Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes (studio album)
by John Fahey

Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes by John Fahey
Year: 1964
Overall rank: 4,421st   
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 62 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1964 (28th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (364th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,421st)

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John Fahey bestography

Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes is ranked 4th best out of 24 albums by John Fahey on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by John Fahey is Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) which is ranked number 2000 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 825.

John Fahey album bestography « Higher ranked (4,300th)
The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death
This album (4,421st)
Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes
Lower ranked (4,498th) »
The Dance Of Death & Other Plantation Favorites

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Dec
14
Sun
19:00
For The Culture Part 2 Presented By Sway And King Tech
The Regent Theater, Los Angeles, United States. United States
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Dec
16
Tue
19:00
Lorde: Ultrasound
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, United States. United States
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Dec
27
Sat
20:00
Jump - America's Van Halen Experience & Hugo - Ultimate Journey
Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort , Mashantucket, United States. United States
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Discover more upcoming concerts

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Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 80 (12 votes)Comments: View 2
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4.
Average Rating: 75 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 75 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 75 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 76 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 74 (8 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 80 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Average Rating: 75 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,421st | 1960s rank: 364th | 1964 rank: 28th

Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes collection

Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 62 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 62 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
10/27/2025 07:15 duelek   1,58476/100
 
65/100
 !
10/25/2025 15:23 Elauqsapid   2,70964/100
 
60/100
 !
07/17/2025 18:47 DommeDamian   7,28749/100
 
60/100
 !
06/17/2025 15:11 thepardunk   2,54369/100
 
75/100
 !
03/16/2025 01:44 TastyandTemptin   2,90972/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 15% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.2/100, a mean average of 72.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.1.

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Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes favourites

Showing all 4 members who have added this album as a favourite

Death Chants, Break Downs & Military Waltzes comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 03/02/2022 04:01 | #282109
A neighbor had this and played it with his windows open, so I heard it in 1964. Then later in college I heard the version he rerecorded because the masters were thought lost. Then they were found, and the version I now have is both takes back to back, and it is amazing-- half a decade apart, and there's no really obvious differences...
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Rating:  
75/100
From 08/09/2019 19:27 | #241000
“Sunflower River Blues” seems to be the inspiration for Zeppelin’s “Poor Tom”, and “The Downfall Of The Adelphi Rolling Grist Mill” seems to be the inspiration for Nick Drake’s “Sunday”. Not bad for a mostly obscure album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/18/2016 08:46 | #160069
Way ahead of it's time.
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Best Albums of 1964
1. A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles
2. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & João Gilberto
3. The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan
4. Beatles For Sale by The Beatles
5. Out To Lunch! by Eric Dolphy
6. Another Side Of Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
7. Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by The Ronettes
8. Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke
9. Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes
10. Kinks by The Kinks
11. Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus by Charles Mingus
12. The Sidewinder by Lee Morgan
13. Empyrean Isles by Herbie Hancock
14. Folk Singer by Muddy Waters
15. The Animals by The Animals
16. Song For My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai) by Horace Silver Quintet
17. "Live" At The Star-Club, Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis
18. Meet The Beatles! by The Beatles
19. Wednesday Morning, 3AM by Simon & Garfunkel
20. The Rolling Stones by The Rolling Stones
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