April 9, 2001: Album Review- Phil Keaggy's "Inseparable"
Phil Keaggy, for those who may not be familiar with him, is the world's most renowned and well-known Christian guitarist. Since the early 1970's, he has created over two dozen albums. In the opinion of most people who have heard him play, he is undoubtably one of the greatest guitarists of our time. His music can make you dance in one instant and weep the next. I've never heard anyone, ever, who can draw such emotion from an instrument.
And what is possibly the most amazing thing of all is that he does it all with only four fingers on his right hand.
Whenever I go to pick up the latest Phil Keaggy release, part of the excitement is that I never know exactly what I'm going to get. Phil never rests on his laurels and repeats past successes. A new album might be an acoustic instrumental, or a rock fest, or a pop vocal album or a Spanish-influenced extravaganza.
"Inseparable" is pure Keaggy. What I mean by that is the record company told him to make whatever kind of an album that he wanted to make. Period. At this stage in the game, I think that is exactly what Phil wants. He plays every instrument on this cd (with the exception of drums on two tracks). Much of the music is synthesized, which is something that Phil has been experimenting with lately. Does he succeed? I think so.
Most of the songs on this cd are very quiet and reflective, and I can't pick out any one song that would make it on radio as a single. It's obvious that commercial success wasn't foremost on Phil's mind when creating this music. But, taken as a whole, the album is very satisfying. It grows on you, as much of Phil's music does. I can remember not being very impressed by "Beyond Nature" when I first heard it. Now it's my second favorite album of all time.
My favorite tracks are the smooth "Whose Heavy Heart" (even though I wish he'd extended that guitar solo at the end!), the catchy "Real Life", and the poetic "the Seeing Eye".
But the best two tracks are the two instumentals at the album's end. The first, "Inseparable-Reprise" reminds me of "Melody" from "The Master and the Musician" album from the early 70's. Both of those songs start softly and build to tremendous, rousing climaxes in the last minute or so.
After "Inseparable-Reprise" comes "The Shape of the Journey". This song is simply beautiful. Every note is perfectly placed, and the sythesized instruments add a tremendous effect.
The most anticipated song on the cd is definitely "Motor of Love", which is a long-awaited cover of a Paul McCartney single. Phil is a big Beatles/McCartney fan, and it shows in his music. I didn't know that Phil had recorded this song till I heard it on the cd, and it was a most pleasant surprise.
Overall this is another fine cd from Phil Keaggy.
Photo Courtesy of Scott Peters, Keaggy with Kerry Livgren, Topeka, KS, April 18, 1997:
