Volume 2 / Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes

by Richie Unterberger

In the 1960s, Fahey was the type who gave future discographers nightmares by not only re-recording albums in their entirety and issuing them under the exact same title, but using the exact same catalog number. This is a 1967 re-recording of the 1963 album Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes, although only ten of the 12 tracks are re-recordings; the other two ("The Downfall of the Adelphi Rolling Grist Mill" and "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain") are the original versions from the 1963 LP. The material, of course, is still outstanding, so the differences to note are in the playing. The fidelity is clearer, and having improved his technique Fahey probably felt more satisfied with these renditions. But as often happens on remakes, it must be said that the originals have an intangibly more affecting, more mysterious quality that does not come through as strongly on the more carefully executed rehauls. You don't have to agonize about choosing between one or the other anymore, because the 1967 version of Death Chants is now available on CD, on a single disc (Takoma TAKCD-8908) that also includes the harder-to-find 1963 version of Death Chants.