Miscellaneous Sessions 1959 - 1966 | |
{ § DDD# - denotes a link to the corresponding section of the discography in the liner notes to The Dance of Death.} THE SPOTTSWOOD SESSION This does not circulate, so no notes except to note the first appearance of "Brenda's Blues". DDD notes modern highways and a rising suicide rate. § DDD 4 FRAN VANDIVER SESSION § DDD 10
Track List - John Fahey / Fran Vandiver from the "Not The Gas Station Tape."
(* marks titles cared for by Chris Downes, Sydney, Australia)
"House Carpenter" also circulates as a so-called "outtake" from "Voice of the Turtle". It's a variation of Clarence Ashley's arrangement which was issued on AAFM (Ashley's song is the Americanised version of Child 243, "The Demon Lover"). A tape purporting to contain "The Sidewalks of New York" briefly circulated in the mid-1980s but was quickly exposed as a fake by Fahey scholars.
I Woke up one Morning in May Candidate for the horrendous VOT track retitled "Je ne me suis reveillais pas en Mai", or maybe that comes from the next (studio!) session. It's an AAFM selection, sung there by Didier Herbert, whose version is wistful, even poignant. But Fahey extracts stronger emotions from the song. Variations on Eck Robertson The AAFM was very much in Fahey's mind in this period. It includes "Brilliancy Medley" by Eck Robertson & Family, the latter part of which medley is "Bill Cheatum", which itself appeared on VOT. These "Variations" will be along the lines of those on the Coo Coo and John Henry (both AAFM songs) and we regret they never reappeared in JF's work. Le Vieux Soulard et sa Femme Another AAFM Cajun song. DDD sessionography ends. Whilst the material released on Fonotone's "The Early Sessions" appears to be from the Transfiguration sessions already noted, for the sake of completeness, and because at this time we frankly don't know, a description of this material follows. The italicised songs are not titles but descriptions. • Several of the above are still the subjects of contention, which I guess will remain unresolved pending further information. MISCELLANEOUS SONGS • I personally suspect this is a hoax and not by Fahey at all. Could it be from 'Ragtime' Ralph? Revelation on the Banks of the Pawtuxent. The Fahey Sampler A long piece which contains the second part of "When the Springtime Comes Again" (which was en route to "Mark 1:15" (1971) and again in "When the Fire and the Rose are One" (1973). Also includes a phrase from "The Transcendental Waterfall", along with much vintage Fahey, and has never been reissued. JF 1969: "Denson's idea was to call the record a sampler of contemporary guitarists. So I put together parts from some of my other works either previously recorded or not. Now I usually play this piece as my first song in a public performance." A Raga Called Pat Night Train to Valhalla Finlandia All previously unreleased versions Issued on Savel records, and described on the label as a Takoma/Etenpain production, this EP is one of the most enigmatic and possibly the most exotic of releases in the canon. As far as we know it was unreleased in America or the UK, and import copies were considered to be fairly scarce even in 1966. We know why Tasmania, but John, why Finland? • 'Night Train to Valhalla' is recorded (to these ears) without picks, and so may be pre-1964. by Tony Thomas, 18 & 19 December 1966 JF plays backup on the following tunes: The Carroll County Blues Back Up and Push Sitting on Top of the World JF on slide The Little River Stomp Chicken Old Joe Clark The second guitar on these selections is by Rod Thomas, a close relative of Tony. Released by takoma in 67 and Produced by Denson and Fahey. Recorded in Hugo, Oklahoma by Fahey & Hansen. Hansen remembers in RR: "In December 1966 John and I drove his '56 Chevy to Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas to record several old-time musicians…as a project for UCLA". So that will be where the VOT fiddle tunes also come from (see VOT notes). |
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Sessions 1967 - 1973 Index |
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