***1/2 John Fahey & Cul de Sac

THE EPIPHANY OF GLENN JONES

(Thirsty Ear)

These sessions became more trial than epiphany for Jones, Cul de Sac's guitarist, when his longtime hero Fahey -- fresh from a 10-year bout with Epstein-Barr syndrome -- proved unwilling to play the material the Cambridge-based band had prepared. Plans thus shattered, the anarchic improvised music here evolved from thin air. And it's wonderful -- slowly unraveling, taking covert thematic twists and scaling plateaus and valleys of dynamics while straddling rock, jazz, and various Latin- and African-based strains. Cul de Sac provide a warm mesh that cradles Fahey's explorations on electric and acoustic guitar. Pieces like the rambling "Tuff" and "Gamelan Collage" rumble in a ruminative mix of Neil Young, Eleventh Dream Day, and Harry Partch. Fahey's playing is full of grace and dignity; his patiently chiseled notes are loaded with importance. And Cul de Sac interweave electronics, tape samples, and an out sense of reverence with Fahey in a way that preserves the music's power and imagination from oversaturation.

-- Ted Drozdowski