harshest review came from Gary Kamiya at Salon.com. "[It] may not be the most unpleasant album ever recorded, but it comes close. At several points during this interminable, self-indulgent aural experiment, I became convinced that Fahey's purpose was to recreate the exact sensation of a bad LSD trip or an evil hangover on a metaphysical scale. If that is true, he succeeded admirably: This album should come with a free packet of Thorazine. There are one or two tracks on City of Refuge where something like guitar playing can be heard... At its best, [it] achieves a nightmarish soundtrack quality... If you like nightmares, this album is for you." In his article on Fahey's career resurgence in No Depression, Matt Hanks called City of Refuge "an album so good that in one fell swoop it erases many of the transgressions of former colleagues Kottke, Winston, and a host of other players who claim Fahey as a formative influence." Track listing All songs by John Fahey. "Fanfare" – 5:17 "The Mill Pond" – 3:50 "Chelsey Silver, Please Come Home" – 4:30 "City of Refuge I" – 20:28 "City of Refuge III" – 6:25 "Hope Slumbers Eternal" – 5:03 "On the Death and Disembowelment of the New Age" – 19:26 Personnel John Fahey – guitar, sampling, tapes Production notes John Pearse – string arrangements Mike Lastra – engineer Jeff Allman – engineer Scott Colburn – editing, mastering Marc Trunz – photography References External links New York Times. Ben Ratliff. 1997. A 60's Original With a New Life on the Fringe Of Rivers and Revision: John Fahey and Cul de Sac 1997 albums John Fahey (musician) albums