific
moment in space and time...and to express a completely different opinion the next day
...that standpoint is called "Freedom"...
Thirdly, taken into consideration that I have listened to Fahey for some forty years
now and being of the opinion that he did his best work in the end of the 60s, that is
only to be seen as a statement of my own private and utterly subjective aesthetics.
Therefore I do not hold any privilegies of monopoly on how to judge Fahey's music!
It is up to everyone to view the Fahey-phenomenon from whatever angle chosen in time
and space...and there are a few angles available...not least witnessed by this tribute-cd!

There are a handful of Fahey-tributes and each and everyone of these are different from
one another...further strenghtening my statement on everybody's freedom to choose whatever
angle...
This one differs very much from the first one that came into my view some thirty years ago.
That one being a collection on Kicking Mule by the finger-picking wizards of those days,
doing their renditions of some early classic Fahey tunes. (And by the way already then I
found that these did not match the Fahey originals)
A little over-simplified perhaps, but if I say that the aforementioned anthology reaches up
to somewhere around The Yellow Princess...this one starts up somewhere around Womblife and
City Of Refuge...
And this is, coming back to my initial statement of "Sacrilege", another angle or aspect of
Fahey...but still Fahey...whether you like it or not...and I like it!
On first listening of course a little bit reluctant...put it aside for awhile...came back
listening...put it aside again...and again...until that initial reluctance was being set back
for a process of acceptance and finally enthusiasm...It took some six months...
Utterly meaningless to try to describe the music here. It is simply music and music is the
vehicle of expression that starts where the language is not enough...Even Bach knew that!
Various musicians of various ages from various backgrounds exploring their various aspects
of Fahey...each and everyone equal...within their own individual rights...
Ragaesque meandering steel-guitars, sound-collages, tone-clusters, chaotical noise, electric
and finger-picked acoustic guitars, barrel-house piano...everything is here...Just like we can
imagine Fahey himself wanted it to be...
So finally...this record took me on a journey where I found my own prejudicies and had to work
on them...and hopefully came back from that journey wiser than before...
You go out into the world putting dragon-wings in your hat
...and return with clouds in your head!
Put Your past ahead of You!

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