In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey

John Fahey (1939-2001) was “a provocateur in the Romantic mode” says a friend of the late seminal guitarist in this engrossing documentary. Fahey, an American original who freely explored—even created—genres and styles on a journey of restless expression, was a steel-string instrumentalist and non-vocalist who energized the folk music scene in the early 1960s with his cyclical, repetitive rhythms. According to The Who's Pete Townshend, Fahey lived and created “in a bubble.” Filmmaker James Cullingham interweaves archival footage, animation, and interview clips as he explores both the psychological and artistic reasons for Fahey's determination to remain a remote iconoclast sheltered by mystique. The film covers the musician's mental decline during his later years, when he lived in squalor while seeing his artistic stock rise among a younger generation of experimental musicians (such as Sonic Youth), but it also looks at the more vital years of Fahey's youth, when his laidback personality and sharp wit suited his mesmerizing sounds. Musically inclined viewers might wish there were more details on Fahey's deliberate experiments in jazz, classical, and electric guitar composition, but the trade-off here is that the film does deliver penetrating commentary on Fahey's influences (including nature), his passion for the guitar as a personal instrument, and his legacy. DVD extras include performance clips of Fahey and others, as well as extended interviews. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)