City of Refuge - Fahey's New Thing:
What the Critics Said
“City of Refuge” broke a long silence. Not exactly the
first record for 10 years, as some said, but the first
album of new non-Christmas material since “Old
Girlfriends” in 1990, and announcing with its savage
sleeve note a major new direction, the album was more
than a release, it was an Event. And whilst it’s
difficult to find a Fahey record given a bad review
anywhere prior to the New Thing (even “I Remember
Blind Joe Death” got 4 stars in Q magazine!) “City of
Refuge” could not be nodded over blandly; and
consequently two schools of thought were formed. We
present a selection of views from fans and critics (a
trite distinction, as fans are critics, and vice
versa, we hope) and would welcome more.
“It’s true, he was never ‘new age’, he was never really part of any larger musical or social movement, he always went his own way, et cetera ad infinitum, so ‘Alternative’ is as apt a term as any for him. Except that in the current season, ‘Alternative’ applies to anybody from Derek Bailey and Gastr del Sol to No Doubt and 311…which is to say that the term has long since been rendered as pointless as ‘Rock’ – or ‘Folk’ for that matter – so it’s kind of sad that John’s chosen the current season in which to wave the ‘Alternative’ flag. And that he’s picked the current season in which to attack New Age music so aggressively, now that it’s pretty much dead and buried anyway…
…it was heartening to know he wasn’t going to be re-emerging with another dull Christmas album. Obviously ‘City of Refuge’ is a kind of catharsis for Fahey, a purge, a loud and defiant NO to all who/that would pigeonhole and otherwise constrain his creativity. But in the process he’s also denied himself (not to mention his audience) those artistic strengths that give most of his earlier negations their positive power – things like melodic and harmonic development, rhythmic structure, dynamics, wit, emotional range, and playing technique. Aside from the coruscating opening ‘Fanfare’, there just isn’t much that compels enthusiasm. Even the more coherent guitar pieces here are virtually devoid of melodic interest – they function on the level of background music for a dry art-house flick, or even – sigh – a mildly ill-tempered New Age record, if there was such a thing. …The musique concrete compares unfavourably to …past Fahey masterpieces like ‘The Singing Bridge of Memphis Tennessee’. The balance of ‘City of Refuge’ simply sounds like what you might get if you gave a six-year- old an acoustic guitar and a white noise generator – except there would be in the six-year-old’s work a genuinely positive and creative exuberance that is conspicuous in its absence here.” (Charles Olver)
“…an at times difficult, at others lyrical series of instrumental guitar and noise pieces that range from the searing, blurry slide blues of the opening ‘Fanfare’, set over a buzzing bed of industrial noise and dissonance that sounds like the hum of a rickety washing machine, to the epic 20 minute wandering centerpiece ‘City of Refuge I’. It is in this meandering, solo guitar narrative that Fahey acquits himself as a storyteller without words. The guitarist’s warm, seemingly haphazard strumming is filmic in sound, like a silent movie whose characters’ voices you have to imagine slipping in between and on top of his impassioned playing…” (Gil Kaufman)
“Fahey soars from the ridiculous to the sublime in this 65 minute guitar meditation on the alienation or dislocation of our age. At the low point, his guitar noodling seems aimless and is annoying… At the peaks though, Fahey’s daring virtuosity yields stark beauty.” (Claude Iosso)
“While his playing on the new album shows a refreshing vigour and a willingness to explore, the music seems diffused and unfocused. The blues and folk basics of his older work are not missed, but his conclusion and musical concentration are. The ‘industrial’ touches – the drones, the tapes – seem slapdash, and are disconcerting coming from an artist who has always had a strong sense of tone.” (Lee Gardner)
“Several songs do spotlight Fahey’s undiminished finger-picking talents, but even his breathtaking melodies and thinking-out-loud rhythmic twists bear a measure of sorrow and loss that suggest this admittedly compelling record is best cherished in private.” (Fred Mills)
“While a couple of these tracks meander a bit for my taste (for about two minutes, I confused the long fuzzed-out loop on the last song with the steam coming out of my radiator), I enjoy the new explosiveness of ‘Fanfare’, the bent harmonics on ‘The Mill Pond’, and the old master’s overall ability to test his rootsy, thoughtful style against recent harsher advances in guitar playing. He more than holds his own: it will always be a pleasure to hear him thin.” (Steve Tignor)
New York Times : “He lives in a motel room in Salem, where he recorded “City of Refuge” on equipment in his room.”
“It’s true, he was never ‘new age’, he was never really part of any larger musical or social movement, he always went his own way, et cetera ad infinitum, so ‘Alternative’ is as apt a term as any for him. Except that in the current season, ‘Alternative’ applies to anybody from Derek Bailey and Gastr del Sol to No Doubt and 311…which is to say that the term has long since been rendered as pointless as ‘Rock’ – or ‘Folk’ for that matter – so it’s kind of sad that John’s chosen the current season in which to wave the ‘Alternative’ flag. And that he’s picked the current season in which to attack New Age music so aggressively, now that it’s pretty much dead and buried anyway…
…it was heartening to know he wasn’t going to be re-emerging with another dull Christmas album. Obviously ‘City of Refuge’ is a kind of catharsis for Fahey, a purge, a loud and defiant NO to all who/that would pigeonhole and otherwise constrain his creativity. But in the process he’s also denied himself (not to mention his audience) those artistic strengths that give most of his earlier negations their positive power – things like melodic and harmonic development, rhythmic structure, dynamics, wit, emotional range, and playing technique. Aside from the coruscating opening ‘Fanfare’, there just isn’t much that compels enthusiasm. Even the more coherent guitar pieces here are virtually devoid of melodic interest – they function on the level of background music for a dry art-house flick, or even – sigh – a mildly ill-tempered New Age record, if there was such a thing. …The musique concrete compares unfavourably to …past Fahey masterpieces like ‘The Singing Bridge of Memphis Tennessee’. The balance of ‘City of Refuge’ simply sounds like what you might get if you gave a six-year- old an acoustic guitar and a white noise generator – except there would be in the six-year-old’s work a genuinely positive and creative exuberance that is conspicuous in its absence here.” (Charles Olver)
“…an at times difficult, at others lyrical series of instrumental guitar and noise pieces that range from the searing, blurry slide blues of the opening ‘Fanfare’, set over a buzzing bed of industrial noise and dissonance that sounds like the hum of a rickety washing machine, to the epic 20 minute wandering centerpiece ‘City of Refuge I’. It is in this meandering, solo guitar narrative that Fahey acquits himself as a storyteller without words. The guitarist’s warm, seemingly haphazard strumming is filmic in sound, like a silent movie whose characters’ voices you have to imagine slipping in between and on top of his impassioned playing…” (Gil Kaufman)
“Fahey soars from the ridiculous to the sublime in this 65 minute guitar meditation on the alienation or dislocation of our age. At the low point, his guitar noodling seems aimless and is annoying… At the peaks though, Fahey’s daring virtuosity yields stark beauty.” (Claude Iosso)
“While his playing on the new album shows a refreshing vigour and a willingness to explore, the music seems diffused and unfocused. The blues and folk basics of his older work are not missed, but his conclusion and musical concentration are. The ‘industrial’ touches – the drones, the tapes – seem slapdash, and are disconcerting coming from an artist who has always had a strong sense of tone.” (Lee Gardner)
“Several songs do spotlight Fahey’s undiminished finger-picking talents, but even his breathtaking melodies and thinking-out-loud rhythmic twists bear a measure of sorrow and loss that suggest this admittedly compelling record is best cherished in private.” (Fred Mills)
“While a couple of these tracks meander a bit for my taste (for about two minutes, I confused the long fuzzed-out loop on the last song with the steam coming out of my radiator), I enjoy the new explosiveness of ‘Fanfare’, the bent harmonics on ‘The Mill Pond’, and the old master’s overall ability to test his rootsy, thoughtful style against recent harsher advances in guitar playing. He more than holds his own: it will always be a pleasure to hear him thin.” (Steve Tignor)
New York Times : “He lives in a motel room in Salem, where he recorded “City of Refuge” on equipment in his room.”
