city of refuge

fahey week day two 


jumping back 6-7 years, and allowing ourselves seven such jumps to cover the years of his recording career and the years of his formation, we are with the album city of refuge. these were the cities that murderers were allowed to flee too and not be pursued in biblical times. fahey himself  is hiding out in salem oregon.


the source for this title is probably blind willie johnson’s (I’m gonna run to the) city of refuge - this record is john fahey’s elongated fuck you to the windham hill new age scene he helped spawn - On the death and disembowelment of the new age as one song title has it, hope slumbers eternal another.

this stuff doesn’t really do it for horsemouth but it’s solid enough improv - the rebellious energies that used to go into the sleevenotes have migrated into the music.