American composer, guitarist, and record-label honcho John Fahey virtually pioneered the use of the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument in the late 1950s. His "American primitive" sound is influenced by Delta blues, free jazz, ragtime, compositional classical music, and the sound of trains; above all, it celebrates the resonating hum of the guitar string. Fahey is a master musician in a league with John Lee Hooker, Sonny Rollins, or Bola Sete. There"s still big, bluesy, idiosyncratic sound ready to flow from his fingers, but his playing has mellowed a bit and gone off on tangents that will likely most interest people who already are fans. Recorded in an intimate theater in Atlanta in 1997, this disc shows Fahey improvising a slow-burning set of original and traditional compositions. The way he ruminates and dissects "House of the Rising Sun," in particular, is fascinating and fresh. --Mike McGonigal