The Basement Rug

I was looking for some background info on some of John Fahey’s later releases when I discovered that he had started a re-issue label with Dean Blackwood in 1996 called Revenant Records. Fahey’s Takoma Records (1958-1979) is now legendary, but for some reason, I’d never caught wind of Revenant Records. The following was taken directly from RevenantRecords.com:

In Memoriam: John Fahey (1939-2001)

Distractions are the stuff of small dreams, and John Fahey was having none of it, ever. An essentialist if ever there was, Fahey pared his life back to the barest of bones, jettisoning the mundanities that plague the rest of us — paying bills, maintaining a home, exercise, ordinary hygiene — in favor of the work that was a spiritual necessity to him.

John was completely naked when I met him. And I don’t mean that in some sort of highfalutin’ metaphorical sense. He was flopped out on his bed, the way God made him, in one glorious sprawl. It was 1994, and I had flown into Salem, OR late at night, and he had left the door open for me. As I schlepped into his motel room, I may have been a bit startled at the sight, may have dropped my bag or something, because he stirred and then, spying me, extended his hand. I shook it, of course.

John came into some funds in 1995 or 1996, a small inheritance from his father’s estate. Instead of investing it wisely, he used it as seed money for a new label venture, which he intended for me to run. Ornette, Beefheart, Dock Boggs. These were a few of the archetypes around which the whole Revenant “raw musics” concept coalesced. Charley Patton, too, of course. This was to be the undiluted stuff that folks were likely to have in their personal archives somewhere but which was unlikely to have ever seen “legitimate” release. Shelved together, the releases were to appear more like a set of substantial books from the same publisher. Weighty tomes, JF said.

Charley was his passion, really, when it came down to it. He had written his masters thesis on Patton, a rather intriguing move at the time (mid ’60s), given that only a handful of people had ever heard of CP then. Things hadn’t changed that much by the time the thesis was published as a book in 1970. A fairly tiny smattering of acolytes thanked their lucky stars and the book promptly went out of print, a status it maintained for more than 30 years.

When I first met John, I wondered if he’d had a stroke or something. He spoke with an odd, foggy lilt in his voice that gave the suggestion of brain damage to his motor centers. He never consciously attempted to dispel this impression. He would, however, do things like show up in Austin, where I live, clutching a sheaf of handwritten pages ripped from a spiral notebook, pages on which he had furiously scribbled lengthy, fully footnoted essays off the top of his head on the plane ride over, which notes would ultimately be transcribed, without any further edits being necessary (except as regards spelling; he was a notoriously creative speller), into the notes for the Revenant release of the day. He would shove the slightly grubby papers at me, saying, “I wouldn’t mind something to eat” or “I remember a thrift store in the south part of town” and off we would go, the notes completely a thing of the past for him. The footnoting, which might reference obscure philosophy texts, religious treatises, biblical passages, releases on the Bluebird label circa 1929—33, and the minor works of Klimt, would invariably turn out to be accurate in every respect.

Fahey’s not just dead, he’s extinct. His kind. A genuine eccentric in an age of affectation, we won’t see his likes again. And we are — I am — much the poorer for it. It is both a comfort and a stiff challenge to realize that his fingerprints are and will remain all over this raw musics enterprise of ours. I’ve got some work ahead of me.

MP3 Downloads from the Revenant Records Collection:

		American Primitive Vol. II: Pre-War Revenants (1897-1939), 2005 Deal_Rag.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 2) Big_Bed_Bug_Bed_Bug_Blues.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 4) I_Got_Your_Ice_Cold_NuGrape.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 5)
		Albert Ayler, Holy Ghost: Rare and Unissued Recordings (1962-70), 2004
		John Fahey, Red Cross Disciple of Christ Today, 2003
		Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton, 2001 A_Spoonful_Blues.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 2) Cold_Woman_Blues.mp3 (Disc 6, Track 11)
		The No-Neck Blues Band, Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But Names Will Never Hurt Me, 2001 Back_To_The_Omind_Id_Rather_Not_Go.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 4)
		Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, Volume Four, 2000 Parchman_Farm_Blues.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 13) Mean_Old_World.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 14)
		Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, Grow Fins: Rarities [1965-1982], 1999 Electricity.mp3 (Disc 2, Track 1) Click_Clack.mp3 (Disc 5, Track 14)
		Dock Boggs, Country Blues, 1998 Sugar_Baby.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1) Country_Blues.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 3)
		Charlie Feathers, Get With It: Essential Recordings (1954-69), 1998 Get_With_It.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 6) One_Hand_Loose.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 8) Johnny_Come_Listen.mp3 (Disc 2, Track 8)
		Sir Richard Bishop, Salvador Kali, 1998 Burning_Caravan.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1) Hadley.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 6)
		American Primitive Vol. 1: Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926-36), 1997 Honey_in_the_Rock.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 3) Lord_Im_the_True_Vine.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 10)
		Bassholes, Blue Roots, 1997 Judge_Harsh_Blues.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1) Light_Bulb_Boogie.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 5)
		Jenks “Tex” Carman, Chippeha!: The Essential Dixie Cowboy (1947-1957), 1997 The_Artillery_Song.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1) Fire_Ball_Mail.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 7)
		Stanley Brothers, Earliest Recordings: The Complete Rich-R-Tone 78s (1947-1952), 1997 Molly_and_Tenbrook.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1) The_Little_Glass_of_Wine.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 6)
		Jim O’Rourke, Happy Days, 1997 Happy_Days.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1)
		Derek Bailey, Music And Dance, 1997 Rain_Dance.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 1)
		Cecil Taylor, Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come: Live at the Cafe Montmartre, 1962, 1997 Call.mp3 (Disc 1, Track 2)

Yusef Lateef proves once again that thinking outside of the box is what jazz is all about. While Lateef did not pioneer the use of non-traditional intruments in jazz, he made the most out of their use to bring new qualities and emotional power to his arrangements. I especially like Bamboo Flute Blues.

Review by Thom Jurek:

Psychicemotus was released in 1965 and features Yusef Lateef on various flutes and tenor saxophone, Georges Arvanitas on piano, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer James Black. And while the Coltrane era of modal and free jazz was in full swing, Lateef always followed his own muse, and continued looking forward while looking back to ancient musics. His use of bamboo and Chinese wood flutes on the title track and “Bamboo Flute Blues” added not only dimension and texture, but rhythmic invention to standard jazz forms. Yet his readings of Jerome Kern’s and Oscar Hammerstein’s “Why Do I Love You,” on which he plays tenor, swings elegantly while incorporating both hard bop and angular outside playing in his solo. Arvanitas is a near perfect foil for Lateef in that while he’s not as technically flashy as Barry Harris, he is a deeply sympathetic player who uses accents and ostinati as grounding points, and prefigures rhythmic changes rather than just comping. The beautiful reading of Erik Satie’s “First Gymnopedie” on which Lateef plays flute is an utterly beautiful, restrained, and adventurous reading, and is allowed to resonate rhythmically with hand-percussion fills by Black. While not Lateef’s finest recording for Impulse (Live at Pep’s takes the cake), it certainly is a worthy and memorable one.

Personnel:

Yusef Lateef (tenor sax, tambourine, flute, bamboo flute, Chinese wind flute)
George Arvanitas (piano)
Reggie Workman (bass)
James Black (drums, percussion, Indian bell)

Producer: Bob Thiele
Recording Date: 22 July 1965
download | source

Track List:

1) Psychicemotus (Lateef) 5:05
2) Bamboo Flute Blues (Lateef) 4:02
3) Semiocto (Lateef) 4:31
4) Why Do I Love You? (Hammerstein, Kern) 6:32
5) First Gymnopedie (Satie) 3:29
6) Medula Sonata (Lateef) 6:35
7) I’ll Always Be in Love with You (Green, Ruby, Stept) 4:42
8) Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Brooks, Razaf, Waller) 4:45

Matti Oiling? Now that’s a handle I won’t soon forget. This 320kbps rip was done from the original vinyl from the Finleavy label (1970) and offered up at Orgy In Rhythm.

Original liner notes:

Can you imagine a lathe-hand who does lathing in his time off? Or a brick-layer who lays bricks for relaxation after his day’s work? Hard to picture, isn’t it? But I do know a number of professional musicians who relax by making music after a hard and sometimes quite exhausting session at the studio. But the difference lies in what you play in your leisure time. The musicians performing on this record have found a musical form that brings satisfaction and variation and gives them the chance to experiment and to create something new and still untried. That’s real work therapy.

Matti Oiling - a first-class drummer - has gathered around him a number of fellow musicians whose vision and musical comprehension are harmonious and whose ways of thinking run parallel. They are all musicians of the young generation, to whom pop music and jazz music are equally close and whose artistic resources provide them with an opportunity of blending these musical elements. And when they want to make music, the music they make is pervaded by a sense of cheerfulness and humour.

You’ll really enjoy this LP. Matti Oiling’s solo - something he cooked up himself - is called “Oiling Boiling”. The recipe, with spices, is provided by Matti himself. The “sound” idea is produced on a Lesley accessory.

Paroni Paakkunainen’s soaring imagination is a triumph. His musical skill, uninhibited and humour-imbued, is full of surprises and a wicked Mephistophelean laughter pops up in his performances. Among his many instruments is the Bengal flute - featured in the piece by that same name. He has an impressive range of musical color.

Matti Bergström - apart from his Fender bass - introduces his Bascello, which lends its very “different” sound to the item entitled “Stratosphere Inspiration”.

Nono Söderberg performs his solo “3/8 Of Nono” on his 1-Watt guitar amplifier - not to save the ears of the rest of the group but just to produce the right instrumental color.

Tuomo Tanska - organist, pianist and arranger - also appears on this disc as a composer. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is his musical vision of a classic work.

“Thanks to this record I have spent a very rewarding forty-five minutes - and listening to it, one can only feel a gluttonous delight in its surprising and revitalizing musical ideas. Pop and jazz fans will find something that distinguishes this LP record from other LPs - a terrific dose of happy music.” –Ossi Runne, Conductor, Finnish Broadcasting Company TV1

Track List:

1) I Walk the Line
2) Ring of Fire
3) Orange Blossom Special
4) It Ain’t Me Babe
5) The City of New Orleans
6) Ghost Riders in the Sky
7) Get Rhythm
8) Bonanza
9) Blue Train
10) So Doggone Lonesome
11) Hey Porter
12) Folsom Prison Blues
13) Time of the Preacher
14) Rowboat
15) Thirteen
16) Rusty Cage
17) Country Boy
18) The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea
19) Redemption
20) I Never Picked Cotton
21) In My Life
22) Hurt
23) Personal Jesus
24) Further on up the Road
25) If You Could Read My Mind
26) God’s Gonna Cut You Down

This compilation was inspired by Danny Schmidt’s recent “Little Grey Sheep” album. The opening track, Leaves are Burning is another great mystical and somewhat cryptical exploration from Schmidt’s growing reportoire. Here Danny wades into the murky end of the pool where few tend to travel these days. His guitar work and singing style overlap in a cosmic event that weaves us a timeless reminder of the human condition. It reminds me of many other American talents who have incorporated “dark” sounds into their playing: Ry Cooder, Roy Buchanin, and Leo Kottke.

Mysticism and music have been crossing paths throughout all time in all cultures. At some point I hope to explore this further here with posts of music from around the world, especially the various classical traditions. This particular compilation however (and a rush job at that) is based entirely on American styles - mostly folk and blues. With the exception of the European flavour of The Old Country by Bela Fleck, the first 7 tracks outline my interpretation of Acerbus Americana.

The path continues, albeit in a somewhat more lighthearted vein - at least lyrically - in When I Grow Up, and the rest of the tracks - quickly culled from albums laying around my office (I am in the middle of a big sorting job), flow nicely from there, with an intermission of bluegrass, courtesy of Bela Fleck and the Osborne Brothers.

Track List:

1) Threads - Vic Chesnutt, 1996
2) Leaves are Burning - Danny Schmidt, 2007
3) This too Shall Pass - Danny Schmidt, 2005
4) Dust Bowl Children - Peter Rowan, 1990
5) Black Widow - Michelle Shocked, 1988
6) The Old Country - Bela Fleck, 1986
7) The Thrill is Gone - Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, 1990
8) When I Grow Up - Michelle Shocked, 1988
9) Four Wheel Drive - Bela Fleck, 1986
10) Up This Hill and Down - The Osborne Brothers, 1966
11) Oxycontin Blues - Steve Earle, 2007
12) Graffiti Limbo - Michelle Shocked, 1988
13) Backlash Blues - Nina Simone, 1967
14) No Education - Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1969
15) He’s a Mighty Good Leader - Beck, 1993
16) Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods - Beck, 1993
17) South Nashville Blues - Steve Earle, 1996
18) Jesus Sings the Blues - Tom Wilson, 1998
19) Cosmic Wheels - Donovan, 1991
20) Universal Soldier - Donovan, 1991
21) Morning Dew - Bonnie Dobson, 1962
22) Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad - Woody Guthrie, 1940