John Fahey – Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You (The Fonotone Years)

This expanded digital collection explores the formative recordings of visionary guitarist John Fahey, capturing his earliest experiments with blues, folk, gospel, and American Primitivism. Spanning 1958–1965, these 115 tracks, many previously unavailable, were originally issued under Fahey’s various aliases through Joe Bussard’s Fonotone label.

Digitally remastered from the original reel-to-reel tapes, the recordings reveal a young artist already fluent in the language of American roots music and pushing it into uncharted territory.

Includes:

• 115 high-quality digital audio files
• Digital edition of the 88-page companion book, featuring essays, photos, and never-before-published materials
• Metadata for all tracks including aliases, titles, and recording details

With contributions from Fahey’s peers, collaborators, and scholars, this collection offers a window into the origin of a singular talent whose influence stretches from the avant-garde to folk, indie, and beyond. A foundational release for understanding Fahey's role in shaping 20th-century guitar music.