Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Dusted Magazine | (no rating) |
| Music Box | |
| Record Collector | |
| Stylus | (A-) |
The Yellow Princess and its reissue has received consistently positive critical reviews. Record Collector called it "...a pleasant journey to take, rattling along with the odd surprising flourish to mark the way, a random piece of dissonance to keep you awake and, above all, a reassurance that you’re in safe hands." Critic Andrew Gaerig praised the reissue, claiming " is exemplary of Fahey’s knack for exploiting his limited premise. The Yellow Princess is a hallmark not because it revolutionized Fahey’s sound, displayed an improved technique, or broke him to a wider audience. Rather, it was the combination of a particularly deft melodic touch... and a growing tendency to expand his sonic palette... that marks The Yellow Princess as one of Fahey’s most consistent, and ultimately enlightening works." Gaerig also notes the three previously unreleased tracks added are mostly noteworthy for “Steel Guitar Medley”, writing "The length and variety of the extras solidify The Yellow Princess as a fine starting point for any Fahey virgin."
Critic Eugene Chadbourne, writing for Allmusic praised the recording sound especially, calling it "...among the best of his many releases; at the proper volume, the effect is as if one had taken up residency inside the sound hole of a giant acoustic guitar." He particularly singles out "View (East from the Top of the Riggs Road/B&O Trestle)" as one of Fahey's masterpieces, "... on a par with Charles Ives for musical Americana."
Mason Jones of Dusted magazine especially praised the album for the title track, "March! For Martin Luther King" as well as "View" and especially "The Singing Bridge of Memphis, Tennessee" as unexpected musique concrète. Tracy Rogers of Music Box, called it a "...experimental, innovative, and avant-garde... seminal, minor-key, blues-folk recording."
In his liner notes for The Return of the Repressed, Barry Hansen noted Fahey's playing on The Yellow Princess as "some of the most technically accomplished playing of John's career."
Read more about this topic: The Yellow Princess (album)
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