Customer Reviews

Days Have Gone By

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this album. It is one of my favorite recordings of all time. When I had the lp, which I acquired from a little record store in Takoma Park two doors down from the gas station were Fahey used to pump gas as a teenager and sell his own pressed copies of his first recording, Blind Joe Death--I literally wore it out. By that time, his recordings were out of print, and I had to wait decades for a re-release on CD. Oh happy day! He achieved his creative zenith with this recording, and moved off in different directions, never as compelling as his earlier work. Night Train to Valhalla, The Portland Cement Factory, and others are so fully realized that it is as if he is speaking a long forgotten language, his guitar lines forming complete sentences. I last saw him perform in 1977, at the Cellar Door, and he came on stage wordlessly, sat, assumed a posture not unlike a Picasso painting, and played guitar for the next two hours without ever pausing or stopping. Hypnotic. Trance inducing. His Raga named Pat saga continues, as well. A fascinating concept to draw out a piece of music, like a Triptych, across many recordings. A must have. At the time this recording was released, one could never have imagined the sad manner in which his story would end.

After having heard most every other Fahey recording out there, including the epic "America", "Volume IV", "The Voice of the Turtle", and his first record, I thought I had heard the very best of John Fahey's output. "Days Have Gone By", in my view, surpasses all of those, and it's Fahey's most personal and most beautiful work. This record, first issued on Takoma in 1967, is unique in Fahey's repetoire for its gorgeous use of reverb, as well as for the subtle harmonic details evoked from Fahey's guitar. On "Days Have Gone By", Fahey created a landscape of sounds simultaneously intimate and vast, incorporating at points train calls and various abstract sampled sounds (sort of akin to what he did on "Requia", but more understated), and at others dipping into the eastern-tinged playing more familiar to "Fare Forward Voyagers". At the bottom of all of this is, of course, Fahey's fantastic blend of classical technique and love of blues/folk/mountain music, played not so much with the pyrotechnical fervor that can be found on some of Fahey's recordings as with the subdued charm of a guitarist quietly possessed. This may be thought of as "otherworldly" music to some, but I think of "Days Have Gone By" as a kind of testament to the beauty and mystery of this life, and I'm delighted to see it's been reissued for everybody to experience.

This is my favorite album of all time. I have never heard more beautiful or haunting music. I heard this album for the first time when I was five, and I must have heard it a thousand times since then, but it continues to be fascinating. My dad once said that this is the music you would hear after the world ended. And he's right. Fahey's music sounds organic, like it came from the earth, not from the hands or mind of a person.

Days Have Gone By, Volume 6, is essential to anyone interested in Fahey's music. Released in the mid-60's, Days presents Fahey at the top of his game, each song a perfectly crafted representation of the fingerpicking guitar style he invented and then repeatedly refined over his career.

This one is a personal favorite of many of his fans, this reviewer included. Based on the themes of country blues, ragtime, hillbilly, classical, etc., Fahey managed to come up with something totally unique, and owned the style as all great musicians do.

I should also add the recording itself adds to an overall feeling of mystery and exploration, as though this is music heard a long time ago and far away. There is a recurring theme of travel and movement, as though Fahey's journey's were not only physical, exploring various American landscapes (note the train sound effects in A Raga Called Pat), but also reflective of a restless mind seeking some type of enlightenment.

This is deep, dark, powerful music best heard late at night, with total connection between the artist and listener.

Finally, the last of the great Fahey Takoma albums from the 60's has been released! (I can retire my old scratchy LP). Fahey fans will be astounded again by this very consistently good ablum. That having been said, be warned it is less folky and melodic and more experimental, in a gentle sense, than, say his "Dance of Death".

When John did this, he was deeply involved in the experimental music of the day (John Cage, Beatles etc). This one is highly listenable, standout "hits" - if that word can be used about Faheys recordings, are "The Revolt of the Dyke Brigade" - a slide guitar piece, one of his best, and the darkish expresssionist "Portland Cement Factory at Monolith".

The "Raga called Pat" is a precursor of New Age Music, nature sounds, recorded sometimes too close, for comedic effect, with guitar in the background. In the title track, Fahey plays while a group of drunks comment on the music.

And as a contrast - a hymn - followed by a two guitar version of the happy "My Grandfathers Clock" with Fahey's amazing patented clockwork thumb bass going in one direction while the melody, syncopated with the other fingers, hops all around the beat!

Enjoyable - finally available - Performance gets 4 1/2 stars, slightly murky recording gets 3, under my tough grading system. See my updated list of Fahey Favorites now that all the good stuff is available!

It is difficult for me to choose a favorite album by John Fahey. I have over 25 of his albums, which include his live solo recordings, his albums with Dixieland ensembles, and his later works which consisted mostly of experimentation designed to alienate the audience that loved releases like "Days Have Gone By". This was one of the first Fahey albums I purchased, and over the years and after repeated listens I thought maybe that was why I held this one as a favorite. However, I don't think sentimentality is influencing my opinion here, I think this is one of Fahey's most completely realized albums. Others have described the quality of this recording as murky or muddled, and while I admit that his guitar was not closely miked during the recording sessions, the final product is both haunting and beautiful as a result of the microphone placement. I also have to mention that this album stands out to me as some of Fahey's best use of reverb in the studio. There are moments on "Days Have Gone By" where extreme reverb is applied to the recording which result in incredible moments and transcendent and inspiring sounds. "Impressions Of Susan" is a prime example of this: a five minute guitar solo that takes the listener on a journey that is by turns hopeful, contemplative, ominous, and beautiful. "Joe Kirby Blues" also stands out to me as one of the most melancholy melodies that Fahey composed; his playing on this piece has accompanied me on many late nights. Upon first hearing this album, "Night Train Of Valhalla" was probably my initial favorite. Hearing Fahey attack his strings in a picking frenzy was inspiring to me, and his thumb nailing the bass strings with a jackhammer like precision was something that won me over to his technique and talent. The somewhat bizarre "Raga Called Pat" parts one and two split the disc in half. Fahey's recordings of trains on this piece (an ongoing theme in his life's work), animal sounds, and ambient noise would play a much larger role in some of his other work, but it is interesting to hear his early attempts at incorporating these ideas into his music. "Days Have Gone By" closes with a few excellent songs in a row: the contemplative hymn "My Needs" (always one of my favorites), the jaunty duet "My Grandfather's Clock", the title track, and the closer "We Would Be Building", which continued a trend of Fahey's on some of his albums where he included his variation on an Episcopal hymn as the final song. For a newcomer to Fahey's music I would venture to say that this is a great initiation. Fahey recorded a lot of excellent music in his life, but this seems to be the disc I always return to.

I love this album. Everyone who loves

guitar music will also love this music.

Its classic.