Wikipedia or an old Grey Lady article can give you the relevant background info. Later on before Fahey died, when Jim O’Rourke was all up in his Santa Claus-ness, Fahey supposedly disavowed his earlier work as sentimental or some other word that is artist-speak for “supergay”. I’ve not yet sought out his later material. I may never do so. Jim O’Rourke is filed in the corner of my brain that’s called BORING so his name inspires neither confidence nor fear. There’s nothing wrong with some sentimentality, anyway.
My favorite pick from that period is America, which strums along at a mid-tempo pace that fits driving across long, boring states and rolling green hills. I’ll take sentiment over ressentiment any day.
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I really love his last album- Red Cross, Disciple of Christ Today. Some electric touches, but spacious and beautiful and awfully haunting/ed. And if you’re down with sentimentality, there’s even a couple Gershwin tunes.
you’re completely right about that one, sir.
i picked it up over the weekend before one of our semi annual “get shitfaced at the brooklyn brewery” events, along with “god, time and causuality”. good lord this is nice as hell.