Music Review - Phil Keaggy - Re-Emerging

Since writing this review I've had the opportunity to speak and/or write with Phil Madeira a number of times. His book was also a very enjoyable read.

Back in the summer of 1977, before the world knew the joys of rainbow suspenders and the phrase Nanu-Nanu, the Phil Keaggy Band released their only album, Emerging. Age one quarter decade and this album has been re-mastered and re-released on CD under the name ReEmerging. As is the case with any self-respecting re-release, spiffy bonus tracks are included, as is a 16-color booklet full of memories and pictures of young guys wearing late 1970s clothing and facial hair.

By 1977 Phil Keaggy was well known in the musical world, especially in the mostly unknown Christian music world. Unlike most Christian bands at the time, PKB was a professional working band. If they weren’t touring they were practicing eight hours a day - for two years. The result is evident from the first spin. This band is tight and is most definitely a band with members that understand each other musically. As you might expect, the original eight tracks (yes, in the pre-CD era eight tracks running 35 minutes was acceptable) sound a bit dated but it’s to their credit how well they stand up over two decades later. In addition to the strong songwriting is the broad variety of genres, ensuring confusion among modern-day record companies as how to pigeonhole and market such a beast.

The opening track, an instrumental written by Taylor University grad and PKB keyboardist Phil Madeira, is quite peppy yet suffers the most from a 1970s keyboard sound. “Where Is My Maker” is exceptionally diverse, combining country with reggae and Eagles vocal harmonies, ending in a fantastic jazz-fusion jam session where the Keaggy and Madeira trade solos on guitar and keys, respectively. Typical mid-70s Keaggy is the uplifting light rock of “Another Try” and the gentle lullaby “Ryan’s Song,” written for Keaggy’s stillborn son. Another Madeira track, “Struck By The Love”, is quite dramatic in its pacing with a charged verse juxtaposed by a quiet, reflective guitar solo passage. “Turned On The Light” is a bluesy song that segues into a countrified chorus that is unfortunately one of two songs that suffer from cheesy late-70s Christianese lyrics, the other being “Sorry,” which retells the New Testament parable of the 10 virgins and their oil lamps. These two aside, for the time period the songs are amazingly free of any kind of preachy attitude. “Take A Look Around” is a mid-tempo rocker full of baritone sax that melts into a blistering jam session that reveals how badly this band could kick your scrawny little butt if it wanted to and don’t bother trying to get your big brother to protect you ‘cause they’ll kick his arse, too.

With the four bonus tracks the album comes to a respectable 50 minutes. The only bonus track that really belongs is “Mighty Lord,” a Madeira song PKB used to close their concerts but was left off the original recording due to an inane decision higher up the food chain. But here it is, a brand spankin’ new recording sure to get your bootay shakin’ with lots of Hammond organ and dueling guitar solos. The other tracks include a song by Keaggy where he plays all the parts (dude, it’s supposed to be the Phil Keaggy Band) and one each by the drummer and bass player, both very country and with a bit of novelty feel about them.

Still, this re-release was obviously done with a lot of care, giving these well-written songs the justice they deserve and revealing a talented band in the prime of their prowess.

First published 2003 in WhatzUp.

Music Review - Phil Keaggy - Inseparable

Now here's a Keaggy album I go back to every now and then. There's such a breadth within that each listen finds me discovering something new.

The prolific Phil Keaggy is at it again with Inseparable, a two CD set encompassing 21 tracks of guitarist glee. While Keaggy is known for jumping from genre to genre like our local radio stations switch formats, this time around he is firmly planted in rock/pop… well, sort of firmly planted. Okay, he’s all over the place again.

Dangerously self-produced, Keaggy is able to steer the straight and narrow this time out. The songs are usually quite bare but with an edge of roughness about them to keep one’s interest. Similar to his landmark Underground album, most of the tracks feature clever drum programming and interesting keyboard textures to accompany his trademark guitar and his silky smooth McCartney-esque voice. Lyrically you’ll be left with no doubt that Keaggy is a Christian, as the majority of these songs are directed to his Maker. But like the Psalms, the lyrics are personal and more poetic than your run-of-the-mill Christian lyrics, seeking more to commune than to convert. “Litany to the Spirit” is a prime example: “When I’m tossed about / Either with despair or doubt / Yet before the glass be out / Sweet Spirit comfort me.” As this contemplative, subdued prayer song ends with an unexpected gutsy punch of sinister strings, tribal drums and twisted bass, it became a quick favorite.

Also high on my list is “The Seeing Eye (remix),” where a gurgling synth sound is brought to the front, lending a strong sense of urgency to this dizzying song. The title track is similar in feel to the aforementioned Underground album in feel with lots of interesting chord changes and a Beatlesque sound. “Little Star” is an excellent bedtime song to sing to your young children with a catchy melody and calming, reassuring feel … that is, a great song if you can play the guitar like Keaggy.

Of course, with an album of this magnitude there are bound to be a few below par. The cover of McCartney’s “Motor Of Love,” for instance, usually compels me to press the skip button. A few other songs don’t earn the dreaded skip but fail to ladle my gravy. But for a self-produced album (and in my mind Keaggy usually needs a talented producer other than himself to be at his best) the strong tracks heavily outnumber the weaker cuts.

A single CD version is available in stores and should suffice for all but the freakiest Keaggy freaks, while the two CD set is available only at www.philkeaggy.com.

First published in 2003 in WhatzUp.

Music Review - Phil Keaggy - The Song Within

Not one of his more memorable albums. Still, the man is a living legend!

Phil Keaggy is many things. He's been voted one of the top finger-style guitarists in the world by Guitar Player Magazine the past three years. He's a master of the difficult eBow, a man with over 50 albums released over nearly 40 years, and he's a dedicated husband and father.

He's also extremely uneven when it comes to what he chooses to call an album. His releases range from platters of self-indulgent jam sessions and improvisational guitar loops, to watery vocal albums, to rock solid vocal albums, to instrumental albums of astounding depth that rival the big names of classical music. The highlights in this latter category are Beyond Nature and Lights of Madrid, both highly focused instrumental endeavors full of mature compositions of breathtaking beauty.

It is against such timeless perfect albums that his latest instrumental album, The Song Within, must unfortunately be compared. It is unfortunate because when compared to his random noodlings, this latest album is pure genius. But compared to the classics mentioned above it is merely "quite good," although this is akin to saying that while Beethoven's Seventh is no Fifth it is still Beethoven's Seventh, if you get what I mean.

Which is all to say that The Song Within is most definitely worth your time and money. Sixteen tracks fill the album with Keaggy's always amazing guitar prowess, fleshed out with drum kits, hand percussion, piano, cello, strings and Irish whistles. Additionally, his guitar tone has never sounded better, thanks in large part to his playing the excellent guitars of McPherson, which run at a paltry five grand, sans extras.

As an added bonus to longtime fans, Keaggy took an unusual twist in creating the music for this album by culling riffs and chord progressions from his immense back catalog and then reworking them into new creations. Fear not, these are far from "new version of old songs," but rather new songs that contain glimpses and shadows of memories “kind of like being in an unfamiliar city and unexpectedly running into an old friend. A shining example is the playful "Water Day," which runneth over with memories held together by his well known riffs. "Wow's the Weather" goes back to his days of The Wind and the Wheat, making extensive use of the eBow and fairlight strings to provide a lofty experience. The complete chord progression of an earlier song is reproduced on "Noah's Song," though you'd be hard pressed to tell from this new creation, crammed as it with a bridge of mellotron flutes and an "I Am the Walrus" beat.

Keaggy flexes his musical muscle on The Song Within, making everything look easy and proving why he is esteemed as an amazing finger-style guitarist, a solid composer and a skilled song crafter. Even without lyrics, many of these songs are easy to latch onto on the first listen, creating a hopeful sense of joy and beauty in the listener. If you enjoy acoustic guitar played only the way a seasoned virtuoso can, then you need look no further than The Song Within.

First published in Whatzup, 2008 - Ad Media Inc.

Music Review - Phil Keaggy - Lights of Madrid

A decade+ later, this album remains one of Keaggy's career highlights.

In my mind, Phil Keaggy is one of the most inconsistent artists around. His albums range from timeless classics (Beyond Nature, Sunday's Child) to albums so bland they only received a few spins (True Believer comes quickly to mind and just as quickly is forgotten). His latest album, Lights of Madrid, happily falls into the former group with over an hour of compelling, well-crafted acoustic guitar instrumentals that span genres, techniques, and moods. As you may have guessed from the album title, many, but not all, of the pieces show a Spanish influence. Those familiar with Spanish classical guitar will not be disappointed as Phil very capably tackles the legato scales and technical playing required for this genre. Those familiar with Keaggy himself already know that he is a guitar player's guitar player with amazing technical skills, virtuoso skills which often take backstage to the melody and the structure of the song. His best work marries the two, as is evidenced here.

The title track is, of course, very Spanish with an upbeat, catchy rhythm, excellent backing percussion, and a memorable melody that is worked into the amazing guitar playing. In stark contrast is the peaceful "A Field of Flowers" which is simply two acoustic guitars, a cello, and a beautifully emotive melody that would have fit perfectly on the phenomenal Beyond Nature. "Allgeria" consists of many layers of guitars, orchestral strings, and keyboards as a single melody is pursued by each. By combining contemporary songwriting with Hayden-era classical, Keaggy wrote the nine-minute "Overture" for acoustic guitar and chamber orchestra. Here the guitarist has created an amazingly mature classical composition with solid pacing and development of ideas, definitely on par or better than any classical piece written by his hero, Sir Paul McCartney. I could listen to music like this all day... and frequently have since this CD came into my possession. The album closes, aptly, with the return of the Spanish-themed "Caliente", energetic dance music with some ripping xylophone!

The huge variety of tone colors, instrumentation, and melody makes this album so much more than an hour of naked acoustic guitar. If you order now, you'll get an enhanced CD that actually makes sense! Embedded in this CD are detailed tablature transcriptions of twelve of the fifteen tracks, complete with lead and rhythm parts with the solos painstakingly written out. Even without this bonus, however, this album is the best thing Phil Keaggy has written in nearly a decade: an instant classic for guitar freaks and lovers of quality music alike.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, April 2001.

Review - Phil Keaggy - Acoustic Sketches

Another one that hasn't lured me back since I reviewed it.

Phil Keaggy is one of those guitarists who are regularly listed in Guitar Player magazine in a "Best Guitarist" list or as someone's influence, and yet he has never achieved national recognition. On the guitar, he is more than good. He is a legend. Guitarists hear his music and openly drool at his impressive array of styles and techniques.

His latest release, the all-instrumental Acoustic Sketches, was originally offered as a fan club special. Recorded in his digital studio, the majority of the selections feature Phil improvising over rhythmic tape loops, much like he does in his solo concerts. Other selections are carefully multi-tracked excursions into flowing arrangements or jaunty Celtic melodies. While it is true that Keaggy can machine-gun out a flurry of notes, most of the pieces on this disc are on the mellow side, meditative without sacrificing musical content (John Tesh this is not). The pieces are tasteful, pleasant offerings that are free from the restraints of having to meet some commercial goal. And perhaps that is why I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped. While Keaggy can produce more musical colors out of an acoustic guitar than anyone I've ever heard, after an hour of ONLY acoustic guitar, my ear yearns to hear a different color. This is only a personal preference, however, as I've known guitarists and non-guitarists alike who happily immerse themselves into hour after hour of Keaggy's music.

Personal favorites include "Paka" with it's mind-blowing, playful picking; "Metamorphosis", a warm and friendly journey with Celtic overtones; and the jazzy "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" which contains the only other instrument on the CD, a tuba. Through the years, I have given many Keaggy CD's as gifts and this one will be no exception. Guitarists will enjoy the detailed liner notes, indicating the guitar and tunings used and non-guitarists enjoy the free, restful melodies. The only difficult part is finding it! I have found Keaggy's music categorized in the classical section, the rock section, and even in the inspirational section. But the music is well worth the search.

This article first appeared in WhatzUp, November 1998.

Review - Phil Keaggy - Underground

One of the first Phil Keaggy albums I heard... and it's still good. A bit rough sonically but tons of heart!

Way back in 1983 before every Tom, Dick and Jane had their own giga-track digital home studio, a persistent cabal of musicians and engineers hobbled together their own studios out of outdated studio gear, jute twine and sheer ingenuity.

One of these illuminati was world-renowned guitarist Phil Keaggy. Using the revolutionary Teac 144 Porta-Studio (a massive bit of machinery giving the user a whopping four tracks of glorious tape hiss) and a converted basement, Keaggy recorded his first “fan club” album, Underground. Being limited to four tracks (a bit more if you bounce, but this isn’t a technical manual) really makes the artist distill the music to it’s essence. Most of these songs consist of guitar, bass, keyboards, a few vocal parts and drum machine. Before you recoil in disgust, remember that it was 1983 and, although everyone was in fact doing it, Keaggy had the foresight to not attempt to make these early, limited rhythm machines sound like a drummer ... usually.

One thing I had forgotten about this album is the number of intricate, very well recorded bass lines. “Paid In Full”, just one of many instrumental delights, is one example, as is “What A Love,” which features some great guitar work and Beatlesque vocal harmonies. It was good to hear such longtime favorites as “One In A Million,” a love song to his wife with a catchy chorus melody against some gritty rock guitars;,and “Think About It,” whose use of clinking bottles in the complicated rhythm section and spooky minor key melody will ensure a good crop of goose bumps. If any two songs are known from this album they would be “The Two of You,” a nice wedding song free of the usual clichés, and “The Survivor,” an epic pro-life song arranged with only voice, acoustic guitar and light keyboards.

Like any re-release worth its weight in plastic, two unreleased tracks are included: “A Glorious Sunset,” a pleasant instrumental straight off The Wind And The Wheat; and “When I Say I Love You,” a nice love song to his daughter.

For years I had to make do with a taped copy from a record borrowed from a friend, so having these gems in digital splendor is nice. It does, however, reveal the limitations of the source material, that being a standard cassette tape. This is not to say that the recordings sound awful, just a bit restrained in their sonic scope. This “limitation” may also result from the music not being squashed and processed “to the max” like today’s Pro-Tools-engineered music. Regardless of whatever sonic limitations may or may not exist, what really shines through is Keaggy’s warmth and enthusiasm. These songs were originally recorded at leisure as gifts to share with immediate family members and close friends. As such, there is a freedom and confidence within that gives them lasting appeal, even close to 20 years later.

While much of Keaggy’s music appeals only to guitarists, the songs on Underground are so fresh and accessible that I urge all lovers of classic rock to visit www.philkeaggy.com and order a copy for your collection.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, August 2002.

Review - Phil Keaggy - Majesty & Wonder

I had meant to post these before Christmas and plumb forgot. Sugarplumb, that is. I listen to this Christmas album every other year or so. It still doesn't grab me but it's nice wallpaper.

Though best known in the Christian music industry, veteran guitarist Phil Keaggy is revered among guitarists of many faiths for his amazing mastery of the instrument, despite only having nine fingers. Because it appears to be almost mandatory in the Christian music industry to release Christmas albums, Keaggy has finally bowed to the idol with Majesty and Wonder, a Christmas album full of his wonderful playing. In this instrumental collection, Phil displays his wide stylistic range on seven holiday classics plus four original compositions that incredibly hold their own against such well-known Christmas fare. While most of these tracks are accompanied by the London Festival Orchestra or a small ensemble of instruments the focus is almost always on the guitar.

True to the multiple facets of Phil's past music, there are many styles to enjoy on this disc. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is a pretty straightforward rendition in classical guitar but the next track, "Good Christian Men Rejoice" switches to a jaunty Celtic dance with penny whistles, violins, and Celtic percussion. "Silent Night" changes the tone yet again with a laid back, almost jazzy feel. A long-time favorite of mine, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" finds the melody traded between acoustic and electric guitars while the orchestra layers each verse with added tension. Other classics that Keaggy includes are "The First Noel", "O Come O Come Emmanual", "What Child is This?" and "O Holy Night". But for me, the highlights are the Keaggy originals. Comprising a three-piece set is the "Nativity Suite" where the interplay between the electric guitar and orchestra is quite dramatic, especially in the finale, "Flight Into Egypt" that incorporates the melody of "Carol of the Bells" into its tapestry.

Overall, the music on this album is quite laid back. If you are expecting the constant roar of electric guitar found on his Crimson and Blue album, you'll be sorely disappointed. But there is quite a bit of technical prowess herein, yet it's not so in-your-face that it draws attention to itself. Rather, this album is great background music that also bears up under close listening. Mellow yet rich.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, December 2000.

Classic Album Review - Phil Keaggy - Find Me In These Fields (1990)

Time for another Classic Album review! There are only nine of these “perfect 11” albums left and since two of these are Phil Keaggy albums, I thought I’d chip one off the list.

My first experience with Phil Keaggy was when my ol’ pal Roger Shuman gave me Keaggy’s Sunday’s Child album. Being a Beatles aficionado it was right up my alley. In my “why, yes, I AM a dork” music database I have that album rated as a 10. Great stuff there, especially for the new Christian, letting me know that there was good Christian music with heartfelt, honest, non-cheesy lyrics out there and not everything was Carman and Degarmo & Key. However it was the follow up, Find Me In These Fields, that really spoke to me. Freed from the confines of having to sound like a 60s album Keaggy let loose with a string of amazing songs, ranging from rockers to soft confessionals. This album was produced by Lynn Nichols and had much of the same “all-star” supporting musicians as Sunday’s Child and their cohesiveness shows. This album is another shining example of the importance of matching the right producer with the artist, someone who knows how to push them in just the right way to get them to reach beyond their usual abilities. Keaggy, while an amazing guitarist and songwriter, needs such a producer. His self-produced albums run the range from bland to very good but his albums where he is produced by someone else are often outstanding.

Listening to the album again I can’t put my finger on exactly why the album is so good. The songs are all solid and amazingly performed with various nods to The Beatles and other influences but nothing so overwhelming as the previous album. I think the main thing that resonated with me were the lyrics in that they are very affirming and comforting, just what I needed at the time. For a new believer who had plenty of hang-ups and garbage and hurts these words were like balm for my soul, echoing my longing to be free from the past. “This Side of Heaven” is a prime example of how Keaggy managed to wrap this longing into a timeless and upbeat song, throwing in some very intoxicating vocal harmonies amid lyrics such as “Why settle for less here at the wrong time? / There are better worlds yet to come.” And when the chorus arrives? Sheer bliss! This song was followed by the vulnerable “Find Me In These Fields”, a gorgeous song featuring acoustic guitars and a cello. The times this song ministered to my aching, lonely heart are legion. Likewise “Calling You” is another song of yearning, feeding kindling to my newly ignited soul to dig deeper for more of God in my life.

With a nice combination of fiery rockers and earnest ballads but lyrics that seemed tailored for my life, Find Me In These Fields was just what I needed. The entire album exudes a confident maturity, both in the music and the lyrics, that is a rare find. Twenty-plus years later I can still put this album on and enjoy every song. What more can you ask?