Phil Keaggy

    Phil Keaggy

    Nashville, Tennessee33 reviews across 21 releases

    acousticblues rockceltic rockhard rock
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    Born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1951, Phil Keaggy began in local rock groups before forming Glass Harp in 1968. The band's rock background remained audible after Keaggy moved into solo work, but his records ranged widely. Find Me in These Fields, the 1990 release, returned to forceful acoustic strumming, feedback, wah-wah, and live-studio interplay. Crimson and Blue pushed further into electric rock while retaining Beatles and Celtic references, and its reworked Blue version was made more aggressive. By the mid-1990s he was moving between vocal pop, blues-rock, and instrumental guitar. 220 layered guitars over relaxed Southern-rock rhythms, while Acoustic Sketches collected mostly live improvisations and material from older recordings.

    In 1972, Keaggy left Glass Harp and began a solo career that alternated between singer-songwriter records and guitar instrumentals. The change of emphasis continued through the 1990s: radio-oriented production shaped True Believer, while Invention placed him alongside Wes King and Scott Denté in a collaborative guitar project. By 1998, the self-titled Phil Keaggy combined acoustic and electric parts with Celtic coloring, Beatles-influenced melodies, and more prominent vocals. In 2000, he released Inseparable and Lights of Madrid through Word Artisan; the former was a vocal album, the latter a flamenco-based instrumental. Glass Harp reunited in Youngstown later that year. Keaggy entered the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and Glass Harp released a live album in 2010.

    21 releases reviewed