Leo Kottke, John Fahey & Peter Lang
Encyclopedia
Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey is a compilation album by American
guitarists Leo Kottke
, Peter Lang
, and John Fahey
, released in 1974.
, which comprised traditional fingerpicking steel string guitar techniques applied to neo-classical compositions. The Takoma label showcased such music and its roster included Kottke and Lang. Kottke's 6 and 12-String Guitar became a surprise hit and the profits funded an expansion of the label. Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey was released to help gain greater exposure for Fahey and Lang as well as the label itself.
Each guitarist plays four solo pieces. The Fahey tracks are re-recordings of four well-known Fahey songs. Kottke would later re-record "Cripple Creek" and "Ice Miner".
The back cover contains a comical or absurd biography of each artist as well as a description of Takoma Records: "Takoma Records is widely ignored as a freckle on the soft white underbelly of the record business. Intrepid and enterprising, this indigestible little company has an unblemished record. The unblemished record can be seen in its glass case at the Takoma archives between the hours of 6 midnight and 12."
wrote that "While their performances here may not be their very best—you can turn to their solo albums for those—anyone who likes the artists will like what they offer here. Indeed, their approaches are similar enough that casual listeners may mistake this compilation for the work of a single artist."
In his 2008 Innerviews interview with Peter Lang, Anil Prasad
claimed "To this day, one of the biggest-selling fingerstyle albums of all time remains John Fahey, Peter Lang & Leo Kottke."
Production notes
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarists Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...
, Peter Lang
Peter Lang (guitarist)
Peter Lang is an accomplished acoustic guitarist, from the same genre, American Primitivism, as the better-known guitarists Leo Kottke and John Fahey. All three artists shared the Takoma Records label, and a joint-titled album released in 1974 features a selection of songs from...
, and John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
, released in 1974.
History
Fahey had started a new genre of guitar music, known later as American PrimitivismAmerican Primitivism
American Primitivism, also known as American Primitive Guitar, is the music genre started by John Fahey in the late 1950s. Fahey composed and recorded avant-garde/neo-classical compositions using traditional country blues fingerpicking techniques, which had previously been used primarily to...
, which comprised traditional fingerpicking steel string guitar techniques applied to neo-classical compositions. The Takoma label showcased such music and its roster included Kottke and Lang. Kottke's 6 and 12-String Guitar became a surprise hit and the profits funded an expansion of the label. Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey was released to help gain greater exposure for Fahey and Lang as well as the label itself.
Each guitarist plays four solo pieces. The Fahey tracks are re-recordings of four well-known Fahey songs. Kottke would later re-record "Cripple Creek" and "Ice Miner".
Cover
The cover contains the names of the three guitarists in a circle in order that none is listed first. Therefore, various discographies note the title in different manners. The spine, although, reads Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey.The back cover contains a comical or absurd biography of each artist as well as a description of Takoma Records: "Takoma Records is widely ignored as a freckle on the soft white underbelly of the record business. Intrepid and enterprising, this indigestible little company has an unblemished record. The unblemished record can be seen in its glass case at the Takoma archives between the hours of 6 midnight and 12."
Reception
Music critic Richie UnterbergerRichie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
wrote that "While their performances here may not be their very best—you can turn to their solo albums for those—anyone who likes the artists will like what they offer here. Indeed, their approaches are similar enough that casual listeners may mistake this compilation for the work of a single artist."
In his 2008 Innerviews interview with Peter Lang, Anil Prasad
Anil Prasad
Anil Prasad created Innerviews, one of the Internet's first online music magazines. It initially launched in 1994.- Innerviews :Innerviews focuses on eclectic, rock, jazz, world music, hip-hop and avant-garde artists. The free magazine remains a mainstay of the online music journalism world with...
claimed "To this day, one of the biggest-selling fingerstyle albums of all time remains John Fahey, Peter Lang & Leo Kottke."
Side one
-
- Leo Kottke:
- "Cripple Creek"
- "Ice Miner"
- "Red and White"
- "Anyway"
- Peter Lang:
- "St. Charles shuffle"
- "When Kings Come Home"
- Leo Kottke:
Side two
- "As I Lay Sleeping"
- "Thoth Song"
- John Fahey:
- "On the Sunny Side of the Ocean"
- "Sun flower River Blues"
- "Revolt of the Dyke Brigade"
- "In Christ There is no East or West"
Personnel
- Leo Kottke – guitar
- John Fahey – guitar
- Peter Lang – guitar
Production notes
- Kerry Fahey – producer (Peter Lang selections)
- Eric Monson and John Cabalka – cover art