John Fahey
's final album of the 1970s was also his first studio album in nearly five years, his prolific pace in the first dozen years or so of his recording career slowing notably by the middle of the decade. He pretty much just picked up where he left off on
Visits Washington DC
, however, offering another set of acoustic guitar instrumentals with stellar picking and an eclectic range of influences. A good share of the material this time around came from other sources, as he put together a medley of
Doc Watson
's
"Silver Bell"
and
Bill Monroe
"Cheyenne"
for the first track; incorporated
Leo Kottke
"Death by Reputation"
into the second, and also covered
Bola Sete
"Guitar Lamento."
On his originals (and to some degree even his interpretations), echoes of Appalachian folk, bluegrass, blues, ragtime, and flotsam and jetsam of Americana (with
Stephen Foster
liberally quoted in
Fahey
's composition
"The Discovery of the Sylvia Scott"
) blend and merge. Some of his characteristic moodiness emerges in passages from
"Ann Arbor"
"Melody McBad,"
Richard Ruskin
, another artist on the
Takoma
label, adds second guitar to
"Silver Bell."
~ Richie Unterberger