Wikipedia

Of Rivers and Religion

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]

Of Rivers and Religion
Studio album by
John Fahey
ReleasedAugust 15, 1972
Recorded1972
GenreFolk, jazz
Length37:40 (Original LP)
34:49 (Reissue)
LabelReprise
ProducerJohn Fahey, Denny Bruce
John Fahey chronology
America
(1971) 		Of Rivers and Religion
(1972) 		After the Ball
(1973)

History

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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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Christgau's Record GuideA[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [7]
The Great Folk Discography8/10[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6/10[11]
Tom HullA[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

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Track listing

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Side one

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  1. "Steamboat Gwine 'Round de Bend" (Fahey) – 4:15
  2. "Medley: Deep River/Ol' Man River" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Traditional) – 6:45
  3. "Dixie Pig Bar-B-Q Blues" (Fahey) – 3:55
  4. "Texas and Pacific Blues" (Traditional) – 4:30

Side two

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  1. "Funeral Song for Mississippi John Hurt" (Fahey) – 4:20
  2. "Medley: By the Side of the Road/I Come, I Come" (Albert E. Brumley, Traditional) – 6:05
  3. "Lord Have Mercy" (Traditional) – 2:28
  4. "Song" (Fahey) – 5:22

Personnel

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  • 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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Unterberger, Richie. "Of Rivers and Religion 2001 reissue liner notes". Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Of Rivers and Religion 2001 Reissue > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Olewnick, Brian. "Of Rivers and Religion > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Guerrieri, Claudio (2014). The John Fahey Handbook, Vol. 2. ISBN 978-0-9853028-1-8.
  5. ^ Pouncey, Edwin (August 1998). "Blood on the Frets". The Wire (174). Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2010). The great folk discography. Volume 1, Pioneers & early legends. ISBN 9781846971419.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Tom Hull. "Grade List: john fahey". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "John Fahey". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Decade Personal Best: '70s". Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  13. ^ Palmer, Bob (November 1972). "Review: Of Rivers and Religion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008.
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