Bill Fay’s second album, Time of the Last Persecution (1971), is a haunting
and contemplative work blending folk, rock, and spiritual introspection – With
its poetic lyrics and evocative melodies, the album explores themes of faith,
doubt, and human vulnerability – This 180g vinyl re-issue replicates the
original UK pressing
As Fay’s journalistic champion Rob Young wrote in 2005, “If Bill Fay was his songs of
innocence, Time Of The Last Persecution collected songs of experience.” Shorn of the
lush orchestration of his debut, Time Of The Last Persecution, originally released in
1971 and produced by Fay’s guitarist Ray Russell, is deep, pensive and philosophical.
Working with a small band, songs like ‘Til The Christ Comes Back and Release Is In
The Eye are powerful statements, with Russell’s guitar lyrically complementing Fay’s
sometime oblique words. One of the most prescient songs is Pictures Of Adolf Again,
which looks aghast at the resurgence of the right-wing 25 years after the Second
World War. Fay questions what the choice people will have to make “Christ or
Hitler? . . . Christ or all the Caesars to come?” The title track was influenced by the
Kent State University massacre; Come A Day suggests that at the day of reckoning, no
nation will prevail.
Of Time Of The Last Persecution, Ray Russell said in 2005, “I think it was apocalyptic.
I think we were all waiting for the sky to open a bit. But, funnily enough, you know how
these feelings kind of bring you through things, and it’s interesting that people now
find it very relevant to the situation again.” Sadly, issues like this never seem to go out
of fashion. With its subject matter, the album’s occasional discordance, and Fay’s
dishevelled look on the cover led to speculation that Fay was about to become
another hippie casualty. Far from it. He got a day job and lived quietly, yet never
stopped writing. “I’ve just simply accepted the fact that I wasn’t an established artist
and couldn’t keep making albums. But the songs didn’t stop . . . To be able to write
songs is really a big enough plus.” Thank heavens he could Time Of The Last
Persecution is one of the best albums you’ve never heard.
