In Brief

*** John Fahey, “City of Refuge,” Tim Kerr/Mercury. The master of American “primitive” acoustic guitar--a misnomer, given the sophistication of his idiosyncratic blues-raga-classical structures--continues his nearly four-decade journey down a stream of consciousness. While often meandering, the trip consistently yields epiphanies, as in the lengthy, two-part title track. But the 20-minute closing collage of machine noise--while hardly new in Fahey’s repertoire--will try all but the most devoted fans’ patience.

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