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Album Details

• Artist: Harry Taussig
• Album: Fate Is Only Once
• Label: Tompkins Square
• Year of Release: 1965
• Original Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-01-13

When the list of master acoustic guitarists is quoted, you usually get the same roll-call: John Fahey, Leo Kottke, James Blackshaw, etc. Taussig is a forgotten yet mighty member of that list. This re-release ought to rectify that to some extent.
Like Fahey, his long lines based on country blues, ragtime and ethnic folk sources; like Kottke, not afraid to bend a few strings or put on a slide, Taussig manages to sound fresh and eternal at once. Like the Basement Tapes, you can’t listen to “That’ll Never Happen No More,” “Blues For Zone III” or “Rondo For Death” and be able to tell if it was written in 1965 or 1665. Using a 12-string acoustic, Taussig exhibits mastery and deep soul. Given the recent attention given to Blackshaw and Steffan Basho-Junghans, the mood is ripe for a spotlight on this record, and on the mastery of its author.

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