Of Rivers and Religion
| Of Rivers and Religion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 15, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Folk, jazz | |||
| Length | 37:40 (Original LP) 34:49 (Reissue) | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | John Fahey, Denny Bruce | |||
| John Fahey chronology | ||||
| ||||
Of Rivers and Religion is an album by American folk musician John Fahey, released in 1972. It was his first recording on a major label (Reprise Records) and is credited to John Fahey and His Orchestra. It marked a significant change from Fahey's previous releases, incorporating a backing band and performing songs and arrangements in a Dixieland jazz style. Although Time picked it as one of the Top Ten albums of 1972, it was also a difficult album to market and had little enthusiasm at Reprise.[1]
History[edit]
Of Rivers and Religion was the first album Fahey recorded with producer/manager Denny Bruce. Bruce had negotiated the contract with Reprise after failing to negotiate with Fahey's previous label, Vanguard Records.[1]
Bruce arranged for the musicians, beginning with Jack Feierman who wrote the majority of the arrangements.[1] Many of the New Orleans session players had previously contributed to Walt Disney's soundtrack for Song of the South.[2] Some of the same musicians would appear on Fahey's second release for Reprise, After the Ball.[1] Multi-instrumentalist and session musician Chris Darrow later commented, "I remember the first time I ever heard him, I thought they'd turned the record from 45 to 33 or something, 'cause I couldn't believe how slow he played."[3] The session band appeared on "Dixie Pig Bar-B-Q Blues", "Texas and Pacific Blues" and "Lord Have Mercy".[4]
Speaking of both Of Rivers and Religion and After the Ball in a 1998 interview for The Wire, Fahey recalled, "I don't understand why they got bad reviews. It's like every time I wanted to do something other than play guitar I got castigated."[5]
The album cover featured a photo staged at Disneyland's Tom Sawyer's Island.[4]
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A[6] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| The Great Folk Discography | 8/10[8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10[11] |
| Tom Hull | A[10] |
Time picked Of Rivers and Religion as one of the Top Ten albums of 1972.[1]
In his AllMusic review, critic Brian Olewnick called it "A fine effort and certainly something that belongs on the shelves of any fan of the late, very great guitarist",[3] while music critic Robert Christgau said "[it's] not for everyone, but I think this is his best" and gave it an A rating;[6] later, Christgau would rank it as the twenty-fifth best record of the decade.[12]
In his 1972 review for Rolling Stone Bob Palmer praised the change in direction and said, "[Fahey] uses traditional motifs to construct pieces of dazzling contrasts, counter-balancing their deep feelings and dark undertows with a dry but devastating sense of humor... it's Fahey's show most of the way and the guitarist makes the most of what is surely his finest hour."[13]
Reissues[edit]
- Of Rivers and Religion was reissued on CD in 2001 by Collectors' Choice.[1]
- Of Rivers and Religion was also reissued along with After the Ball in 2003 by Warner Bros. Records.[2]
Track listing[edit]
Side one[edit]
- "Steamboat Gwine 'Round de Bend" (Fahey) – 4:15
- "Medley: Deep River/Ol' Man River" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Traditional) – 6:45
- "Dixie Pig Bar-B-Q Blues" (Fahey) – 3:55
- "Texas and Pacific Blues" (Traditional) – 4:30
Side two[edit]
- "Funeral Song for Mississippi John Hurt" (Fahey) – 4:20
- "Medley: By the Side of the Road/I Come, I Come" (Albert E. Brumley, Traditional) – 6:05
- "Lord Have Mercy" (Traditional) – 2:28
- "Song" (Fahey) – 5:22
Personnel[edit]
- John Fahey – guitar
- Chris Darrow – guitar, dobro, fiddle, mandolin
- Joel Druckman – double bass
- Jack Feierman – trumpet
- Ira Nepus – trombone
- Joanne Grauer – piano, calliope
- Nappy La Mare – banjo
- Alan Reuse – banjo
- Joe Darensbourgh – clarinet
Production notes
- John Fahey – producer
- Denny Bruce – producer
- Jack Feierman – arranger
- Doug Decker – engineer
- Nat Hentoff – original liner notes
- Richie Unterberger – reissue liner notes
- Christopher Whorf – design
- Ed Thrasher – art direction and photography
- Scott Tepper – location concept (Disneyland, Tom Sawyer's Island at the Mississippi River ride)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Unterberger, Richie. "Of Rivers and Religion 2001 reissue liner notes". Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Of Rivers and Religion 2001 Reissue > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ a b c Olewnick, Brian. "Of Rivers and Religion > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ a b Guerrieri, Claudio (2014). The John Fahey Handbook, Vol. 2. ISBN 978-0-9853028-1-8.
- ^ Pouncey, Edwin (August 1998). "Blood on the Frets". The Wire (174). Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2010). The great folk discography. Volume 1, Pioneers & early legends. ISBN 9781846971419.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "John Fahey". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Tom Hull. "Grade List: john fahey". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "John Fahey". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Decade Personal Best: '70s". Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- ^ Palmer, Bob (November 1972). "Review: Of Rivers and Religion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008.
