Phil Keaggy

Item: Acoustic Sketches
Author: Robert Berman

Acoustic Sketches

(1996)

Reviewed by Robert Berman

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Label independentThe LighthouseUnsorted 1998

acoustic folk rock

Can something be both inspiring and discouraging at the same time? I think so. I've been listening to Phil Keaggy's Acoustic Sketches, 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.

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. One can only 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.

Ed. Note: This is a revised "reprint" of a review written for this album when it was released independently through Keaggy's fan club in 1996. The disc was recently re-released by Sparrow.