John Fahey - Rain Forests, Oceans, And Other Themes FLAC download

This was the first John Fahey recording I ever heard and it impressed me enough to try to track down everything else he had recorded.As an acoustic guitarist he never fitted into any category other than his own and his willingness to experiment and meld styles was always impressive. For me the standout tracks on this disk would have to be Eric Clapton's Layla, Stravinsky's Lullaby And Finale From The Firebird and Moondog's Theme And Variations

This mid 80's release by John Fahey is a real surprise.After a few weaker LP's with his friend Terry Robb, particularly two Christmas recordings (all for Varrick) the guitarist finds back to great shape.Starting with two original compositions which are just incredible. Especially 'Melody McOcean' attests that Fahey's idiosyncratic but intensely rhythmic tunings are again an exceptional listening experience.The third track, adapting fragments of Stravinsky's 'Firebird' features Terry Robb as second guitarist and arranger.'Atlantic High' - Fahey solo, is a reworking of the track 'Horses' from 'After The Ball' released in 1973.The first side ends with a Luiz Bonfá composition, a theme from the 60’s movie „Black Orpheus“ by Marcel Camus. Arranged for guitar duo by Fahey, this appears to be a demonstration of craft. Unfortunately nothing more. Clearly the weakest track of the LP.The opener of side two is a version of 'Theme and Variations', an early composition by Moondog, arranged by Robb, who is picking up the basic rhythm with electronic drums. Wonderful !Second is the melancholic ‚May This Be Love’ composed by Jimi Hendrix which leads to the bluesy ’Casey Jones', a version of Walter "Furry" Lewis that goes back to 1928.Third track is 'Ocean Waves', which of course is composed by Bola Sete with an introduction by Fahey. A simply beautiful track.‚Juroscho Ascopi’ is with Robb again and an artistic finger exercise for guitar duo.Closing track is a traditional mixed with the intro and coda of ‚On Doing An Evil Deed Blues’ from ‚Blind Joe Death Vol. 1’. Great!To be honest, I didn’t expect such excellent pieces of music here, not only because of Fahey’s private circumstances at that time, but also because of the exceptional strange sleeve design, especially for Fahey’s discography. So please: Don’t judge this record by its cover.