Reviewed by Phil Williams

John Fahey was, of course, the prolific American finger-style guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string guitar as a solo instrument. Greatly influential he was ranked 35th in Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time in 2000. In 1980 Fahey released 'Yes! Jesus Loves Me' on double vinyl and here it is again remastered in all its glory on CD. Although Fahey is clearly a legend in the guitar world, I personally don't find the steel-string guitar a particularly pleasant instrument to listen to on its own and certainly 20 tracks in a row of nothing but steel-string guitar was too much for me. I'm also not sure that it's possible to capture the heart and majesty of such great praise hymns in this format, and surely the best thing about the old hymns are the amazing Scripture soaked words that stir up your soul and point your eyes heavenward. Lose the words and what do have left? At the end of the day I guess this stuff is like Marmite, but love it or hate it you have to take your hat off to Fahey's timeless talents.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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