John Fahey - Last steam engine train - Live Santa Monica

[@TheSludgeMan]

Truly the final boss of learning Fahey songs. Unbelievable tempo and accuracy going on here

[@quickfish67]

That is Fahey in the vid, so yes.

[@graciebee6554]

@@quickfish67😂

[@woobi4739]

Damn I love Fahey. This shit just makes you so happy inside when you hear it.

[@JimMaisonneuve-ri9vg]

I started listing to John Fahey back in 1966 with his first Blind Joe Death vinyl records. I was playing roots guitar -Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Lighting Hopkins and other Black blues musicians from the 1930s. His style and music I found very interesting and loved his approach to his playing -American Primitive Guitar. Then sometimes in the 1980s, living in Montreal, Fahey played at a local coffee house. I went to see him, although his playing was sloppy, (He was in Montreal to see an ex-french Canadian wife, I think). Between sets, I went to see him in the green room, and we talk a lot, namely about India. I had been to India and also he said he had been also -visiting a Hindu woman Saint -Ananda Ma. After the performance, I drove him to his hotel. I remember to this day, that I met the great John Fahey.

[@frankk.9834]

Great story! Thanks for sharing!

[@MeneerHerculePoirot]

Opened for John Fahey at a listening club in Chicago called Holstein's in the early 80s. He'd been a hero of mine and I was excited to meet him. Don't see your heros up too close.

[@nashwilliams5852]

What happened?

[@mateobartlett]

Come on! Finish the story!

[@DwainDwight]

He is simply amazing. such beautiful feel.

[@BertisGuitar]

Powerful...a big guitar in the hands of a man who knows how to manhandle it - this is a wonderful performance. And that A at the 5th fret, too! The Best of John Fahey tab put out by Guitar Player that I grew up with has it at the nut.

[@dieselman7453]

He played the e7 chord and the 7th fret and bends the b string like a steam engine sound 😀😀cheers from Ireland priceless video 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🍺🍺🍺🎸🎸

[@Johnny6666]

So true about the transcription error! I wonder who actually authored that 'Best of John Fahey' guitar folio? I thought, with all the idiosyncratic accompanying text, that Fahey himself would have done the transcriptions - but I suppose not. Still a very useful resource, nonetheless (but it does leave you second-guessing some of the parts!).

[@BertisGuitar]

@@Johnny6666 yeah, the weird format of the tab...no bar markers!

[@displaychicken]

John Fahey is a mystic...

[@dieselman7453]

This must be one of the book stores in oregan we’re he played a few times before he died !! Priceless stuff great video thanks from Ireland 🇮🇪 Brian 🎸🎸🇮🇪

[@anoicinfo4414]

I think the title of the song is overlooked. Daley was born in 1939, so as a youngster he had probably grown up seeing and hearing steam locomotives. They are about as close a machine has been to a living entity. His instrumental captures the a fast moving engine with the driving rods moving at speed, steam being released, intermittent whistle and the swaying motion of the train on the rail joints.A slower instrumental that captures the steam locomotive qualities perfectly is Railroad Bill by Etta James. Fahey did a brilliant job of conveying the essence of the steam locomotive. I think not having grown up with steam locomotives around makes it difficult for listeners of this song to fully understand it. It would be helpful to watch on KZbin one of the rehabilitated steam engines running at full speed and then watching Fahey’s instrumental.

[@childofthe60s100]

"Daley"????????????????????????

[@geffcassuto]

based on the opening riff of Willie Brown's M and O blues and Sam McGee's Railroad Blues

[@greekflatpicker]

Thanks for sharing! A Fahey fan here

[@abozzone]

Fahey is more bluesy than Kottke, and is his song. I love it.

[@Dollarkat]

Dam that high E string rings out so clear and loud, its awesome. It keeps the tune airborne.

[@Anteksanteri]

He's using a very weird picking technique to ring it out like that. Hard to get powerful notes so close to eachother so I think he uses multiple fingers on the high E like with tremolo with the difference that he also uses his thumb at the same time. Understandably this is very hard and unintuitive for most people because you could use any combination of 2 to 3 of your available fingers and you have to hit the high E cleanly with a similar tone and having nails affects it too. This technique is definitely something that almost nobody does, and I would consider myself a somewhat of an expert on fingerstyle picking technique so take that as you please. I edited this to make it clearer what I mean.

[@haydenstartzell3335]

@@Anteksanteri wow that's fascinating

[@mateobartlett]

@@Anteksanteri Fahey also used metal fingerpicks like a banjo player

[@simpsimpson5175]

Great Post! interesting to see Fahey perform this - his only live version on YT - the "A" part he plays on 5th fret triad rather than open A chord { kottkes version } which almost every player on YT duplicates.

[@Anteksanteri]

This is 5 years late but understanding open A vs this version of A is a really powerful thing for playing fingerstyle tunes with bass lines using the three thickest chords. And I'm pretty sure kottke does do it. It's recently been duplicated by KOYUKI on spotify and Travis Bowman on youtube.

[@simpsimpson5175]

@@Anteksanteri I saw Fahey Live in Sydney just before he died. He was in terrible shape.. a very bad alcoholic.. supposedly raped as a child

[@geraldhugley3618]

Long Live Fahey!

[@jonnylozano4496]

Thank you for posting this, Bernard! I've been wishing and hoping for a live version. You made my day, man. Been studying Fahey's guitar playing on and off for about three years and I'm just starting to get the hang of this number :) This song is a favorite of mine so you can imagine my excitement in that. I've seen your version too and it's helped me a lot.

[@CrawfishParish]

WoW! That is amazing!!

[@jespencer3073]

I have heard several guitarists play Last Steam Engine Train and although I am impressed by them all I think Fahey mastered the song better than any. It is just so fricken tasteful!

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

Jon Spencer I love Fahey’s version, but I think Kottke eclipsed it and made it his song.

[@guslucasguitar1127]

Well, John did write the song after all :)

[@stevegrooms1142]

@@guslucasguitar1127 Leo has always been emphatic about his respect and gratitude for John.

[@Anteksanteri]

Fahey's version could be called "rare" in the sense that there aren't that many available on the internet. This is honestly the best one I've heard. The one on spotify is kind of a bad recording and far more similar to the kottke version. Basically almost everybody heard the kottke and the other fahey versions leaving this as having very little influence comparatively, which is a big shame for sure considering how great this is.

[@zepp2498]

Very nice

[@kingrobert1st]

First person I've seen using the same inversion of the A chord as I do! Glad I'm not alone there!

[@charlespeterson3798]

That is a tune I played for years, going back to the early 70´s. Jesus,that takes power in the left hand. Incidentally, I had a girl friend who is a guitar player, and every time she heard me struggle with that tune she would say,´´ Oh, that´s Deep River Blues! No, it is not! Jeesh, women.

[@mitchgawlik1175]

The man with dancing fingers.

[@MustangDesudiroz]

Drivin an 83' chevy cruisin the rodes of Alabama..

[@djangoknight]

🐐

[@cleger29]

i remember that whole Santa Monica performance being available to watch. I can't seem to find it. Will you repost it someday?

[@trampolinegods4life]

You can watch it here vimeo.com/150294804

[@matthewkeeley4479]

@@trampolinegods4life Great lead on early video of John F. Thanks; I've been playing five string Scruggs past ten years and just picked up an OM size guitar. I had a Martin D35 like John has here. The way he plays so close to the bridge makes a sharper tone; a D35 is known and geared to be flatpicked more often than not. I fingerpicked mine and folks would yell play louder, I say sit closer! Young players best realize the opportunity to view and study such originators as John F. I was sixteen when I had the D35 and would have chopped a toe to have this real access. His use of the A7 keeps the Last Steam Engine Train rolling. Most YTube players I've viewed probably not seen a steam train, thanks...