Album: John Fahey, Volume 6 / Days Have Gone By

Introduction
John Fahey, Volume 6/ Days Have Gone By is the 6th album by American guitarist and author John Fahey, launched in 1967 on the Takoma label. The album is a collection of original structures and traditional folk tunes, showcasing Fahey's unique fingerpicking design and his pioneering contributions to American Primitive Guitar. Days Have Gone By continues to build upon the speculative method that Fahey checked out in his previous albums, integrating unconventional recording techniques, sound montages, and a broadened melodic sensibility.

Background and Recording
John Fahey had currently developed himself as a force in the world of fingerstyle guitar by the time he released Days Have Gone By. Fahey launched the renowned album "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" simply a year before in 1965, which introduced audiences to his idiosyncratic fingerpicking and expansive vision of American folk music. Fahey was likewise affected by Indian symphonic music, Western symphonic music, and progressive soundscapes, all of which can be heard in Volume 6/ Days Have Gone By.

For Days Have Gone By, Fahey continued to try out tape loops and overlays, along with including discovered noises and unconventional time signatures into his compositions. The recording process consisted of long hours spent cutting and splicing tapes, a laborious procedure that ultimately expanded the possibilities of what could be accomplished with just an acoustic guitar.

Notable Tracks and Musical Elements

Days Have Gone By opens with "The Revolt of the Dyke Brigade", a composition that juxtaposes melodic finger-picking with dissonant sound collages. It is followed by "Impressions of Susan", a track that showcases the numerous sides of Fahey's musical personality. The melody is alternately haunting and playful, and the piece is structured around an unconventional time signature, which further stresses the development present on this album.

Other standout tracks consist of the conventional folk tune "Joe Kirby Blues", which highlights Fahey's proficiency of fingerpicking techniques, and "Night Train to Valhalla", an eerie mixing of guitar harmonics and train noises. The title track "Days Have Gone By in the Halls of Valhalla" showcases Fahey's innovative use of open tunings and unusual harmonics, creating a mystical environment that lingers with the listener long after the song is over.

A distinct feature of this album is Fahey's adjustment of Charles Ives' "Variations on a Theme by Bartok", where he takes the preliminary piano style and equates it to the guitar with a raw and psychological impact, showing Fahey's wide range of musical influences and strengthening his credibility as a merging point for different categories and artistic expressions.

Tradition and Influence
John Fahey's Volume 6/ Days Have Gone By is a seminal work in the American Primitive Guitar canon. The album showcases an artist at the height of his innovative powers, pressing the borders of what can be achieved with an acoustic guitar. The experimental nature of the recordings and the unique marital relationship of traditional fingerpicking with avant-garde techniques has actually made the album an enduring classic, affecting generations of musicians and challenging conventions in guitar playing.

Artists such as Leo Kottke, Robbie Basho, and the more recent generation of fingerstyle guitarists like Glenn Jones and William Tyler, have all paid tribute to the impact of Days Have Gone By in their own work. The album stays a testament to the imaginative genius of John Fahey and his profound impact on the world of music.