America

In some respects this was Fahey at his most ambitious; two of the four songs ("Mark 1:15" and "Voice of the Turtle") clock in at around the 15-minute mark, and one of the others is entitled "The Waltz That Carried Us Away and Then a Mosquito Came and Ate Up My Sweetheart." It's actually typical of his work of the period, however: inventive acoustic guitar instrumentals that draw from folk and blues, with a sedate presentation that has a relaxing effect. The CD reissue, however, transforms it into an entirely different work. America was originally envisioned as a double LP, but around half of the material remained unreleased when it was cut down to a single disc; the CD restores the other nine songs that would have been included on the original program, pushing the length of the album to 79 minutes. The additional tracks are pretty similar in feel to the ones chosen for the original release, though perhaps more eclectic, including a Skip James cover, the third movement of Dvorak's "Eighth Symphony," and "Amazing Grace." The song "America" (oddly omitted from the original America album) is a rare example of Fahey on the 12-string, and includes some pleasing passages of muted notes.