Fahey Conrad

John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death (1965) {Takoma-Fantasy CDTAK 7015 rel 1997}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 174 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 73 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 1997 Takoma / Fantasy | CDTAK 7015
Folk / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

A strange man, John Fahey, with an unusual set of guitar styles. This album, originally released on Riverboat Records and later reissued by Fahey's own Takoma label, has a lot of rough edges in terms of the recording but a tremendous amount of power when it comes to the music. Fahey was at the top of his game, alternately playful and dark, so there's never a dull moment. There is always something new to be heard on each playing.

John Fahey - Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes (1963, 1967) {Takoma TAKCD-8908-2 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 293 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 173 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 119 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 1967, 1998 Takoma / Fantasy | TAKCD-8908-2
Folk / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

Fahey recorded two versions of this album, one in 1963, the other in 1967; this deluxe reissue gives you both! This was his second album, and the first to get any kind of distribution (the re-record benefits from better fidelity); with compositions like When the Springtime Comes Again; Some Summer Day , and the epic America , it's essential.

One of acoustic music's true innovators and eccentrics, John Fahey was a crucial figure in expanding the boundaries of the acoustic guitar over the last few decades. His music was so eclectic that it's arguable whether he should be defined as a "folk" artist. In a career that saw him issue several dozen albums, he drew from blues, Native American music, Indian ragas, experimental dissonance, and pop.

John Fahey - Visits Washington, D.C. (1979) {Takoma CDP 72769 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 256 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 1989 Takoma Records | CDP 72769
Finger-Picked Guitar / Contemporary Folk / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

1979’s last long-lost classic from John Fahey’s Takoma albums sees the master on dazzling form without any concept beyond returning to his roots while paying tribute to music inspiring him both past and present. John Fahey could strike when least expected. After “Old Fashioned Love”, 1974’s third and final John Fahey & His Orchestra outing, there was another Christmas album and 1977’s “Best Of John Fahey [1959-77]” while Fahey sold Takoma Records to Chrysalis because he couldn’t handle the day-to-day running.

John Fahey, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke - John Fahey, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke (1974) {Takoma ‎TAKCD-6502-2 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 207 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 1996 Takoma ‎Records / Fantasy | TAKCD-6502-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

In the 1950s the young John Fahey discovered the funky, unpretentious, down-home, spontaneous guitar-oriented 78s recorded in the late 1920s and early 1930s by rural Southern black and poor white folks. He changed the music to suit his own image of what art should be and created the concept of the solo steel-string guitarist/composer. Leo Kottke built on Fahey's vision, made it more accessible, and proved how large the market could be. In 1974 these two quitar giants, joined by Peter Lang, who proves on these cuts to be a guitarist of equal ability, put out this excellent and influential LP.

John Fahey - Old Fashioned Love (1975) {Takoma TAKCD-6511-2 rel 2003}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 244 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb | Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2003 Takoma Records | TAKCD-6511-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Contemporary Folk / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

If anyone doubts the degree to which John Fahey was stereotyped as a folk guitarist, the reception of this album should be instructive. Old Fashioned Love is a wonderful release, a celebration of early 20th century musical styles. Every track is played with charm and wit, from the solo guitar pieces to the full orchestral works. Indeed, on the first half of the LP we hear not just Fahey the guitarist, but also Fahey the arranger and orchestra leader. The delicate guitar solos on the classical "In a Persian Market" are framed by lively ensemble work by Fahey's ten-person "orchestra," a group that proves adept at ragtime and blues styles.

John Fahey - Days Have Gone By (1967) {Takoma CDTAK 6509}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 133 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 113 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 211 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2001 Takoma / Fantasy | CDTAK 6509
Folk / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

Sam Graham once referred to Fahey as the "curmudgeon of the acoustic guitar," while producer Samuel Charters noted that Fahey "was the only artist I ever worked with whose sales went down after he made public appearances." This tumultuous spirit, in turn, made tumultuous music on albums like Days Have Gone By, filled with odd harmonics, discord, and rare beauty. The esoteric titles like "Night Train of Valhalla" stand beside more abrasive ones like "The Revolt of the Dyke Brigade."

John Fahey - The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party and Other Excursions (1966) {Takoma TAKCD-6508-2 rel 2000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 113 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 147 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 2000 Takoma Records / Fantasy | TAKCD-6508-2
Folk / Blues / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

Few guitarists, even ones leaning toward the eccentric, would dream of pasting together a 19-minute instrumental out of various improvisations. But John Fahey is on his own planet, and he assured that fingerstyle guitar would never be the same when he issued The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party on his own Takoma label in 1966. The album features Fahey's more experimental explorations on the guitar between 1962 and 1966, ranging from solo guitar on "Guitar Excursions Into the Unknown" to the eerie organ accompaniment on "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."