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Title: Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man--Moody, Meditative, Magnetic
Review: John Fahey plays this live set on an electric guitar, which became his usual instrument in his last half decade. Other reviewers have commented on the overall tempo. I too find the playing relatively slow, but in a meditative sense, not footdragging; mild syncopation here and there, never leaden, dull, or frustrating. Fahey's talents are still here, but in a different voice.Georgia Stomps, Atlanta Struts, and Other Contemporary Dance Favorites both recaptures some of the relaxed, exploratory assurance of what I cherish as Fahey's best, 1960s work, and it forges new ground without an iconoclastic attack on his creative past. Riffing on Dock Boggs indeed. Unlike some of his other late-period albums, where the experimental noise won out, I think Georgia Stomps lends itself to repeated listenings and deeper appreciations. If you want a better-than-representative example of John Fahey's later recorded works, then this one will do nicely.
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