John Fahey
The Yellow Princess

★★★★½

I did perhaps just pick this up on a whim, and I can tell you I don't regret it at all. This has been one of the best *nearly* blind purchases I've made. I mean there really hasn't been any Fahey album that I haven't really liked yet. To me, there's two main Fahey periods that really define him. His earlier, low fidelity blues material; and then his more experimental and fusion based songs on his later albums. 

This album leans more in that later direction, but maintains and refreshes old ideas as well. The experimental side is shown through tracks such as "March! For Martin Luther King", "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee" and "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Invisible City of Bladensburg". All three are in a row too actually. The first and third place Fahey in the middle of a band setting and it pulls through better than I would've expected. It's pretty clear that these musicians know Fahey's style and they do their best to keep up. The first song however, stays more like a march that is both powerful and uplifting in the most positive sense possible. 

The sound collage and whistling of "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee" fits snugly in with the themes Fahey explores here and throughout his musical career in general. Then traveling back to Fahey's roots and that of Americana, with tunes like "Lion" and "View (East From the Top of the Riggs Road / B & O Trestle)", the former includes some borrowing of "Amazing Grace" too. 

Overall I would say this is one of my favorite Fahey albums actually. And for anyone who is looking to listen to his music but doesn't know where to start, this is a great entry point. Just the liner notes alone are amazing, probably the wittiest I've ever read. Reading that and then listening to this album reminds me of what a genuine original Fahey was and how his writing and music was his ways of expressing that. Now I'm thinking about picking up his book.

Favorite Song: View (East From the Top of the Riggs Road / B & O Trestle)

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