Phil Keaggy

Item: Acoustic Sketches
Author: Robert Berman

Acoustic Sketches

(1996)

Reviewed by Robert Berman

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Label independentThe LighthouseDecember 1996

acoustic folk rock

Can something be both inspiring and discouraging at the same time? I think so. I've been listening to Acoustic Sketches, Phil Keaggy's most recent homemade album, and I find myself overrun with excitement-and despair.

Excitement because this is the Keaggy album I've been waiting for. This heir-apparent to the majesty of his Beyond Nature masterwork is filled with over an hour of the full variety of Keaggy's prowess. It's got everything from remakes of classics (a spellbinding two-guitar instrumental of "Spend My Life With You") to total improvisation ("Jam in the Pocket"), all recorded essentially live. Included are outtakes from old albums and mystery tapes, recorded on forgotten occasions for unremembered projects. Despite the CD's name, many of the 19 tracks on this album are as finished as those on Keaggy's previous instrumental albums.

The despair is not simply because it's obvious that Keaggy possesses a prowess that the rest of us will never attain, though that much is certain. It also springs from the knowledge that Keaggy has forgotten more great music than we'll ever actually hear from him. When the liner notes comment that, "I often hear these kinds of melodies in my head throughout an average day," one wonders how the listening public can get their hands on more of these melodies. Fans of his rock'n'roll side may also despair that, despite the recent release of 220, an album billed as an electric guitar extravaganza, this album contains far more riffs than that one, maybe by an order of magnitude.

It's hard to believe there's not a bigger market for this sort of work. Albums like Sunday's Child and True Believer, with their pop bent and leanings toward Christian radio airplay, obviously satisfy the goals of the record label. As it is, this album is only available through mail order or by phone. But one can hope that a demonstrated demand for albums like this will result in the release of still more, not only from Keaggy but from the other stellar guitarists of Christian music, like Wes King and Billy Crockett. There are a lot of people who can sing pop songs, but only a handful capable of producing a work of this quality in their basement. If you like instrumental music, purchasing this album is simply a no-brainer.

To order the project, call 1-800-66-GUITAR.