I AM THE RESURRECTION: A TRIBUTE TO JOHN FAHEY | Vanguard
By TED DROZDOWSKI | January 18, 2006
The late guitarist’s best tribute is his own legacy of recordings, but those already familiar with this troubled master of the six-string’s work may dig hearing how various indie rockers fro
m Boston’s Cul de Sac to neo-hippie Devendra Banhart to ex-Plimsoul Peter Case interpret a baker’s dozen of Fahey’s compositions. Not surprisingly, Cul de Sac — who recorded an album with Fahey — ably capture the quixotic intensity of “The Portland Cement Factory at Monolith, CA” — although Banhart’s lack of guitar chops makes “Sligo River Blues” a ghost of Fahey’s eerie composition. M. Ward, the indie guitar dynamo who produced this album, is one of the few who remembers Fahey for his sense of humor, and his “Bean Vine Blues” captures the song’s rollicking Roaring ’20s joy — albeit with plenty of dirty electric guitar and a few raygun sonic effects. Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, Calexico, Grandaddy, and Sufjan Stevens are also among the better-known contributors, who embrace both the electric and acoustic sides of Fahey’s singular craftsmanship.
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