VA - Imaginational Anthem Vol. 01 - 13 [2005 - 2024] (13 X CDs)

AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GUITAR

VA - Imaginational Anthem Vol. 01 - 13 [2005 - 2024] (13 X CDs)

Imaginational Anthem Vol. 01-13 is one of the most ambitious and reverent anthologies assembled around the American Primitive guitar tradition. Released across two decades by Tompkins Square Records, the series began in 2005 as a quiet homage to fingerstyle innovators like John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke, but quickly evolved into a sprawling, multi-generational archive that bridges archival rediscovery with contemporary experimentation.

Each volume carries its own curatorial logic, but taken as a whole, the 13-CD set offers a panoramic view of steel-string acoustic guitar as a storytelling medium. The early volumes (01-04) lean heavily into rediscovered private press recordings, rare 1960s -1970s solo works, and unearthed demos from forgotten players. These discs are rich with rarities, including tracks by Harry Taussig, Sandy Bull, and Max Ochs, often sourced from long-out-of-print LPs or unreleased acetates. Tompkins Square’s commitment to provenance is evident throughout, liner notes are meticulous, and mastering is sympathetic to the original analog warmth.

Mid-series volumes (05-09) shift toward contemporary interpretations, featuring artists like Daniel Bachman, Chuck Johnson, and William Tyler, who channel the Fahey ethos while expanding its harmonic vocabulary. These discs document a living tradition, where drone, raga, and ambient textures meet Appalachian roots and modal folk. Volume 07, is notable for its geographic diversity, with contributors from the US, UK, Lisbon, Malta, and South America. It leans into ambient, experimental, and post-folk textures, offering a modern lens on solo acoustic guitar.

The later volumes (10–13) return to archival excavation, with Volume 10 spotlighting early 20th-century 78rpm recordings, and Volume 13 offering a global perspective, including rare tracks from Japanese and European acoustic innovators. This final installment reframes the genre as a worldwide phenomenon, not just an American artifact.

Throughout the series, Tompkins Square maintains a consistent aesthetic: understated packaging, poetic liner notes, and a deep respect for the artists’ intent. The label’s founder, Josh Rosenthal, deserves credit for shaping the series into a kind of sonic museum, one that balances discovery with continuity.

For archival purposes, this set is a goldmine, it spans eras, styles, and geographies with minimal overlap, and its sequencing across volumes reflects both historical lineage and curatorial vision. Whether used for genre mapping, provenance tracing, or sonic inspiration, Imaginational Anthem stands as a definitive document of acoustic guitar’s expressive potential. (B)

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Track lists

Vol. 01

01 Max Ochs - Imaginational Anthem 2004 4:11

02 Brad Barr - Bouba's Bounce 5:53

03 Suni McGrath - Train Z 4:49

04 Harris Newman - Lake Shore Drive (Slight Return) 4:24

05 Harry Taussig - Dorian Sonata 6:01

06 Jack Rose - White Mule III 6:29

07 Steve Mann - My Thoughts Began to Crystallize 3:12

08 Glenn Jones - The Little Dog's Day 3:18

09 Gyan Riley & Terry Riley - La Cigale (The Locust) 6:34

10 Bern Nix - Low Barometer 4:37

11 Bob Hadley - Celtic Reverie 2:31

12 Janet Smith & Steve Mann - Daemon Lover Variations 4:14

13 John Fahey - O' Holy Night 3:34

14 Kaki King - Night After Sidewalk 3:34

15 Sandy Bull - Untitled 2:51

16 Max Ochs - Imaginational Anthem 3:15

Vol. 02

01 James Blackshaw - River of Heaven 5:50

02 Peter Lang - Future Shot at the Rainbow 10:15

03 Jose Gonzalez - Suggestions 2:41

04 Jesse Sparhawk - Light Cycle/Tetrahedra 5:08

05 Michael Chapman - Leaving the Apple 3:11

06 Sean Smith - What Blooms in Summer Dies in Winter 4:22

07 Fred Gerlach - Devil's Brew 2:25

08 Christina Carter - Ascend Mem 7:21

09 Jack Rose - Cross the North Fork II 7:14

10 Billy Faier - New World Coming 7:25

11 Sharron Kraus - Looking for the Hermit's Cave 4:03

12 Robbie Basho - Kowaka d'Amour 10:29

Vol. 03

01 Richard Crandell - Zocalo 5:02

02 Ben Reynolds - Here Toucheth Blues 4:55

03 Greg Davis - Sleep Architecture 6:22

04 Nathan Salsburg - Bold Ruler's Joys 2:17

05 Steffen Basho-Junghans - Blue Mountain Raga II 14:33

06 Cian Nugent - When The Snow Melts and Floats Downstream 4:05

07 Matt Baldwin - Sean Cycle 1:25

08 Mark Fosson - Another Fine Day 4:10

09 George Stavis - Goblins 6:09

10 R. Keenan Lawler - High Tower Bells for Loren Connors 9:07

11 Shawn David Mcmillen - Texarkana 1971 7:20

Vol. 04

01 Chris Forsyth - Paranoid Cat 5:10

02 William Tyler - Between Radnor and Sunrise 4:26

03 Sam Moss - Miniature Dwellings Â?¡ 3:19

04 Nick Jonah Davis - San Cristobal De La Casas 4:09

05 Pat O'connell - Song for Eugene 1:41

06 Tyler Ramsey - Our Home Beyond The River 4:28

07 Micah Blue Smaldone - Rose March 3:46

08 Mike Fekete - Birds on The Lake 4:43

09 Aaron Sheppard - We Meet on The Level 3:18

10 C Joynes - Jemmy Steel 2:57

Vol. 05

01 Steve Gunn - Temple Walk 3:21

02 Jordan Fuller - I Think We'll Be Happy Here 4:58

03 Danny Paul Grody - Lookout Point 5:09

04 Nick Schillace - There is A Place in This Old Town 4:48

05 Will Stratton - Hemet Pine Singer 3:49

06 Bill Orcutt - John Fahey Commemorative Beer Can 3:05

07 Daniel Bachman - Confederate Rose 5:19

08 Eric Carbonara - Through A House of Violet Abandon 4:20

09 Tom Lecky - Her Unmediated Eyes 4:45

10 Alexander Turnquist - Standing at The Entrance of A Hidden City 5:33

11 Cam Deas - Modern Man in Search of A Song 5:55

12 Yair Yona - Rivers Gone Badly Wrong 4:01

Vol. 06

01 Sylvester Weaver - Guitar Rag 3:07

02 Sam McGee - Buck Dancer's Choice 3:02

03 Riley Puckett - Darkey's Wail 3:00

04 David Miller - Cannon Ball Rag 2:50

05 Lemuel Turner - Way Down Yonder Blues 3:13

06 Frank Hutchison - Hutchison's Rag 3:03

07 Bayless Rose - Frisco Blues 3:09

08 Riley Puckett - Fuzzy Rag 3:09

09 Sam McGee - Knoxville Blues 3:11

10 Sylvester Weaver - Guitar Blues 3:17

11 David Miller - Jailhouse Rag 2:45

12 Lemuel Turner - Tramp Waltz 3:05

13 Sam McGee - Franklin Blues 2:57

14 Bayless Rose - Jamestown Exhibition 2:50

Vol. 07

01 Chuck Johnson - On a Slow Passing Through a Ghost Town 6:55

02 Sean Proper - Culverts 3:46

03 Norberto Lobo - Enchilada 4:19

04 Simon Scott - Trees Return to Soil 2:18

05 DBH - Sea Retreat 3:10

06 Jordan Norton - Araucaria 5:02

07 Kyle Fosburgh - The Great North American Wilderness 3:01

08 Christoph Bruhn - Something, or Oil Paintings 6:04

09 Michael Vallera - USA Self 5:02

10 Dylan Golden Aycock - Red Bud Valley 4:44

11 M. Mucci - 0/3 4:58

12 Mariano Rodriquez - Shadow Study at 6 am 3:58

13 Andrew Weathers - Olympic Peninsula Blues 5:19

14 Wes Tirey - My Grandfather's 12 Gauge 5:02

Vol. 08

01 Perry Lederman - One Kind Favor 1:54

02 The Keithe Lowrie Duet - Snow Queen 3:26

03 Michael Kleniec - Obadiah 5:34

04 Lee Murdock - Where the Pinery Narrows 5:25

05 Tom Armstrong - White Pines 5:52

06 Joe Bethancourt - Raga 6:06

07 Kip Dobler - The Presence 4:43

08 Herb Moore - Wen Also Found 7:26

09 Nancy Tucker - That Spanish Thing 3:14

10 Jackdaw - The Diamond Cutter 3:30

11 Rick Dietrick - Missy Christa 3:59

12 Gary Salzman - The Secret Forces of Nature 7:40

13 Stan Samole - Prayer Blessing 6:05

14 Russell Potter - Blue Wind Boy 2:13

Vol. 09

01 Mosses - Om Ah Hung 6:37

02 Shane Parish - Leicester Hwy 5:01

03 Eli Winter - Wooden Waltz 3:23

04 Dida Pelled - Walkin' My Cat Named Dog 3:27

05 Kendra Amalie - Boat Ride 3:34

06 Matthew Sage - Camaro Canyon 3:47

07 Pete Fosco - Variations on Themes for Blind Dogs 4:36

08 Fire-Toolz - World of Objects (Guitar Edit) 1:34

09 Lucas Brode - Knots Where Never Was 3:04

10 Dave Miller - Seedlings 4:14

11 Matthew Rolin - I Used to Sing 4:37

Vol. 10

01 Jonas Meersmans - The Turnaround 3:53

02 Waswas - A Simple Kit for Building a Sea 4:01

03 MOUSS - Ghost Towns 6:46

04 Šimanský Niesner - Little Amber 2:59

05 Egle Sommacal - L'Arte Di Non Lasciare Traccia 5:43

06 Anders Holst - Past Winds, Swept Past 4:42

07 Toby Hay - Sheep Song 6:08

08 Joost Dijkema - Why in the World Evansville 7:34

09 Adaya - From a New World 2:25

10 Borealis - Montañas De Azabache 3:33

11 Topias Tiheäsalo - Finnish Surgery Devices 4:59

12 Son of Buzzi - Geometrische Träume 6:28

13 Simone Romei - Flowering 3:36

14 P.J. Phillips - September 4:48

15 Niko Karlsson - Reversal Curse 7:35

Vol. 11

01 BJ Cole - Ely Revisited 6:17

02 Jonny Lam - Rainbow Across the Valley 5:35

03 Rocco DeLuca - Many Singing Softly 4:47

04 Luke Schneider - Yosemite 3:18

05 Spencer Cullum - An Ode to Dungeness 4:22

06 Barry Walker Jr. - I Will Tread Upon the Lion and the Cobra 4:37

07 Susan Alcorn - Gilmor Blue 5:29

08 Maggie Bjorklund - Lysglimt 3:23

09 Will Van Horn - Attwater 2:55

Vol. 12

01 Henry Parker - In the Valley 4:58

02 Dean McPhee - Caddo Lake 6:04

03 Katie Spencer - You Say 4:09

04 Bobby Lee - Heat Index 5:16

05 Holly Blackshaw - March Rain 5:04

06 Andrew DR Abbott - (Some) Trains 6:00

07 Hawthonn - Kodak Ghosts 4:52

08 Chris Brain - Among the Trees 3:00

Vol. 13

01 Eli Winter - Foxglove 1:54

02 Jerry David DeCicca - Forty Years in The Wilderness 4:05

03 Matthew 'Doc' Dunn - Up on The Hillside 4:31

04 Powers Rolin Duo - Fall 2:43

05 Lou Turner - Pacing The Cage 4:33

06 Wet Tuna - Waiting for A Miracle 8:07

07 Armory Schafer - One Day I Walk 2:53

08 Jody Nelson - You Don't Have to Play The Horses 3:36

09 Kyle Hamlett Duo - All The Diamonds 2:54

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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